My Second Quilt: Pink, Brown and Yellow Patchwork

My second quilt was a gift to my sister Katie for her college graduation. I think there is remarkable progress between the first and this one and I particularly love the fabric combination that I used. The fabric came from a stash that Katie collected during high school when she sewed bags, most of which came from a nun at her school. I sort of like that even though we didn't know exactly where the fabric originated, it could be put together as a cohesive whole, which is an appropriate thought for college graduation I think! (If you look closely at the quilts over the week, you'll see fabric appear in more than one—I always have leftovers and I like the idea that I've tied them all together!)

My First Quilt: Figuring it Out Along the Way

As I wrapped up my current quilting project (you have to wait until Friday to see it!), I thought I'd share the ones that came before it since most of them were completed before I had this blog. I find it interesting to see the progression and I hope you find it interesting too!

This is the first quilt that I ever made. Well, that's not entirely true. I pieced about half of a quilt during the class I took where I first learned the craft, but after my teacher told me that she didn't really think my fabrics "went together", I stopped going and made this quilt instead. Which may have been a little immature (it was a long time ago!) but I think there is something to figuring out how to do something you enjoy on your own. I made it using fabrics that I had, and that were in my sister's stash, and while it's not the most complex of quilts, and my stitches are far from perfect, I do still love that the non-matching fabrics actually do work together quite well. And that the backing fabric is so mellow, which is a lovely alternative to the front.

 This quilt has actually accompanied me through my adult life, which is kind of amazing—from NC where I made the top, to NJ where I stayed at my parents for a while as I figured out what to do with myself after doing a year of AmeriCorps, to NYC where I learned how to be a writer and editor (and made some amazing friends), and now it lives with me—and keeps me warm—in Iowa.

Inspired Image: A Moment in Idaho

I had planned on posting my April print of the month today, but when I was getting the post ready, all I kept having the urge to share this photo instead. So I decided that it was the thing to do today! The image was taken by my boyfriend a few years ago and it's been filling me with the urge to get outside, away from the city—which we hope to do in the summer...our plans to head west for vacation are starting to form. The other thing that I'm enjoying about this photo, which we had printed and are eager to hang, is the sort of in between feeling of time that it has because of the sunlight and the moon. That is rather calming to me.


I hope you all have a lovely weekend. I have a special quilt week planned for next week as I get ready to share the one I'm this close to finishing, so be sure to check back on Monday to see what the fuss is all about!

Link Love: Spring Dresses

I tend to catch up on other blogs while I'm eating lunch each day and since I come across so many lovely things, I've decided that I should start sharing them with you. Today's topic: spring dresses.

Alicia Paulson is sewing the most darling clothes while she's waiting for the little girl she and her husband are adopting to arrive. This is one of the (many) dresses that I'd like to have in my size. 

This is a vintage dress spotted on the ReadyMade fashion blog, Off the Rack, from the closet of Krissy, who runs the etsy shop Cottage Farm. I love Jane's suggestions on what to wear with this dress, though I would be happy wearing it with a simple pair of brown flip flops and a ponytail.

I'm really trying to focus on enjoying the clothes I already own—inspired in large part by Alyson and also a looming large purchase—but I'm keeping this Tuileres Sleeveless dress from etsy seller Tortilla Girl in my favorites for when I'm ready to shop. Each one is custom made, based on a pattern that she built herself, which I love, plus a girl's got to have some ruffles, right?

Origami-Inspired Jewelry from Jenna Fizel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenna Fizel

Cambridge, MA

web: jftesser.com

blog: ireallymeanitthistimeredux.blogspot.com/

store: etsy.com/shop/jftesser

facebook: facebook.com/jftesser

twitter: twitter.com/jftesser

 

Tell me a little about what you make.

I make jewelry and sculpture based on curve-fold origami techniques. Each of my pieces starts as a single, continuous  piece of mylar or polypropylene which I cut using a CNC paper cutter. I then carefully shape each piece into a three dimensional "knotted" form.

 

How and when did you start working with myar?

I've been making these forms, and related forms, for awhile (about four years) using paper. I always wanted to apply them to jewelry making, and to try alternative materials for larger scale shapes. However, paper will disintegrate and crumple at small sizes. I tried many different translucent materials before finding mylar and polypropylene. Mylar is easy to fold on score lines, and looks crystalline. However, if not handled properly during folding it can crack along its folds. Polypropylene is more resistant to tearing, but harder to coax into shape. It also has a cloudier appearance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 How would you describe your style?

While I very much admire design that is simple and clean, I always find myself drawn towards complexity in both my own work and my personal style. Instead, I try to strive for coherence and balance within intricate structures. 

 

What sets your work apart?

My work combines traditional and high tech practices to create something that, I believe, draws on the strength of both. I also try to use deep relationships in my designs. The curved forms I make are based on a category of shapes which were first used by the Bauhaus, and which have mathematical significance.

 

I know that you're mom is a quilter. Did she impact your creativity as you grew up?

I've been making "things" all my life. As a kid, my parents encouraged me to create projects out of household items like boxes, tape, bed sheets, etc. My mom first taught me to sew (along with my babysitter) when I was four, and I've been sewing off and on ever since. In recent years I've tried to return the support by helping my mom develop her web presence. We're now planning to do some collaborative projects with a combination of quilting and wearable electronics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where do you find your inspiration?

I tend to be inspired by whatever I have to deal with in my daily life. If I need a new bag, I'll try to think one up. Or  if I want to bind a book, I'll try it myself first. This jewelry and sculpture are based off of a long term research project I worked on in college.

 

Is this your full-time work?

No. By day I am a computer programmer and designer. I work on large-scale, networked applications for museums and other institutions, usually for the purpose of displaying large amounts of information in an immersive and interactive way.

My Family's Needlework

Many of the boxes that my parents brought me over the weekend contain sewing supplies from my Dad's mom. She made clothing, she knit, crocheted, cross stitched and did needlepoint. I am going to take my time going through the supplies, but I'm pretty sure I will never need to buy another knitting needle! The lovely thing that she did is that she left little notes everywhere—on bundles of needlepoint that were meant for one holiday, on polaroids that showed what she made each year for her church Christmas baazar, and on a stack of hand stitched linens from both she and her mother. I'll share those with you once I get them out and pressed, but in that mix was this piece of cross stitch from another family member—my great grandfather Palanjian.


I knew that my great grandfather was a tailor and that he did some decorative chair seats that have long been scattered around our house, but it wasn't until I saw this piece that I realized that I have people who did many of the same needle-based crafts on all sides of my family tree. Male and female, maternal and paternal. I know that this particular great grandfather came to Philadelphia from Armenia when he was a young man, so I can only imagine that he learned his skills before he left his country. I'm really looking forward to displaying this and to learning more about my history through the stitches that they left behind. And I'm getting a better understanding of what my own quilts might one day mean to future generations—I just hope I can be as meticulous in labeling and caring for them as my own grandmother was!

Weekend Highlights: Easter Treats and Local Sights

My parents came for a visit this weekend—which was both timed for Easter and because they brought a truck load of furniture/household things/mementos for us as they are moving out of the house that I grew up in—and we had a very packed, fun and delicious weekend.

Above is the Ricotta pie that we always have for Easter breakfast. I made two this year and shared one with friends on Friday morning, and am parsing out leftovers to make the second one last as long as possible. It's funny to me that we all like this pie so much, but yet we only have it on Easter. That's tradition for you!

On Saturday we took a ride out to Lake Red Rock and had a lovely picnic lunch, then stopped by the Peacetree Brewery in Knoxville for a glass of their Hefe. And got a big bottle filled to take home. I was so happy to see that flowers have started to bloom here!

Next on the tour was Pella, which is a Dutch town about an hour from Des Moines. We took a tour of the windmill, the replica village and spotted all of the tulips getting ready to bloom for the big festival there in a few weeks. We of course had to have some Dutch letters from Jaarsma, which are flakey pastries filled with almond filling.

And I have to say that while this might sound like bragging, I made the most amazing lasagna for dinner on Sunday. We (I) started a tradition of making homemade pasta on Easter last year and since the pasta machine was one of the things that my parents brought me, I decided to make noodles for lasagna. I am always a little nervous when making pasta but I've made it enough now that I know how to do it—it's mostly about taking my time and not rushing through the steps. My mom helped me through the actual lasagna construction (I couldn't find a recipe that I liked) and I used pesto in the ricotta layer and had a layer of sauteed veggies including yellow and green peppers, mushrooms and kale. The texture of the noodles (which I precooked, just slightly) was fantastic and I'm so excited that I made enough to have a tray to put into the freezer to enjoy at a later date.

Of course, it's not Easter without chocolate, which in our house, that tends to mean dark chocolate filled with some sort of coconut and Italian cookies. Yum!