Thistlewood Manor

I love small quilts!

I've always loved small quilts, from tiny precise works of patchwork art to baby quilts and lap quilts.  There are several reasons; sometimes it's the complexity of making a tiny quilt, sometimes the time involved and sometimes cost.  Or, maybe it's that there are so many ways to use them.  Of course, it is wonderful to see a tiny newborn wrapped in his or her own precious handmade quilt, but they have so many other wonderful uses.

I love to use them as wall hangings to brighten up odd corners.  They look so cozy tossed across chairs and couches.  They make great table coverings and place mats; just toss them in the washer when they become dirty or dusty.  They are also a great way to practice new techniques without investing a lot of time.

These are a few of the baby quilts I have made.  Unfortunately, I'm on a new computer and don't have all my pictures so I can't show you all my little quilts.

I'm busy making fall and Halloween quilts now, so I will have more pictures to show.

Before and After

Just as the new year began, we purchased a new house........hopefully our "forever" house as I never want to move again!  It's a 1910 Craftsman style house with 4 bedrooms and many built ins.  Here are a few pictures of the exterior:

This is the side of the house, but the entrance we usually use.

This is the front entry and the little porch I plan to turn into my soap shop.  These pictures are what it looked like the day we bought it, but we immediately put new siding on.  What a difference!

We are loving the new look!

I can't wait to finish painting the porch and the little shop!

We hope to be open by mid June and will have handmade soaps, baby quilts and more!  Keep an eye on this blog or https://www.facebook.com/Thistlewood-Manor-Soap-Etc-86684888707/ so you know about all the exciting new stuff we are doing!

 

Notes on Applique for SCA class

 

Basic Applique Techniques

 

 

 

Applique is the process of attaching one fabric to the surface of another for decorative purposes. This is a great way to add decoration to tunics, tabards, banners, tablecloths and

more.

 

 

There are many types of applique, I'm going to focus more on the hand rather than machine

methods.

 

 

1. Raw Edge: This method is just cutting out the shape and sewing around the edges. It's hard to make it look really good unless your stitches are really even and tight, and tends to fray when washed. It is best used with wool felt, which doesn't fray. (Do not use acrylic felt, it fuzzes and looks horrible after washing.)

2. Needle Turn: This method involves turning under the edges about an 1/8 of an inch as you sew it down using tiny invisible stitches. I like to use a glue stick in the middle to keep the fabric from shifting.

3. Fusible web: The design is traced onto fusible web, with is ironed onto the design fabric and then onto the base fabric. Then it is sewn around the edges. It is similar to Raw Edge applique but doesn't fray as much due to the fusing. Be aware the design will be going the reverse direction when appliqued.

4. Fusible Interfacing: This is my favorite. Trace the design onto the fabric, place on top of the smooth side of lightweight fusible interfacing and hand or machine sew right on the line. Cut a slit in the interfacing and turn the design right side out, then iron onto the base fabric. Finally, use tiny invisible stitches to stitch it down.

5. Reverse Applique: The design fabric shape is sewn to the underside of the base fabric, then the base fabric is cut to reveal the design fabric underneath. Edges are then turned under and stitched. This is very time intensive, but looks cool.

 

 

 

There is a ton of useful information linked here:

http://www.larsdatter.com/applique.htm

 

 

 

Hellooooo! Anyone here?

Poking a stick at the blog to see if it's still alive.  Poke.  Poke.  I think it wiggled a little.  Looking around....wow, that's a lot of cobwebs.  I think it still works though, I keep getting billed for it.

 

I'll try it out.  I kind of miss it.

 

So, today.... rain, rain and more rain.  A little tired of it.  But, I discovered my rhubarb is doing great, I picked a whole armload of it!  And now I am going to make Rhubarb cake or crisp or something that looks yummy on pinterest.  I'm really going to try to remember to blog more; I have tons of stuff I want to share.

My goals for this summer:

1.  Visit all the state parks within 3 hours of us.
2.   Sew more for myself!
3.   Plant wildflowers everywhere.
4.   Share it all with friends and family here.

 

Don't be afraid to remind me, I get so busy doing it's hard to remember to write it down and take pictures of it.  But, it's a goal I've had for a long time.  

 

Happy May Day!

 

 

Its a new year, and a new look for Thistlewood Manor!

Its nearly 2016, and this year my goal is to get back to blogging.  Nearly every day I work on a new project and every time I make something my husband says "did you blog that?"  Well no, I have not been........but I'd like to share them with you and maybe I'll give you some ideas!  Here are a few of the things I've done in 2015:

We had a grandbaby!  And that means baby clothes, like this cute little onesie and skirt I made.  Yes, you will probably be seeing lots of cute baby pictures too, I'll try to contain myself.

Told ya so.

I learned a Viking type of knitting, called Naalbinding......its done with a large wood or bone needle and wool yarn.  I've been making hats.

I learned to make sausages from beef and venison.

 

I made a lot of new soap!  I also designed a new line of Viking dolls.  Did you know real vikings didn't have horns on their helmets?

These are just a few of the projects I did this past year, along with moving to a new home near Des Moines, IA.  This year I have many new projects in the works.......sewing more of my own clothing and of course clothes for my grand daughter, dehydrating food, mushroom hunting, learning to carve bone and wood, baking whole grain bread, new soaps, and many more I haven't even thought of yet!  Some of my projects are part of what I do in my historical re-enactment hobby where I am a merchant in Venice, Italy.  I also study Viking crafts and clothing because that is what my husband portrays.  Other projects, like sewing tents and hi tech hiking gear are commission sewing, and yet others are the result of too much time on Pinterest.

If you enjoy experimenting with new things and going new places, leave a comment!  I'd love to hear what other people are working on too.  Lets learn and explore together!

 

 

New soaps!

Fresh out of the mold, I have several new soaps to show off!  These haven't even been labeled or listed on Etsy yet; so enjoy the sneak peek!

This is the Camping soap.  I use citronella, lemongrass, tea tree and eucalyptus oils and it smells amazing!  It also repels bugs......my customers keep coming back for this one because it really works!  You can also use it on your hair for all in one ease of use when camping.

Here's a soap I have just developed for soothing sunburn.  It contains Spearmint and Lavender essential oils and aloe vera gel.  

Mmmm.........delicious smelling Lavender and tea tree essential oils in a very pretty shampoo soap!

This one smells amazing!  It's a blend of cinnamon, clove and orange essential oils in a shampoo soap.  Absolutely awesome!  

A note about shampoo soaps:  these are good to use on your hair and my regular customers love them.  They don't strip natural oils from your hair like commercial soaps do; so your scalp isn't always trying to produce more oil.  The result is cleaner, healthier hair that isn't weighed down with products and doesn't need washing as often.  The soap contains olive, castor and coconut oils; no animal products.  Try a bar, you'll love it!

This one is for those who love the outdoors.  I have combined bay laurel essential oil with wood smoke and leather fragrance oils.  Smells like you are camping in the woods!

This shampoo soap is made with sandalwood fragrance oil........not even cut yet!  I will have more soaps to show you tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Soaps are usually available in my Etsy shop, but since I will be at Gulf Wars, an SCA event in Mississippi, for the next week the shop is closed until March 24th.

We moved!

Thistlewood Manor is now located in Carlisle, IA.  It has been quite a process, but I will be posting pictures of the new manor soon; along with more details about what happens next.  Its been a long time since I have posted anything, but I'm ready for a new adventure.  I hope you are too!

Kitty Collars and Secrets Revealed

If you read yesterdays post, you know that Greg and I warped up another project after we finished our inkle trim.  This one was quick and easy….Kitty Collars!  With 7 kittens it’s hard to remember which are girls and boys and since they are ready to go to new homes now I thought it would be easier to identify them with color coded collars.

These are simple 1/2’ bands with snap closures, in Pink and Blue of course….I’m so traditional.

This past few months I’ve been working on a gift for a “secret swap” I’m part of called Noblesse Largesse.  It’s made up of people  who do medieval re-enactment through the SCA, or The Society for Creative Anachronism.  The organizers had each of us fill out a questionnaire about our persona and interests and then we were each given someone to make a gift for.  I received mine today:

 

It’s a pocket that is meant to be tied at my waist and carry my money and other small things.  The maker hand sewed 162 pearls on it!  It is lined and the black parts are velvet.

I’m going to show you what I made too; but I haven’t had a chance to mail it yet; so don’t tell!  I’m not going to tell you who I’m sending it to anyway….

My recipient was a little vague in what she liked, so I kind of had to wing it.  I started out by making a jewelry box:

The words on the sides are Latin and say “In amore forma plus valet qualm auctoritas”, which means “In love, beauty counts for more than good advice”.

Then I decided I needed to put some jewelry in the box.

The pearls are real, although the diamond is not!  I think it looks so nice nestled in its box:

The final step was to write a letter as if it was from my persona, a merchant woman of 1550’s Venice, Italy.  Since calligraphy is not my forte’, and I don’t know anyone close by to do it for me, I chose to use my computer printer.  (Oh horrors!  Think of it as my scribe, lol.)  I did, however, put it on handmade paper that I made last year.

I’ve blocked the name on here until it’s received, just in case she should see it!  Hope you enjoyed all of my fun projects; more tomorrow.

Weekend weaving and more

I haven’t posted for a few days as most of my projects have been of the more boring variety, such as laundry and dishes.  Yesterday however, my husband and I spent all day crafting and had a wonderful time.  I spent most of my time working on a somewhat secret project that I will reveal in a few days,  maybe you can spot it on my work table:

You can see I like to spread out when I work!  Then Greg and I decided to work on some weaving.  I had a project already going, but he needed to design one for his loom.

This is what it actually looked like once he started weaving:

This is the pattern I was working on for some trim for a Viking coat:

As you can tell it was a good productive day.  Once we each finished what was on our looms we warped up another special project….but I’ll show you that one tomorrow!

Cookies, a Care Package and Citrus Water

Today turned out to be a pretty busy day, but I accomplished a few things.  The first, and tastiest, was cookies.  White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies.

They are delicious!  People are always asking me for my cookie recipe, so I will share it with you too.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 C softened butter
• 3/4 C sugar
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 1/4 C flour
• 1 C chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and beat well.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Drop by tablespoons full on greased pan; bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

The cookies were part of my second project of the day, a care package for a friend who has dealt with a lot of drama lately and just made a big move.

Yeah, that’s all I have to say about that.  There’s some pretty fun stuff in there but I want her to be surprised!  She knows about the cookies, but that’s it.

Project #3 is part of my goal to wean myself off diet coke and drink more water.  I sliced up lemons, limes, and oranges and put them in pint jars, then added water and lids.  Now anytime I want something refreshing to drink it is ready for me and I can add iced tea mix if I want some caffeine.

Doesn’t that just look delicious?

I had a few more things to do today, but we decided to go see the Hobbit movie, so that’s as far as I got.  Oh well, more on my list for tomorrow!