Saturday, June 19, 2010

At the sewing machine

That is where I have spent most of the day today. I got a lot of quilting done on my Baños piece today. I am still amazed at how much quilting adds. If you ask me why I prefer to work with fabric rather than paint or something else, this might be why. Here is the vine with part of the leaves quilted and part yet to quilt.


And a closeup of the quilted leaves.


The quilting really is a fun part of the process for me—very spontaneous and free. I don't mark any of it. I just go at it. You can see that I am not really precise at all. Stitch length varies, which is kind of a point of disagreement among quilters. Purists strive for very uniform stitch length. I strive for "good enough."

After lunch I put the quilt aside and started on doll clothes. I rummaged through my stash and found everything I needed, avoiding a trip to the fabric store. I even had the buttons for the shirt in my tin of buttons. Sofia had specified that she wanted "pants and a shirt with buttons."  Nothing fancy here. No pockets, zippers, collar, trims.

This is Tati the tattooed baby. Not the prettiest doll I have ever seen, but beloved by Sofia. (If anyone knows a good way to remove ballpoint pen ink from vinyl I'd love to know. Emily and I have tried everything we could think of.) She has had the doll for a couple of years. It came dressed in a knit sleeper. Sofia has been quite happy to carry her around naked up until recently.

I also made her a pair of panties, not shown. Kristin's suggestion for a simple dress sounded great so I made this dress, gathered with elastic cord. The elastic makes it really easy to get on and off. I did fancy it up a bit with the heart applique.


Sofia will be over this evening for awhile and will probably be pretty excited to see the new clothes. In my rummaging I found a scrap of aqua fleece that I think will be perfect for a little jacket, but I will make that later.

10 comments:

  1. I love how the quilt is coming along Terry. Look forward to seeing it finished!

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  2. Yes! Tati has new clothes.

    I am loving the quilt.

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  3. Anonymous7:10 PM

    Thank you for the book mark. I really love your work. It is what I would aspire to if I were not a gourder. I love your quilts.

    susan in spokane

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  4. Have you tried hairspray to get the biro off? I seem to remember that this kind of dissolves the ink and lets you wipe it off. I had a vinyl lounge with biro on it and while it didn't disappear completely, it made it less noticeable.

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  5. For the ballpoint ink, Google found a site that suggests using acne cream with 10% benzoyl peroxide, and leaving the doll in the sun for an hour or more. May need to repeat the treatment a couple of times. Here's the link:

    http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf424232.tip.html

    Hope that helps!

    Dottie

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  6. Your quilt is looking wonderful! I agree, adding the threadwork totally changes a fiber piece.

    And I love your clothes for Tati. Sofia will be thrilled. As for the ink, have you tried one of those Magic Sponge things? THey seem to miraculously take marks off of anything, so I'd try one of those.

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  7. Tati looks great in her new clothes!
    The new quilt is beautiful too, of course.

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  8. I use Citrasolv to remove ink, tar, etc . . . It's made from citrus oils and smells great. Don't know if it will work on vinyl . . .

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  9. I've had good luck with rubbing alcohol and fingernail polish remover getting ink and marker off of baby dolls.

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  10. If you haven't tried Pinesol yet, try that. It's my last resort. The smell stays but the ink, or any kind, even permanent magic marker will usually come off. Porous objects like a doll may be a challenge...but it's worth a try. Good luck! Soak a paper towel and keep on the ink for a long time.

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