Valerean

To combat my dislike of fall I invested in A Somerset Halloween ~ Creative Ideas for a Spooky Season , which I plan to use to make some new decorations for the house for this October. The projects in the magazine are mostly small and not too difficult, and I actually do like Halloween, so it shouldn't be a chore. Harmony Lynn Goodson's "Kicking Off the Fall Season" has a lot of fun suggestions on how to welcome Halloween and fall with some whimsical decorations. We don't entertain, but we can certainly spruce up our usual October 31st efforts for the trick-or-treaters. I am not a doll person, but I could see remaking some thrifted stuffed animals in fall colors and putting them in wee Halloween costumes. There are a lot of fun ideas in this issue that will no doubt appeal to the kid in every creative -- check it out if you get the chance.

Over the summer I discovered Flow , a book/magazine/collection meant for paper lovers like me (thank you, Barnes and Noble.) It's packed with so much stuff I can't possibly cover it all, but I'll try. Basically it's 300+ pages of writing papers, tags, cards, stickers, wrapping paper, envelopes, planner pages, paper to make dimensional projects, several note pads, mini posters, a reading poster, a journal with a cover you can customize and even some paper dolls. There are themes to each section (Time to Slow Down, Time to Plan and Time to Play) and images and designs everywhere to inspire you. Postcards, too. A pop-up card (I love these.) Tissue paper for wrapping. The little journal. A record player-shaped notepad. Flow is not cheap ($33.99 US) but it's a great value when you think about what you pay for all of the above separately. The popup cards I buy at Disney Springs run about $13.00 each, for example. It's also a book ...

I don't often buy new magazines anymore, but as a reward for finishing my last work project (and some always-needed inspiration) I got a copy of the summer 2024 issue of Art Quilting Studio , which happens to be awesome. There are so many talented quilters in this issue that you'll find creative beauty on every page. I was particularly drawn to Ann Harwell's article about using flowers as quilting design models, as I've done the same in a much simpler and limited way, and the joyous examples of her work. Likewise Kirsten Chursinoff's piece about stitching berries just made my jaw drop (she works very small, with most of her examples about artist trading card size.) I thought the entire issue was excellent, and packed with ideas, hence the investment.

I thrifted a nice pile of quilting and sewing magazines last month for the minimum bid, including a vintage issue of Burda with all the pattern pieces intact. For those of you who don't make clothes, Burda is a fashion sewing magazine published all over the world and runs about $15.00 per issue last time I checked. There was also a quilting pattern for a pretty wall hanging and a bunch of applique patterns that probably came from other quilting mags. I don't know if I'll ever really get into applique, but I'll hang onto the patterns just in case. The magazines are all in pristine condition, so I'd price them at $3.00 resale, or $45.00 (the vintage Burda issue could be worth a lot more than that, but we'll just price it the same as the others.) The pattern and applique templates altogether are worth plenty, too, but we'll add them on for $10.00. Total value would be $55.00; I paid $9.99 for the lot. Savings: $45.01.

While we were out wandering the other day I stopped at two book stores to give myself a reward for finishing the latest work project. At our local BAM I picked up a copy of Latinoland by Marie Arana, a nonfiction chronicle of the struggle of Latinos in America, which grabbed me on the first page. I'm interested to see how she presents the complicated history of Cuban Americans, the Latinos I grew up with down south. I couldn't resist investing in the latest issue of Greencraft magazine, which has some very cool projects in it. I rarely buy any book because of the cover, but the gorgeous art on Yoon Ha Lee's Moonstorm sold me on it in one glance. Doesn't hurt that it's science fiction, either. So what are you reading these days? Let me know in comments.

The high price of magazines made me decide to bid on this collection of 30 vintage issues of Quilting Arts, dating from Spring 2002 to April/May 2010. I used to be able to afford an issue here and there of QA (and still pick up one now and then), but it was a bit too pricey for me to invest in a subscription. Anyway, no one challenged me for them, so I ended up winning the lot. They arrived in pristine condition, with a few of these seasonal gift-making issues that I really like. Here's everything that came. Each issue retailed for $7.99 new; to buy thirty of them back in the day would have set me back $239.70. I paid $14.99 for the lot, or about forty-nine cents per issue. Savings: $224.71

While Kat was visiting we went one night to walk a mall that I haven't personally visited in about ten years, and there was still a B. Dalton bookstore there. So of course I had to buy something! Ha. In keeping with my old lady love of everything cute I invested in this crochet kit that makes two puppies. Go ahead, snicker. I could instead be fond of explosives, and then a lot of people would be in trouble. Also impossible to resist: the winter issue of Greencraft magazine. Finally I got this sewing book because it has no patterns, and one project I need to make for my new set of crochet hooks. I had a wonderful time at B. Dalton, too, so we might have to visit that mall again before 2034. :)

Last month I rewarded myself for surviving the holidays with a few things, one of them was a lot of McCall's quilting magazines from Goodwill.com. The twelve issues range in date from 2007 to 2020, with the majority ranging from 2017 to 2020. They're all in great condition, with all the templates intact. The previous owner even left a couple of notes on which quilt patterns they loved, which I think is so cool. To buy these issues new would have cost $79.88; I paid $7.50 for the lot. Savings: $72.38.

My Halloween gift to myself was a stop at a Barnes & Noble while my guy and I were out for a long drive. Every time I'm in a book store I check for a new novel by Sarah Addison Allen; this time I got lucky and found one. Whee!

I have to blame the summer issue of Art Quilting Studio for inspiring me to try making a trio of art quilts as my first small series. The cover art shows a machine and hand embroidered garden art quilt that made me remember some vintage sheer organza samples I had. I sandwiched those with recycled white linen, cotton batting and some art cloth as backing to make three mini quilt foundations. Rather than follow the instructions from the magazine, I decided to slow-stitch these three pieces and see what came out of that. I did the blue flower from a memory of seeing a similar slow-stitched bloom on Etsy. The cream roses nestled in the V of a tree trunk are another interpretation of that moment in the mountains when I chose roses and joy instead of despair and bitterness (aka one of the best decisions of my life.) The third piece has no meaning; I just stitched the flowery patterns I saw in the sheer layer.

The summer issue of GreenCraft magazine had an interesting project for a bespoke quilted bag made from scrap fabrics in a kantha style of piecing, which I've been sorta/kinda doing with slow stitch, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I chose my scrap fabrics from one of the Goodwill online auction lots. I sewed them together using various stitches (my own and from the project instructions). It worked fine, although it felt a bit flimsy without any batting. Also, the raw edges of the fabric patches frayed a lot while I was working on the stitching, which doesn't bode well for durability (or what will happen when I have to wash it. Probably not a good idea to put this in the washing machine.) Still, it was good to step outside my habits and try something different in bag-making. Front of the finished bag. Back of the bag. I pieced the straps from scraps leftover from cutting the outside and the lining, too. This is a good project to use up fabric ...

The Sep/Oct 22 issue of McCall's Quilting has an article on quilted coats and directions for the coat pictured on the cover. All of them are interesting, especially as quilted apparel has evolved into more modern and wearable art. One of the things on my quilting bucket list is to make a textile art coat. Living in the humid subtropics means I'd only wear it a couple days a year, but hey, that's why it's a bucket list, right? I especially enjoyed learning about Rachel D.K. Clark's work (she's the African-American designer in the second pic on the right in the lovely blue coat.) Her website here has a lot more of her beautiful work.