Calamity Kim

the gnome village table runner

Recently a reader named Gillian left a comment and asked about the table runner that I started last year so I pulled it out, ironed the wrinkles and took some new pictures.

I was all gung ho on this project for months and then when the Fall leaves started to turn and I started decorating for Halloween I gave it up. I am slowly adding flowers and veggies to the center patchwork area and when I get enough added I will layer it with batting and start quilting.

I can just see it now, in my mind's eye, all finished and bound with black and white polka dot fabric. I have embroidered lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, turnips, carrots, and am working on strawberries and flowers.

I just don't have enough hours in my days- this probably has at least 120 hours of hand embroidery in it and it will be something to keep and not sell. Of course I didn't plan for it to be this large of a project- I thought I was going to just whip it up in a week or so! In time for Easter last year I was thinking! heehee- well! Maybe next year!!!

There was no pattern- I cut the mushroom caps and stems free hand and then stitched them down and started embroidering! No lines just free needle work! It's liberating! o hoop either! Just sitting and stitching until it makes a picture.

It's like seeing an old friend.

I think I started spinning all hot and heavy and that's when my attention to this cooled off a bit.

I do love it and hope to finish it one day in the not too distant future, so thank you Gillian for asking about my progress and I will post it here when I get more done.

Happy Stitching, xo, calamity kim

Books+Embroidery+Snowmen= Happiness

When I was a little girl I can remember having bronchitis every winter and my parents would let me have books in my bed. I would slowly read each page, trying not to fall asleep. Happy and miserable at the same time. The year that they put the tiny black & white portable TV set in my room, I knew I must be dying.

That's how I felt last week as I sat in front of my computer, dressed in gown, robe and slippers all day, sipping tea and taking slugs of Dayquil. I discovered my new favorite website/blog. It's full of wonderful and delightful content. The Rag and Bone Bindery Boutique and Blog just blew me away and as I coughed and wheezed and sneezed and fought going back to bed, I read through the book categories on the Blog and fell in love with some new artists and their work. It seemed too good to be true, but as I revisited it all week, I became confident that it wasn't just a figment of my medicated imagination, but a really wonderful new resource for work I had not seen.

Tamar Stone writes books with fabric and embroidery. Corsets become the paper as she writes with needle and thread.

_{the untitled pink corset book 2000 photo by Tamar Stone used with permission}

I find her work to be unique and interesting. Like coming upon an old vintage trunk abandoned in the woods, opening the lid and gently lifting out corsets that tell a story full of mystery and sadness.

_{What to wear Vol 1 2004-2005 photo by Tamar Stone used with permission}

I love books. I especially love imaginative and unique books that make me think about what a book is. Tamar's work does just that. It challenges me to go one step beyond my preconceived notions of words on paper and move out into the realm of imagination where anything is possible. I love her message and wish I could see these corset books on exhibit. Maybe someday. Hey, Ringling, can you call Tamar?

Please visit her website and view her collection of Corset, Bed and Paper Books.

_{Taking to Bed 2007 photo by Tamar Stone used with permission}

I also found her mentioned on the Mr X Stitch Blog. Mr X  is quite a wonderful embroidery Blog and if you haven't visited his site (Jamie) be aware that it isn't your grannies embroidery, but some contemporary (and sometimes contemptuous) embroidery as social commentary, as an art form, as a form of fabric graffiti, as a rebellion, as a tattoo on the fabric of social awareness...well you get the idea. It's radical embroidery, man! Totally awesome in it's extreme manly maleness. Who let the boys into the stitching room? Ha, ya gotta love the smell of testosterone in the morning. Anyway, they are together at a show across the pond titled Beware of Embroidery and oh, how I wish I could go.

When I wrote Tamar for permission to post her work and photographs on my blog she shared something else that I just have to show you. Her husband, Bob Eckstein, wrote a book about The History of  the Snowman. Check it out here at You Tube and Buy one at Amazon. I love snowmen and am sad that I have to go make mine in the sand at the beach. There's something about their fleeting lifespan- here one day, gone the next, that makes me want to say a prayer for more cold weather so they can live another day. Maybe I can do a series of embroidered books on snowmen I have adored and tie all of these themes together in a neat little bundle of blog love.

Maybe I'll just curl back under the quilts and dream of gossamer threads and linen stretch tight, waiting to receive the needle threaded with silky strands of colorful threads... Thank you Rag & Bone, Tamar, Jamie and Bob for sharing your stuff and making my world a better place.

happy dreams of creativity,

calamity kim

dream time sewing

I am amazed how much time I spend day dreaming about my fabric and sewing machine back at home.
 Laying there trying to go to sleep I mentally catalog my Heather Ross fabrics and dream of finishing my "old red barn quilt a long" quilt.
You can take the girl out of the sewing room but ya can't take the sewing outta the girl!

The table runner is making slow progress with the addition of a bed of lettuce.
I am relaxed and enjoying the process of stitching it in, no need to hurry, though I really want to finish this so I can get to the next stage- the quilting.
 I am binding it with the red and white polka dot fabric of course.
I hope it all comes together like the way I imagine it will.
" Ya never know which way the mop is gonna flop!"
 That's what my sister says one of our grandmother used to say.
So, just a few more days and then I will be heading back home- with new memories to keep and a million things to make.
Have a happy Saturday!
love & stitches,
calamity kim

Beware- More Embroidery and Gnomish Gardens Ahead...not quite Grey Gardens but close...

For the past few days I have been embroidering flowers and trees on the table runner while watching old movies and cartoons. I usually don't watch tv during the day. In fact I never turn it on until dinner time.
I love Johnny Quest and old MGM cartoons.
Of course the Smurfs are the perfect thing to watch as I work on this project!
I recently saw Smurf plush and even Papa Smurfs house at Target. I didn't buy any but I really wanted to! They remind me of when Troy was little and that sense of nostalgia is comforting.
I would have never thought they would be popular again,
but here they are, Smurfy as ever.
It's really much too early for me to be trying to string sentences together and the needle sticks on my fingers make it somewhat painful to type.
 I try to be careful, but still end up stabbing myself as I embroider. That's just natural for a calamity like me.
I am not using a hoop on this one- I don't mind if it's slightly puckered- it will be more so once it's quilted. I am just making it up as I go along, not marking a pattern on the cloth.
wandering flowers, wildflowers I guess that makes them.
Yesterday I watched Ant Bully while I braided some perle cotton and then used it to create a small rug for these two mushroom houses. Thinking small and gnomish isn't always easy but I am pleased with the overall result so far.
I started this in such a hurry and now I have slowed down to enjoy it. I have several projects going at once and when I think I can't stitch another flower,  I set this aside for an hour or two and go work on something else.
It's like one big creative factory. Projects piled up on the guest bed; on tables and chairs; where ever there is space to let it sit until it's turn comes around.
I know you are just dying to see a shot of the whole thing- well here goes.
There are no windows in my kitchen and it is still kind of over cast from yesterday's much needed rain. I cropped it so that you could see more than the floor
 and table legs!
Once I get the embroidery done and then quilt it I will bind it and then try to figure out the best way to photograph it. It's really bad light in the kitchen-all yellowish.
I think it should be done by next week.
 I am giving it a good try anyway.
 I am too afraid to set it aside for long or I may lose my momentum.
 I have plans to make a tea cozy and embroider some of Bad Bird's gnomes on it with a mushroom house to match. It's gonna be so cute your eyes will fall outta your head and roll all around the floor in amazement!!!
Can you imagine?
The headlines would read:
Terrific Tea Cozy Causes Eye Popping Calamity!!!
maybe I need another cup of java.
have a happy Wednesday!
Love & Stitches,
calamity kim

Springtime Elegance in my memory

Remembering Easter when I was small and wore a bonnet, gloves and shiny black mary janes to greet the Easter Bunny.
Those memories are happy and I know I was lucky to have those experiences. The dog trying his best to stick his nose down in the basket, me pulling it away and running through the grass; dogwood blooms falling gently to the ground.
By the end of the day, my hat was surely gone, dirt stained my gloves and the shoes and dainty lace edged socks were tossed someplace,  so I could be barefooted and free...
the sugar from the headless rabbit, abandoned in plastic grass near the bottom of the basket,  giving me energy to chase the dog, who was busy  chasing chameleons.
Memories of Easter in Augusta when I was small are touching the day with sadness.
 Hard to believe it was 43 years ago.
 I embroider flowers with no rhyme or reason.

No plan, just letting the needle guide my hand, where it will.

Trying to balance the jellybean colors so that they compliment each other as the gardens bloom.
Memories of azaleas, dogwood and forsythia blossoms everywhere along the neighborhood.
My springtime elegance.
Happy Easter,
I hope the Bunny found you well and happy this year,
Love & Stitches,
 calamity kim

Hooping It Up!

OK, so I didn't get over here yesterday...I am sorry! I was doing the chores, then shopping at the Oriental Food Market and finally stumbling through the Scandinavian Gift Shop and by the time I got home and we had dinner I was too worn out to do more than watch some bad tv and crawl in bed.
I did order some new fabric and since it probably won't be here till next week I am just going to use what I have and contemplate a spring time table runner  that can have a few fairies appliqued to it later.
In the meantime I ran across a site called Urban Threads that has all kinds of funky cool hip patterns to embroider by hand or machine. When you get there be sure to open an account and get a free PDF of the Deliciously Crafty Bunny. There is also a Flickr Group for anything you make and care to share from the Urban Threads site.
If you have read my Blog for any length of time you will know about my Blogger friend Andrea Zuill of Badbird fame and how she generously gifts us each month with her free embroidery patterns.
 This month she has drawn the cutest little cowpoke I have ever seen! I printed it out and danced through the house looking for Fred to show him!!!
I can see this on a journal cover or doll quilt and hope to use it soon.
***
We are gonna go for a walk in a minute but I will be back later with some project ideas. I have lots of charm squares (do you?) that I have purchased and never used and this might be the time to stitch them into a table runner.
I have been thinking about it for days and want to do some mushroom houses appliqued down on a neutral sort of quilted base.
Right at this moment, it's too beautiful to be inside and my but won't get any smaller just sittin here!
Happy Saturday, little calamities!
xo,
kim

Embroidering a Mystery

Did you ever go sleuthing through an old musty, dusty Thrift Shop looking for treasure?
I often feel as though I am digging through the remains of someones life as I pilfer the bins and cardboard boxes surely donated by some uncaring family member. Belongings are orphaned when we leave this life.
 I think about it often, as I have lately begun to tame my pack rat soul and wonder what will become of "all my stuff" when I am gone. The things I love and can't bear to lose, who will love them after me?
I always tell my friends to make sure they get here before the garbage man comes when I am dead if they want anything I have- I giggle, but I want it to be used- to be treasured and loved by someone else, not thrown in a box and left for the Goodwill.
 Not to be misunderstood- there are things that should be donated, for the benefit of others, and I do support the Goodwill, Salvation Army, Church Thrift Shops as much as I can, but I am talking about thinks made with someones hands or vintage shell buttons or crocheted lovelies.
I wonder why somethings are never finished.
 These recent finds were yellowed with time and after soaking them for 8 hours in Oxi Clean they came out brilliant white and as beautiful as the day the last knots were tied.
One piece is a whole yard of linen with the designs of ladies in hoop dresses with butterflies and flowers that could be made into table linens.
The embroidery is skillfully done and the back is as perfect as the front- so what was the stitcher thinking?
 Was She such a perfectionist that she found some tiny flaw and refused to cut them apart and hem them to be displayed in her home?
Was she overcome by some illness or accident and unable to finish them?
Perhaps she was struck blind or maybe she married a man who didn't want his home decorated with doilies.
 That is the mystery of the week for me.
What could have caused this person to spend all the time it took to create this lovely embroidery and then never finish it...but never throw it away either?
I would like the story to be that a Mother made them for her only daughter, whom she loved, with all of her heart, but she was devastated when her daughter died from malaria after her recent safari into the wild jungles of Borneo where she had been searching for the rarely seen white rhino fabled to have eyes as blue as the sky!
 The daughter was incredibly gifted in safari skills, and often made huge sums of money by selling her fabulous finds to John Ringling for his
 Most Wonderful Show on Earth.
So it was with a broken heart that the Mother stored these fine linens away, unfinished, for her dear daughter who would never need them to decorate her camp away from home unable to part with them. It wasn't until she passed away and having no near relatives, her neighbor boxed them up for the Church Thrift Shop where they waited for me to rescue them.
That's the story- I just know it is!

I think I'll write that down and pin it inside so that one day, when I am long gone and my collection of embroidered linens is unearthed from my closet,  they will have a provenance that will amaze and delight all who read it!
oh, the calamity!

Thread a Needle and Stitch Some Hope

Good Morning!
The squirrels are running around the big ficus tree in the backyard, looking for sunflower seeds and staying out of the ducks way and the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day!
Is it more lovely because I have a new washer and dryer that I can't wait to fill with laundry and listen- oh, can't hear a thing, as it enhances our life with clean clothes? Probably.
Just the sun shining is enough to make me happy most days!
The Mr is in the living room playing his computer game and I don't have to do anything except write and sew and get things quilted!
I have a couple of wonderful embroidery patterns to share with you and it seems like there was something else...hopefully I will remember before I finish this post!
The old memory ain't what it used to be, that's for sure!
First of all Andrea Zuill of Badbird has her November pattern up-

This is just a small sample- please go to her Blog  (click here) and then click on the design for a larger version- you can right click and save it to your desktop and then print and use. Be sure to say thanks to Andrea for her generosity in sharing her talent and if you use the pattern you can always email her with the photo and she will share that on her Blog.
That's part of the circle of Blog love that happens here in Blogville- at least with the crafty Blogs- there is always a  nice thing happening!

Next up is Vicki from Turkeyfeathers- she has a free embroidery pattern available to print from the link to the PDF on this post (click here) or you can get it as a freebie in iron on form when you purchase
any patterns from her Pattern Bee website (click here).
She explains how to trim the bottom of the towel with fabric and I noticed something quite ingenious on her fridge- she used a magnetic curtain rod to hang the towel- at least that's what it looked like and I have lamented the fact that our kitchen drawers are all knobs and not handles- so I never have a place to hang a towel- except the stove! I went and grabbed one from the back door and tried it out and it fit!!!
 Vicki is full of great ideas like that and I am so proud to tell you about her newest project- A BOOK! It's 102 pages filled with 40+ Projects to do with wool, scissors and a needle & thread!!! I immediately clicked the link in this post and bought my own copy. She wrote and illustrated it herself using CreateSpace, an Amazon affiliate and I am so proud!
Last but not least I want to share the talent of Sonja aka Artisania. She drafted a paper piece pattern and asked me to test it out and I did with this as the results:

Here is her Blog and here is her Etsy site where she has a brilliant traveling gnome pattern. I really enjoyed making the mouse but my plan is to make a gnome lovers quilt next year and combine Andrea's Gnome embroidery patterns with Sonja's paper pieced gnomes and some red capped mushrooms and make a quilt for me to snuggle under next winter!
There are so many things to make & do and it gives me great Joy to look ahead and imagine creating until I am empty- which I can't imagine with all the wonderful craftiness out there to not only inspire me but to give me a reason. Sometimes when I go shopping I think for a fraction of a second, why bother making stuff when there is so much out there available? Then I look at the quality and immediately think- not only could I make that but I could do a better job with better materials and care.
If a wave of Hope is spreading over this Nation then let it also be one of getting back to appreciating MADE IN AMERICA. With the Holiday season fast approaching why don't we all reaffirm our HANDMADE PLEDGE and get busy making some gifts to share the message of Love.
Make your own Thanksgiving cards and Christmas cards- if you send them.
Did you notice how the gas prices have dropped- it was $2.29 when I filled up the other day- I almost danced a jig right there at the pumps! It's supply and demand- if we don't buy it then they won't make as much of it and the landfills are overflowing with crap made in Foreign countries and broken and thrown away here.
I try not to preach too much here, but I do believe that giving a gift made with your own two hands or the hands of another is worth more than the monetary price that's paid.
 Every time someone makes something a little bit of their heart and soul goes into it and that makes a difference.
Love makes the world go round.
At least it should.
It can.
Be Artful today and shine.
Love & Stitches,
Calamity Kim

Li'l Mermaid

Li'l Mermaid, originally uploaded by badbird.

I was just minding my own bidness, cruising along Flickr...looking for an embroidery pattern...like an octopus or maybe a starfish or a beloved seahorse...and what did my wandering eyes spy???!!!
This delightful free pattern from BadBird's Andrea Zuill.
I am a little in shock that it is dedicated to me!
Me?
Little ol me?
Me with the grin from ear to ear???!!!!
Such sweetness and kindness.
Isn't she adorable???! I am in love!

I did ask her a while back for a mermaid to go with the octopus she did.

This is just so lovely- I love her sweet face! She is going to be beautiful on a bag or maybe a small thank you quilt.

Andrea is a wonderful artist.

I love her illustrations so much!

She is wonderful!

Check out her Etsy shop here.

My goal is to someday make all of the monthly embroidery patterns in redwork and then stitch them into a quilt.

Thank you Andrea!

mermaid pillow pattern to use

mermaid top, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

I sketched out a mermaid pattern for the pillow and copied it in the scanner. It measures 15 x 12" and so it's going to be too large for a regular scan. I could take it to Kinko's maybe and get a large scan put on a stick or jump drive or whatever those doohickies are called.
Then again it might work if you just right click and save each separate section and then paste them together yourself. If you put your curser on the pictures and click then it will open up a window to  Flickr where you can choose ALL SIZES and then save whichever size you want. I usually download the largest format available so that I have better clarity when I print it out. If Flickr asks you to sign in then all that is required for a free account is your name and email address and a password that you create. Flickr is so addictive and fun that they suck you in with the free account.
This is of course based on the assumption you even want to make one of your own mermaid pillows!!
Oh, and my, yes, Sisters of Calamity, how I do assume!!!

and to get the knees:


I printed out the head and torso on to fabric ( June Taylors Colorfast Sew In Ink Jet Sheets are what I use) and then colored it with Crayola crayons.

If you iron it and then color it while it is still hot the crayon will melt and you will get a more even coloration like on the bikini top.
I then threaded my needle with one piece of 100% black cotton thread. I put a small knot in the back and use very short stitches to outline the features.
I am going to cut a 1/4" seam allowance around this and then applique it onto a quilted background. Her tail is either going to be blue and white chenille or quilters fabric in a dainty blue calico or maybe yoyo's made from blue and green fabrics.
I want to make this into a pillow for my by the sea bedroom but it would be cool on a quilted wall hanging or a tote bag or as a doll. She will have arms that will be holding a heart and her hair will be either embroidered on or lengths of flat knitting tape like ribbon stitched down. I haven't decided yet! Descisions...decisions!!!

Happy Mermaid week!
xxxooo,
Love & Stitches,
Calamity Kim

How to Use a photo to get an embroidery design the Calamity Kim Way

easy peasey, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

This pictures shows how simple it is to go from Photograph to finished embroidery
1. Print photo
2. Trace over the outlines with a small tip sharpie on acetate
3. Scan and then print
4. Adjust size by increasing or decreasing in size with either Photoshop, Corel, Flickr or your scanner settings. Print out smaller size.
5. Use light source to trace on to fabric. I used a mechanical pencil to get a small, fine line.
6. Embroider and applique fabric.
It is helpful to also use freezer paper for the applique and you can print the design directly on to a sheet cut to 8 1/2 x 11". Then cut out pieces you want to applique (like dress and hat and purse) then iron on to the reverse side of fabric and use your fingers to fold over a 1/4 scant edge. Keep it on freezer paper until you are almost finished appliqueing it down. Then pull off freezer paper and finish stitching.
Tadah!
Now I have to take a break and make dinner!
Love & Stitches,
Calamity Kim

This photo shows the Holly Hobbie lightbox I use to trace on to fabric. I found it on eBay several years ago.

Always put your embroidery face down on a fluffy towel before ironing so that it doesn't flatten your embroidery.
 It will get all those wrinkles out!
The photo that I used belongs to Lynn of Eggmoney at Flickr. It's her daughter, "Petunia."

She's got the car keys and she's ready to go to town!

Click on the picture to go to the Flickr set for more pictures of this embroidery in progress.

The month of May's Free Embroidery Pattern

The month of May's Free Embroidery Pattern, originally uploaded by badbird.

Another charming free embroidery pattern from Andrea!
I hope one day to do them all in red work and make a quilt.
A bad bird year!
12 designs all quilted together!
wouldn't that be cool?
She also has some gnomielisicous gnew gnome embroidery patterns in her ETSY Shop!

Want to see something beautiful?

Click here.

care for some tea?

Yesterday I embroidered for 7 hours.
My back all hunched over like that guy who swings in church towers...
I was gifted with some beautiful embroidery patterns by Vicki- who is so kind and sweet and shouldn't have, but I am so glad that she did...
Alice in Wonderland...and some delightful fairies!!!!
I am going to use it as a focal point in my disappearing 9 patch red & aqua doll quilt for the Doll Quilt Challenge Group that I started on Flickr.

Click on the pictures to make them appear larger. I have all the squares cut out and ready to start sewing together....Oh, maybe I need some more reds...maybe I should go to the fabric store...maybe I should just use what I have...I don't want to stop...I could have made 2 aprons in the time it took to embroider the Alice....but...ahhh..I think it was time well spent. And I rewatched Shrek 2 and 5th Element and Big Trouble in Little China. I used crayons to shade some of the areas before starting to embroider with 2 pieces of DMC at a time.

I love Vicki's transfers- they copied clearly and easily and I bet I can get many more copies from it..after I finished it I flipped it over on a towel and ironed it and used the water spray on the iron and all the black lines disappeared.
Go visit Pattern Bee and get some for yourself- she has a lovely selection and you are sure to find many that you can't resist.
I have to admitt that I had a huge lump in my throat after visiting her Blog and discovering that she is going on vacation for the Summer...made me sad and my eyes misted over...first my favorite TV shows..now my favorite Blog...what's next? Oh, I don't want to even contemplate the long empty hours...yeah, right, you're thinking!

I will have more time to sew...and browse ebay...I just snatched up some gorgeous pillow panels with fairy tale images on them! Oh, what fun aprons those will be!!!

I have lists of aprons and goodies to make so I am off...to sew some more....I am so excited about this little quilt and the response to the Doll Quilt Group- it's fun to go see all of them together, like a miniature gallery of art quilts...simply delightful!

I would love to go to an actual gallery show of small doll quilts...wouldn't that be awesome? Or is it just me?
I like them condensed down to a smaller size...Jude is doing some awesome stuff and so is Hillary and Kristin

What a fast week!

I finished some long overdue projects and got them packed and ready to mail! This week has sped by at the speed of sound! I didn't walk much- at first it was raining and cold and then just blah and then I was sore when I did and I have no excuse. I wasn't so into excercising this week! I only lost 1 lb- fellow MILF's!! Sad but so! I didn't drink any slimfast for two of the days and I need to get back on track! Last night we had Ho Ho's and I had Gen Tao's Chicken. The cold weather makes it hard to get up and go and I was so worn out from the yard sale. Not much else going on... here's a few pictures of my finished wips.

alice

alice, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

http://www.patternbee.com/index.html

A new find!

This shout out of gratitude goes to Cinderelly at "bandaids required" for posting her lovely embroidery work and links that led me here!! I fell in love hard with the Alice in Wonderland embroidery patterns! Yummmmmmm!!!!I love her Mexican Lady dancing- very lovely work!

A few stitches more

A few stitches, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Maybe a few buttons and some silk ribbon flowers. Hey- maybe some YOYO'S. hahahaha

Maybe an apron bib?

Maybe an apron bib?, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

She's getting better...

Charlotte?

Charlotte?, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

On the nights when I'm not too tired I have been adding some crazy quilt stitches to little red.....