What’s your favorite hobby to escape? This discussion is open to caregivers and former caregivers.

Becky, that is so awe inspiring that you hand quilt. And you have frames from your grandpa. I love to quilt, but I use modern day conveniences.

May God give your kidneys a complete healing. Hugs and strength to you for your journey.

NHWM, Google old fashioned quilting frames. There are several illustrations. One photo shows a full sized quilt loaded and ready to go. I love the old quilting. But that’s what both of my country grandmas did. I learned from them when I was about 5. I used to go to church quilting with my Grandma Stalnaker every week. Ladies would let me quilt down at the edge where the binding might cover up my mistakes. I collect quilts. My oldest is a scrap quilt made at a plantation in SC in 1864. It’s made from fancy fabrics - velvet, satin, brocade. Each piece is outlined in hand embroidery. I bought it at an auction in Georgetown SC. My favorite quilt is made from old feed sacks - Kentucky Star pattern. The quilting is 16 stitches to the inch. It was made by a great-great aunt in the 20’s. I have 30+.

Becky 16 stitches to the inch is amazing. I am over the moon happy if I can manage 10 and then that is not consistent.

Your quilts sound beautiful.

Isthisreallyreal,

I started etching because a friend of mine was helping her daughter with her wedding. She needed bridesmaids gifts. She didn’t want jewelry like many people give as bridesmaids gifts. She asked me to do etched wine glasses. She wanted a fleur de lis symbol on them.

I made a flexible stencil so it could fit the curve of the glass out of adhesive backed vinyl. Then applied it to the glass and chemically etched. No etching tool required. They sell the chemicals at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. Then I lightly dabbed the chemical with a q-tip. It doesn’t take much.

Did you say there is a faint design left? You wouldn’t need a stencil then. You already have an outline. Just be very careful at the edge of the design.

For a new piece of glass which is flat. You would not have to make your own out of flexible vinyl. There are plenty that are ready made. If you do this though, please buy the spray adhesive to attach it. It is nearly impossible to hold it in place without it moving if it isn’t stuck on the surface really well. The chemical solution or paint, if using paint will leak underneath and you won’t have a clear or clean edged design.

Your project sounds great! All of the projects sound great.

I adore unique pieces made from found objects. There is something so special about them. They can also be sentimental because of salvaging something with precious memories.

Hahaha, love calling crocheting hooking! So cute! My mom, grandma and aunts all crocheted beautifully. My MIL too. Knitting too. Embroidery also. Any needle work.

The french quarter here is one of the oldest settlements. At that time there were fine boutiques that sold beautiful hand made merchandise.

My grandfather’s family moved to New Orleans from Birmingham, England.

My great aunts made gorgeous baby clothes with smocking or tatting, lovely adorned christening gowns or lovely nightgowns for the aristocratic uptown ladies. My great aunts sold these to the shop owners. They also crocheted fancy doilies, table cloths, bedspreads, edging on pillowcases. The shops resold them to the wealthy aristocratic residents.

Their items were so pretty. Let’s hope these activities don’t become lost works of art and replaced with items made in China!

One of my great aunts lived to be 98. She walked everywhere! She still volunteered at church. She was something else. I remember her well. She baked fruitcake every year during the holidays to which she spiked with quite a lot of rum! Hahaha.

She didn’t have children of her own. I guess you could call her a rebel of sorts. She was a devout Catholic but fell in love with an Episcopalian. She loved him and married him. Catholic ladies did not do that sort of thing then.

Wait, it gets more shocking for that day. He had been married before and had a son. She married a widower man of a different faith with a child. That was scandalous in her day. I always loved her for following her heart!

The church was very strict then. If a Catholic married a non Catholic they were not allowed to stand at the alter. They had to stand outside of the alter to marry. Now they allow it. So cruel back then. Sad.

Her sister was referred to as ‘the old maid’ or spinster because she did not marry. Isn’t that an ugly expression? Was a common expression then. She had been engaged but her fiancé was killed in the war. He was her true love.

One of the brothers changed his name so he wouldn’t disgrace the family. He was involved in the illegal bootlegging of booze back then! Another brother was a bookie at the racetrack. Our racetrack is one of the oldest in the country, The Fairgrounds. My grandpa knew the owners and horse trainers so I got to ride on the race horses when I was a little girl.

Oh my gosh, all families have interesting stories or should I say skeletons in the closet? Hahaha

Becky,

Okay, so you really do old fashioned quilting! My daddy told me his mom did the quilting with the church ladies. He grew up in a rural part of Florida. They attended the Assembly of God Church. He met a Catholic man in the service who invited him to mass. They became best friends.

Then daddy by chance met my mom in New Orleans which is predominantly Catholic. I think God matched them up. They were married well over 50 years. He converted to Catholicism while dating my mom.

My daddy said the ladies from his childhood church were called a quilting bee or something like that. Is that correct? You know quilting history.

Yeah, their quilts are gorgeous and so well made. The old original ones are worth quite a bit of money, aren’t they? Just like the early cross stitch samplers. Just fantastic, aren’t they?

Wow! I bet you cherish your collection. You should. It’s very special. I love your passion for quilting. You should show your work at the local library. Our library does beautiful displays with historical objects. Or the chamber of commerce too. They both do it.

Or you could be a guest on the PBS shows that feature quilts. Oh, you must ask Garden Artist about this documentary on hand crafted items that she told me about. You could be the main feature! Plus, you could do Antiques Road Show. That is fun! We did it when it came to New Orleans. My husband was one of the invited guests with his vintage guitar. It was valued at about $10,000. Most of the appraisers are shop owners. This guy was a musician and shop owner.

I loved hearing about your quilting! Please keep us informed on any new projects. Do you do any smaller pieces like a wall hanging, purses, etc?

Wow, all this creativity. The most creative thing I've done recently is try to figure how to fit as many outfits as I can into a 2-foot closet at the memory care home. I'm still trying to figure out how my mother will get the thing open. The hobby that helps me keep sane is reading fiction. Jumping into someone else's life, solving a mystery, having a romance, soothes my mind and soul.

Has anyone tried candle making? I have always wanted to try it. I think I would use mason jars for this project.

NHWM, I did make candles several decades ago.   At that time, "hippie culture" prevailed and there was a section of shops near downtown Detroit that focused on providing crafters with supplies. 

I bought a huge slab of wax, something like a 10# slab, then cut it up to make candles.    I don't remember what kind of molds I used, but I have vague memories of carefully melting wax and equally carefully pouring it into molds.

I don't recall what I used to color the candles, crayons, perhaps.   I may have added things like small pine cones (from my Colorado Blue Spruce), or small sprays I bought from a large discount craft warehouse I discovered.

That was such a long time ago....it's really hard to remember anything more about making candles, other than the professional practices I've seen displayed, such as at Greenfield Village.


Molding reminds me that I also used plastic molds to make designer candies.   When Mom stayed with me one winter while Dad became a Winter Texan, we made enough candy to send to Texas for Dad to eat and share with friends.    I had regular chocolate as well as colored candies, so we made flowers, Christmas decorations, and more...all edible. 

Hershey's was sold in a giant slab, probably 12" long, and so thick I had to use an icepick to break it up.   Or I bought Merton's button chocolates to melt down.    Colored chocolate was a bit harder to melt.   The biggest difficulty was the temptation to sample everything!

We sent them in a Russell Stover covered candy box, with designs I made from rubber stamps and which we colored.   We created a scene with a camper trailer in a desert area, just perfect for their area of Texas.

I probably still have those candy box covers somewhere; they had a lot of memories attached to them after Dad brought them back, empty.

SFdaughter, creativity takes many forms, including closet stuffing!   Seriously, management of closets with a lot of contents takes some good balancing, and planning.

And that reminds me of the crocheted hanger covers I made to keep clothing from developing that characteristic line across the shoulders.   Mom and Dad used them for clothes they hung in their trailer when they traveled.


Becky, it's nice to learn there are other hand quilters.   So much is mechanically done. these days.     One of the more contemporary inventions I like though is using family photos for memory quilts.   One of my students started off with a memory quilt for her then newborn grandson, using fabrics contributed and signed by the family members.  

Later she and another friend who had taken up quilting and had taken an Underground RailRoad quilting course produced more family oriented quilts with photos of current and ancestral members.

My passion was always embroidered quilts, whole cloth quilts, all hand quilted or embroidered.   

And given the upcoming Halloween season, that reminds me that I started an embroidered pumpkin quilt some years ago, based on a Halloween stencil among many in my stash that I used for embroidery designs.   The loft is probably all gone by now.  

Anyone else like embroidery designing?  Smocking?   Crewel embroidery?

How have I missed this thread. I have done so many hobby/crafts over the years. Caregiving got me away from so much.

I was not much of a gardener when I was young, but now I really enjoy it, goat heads aside. I sewed and sewed for my girls, and even my son when Halloween came around. Ninja turtles, witches, fairies, a strawberry, wow thinking back. Homecoming and prom dresses, no not for my son😉

Stained glass, cross stitch, needlepoint (still have a project that I purchased in Norway in 1971 started but not complete.

Recently I received all the fabrics, sewing machines, wool coats, from my mom's once very successful business. There is probably fifty rolled bolts of wool fabric or more. Not at all sure what to do with it all yet. Haven't even started to really go through it yet. It is scary. There was once an article in People Magazine about my mom and her business which went nuts after Jane Fonda wore one of my mom's coats to a Braves World Series game. One of the pictures that can be found online during that series, Jimmy Carter, Bill Murray and other notables are in it, with Jane in Mom's coat.😊

Any ideas, anyone?

Glad,

This thread started because Garden Artist and I got carried away talking about creative outlets on another tread. She wisely suggested our own thread. I thought, sure, why not? It’s been a fun read.

Oooooh, you have to tell us more about your crafting and your mom’s projects. Please! Very impressive.

I loved sewing costumes for my kids too. Okay, cute story. My oldest daughter requested a witch costume. I did a full length witch outfit with the hat, make up, broom, the whole bit. She loved it!

Next year, I asked her, “Sweetheart, what do you want to be this year for Halloween trick or treating?” She replied, “Mommy, I am going to be a witch!” I told her that last year she was a witch and asked if she wanted to be something else.

She said, “Nope! And I am wearing the same costume from last year because I love it.” So I told her to go try it on to check the fit because kids grow so fast. She put it on.

My kids never got heavier, just taller. It fit but was more of a midi than a maxi length and still looked cute. She was happy being a witch again.

Well, the next Halloween rolls around. Again I asked her what she wanted to be. She exclaims again, “A witch, mommy!” So I said, “I will have to make a new costume because it may not fit you for the 3rd year!” She said, “Yes it will. I will show you.”

She put it on the and it was now the cutest little mini length witch costume! Hahaha. She wore that witch costume three years in a row! We still giggle about it. 😊.

My favorite one that I made for her was a ‘granny’ costume! She was precious. A little floral dress, a grey wig in a bun hairstyle. Old lady shoes, a crocheted shawl, pearl necklace and earrings, granny glasses, and a cane. Oh, no pumpkin for candy because she wanted an ‘old lady’ pocketbook to collect her candy in during trick or treating.

We had a party that year at our house. All the kids trick or treated in our neighborhood and hung out at our house afterwards. Everyone loved her ‘granny’ attire!

Now my mom, boy she could make anything like your mom did. Geeeeez, they were designers! They didn’t even need patterns. My mom would go in the fancy stores, sketch something that she liked, changed it up to her liking and make it original and sell to the wealthy women. She did that as a teenager! They in turn bought extra fabric (expensive fabric) for her to make herself a dress.

She made my clothes, costumes, my prom dresses too, even my wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses. It was gorgeous! A Vogue pattern. It was the same designer that designed princess Diana’s dress. I spent a fortune on the fabric and it took her months to complete it. It was stunning though.

She even did draperies, upholstery, sofas, chairs, and my daddy volunteered her for the kneeling benches at church! My Lord, a station wagon of nuns pulled up in our driveway to deliver them for mom to upholster them. Daddy got in trouble for volunteering her to do that! She thought it was only going to be a few benches and other women would help. Nope! The nuns made several deliveries and mom covered every single kneeling bench!

There is a lady in the French quarter here who has a specialty shop. She does weaving. She asked my mom to make jackets, vest, purses, etc. out of her fabrics made on her loom. She paid mom a percentage. She kept mom busy. Later on, mom sold plenty at the craft fairs. Etsy wasn’t around yet. Too bad it wasn’t.

Your mom must have been so proud to dress Jane Fonda! Jane looks incredible, doesn’t she? Okay, she’s had plastic surgery but come on. She obviously had a great surgeon and did it the right way. Just a little at the time because she doesn’t have that ‘fake’ look. She’s beautiful!

Okay, GA

I have to ask. Is there anything that you haven’t tried or can’t do? Hahaha

Are you sure that your name isn’t MARTHA STEWART??? 😊

You are amazing! I love that you included part of your tree in the candles! Did you scent them or just the natural scent from nature?

I like the soy candles. The specialty shop by me that sells them has some really nice ones. They costs more but they burn cleaner and the scent is heavenly. I’ve been buying ‘fig’ scent. Really wonderful scent. Locally made which is great. I love to support local artists.

Okay, where is lealonnie?

I love your ideas of up cycling jewelry. Fantastic projects that you make with the estate sale items.

BUT, you are in Colorado. You could have jumped on the marijuana growing bandwagon and be rich! Hahaha. Or something related to the ‘pot’ industry! Hahaha

What a lucrative hobby that would be!!!! Especially the people that were in on the ground floor of that opportunity.

I remember kids in high school growing one plant with ‘grow lights’ in their closet. Geeeez, how did they not get caught, I don’t know. I know they never allowed their moms to put away their clothes in the closet!

NHWM, just a quick response.... there are a lot of crafts I haven't tried, and some that I just didn't like.    Needlepoint was too slow and repetitive; cross stitch was just too hard on the eyes.   I was a flop at cake decorating, but that's probably good b/c someone has to eat all those delicious delicacies, and I didn't need that kind of temptation.

Stained glass is something I'd like to try, but using lead worries me so I'll probably pass on that.  

I didn't use any scent when I added cones to the candles.    But I did warm them first to ensure that no unwanted little critters came in.  

I had an unfortunate experience once when I cut juniper branches for a table decoration.  But the end of the day, little red spiders were crawling all over the table.    That's the last time I brought junipers into the house, but I do love their fragrance.   So I just go outside several times a day to inhale that wonderfully fresh aroma, especially when the weather is just right.

No, I'm not Martha Stewart, and honestly, wouldn't want to be.  In addition, I have no inclination to engage in insider trading!   But thanks for what I think is meant to be a compliment.  I love them - keep 'em coming!

Something else I tried twice, and that was enough, and that was alterations.    My "client" didn't want to spend the time for proper fitting, was cheap (really, really cheap), and wanted alterations on fabric that was really difficult to work with.

Another was a pianist at a nightclub, and she wanted a black dress made of a fabric I can't remember.  It was horrible to work with:  slippery, hard on the eyes...just wasn't worth it.  

Have much more to write but I do need to get some work done!

I AM A 'HAPPY HOOKER'. I CROCHET AFGHANS FOR STRESS RELIEF. I ALWAYS HAVE MY HOOK IN HAND. I DONATE THEM TO VARIOUS PLACES. I WILL BE DONATING ABOUT 30 TO THE REHAB CENTER WHERE MY HUSBAND IS.

GA,

Yes, meant it as a complement because you are very talented and have done lots of creative projects.

Oooooh, the bug thing would make me warm them in oven too.

Stained glass would be fun. Yes, we aren’t going to like everything that we try.

It does seem like Martha doesn’t fail at anything! Perfectionist like my mom. Except for the insider trading, but she discovered good moisturizers while in prison! She’s something. She was one of the few people who made money while she was in prison!

I am not a perfectionist. I do my best but I am like you, if I am not interested I simply don’t do an activity. My mom would still complete an activity because she enjoyed mastering it. She usually didn’t continue it afterwards which is good because what is the point of doing a past time that isn’t enjoyable?

My daughter is visiting in a bit. She has requested that I cook gumbo for her. I started cooking it and I need to check on it. It’s simmering. I am dog sitting for her poodle while she attends a conference in town tomorrow.

We had a stained glass tour in our city awhile back. We have gorgeous stained glass in our churches. Over sixty of our Catholic churches were destroyed in hurricane Katrina and they were forced to close.

Some of our churches were able to reopen after the damage was repaired.

There is a stained glass artist that contacted the archbishop and volunteered to restore the windows. It’s taking her years because she is using the old glass like the glass used in the original designs. That glass came from Germany. It is different from the current modern glass. Quite an undertaking for her to do. She has to wait until she can purchase the material from architectural salvage businesses.

Welcome, Happy Hooker! So sweet of you to donate items. You’re a doll!

NHWM, funny about the witch costume! I think the favorite of my two youngest were the ninja turtle costumes. They played in them all the time.

The favorite mom made for me was Mortica Adamms cheesecloth around bent hangers for the web at the bottom of the dress. Hard to walk in, but safer for walking instead of just dragging cheesecloth. Yes, she dyed the cheesecloth black. The other costume I remember the most is ts2 wanted to be a pumpkin. Mom used one of the tubs of laundry detergent (remember those probably 50 pound tubs?) Then a tube sewn with orange corduroy and black iron on patches for facial features. It was very cute, ts2 was probably 3 or 4 little enough to wear a 50 pound tub.

Glad,

That sounds awesome! Very creative. We have Mardi Gras too. So I dressed up a lot.

Once my daughter was invited to a birthday party with ‘Hook’ as the theme. It was a dress up party. I asked her if she wanted to go as Wendy because life was hectic and I thought it would be easy to just go out and buy a pretty blue nightgown.

My daughter wasn’t having it! Of course she wanted to be Tinker bell. So, off to the fabric store we went. She loved that costume too and loved to play dress up in it. All the other girls were Wendy with a blue nightgown. She was the only one who went as Tink!

The parents of the ‘birthday boy’ are very wealthy. They had a ship built in the back yard! Tons of sand was brought in. Buried treasure in the sand. The cake was phenomenal! I have to say it was an elaborate party for a four year old!

I enjoy crocheting, writing, and I make fabric cards, when I get a chance. I really want to get into wood burning, maybe one day.

Smeshque,

My daughter loves wood burning. Tell me how you do fabric cards? I have fabric leftover from projects. Crochet is popular on this thread!

Smeshque, I'm also  interested in the fabric cards, how you make them, what designs you use, and more.

Just throwing this out for consideration ....NHWM, this thread has really created a "life of its own", branching off into so many areas of crafting.  

What do you and others think about creating new threads, say one for all types of needlework, one for wood or metallurgy crafts (somewhere there must be someone here who works with metal and understands all those complicated tools), crafts from naturals, etc.?

Just a thought....

GA,

The more the merrier! Any craft thread would be fun, don’t you think? I think it would be helpful too because the thread could be organized by category or interest. Go for it!

I have a question if you don’t mind please. I cut some wood for a few things that I want to create. Ideas swirling in my head right now.

Anyway, I have leftover fabric that I want to apply to these boards. Maybe some batting too. Okay, do I glue or use my staple gun? Flat surface where part of it will be painted as well. I’m also attaching hardware to it. Thanks for your ideas.

What have you found to be the best sealer on wood?

How have you preserved natural objects? I know you did juniper leaves in wax for candles. What about maple or oak leaves? Have you ever preserved them in a craft? Leaves are beautiful. What about branches too? Acorns? Just curious because you have done some work with natural objects.

Do you have a favorite online place to buy ribbon?

Anonymous,

How long do you find your ink pads last? Do you only use rubber stamps for your stamping? I know you stamp on cement. Have you stamped on wood? What else have you stamped on?

Are you happy with StazOn ink?

So the fabric cards, I make purses and have extra fabric and I do not like to waste so I bought some I am not sure if you call it card paper, but anyway, I just sew the fabric to the cards with my old singer, Only around the edge and in the crease of the card. If it is good fabric no frays if you trim it to card size, if not so good fabric I sew a border fabric strip around the edge. I am not very good at explaining this process. But anyway, then I do calligraphy writing in them. If I am lazy I will print the writing on the cards with the computer before I sew the fabric. I was really into Amish quilt patterns, and then I just like really pretty fabric and fun fabrics, depending who is getting it. I was blessed to have sold a few at the Farmers Market one year. I am a nerd :)
You can do it its pretty easy, and I am sure you all are way more creative than myself. So you will figure out how to do it better.
Again I am sorry if I do not explain very well.
But People like them, they are an extra special card.
But card paper fabric, sewing machine( I imagine you can hand sew), and good handwriting or a printer(or leave them blank), and you can do yourself some fabric cards.

NHWM, It depends. Sometimes they last for a long time, some don't. If they dry up, then I add water to them and they are good as new. I have stamped on wood, metal, glass, cement, fabric. I use cling stamps and wooden ones (rubber on the wood). I love staz on ink, It is very multi purpose (You can use it on almost everything). Don't like the price of the staz on ink but when I want to, I buy from ebay. As for cement, I have never tried tinting...but it sounds like something I am willing to try. Working with it is easy but messy.

Smeshque,

What a great idea! Fabric is so pretty. Whoever gets those cards are blessed!

My mom and MIL had the old singer sewing machines. They were great. The new singer machines are not the same. When my MIL died my FIL sold hers. I wish I would have taken it when he asked me if I wanted it. I already had a machine, a nice one so I refused. He sold it for 50 bucks to someone.

My mom’s was destroyed in hurricane Katrina. Both were still running and extremely reliable machines. I love the simplicity of those early singers. The stitching was always so uniform and reliable.

Amish quilting is so pretty. Nice that you sold some at the farmers market too.

What kind of purses do you make?

Anonymous,

Thanks for info. Never thought to add water to the ink pad. Good tip!

My kids would get to mine sometimes and waste them. I should have moved them to a safer spot!

Ebay does have good deals occasionally.

NHWM, I just lost my entire response to your questions on ribbon, backing, and preservation.   

I need sustenance to start over:  Hershey bars to the rescue!

Back later.  Next time I'll just respond in Word and copy it here; I'm tired of losing posts or battling them when there are posting glitches.

Sorry.

GA,

Eat some chocolate! 😊 I understand.

Okay, I think I have a possible solution for attaching my batting and fabric to my boards. Please tell me if you think it isn’t feasible.

I made Christmas ornaments years ago with cardboard, (cereal boxes cut in heart shapes) where the batting and fabric was wrapped around the cardboard. Now these were double sided. Two hearts were glued together. They were adorned with lace sandwiched in the middle and a ribbon to hang. I think the pattern was from Family Circle or Woman’s Day magazine.

Anyway, if I used the same principle and only single sided, couldn’t I glue my cardboard back to the board?