Castle Story

 This wee knight might be the hero of your story.  Or you might have the princess rescue the dragon from him.  The story changes every time you play.

Story starter stones are the newest addition to the Traveling Chicken and Monster Show.

The rest of the finger puppets that go along with this set include the wizard, king, dragon and princess.

These will be available at upcoming shows and in the shop soon.

PQ 9.5: A Stitch in Time

I have long said that if my dad had been born 100 years earlier we would have been on a wagon train going West.  After a childhood of imagining that revisionist history, I eventually came to the conclusion that I would make a terrible pioneer.  I cannot keep track of my needles! 

If you think about it, a needle is a very important tool.  In a world where you have to make almost everything you need to take care of your tools.  Some things you can make or repair, a new handle for the axe, a new edge on the plowshare.  A good blacksmith can make nails and forks.  But needles?  Needles are another story.   I haven't researched how needles were made pre-Industrial Revolution.  There were stages between sharpening bone and post Industrial Revolution machine production.   Even historic needles are fine. From reading diaries of the women who traveled the Oregon Trail I've learned that a needle was a precious commodity. 

And I am notorious for losing my needles.  I try not to lose them in carpets and furniture and am successful for the most part but where they actually go?  I have no idea.  And so I would make a terrible pioneer.  My clothes would be ragged and the canvas on my tent would be un-patched.  It would not be pretty.

So my stitch in time quilt is a nod to those brave women who packed their precious things in a covered wagon and headed west, needle in hand, to face a vast unknown landscape.

The image is of the interior of a covered wagon.  Notice the fancy chair, spinning wheel, butter churn and what looks to be boxes of silverware and likely other tools.  I love the pretty dresses hanging on the pegs. 

The picture is printed on fabric and is embellished with embroidery floss.  The binding is a ruffle (new technique for me) made of a modern calico fabric.  It measures approximately 8 x 10 inches.  This quilt continues my Western Expansion theme for the Project Quilting challenges this year.

You can read more about Project Quilting and check out all the amazing quilts made this week on Kim Lapacek's Blog. 

 

Ranking the Most Common Initials in the United States

ABC

One of the common problems for people who do craft shows is figuring out what to sell.  This gets to be really complicated when you create items with names or monograms.  One way around it is to do single letter monograms.  With 26 letters in the alphabet, it can be expensive to prepare items in all 26 letters and in all colors and styles.  I ran into this problem with the embroidered toilet paper I was making before the holidays. 

I decided to do a bit of research and see if I could come up with a rough ranking for the most common single letter initials  I figured that some people will buy their first initial and others will purchase their last initial.  So a combination of both initials seemed in order.  I found lists of the most common last name in the US today as well as lists of the most common first names, male and female, over the last 100 years.  I did a quick count of the number of names in each category that started with each letter.  

Last Name          Male First Name             Female First Name

 

R                               J                                           J  

M                              R                                         M

W, B, C                     A                                       A, D

S, P                            B                                       C, S

G, H                        S, D                                     K, L

T                                P                                         B

J, L                        C, E,G, H                            E, R, T

A, F                         K, T, W                                 H

D, K, E, N                   N                                   G, N, P, V

Y, O                         Z, V, F                                 F, O

I didn't include numbers because, honestly, I didn't spend the time cross checking to  make sure they added up properly.  Remember, this is just a quick attempt to score monograms for likely popularity.    Out of 100 names in each category the top letter represents 11 - 18 percent.  The second row is 10 - 11 percent.  The bottom numbers represent one percent.  

The letters I, Q, U and X do not appear on any of these lists.

In order to get a better picture of which letters are relatively more common, I made up a ranking system.  I weighted each letter each column in the order they occur top to bottom.  I used 10 for the top row and 1 for last row.  I did that simply because there are 10 rows of letters.  This isn't entirely fair because the R in last names represents 11 percent of last name initials while the J in male names is 18 percent.  I could go back and to a percent ranking but that would take another sheet of paper in my notebook or I'd have to go all modern and set up a spread sheet.  So, I made it up.  We are talking relative numbers here and no one is going to bet the farm on using these as more than kinda sorta guidelines..  right?

I then added up the rank score for each letter.   For example:

R = 10 + 9 + 4  = 23

10 for being in the first row of last name initials

9 for being in the second row of male names

4 for being in the sixth row of female names

= a ranked score of 23.

Thus the top letters for monogrammed items should* be:

J

R

B, S

A, C

M

D

P

H

G, T

K, W

E, L

N

F

V

O 

Y, Z

With no requests for I, Q, U, X

*Should assumes that people purchase lettered items in direct proportion to their occurrence in the list of first and last male and female names.  However, one might imagine that Tiffany in row 7 of the female names might be more likely to purchase a letter key chain than Joe in row 1 of the male names or vice versa.  I have no way to account for those variables.  

If your audience is primarily female you might choose to use the order for female first initials or use the following ranking which combines last names with female first initials.

 M

C,

J, R, S

B

A

D, L

H, P, T

G, K

E

N

F

V

O

and no I, Q, U, W,  X, Y, or Z 

That does shift things around quite a bit. Remember, the data I started with were the common names for last 100 years.  That means it includes popular names from ALL generations.  If you have a young customer base, these initials are going to be weighted with names like Mary and Ruth that are not as common today.  You will have to look at lists of common baby names from the correct era to get a closer approximation of the letters that are in the realm of likely to sell.  Other factors that will certainly have an impact on the letters your customers buy will be regional and ethnic differences.  A look at local

 Perhaps this will help in determining how to spend your time when making single initial items.  Perhaps not  Prepping for a craft show is something of crap shoot.  So take this 'research' for what it is worth and certainly don't bet the farm.  Just because I think these might be common letters does NOT in any way shape or form mean that these are the monograms that will sell. 

Campin' Badge

I am working on a badge for a group of ladies who camp.  Here is the original sketch.

Hand colored, cropped and color reduced in IrfanView.

Cleaned up in PaintShop.

And the first draft stitch out.  I've got to clean it up a bit and make some color changes, but all in all not too bad. 

100 Days!

Yesterday marked the start of the 100 days of holidays.  I just love posting that milestone each year.  I don't know why. It always inspires panic and ire.  It is dreadful to know how close the holidays are and far away from being ready I am.  I am determined to do some decorating around the house.  But... these first cold days in September are too early for Halloween and not long enough for Fall before Halloween, but I could start with some Fall that I could convert to Halloween and then if I put greens in the Thanksgiving.... and ....  And yes.  I'm already behind, paralyzed with indecision.  I can't even post the start on the start!  This candy corn patch is the closest I've come to getting anything done for the holidays. 

 The new Science Series of Badges.

 bleeding or speeding heart

 na na na na na na na.....

question!

and a few old school computer patches

Now that I have my machine back in full working order, I am spending all my time on it and still not so much on the bloggy end of things.  I have a couple more events for the Fall and then I can slack off for a bit.  My speeches were OK.  At least I didn't embarrass myself or my organization.  We are doing some tree planting and water quality testing in a couple weeks.    Then.... I can get in gear for the holidays!  Or better yet, I can actually finish one of the quilts in my huge pile of WIPs... and I only count as WIP the ones where I've actually cut into the fabric.  If it is just sitting there with an sketch or pattern or just a collection of fabrics it DOES NOT COUNT as a WIP.  I have to measure progress in little steps. 

Prayer Flags: The Rest of the Story

I posted this teaser picture a few days ago.  The flags have been received so I can show you the rest of the story.  This on is for the sister of the recipient who is battling serious health issues.

Prayer flags are made to hang outside and slowly decay.  The idea is that they will waft the prayers they represent across the land as they flutter in the breeze.  I did what I could to make this one extra fluttery because I really want these prayers to be heard. 

The strings and tassles are number 12 perle cotton.  the flag itself is made of muslin and the words are stamped. 

This flag was made for my swap partner.  She spoke a lot about angels.  I used the opportunity to try and digitize a new image.  For the first time, I was able to add stitches to the file.  That was a learning experience. 

This flag is also made of muslin.  The designs are machine embroidery and the lace is a piece of vintage tatting that I have been saving in my stash for just the right purpose. 

Quilter's Fun and a Question of Choosing

If you don't already know about Michele's Quiltering Gallery, you should.  It is an amazing resource. I  found it while looking for local quilters.  She has literally thousands of links to quilting bloggers sorted by location.  I have found many new friends browsing through that section.

She also has a section called Quilter's Fun.  It has quilt-a-longs, swaps and the Weekly Themed Contests.  I love to join in the contests.  It is absolutely amazing to see the skill and creativity that are represented by the quilts that are entered. 

This week the theme is Embroidery/Stitchery.  I decided to enter my first embroidered, stitched quilt.  It is this Slime Mold quilt from the 2011 Mini Art Quilt Swap.  I LOVED making this quilt.






I love entering Michele's contests.  I don't have any expectation of ever winning.  My goal is to break into double digit percentages!   What I really enjoy is thinking about which quilt best fits the theme.  I spent some time today looking at images of quilts I have made that fit into the theme of embroidery/stitchery.  I actually had quilt a few that met the requirement.  Even looking at some of the ones that didn't, I could see how adding some stitching would enhance them. It is fun for me to imagine new quilts or re-imagine old works to fit the weekly theme. 





The one thing I really struggle with is choosing an image for the thumbnail that will accurately represent my work.  Is it better to show a long shot of the whole piece, an artful staging or closeup of the details most relevant to the theme?  I never really know how to choose so I usually pick my favorite picture and hope that it appeals to others. 




I like to think I am getting better at taking photos of my quilts, but it is a real struggle for me.  I am working between a small Nikon and an unwieldy Kodak.  I'd love to get a better camera but that isn't in the cards at the moment.  What I really need to do is work on lighting and staging.  That will work for future projects, but I am stuck with the limited photos I have of the projects that have long since sailed off to their new owners.  Like this wee quilt.  I am stuck trying to enhance what I have.



So...  how do you choose the images that represent your quilt on-line?  Are there 'tricks' or staging ideas that work better than others?  Do the quilt photo police have rules?  (I can't say I'd follow them, but it would be nice to know which ones I'm breaking.)  Let me know in the comments.  And in the meantime, be sure to check out all the cool quilts and features on Michele's Quilting Gallery. 

Handmade Parade

I am going to do my best to keep up with the  Handmade Parade from Katie of There and back. It is a blog I just discovered and a link project that appeals to me, since I seem to be doing more and more hand sewing on my quilt projects.

I've put the little button on the side, but I can't seem to make it work in this post.  Check in tomorrow for my little quilty update.  

Patches in the Post!

Look what was in my mailbox today.
That's right, an envelope from AUSTRALIA. That could only mean that my swap package from Nilmerg had arrived.

The most important items in it were two Teesha Moore style patches made just for me. This first one is absolutely beautiful. I love the bright flowery fabric. I am amazed by the little tiny stitches all color coordinated to the flowers.
The second one is the gorgeous HAPPY patch. I think I said something in my questionnaire about wanting happy colors. The purple and green and orange in this are fantastic. Again, take a close look at the stitching. It almost looks like couching. The letter charms are adorable.

And then she threw in extras. The envelope practically exploded when I opened it up. I love the owls. The charms are fantastic. I don't have anything like that in my stash but I certainly know that I will be able to use them. But I absolutely laughed out loud when I saw the frog fabric. I have an long and storied history with frogs. (A long story for another day.) Let's just say that there are a fair number of people in the world who will be laughing when they see that! Not to say I don't like the fabric. I do. I am already trying to decide what is the best thing to make with it.

The whole package together. Thank you Nilmerg!!!

(I messed with the time stamp to keep my welcome message on top of the page today.)