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February Tease

February Tease

Posted on by jess

It was an unusual early February day yesterday. The temperature hit the 50s. It was sunny and beautiful. So much so that I left the oversized slider in my studio open so I could enjoy the balmy air. My dogs clustered on the threshold as one side or the other of it would show too much commitment on their part. I worked at my hooking bench– I hook standing up– barefoot with a mug of hot vanilla milk tucked nearby. And I finally figured how to handle the border of a loosely geometric design.

Boro Style Sashiko Stitched Pillow

Boro Style Sashiko Stitched Pillow

Posted on by jess

It’s a new year, and I’m trying new things.  Boro style textiles have captured my imagination, and sashiko stitching can easily be embraced by those of us who are daunted by the skill and precision of traditional American dainty little quilting stitches.  I’ve received such a positive reaction to my first piece and have gotten many questions, so I’m just going to lay out my process here.  And remember, I have no idea what I’m doing.  I’m just doing, and this was my first piece.  I have graduated to my second, however, for whatever grandeur that might lend to my resume.

I started by gathering a selection of fabrics—new, old, antique, quilt squares, etc. that I thought might work well together. I know this sounds easy, but I spent the better part of an afternoon rearranging, editing, and changing up the whole thing.
When it was time to go make dinner, this is where things were at. Then I walked away for the night so I could look at it with fresh eyes in the morning.  Still happy then, I pinned everything down thoroughly.
This is a wee bit out of order, but I layered all my random top pieces over a foundation fabric the size I wanted my finished piece to be plus seam allowance. I happened to be using a vintage cloth napkin my husband deemed unacceptable as it resembled a torn up sheet, but you could use anything in your stash including an actual torn up sheet… Just don’t make it too thick because you will be stitching through it in addition to all your other top layers.  It’s a little different than what I did here, but I would recommend first starting with a row of running stitches around the entire perimeter of the piece.  After that, anything goes.
Then I just started stitching. Imperfect running stitches based on whim or influenced by the piece of fabric I was stitching over. Sashiko means “little stabs”, so just go at it and don’t worry about anything. I jumped all over the piece, stitching where I felt like in no particular order.
So that’s really it. I finished the first piece there and made it into an oversized pillow. This piece is now my second venture into the technique.

Happy Stitching!

Primitive Trencher

Primitive Trencher

Posted on by jess

We are renovating an old farmhouse.  There is a lot of very cool stuff ending up in the dumpster.  So, yeah.  I’m the crazy lady dumpster diving in her own dumpster to salvage cool things.  I also needed a way to display a new yarn I’m designing with AND I was home alone with the workshop all to myself.  So I made a Primitive Trencher.  This is the first of several that ended up happening…

Doesn’t it look like I know what I’m doing??
Clamp-ons.

Wax on.
Complete. The perfect yarn trencher for Loch Lomond, a beautiful and very earth-friendly yarn by BC Garn. Both the Trencher and the Yarn are available at The Barn at Todd Farm in Rowley, Ma.

Red Work Embroidery

Posted on by jess

I’m not sure if these all should be considered embroidery samplers or embroidery doodles, but I do know I’m having fun.

I don’t plan or draw anything in advance. The Red Work Chics just evolve as I take needle and thread to antique flannel.
Each chick is weighted so it can easily make its own stand.
Swedish Fish! These are each filled with organic french lavender.
The Swedish Fish are designed to be hung or used as bowl fillers. Serve them up your way.
New Year, New-ish Me

New Year, New-ish Me

Posted on by jess

It’s a whole new baby year and I’m just beginning to emerge from my post holiday season recovery period.  After the last show was broken down and packed away into the barn, I nestled in to a short but much needed period of reflection.  My tendonitis needed me to pursue activities outside my normal routine, too.  As a result, the web site got an extreme makeover and I couldn’t be happier with it.  I’ve added a new domain, as well—  JessWrobel.com .  I know this probably seems like no big deal to you and that it probably even makes more sense, but for me this is huge.  This is me shedding off some of my anonymity and stepping out from something I’d been hiding behind.  My business name has long been Jwrobel.  The reason?  Back when I got my very first apartment and my very own phone (this would be a land line) it was considered safer to use a gender neutral initial for your first name rather than advertise that you might be a single woman living alone in the phonebook–remember those??  Have the times changed?  Gender equality and sexual harassment are certainly being talked about more than I recall in my lifetime, but it is too soon to say if this national conversation will be enduring or where it will take us.  I’m encouraged and for now I’ll welcome my own little bit of personal growth.  I’m Jess Wrobel, and I make things.

Under the Apple Trees

Under the Apple Trees

Posted on by jess

Never has a photo session been so inspired. I threw open the doors and hauled a favorite chair out under the apple trees. My dogs padded behind me befuddled, but delighted with the diversion. And never was I happier to be taking care of the business end of business.

A Sweater for Me

A Sweater for Me

Posted on by jess

For all the time I spend making things, very little ever gets made (or mended) for me.  I may sew for a living, but my wardrobe is riddled with holes, frayed cuffs, and is frequently held together with safety pins.  In what was quite a departure for me, as well as an excercise in discipline, I decided to both knit down my stash and be the beneficiary of the enterprise.

My sweater is off the needles, though yet to be blocked— and it needs it.  It is something of a bastardization of the beautiful Hiro pattern.  I used inappropriate yarn, lengthened the cuffs and added thumb holes, widened the collar, eliminated any waist shaping.  I still plan on adding pockets, but I haven’t decided where  or what style yet.  I made it ridiculously large to wear cross country skiing over leggings finished just in time for — ummm— spring.

I'm a big fan of thumb holes.

Let there be Mud!

Let there be Mud!

Posted on by jess

Yes.  Spring has finally graced our little corner of the world.  It seems overnight we’ve gone from snowblowers and parkas to throwing all the windows open and ferrying ladybugs out to safety.  Thick winter boots have been traded in for muck lucks to traverse wide swathes of mud.  And who could stay holed up in the studio when the landscape is finally inviting you to be part of it again.  Certainly not me and my ever faithful crew.  The front stoop become the official hookery of the day.