Author: -N-

Capitol Reef #1 – Meeden / BaoHong Paper

I am always trying to find economical and superb 100% cotton watercolor paper. This one is really good! Fraggle said she likes Meeden paper, so off to Amazon I went and ordered this 100% cotton paper. Though advertised as 9×12 inches, it measures 12.2×8.3 inches per the cover of the block. I don’t really like blocks, but the I think the paper may be worth that irritation.

This is the paper I ordered (click to get to link). It is the weight and texture I prefer: CP, 140#. Painting on it was a pleasure. Color absorbed nicely and didn’t create any weird textures. Absorption rate was reasonable. It held up to washes and glazes on multiple levels. Working wet-in-wet was easy to do.

Capitol Reef National Park is located in central Utah and is characterized by red rock and sandstone. Canyons and arches are some of its characteristics. As it is desert, the vegetation is sparse and dots the landscape. It is a stunning bit of country – Utah has some of the most beautiful parks! – as well as a place with a fascinating history, from prehistoric times to modern day settlers. Definitely worth a trip!

Watercolor, about 8×12 inches, Meeden / BaoHong 100% cotton paper, CP, 140#.

Shy Sunflower

Today is my mother’s birthday – she would have been 106 today. From horse-drawn ice wagons to men in outer space, she saw a lot in her lifetime. She worked in television as a camera (wo)man during the 1940s in Chicago, broadcasting the Cubbies to the world and playing bit parts on live TV, to being a housewife with a bunch of kids. As a child, she was a challenge, and even when I became an adult she could push you. Now, as someone older and in my last loop of life, I really admire her non-traditional viewpoints and life she lived. Her independence of spirit and honesty and sense of justice are something not often seen when she was young, and nowadays. Thanks for being you, mom!

Potholders in the Morning

My favorite potholders are finally getting just too beat up to do much good. They are simple cotton pads, about 8 inches square, filled with some kind of batting, and quilted. I have silicon ones, mitts, and so on, and when my cotton potholders are in the wash, I prefer my Ove Gloves. This morning is dedicated to sewing some new, padded, old-time potholders.

It’s is time to see if I can make something to replace my dying heroes . . . .

As always, YouTube provided some good videos, and this was my favorite. I made the first two. Hers look great, mine look pretty sad, but if they do their job – to protect my hands – then my sad potholders are a success.

My machine is my old workhorse, my mid-1950s Singer 15-91. Straight stitch, forward and back. It’s a great machine, but not as up-to-date as some of my other machines. No walking foot. No automatically adjusting pressure as the material goes from two layers of fabric to two layers of fabric, cotton batting, and “Insul-Bright” batting for heat reduction on the hands. I had to watch what I was doing because I have never sewn a potholder in my life.

Here is a close-up of the fabric. I didn’t pre-wash the material, which is a quilting cotton. I put each potholder together, batting, fabric, and quilted it before throwing them into the washing machine. I like to do this whenever I have made anything quilted because the cotton shrinks and the quilting becomes more prominent.

A few things about the potholders. I used 100% cotton fabric and thread, one layer of 100% cotton batting, and one layer of the “Insul-Bright”. I avoided polyester in any form as it is plastic and melts – no polyester thread, no polyester in the fabric. Interestingly, the “Insul-Bright” is polyester with something embedded within it, so we shall se there – but these are not going into the microwave!

When I quilted, I worked diagonally across the fabric. I think this made the fabric stretch and pull out. It got rather annoying. Next set of potholders – yes, there will be more – will be quilted along the warp and weft as much as possible.

These were not particularly difficult to make – a bit of a challenge as they are a new project. I have some ideas about how to do things differently. Let’s see how it goes.