Amy Brumley

Bright Mod Quilts

2012-01-14T19:32:00.000-08:00

I made a couple of quilts as Christmas presents this year. This one was based off of a great Alexander Henry fabric called "le jardin de San Marcos". Those are some bright colors! It puts me in a good mood just looking at those sunny yellows.

This one, for my brother, I tried to make guy-ish with all geometric patterns. I love, love, love that zig zag fabric by Robert Kaufman!

Upholstery- french settee and chairs

2012-01-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

We bought a settee and chairs a couple of years ago with the intention of re-upholstering them. Finally, this summer I bought my first power tool- a pneumatic stapler- and tackled the job. Here are the results! I stripped all three pieces of furniture down to the frame, painted, tied springs, stapled foam and fabric, and glued double welting- viola! I would have been totally intimidated by the process if it hadn't been for the awesome instructional video by Amanda Brown of Spruce. I totally recommend it! Do you spy some Umbrella Prints and Danielle Stewart hand printed loveliness?

Just adding on a picture of a little Christmas craft I did for the ever changing mantle montage. E calls it the Yonder Star.

Patchwork Embroidered Pillow

2011-06-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

A big, feather-filled, bit of cheerful color, lean on me and read a page turner or make faces at the baby pillow. Welcome to our sofa! I used up some scraps from Danielle Stewart (love her designs) and added some embroidery. I was really enjoying hand sewing and made these little hearts to add to our art wall.

Another addition to our family room is this table makeover. My husband bought this animal-chewed table at the neighbors garage sale for $10. I patched and painted the legs and sanded and stained the top. I wood burned a leaf design and filled it in with white craft paint, then sealed with an eco-friendly water based poly. Now it's oh so country rustic meets modern! Yay!

Colorful Hand-Dyed Batik Quilt

2011-01-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

I loved making this quilt! The whole process of dying and stamping with soy wax was completely improvisational- my favorite way to work. I knew I wanted something really colorful and went with whatever came out of the dye bath, or if I didn't like it just bleached it out and started over. I was inspired by the beautiful and cheerful hand-dyed batik fabric and quilts of felow Austinite and well-known textile artist, Malka Dubrowsky of a stitch in dye. The pattern uses two types of blocks that alternate in rows, for an improvisational look. I copied it from a book at the book store, but I don't remember what it was called- sorry! This was also my first machine quilted quilt, and wow, it came together so fast! This quilt now resides on our family room couch, adding a bit of playful color while waiting to assist in cuddle time and catnaps.

Heirloom Baby Quilt

2010-07-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

This baby quilt was fun to make and a joy to give to my good friend, who is awaiting her first little one. Sunflowers are so cheerful and full of radient energy, kinda like children. And have you ever noticed the geometric centers some varieties of sunflowers have? Incredible! I tried a new technique with this project- silk screening with fiber reactive dye. The color mixing was a lot like working with paint. I made a print paste with sodium alginate, made dye concentrate in the primary colors, and mixed little by little to get the right colors. Screening with the dye paste worked amazingly well for a first try (no cursing at all). Because I used dye instead of ink or paint, this blankie is ultra soft! I also used 100% organic cotton, backed with organic flannel, and organic batting- good for the earth and baby too! I hand dye-painted the little green and brown binding to tie in the nursery colors and hand quilted.

I was out in the yard taking pictures, when this adorable little model grabbed the quilt from my hands. Luckily, I got a good shot!

Crocheted Lace Curtains

2010-05-30T15:07:00.001-07:00

You may have seen the bumper sticker that reads; "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." Well, our bedroom curtains have been my recent contribution to practicing senseless acts of beauty, each having taken more than 24 working hours to complete. They began, as many of my projects seem to, because I was unable to find what I was looking for in stores. I wanted curtains with that pure, white, vintage, lacey, country look. At first, I thought I might be able to crochet the entire curtain, but I soon found out that would be more time-consuming than would be possible for me. Then, I stumbled upon a small book called Fifty Beautiful Edgings by Terry Kimbrough, which launched me into making lace edgings for my curtains. I should mention I had never crochted before. The base of the curtains is a lovely, light handkerchief linen, which I hand hem-stiched. I learned how to do this from a book, called Pulled Work on Canvas and Linen by Rosemary Drysdale, which is out of print, that I picked up at the library's thrift store for $1. I am thinking of doing a tutorial here on hemstitching because it is not hard and would be perfect for making some nice dinner napkins.

Now, something that has been on my mind lately that relates to this project is "Slow Craft." Have you heard of this? Well, maybe you were one of the hundreds of people who entered the recent giveaway put on by Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie, designed to bring our awareness to the fact that a third of the world's pesticide use is in growing cotton, and that we can make a difference by buying organic cotton. This really got me thinking. I have recently been very hot on the Slow Food movement, which is saying no thanks to factory farming, instead buying local, organically, and ethically grown food. Maybe you've seen Food Inc.? Slow Craft is based on the same idea. So, an item handmade with organic cotton wouldn't cause a whole lot of pesticides to be used, it wouldn't be made in a factory in some small, third world country, it wouldn't cost gallons of oil to be shipped, etc. And there is so much more to it to, like the relationships created in buying and selling a handmade item, and the satisfaction an artisan or artist derives from making. So, we have incredible power as consumers. With our spending power we can demand that businesses take into account the environmental, ethical, and social costs, not just the bottom line. Honestly though, right now I'm wearing a shirt made with conventionally-grown cotton, sewn in Brunei Darussalam, and purchased on sale at Macy's. But, I have an incredible oppurtunity. Much of the US-grown organic cotton is grown in my own state. There are some wonderful companies selling a wide variety of organic, US- grown and woven fabrics, like Near Sea Naturals and Organic Cotton Plus. Maybe someday soon, I'll be posting about my new hand-made organic shirt!

Ruffle Skirt

2010-04-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

I worked on something this week, but it is top secret, so I can only show you a tiny peak for now.

Just for fun, I also made my sweet girl a little ruffle skirt. While I worked on it, she cut up lots of stuff- ribbon, rick rack and her little lammies fur. Have you ever marveled at how mothers could get so much crafting done? Well, for me it is only possible with the sacrifice of lots of craft supplies and the order of the craft room.

After spending the morning inside, we drove down to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to walk around, eat ice cream, and draw flowers.

We're looking forward to Art City Austin this weekend. Hope you have a great one!

P.S. Please check out my NEW Hand Printed Textiles Blogroll in the side bar!!!

Bag Week

2010-04-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest perks of being a SAHM is having a lot of free time, but on the flip side one of the biggest frustrations for me sometimes is having no plan. As Monday rolled around this week, I was feeling a bit aimless (and not wanting to finish E's quilt), so I decided it would be bag day. I wanted to use some of the awesome hand-printed fabrics I had recently ordered. I started with a little tote for my daughter. She put a claim on the bunny, elephant and heart fabric from Umbrella Prints as soon as she saw it- can't blame her- they're awfully cute! She's already used her new bag for carrying her stuffed bears (of course) and collecting snow peas from the garden. The next day I concocted a much needed new wallet for myself, complete with chekbook and cash pockets, and twelve card pockets (needed to accomodate my hoarded gift cards- why don't I actually spend these?) I used this lovely folksy print by Sommersville- love it! Since I was on a roll, the next day I designed and made myself a bag with some fabric by Danielle Stewart Design- really gorgeous stuff! So, my week took shape- it was bag week!

By the way, I've been obsessed with hand-printed textiles lately! I love their fresh designs and look and that handmade thing is just so special- don't you agree? I'd like to start a blogroll of those I've discovered soon, so you can check them out too!

Hand Printed Silk Evening Bags

2010-04-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

I got a bee in my bonnet two years ago to make evening bags for Christmas presents. Being too cheap to buy a $20 pattern to make one, I looked all over the web for ideas. I really liked the metal frame type and finally stumbled on this tutorial on U-handbag, an amazing resource for supplies as well BTW. I hand-dyed some silk and created some stencils and-- voila (the two bottom pictures)! I loved how they turned out! I wanted to make some more after discovering Colorhue dyes (no steaming) and Photo-EZ screens. The dyes are super wonderful and so easy to use, overdying until getting the perfect color. I made the images for the screen by putting nandina leaves, sweet pea, and paper birds on my scanner. You can see the picture of the screen I made- exposed in the sun- easy peasy! Now, I just wonder when I'll be dressed up enough to use mine?! Have a great week!

Amigurumi Easter Bunnies

2010-04-02T13:07:00.001-07:00

Hoppy Easter! I crocheted these not-so-beautiful, but lovable little bunnies for my little girl. We were at the craft store and she was loading the entire cart full of yarn that she wanted. I managed to put most of it back, but she insisted the rainbow yarn was going to be a bunny. OK... On the agenda for today: baking sugar cookies and cleaning the house for company. We are looking forward to Easter. Hope you have a wonderful one too!

P.S. I used the pattern p.26 from Ana Paula Rimoli's Amigurumi Two.

Hand Printed Pillows

2010-03-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

I designed these pillows last fall for my first craft show. They are based on a fresia flower and screen-printed on 100% linen. I have had a pair of burnt orange ones in my living room since October and I just love them. I learned a lot making them, too. The heavy, nappy linen, while beautifully rustic, was the dickens to print on. I made a lot of boo boos. No wonder most everybody else uses a cotton/ linen blend- live and learn! What I loved about making them was learning to use the photo emulsion screen-printing sheets, called PhotoEZ, that I bought from Ginny Eckley at the International Quilt Festival. They are so easy to make and use (Ginny gives instructions at her site above). I highly recommend them!

Today is beautiful, springy and warm. I'm starting to get a little stressed about Easter being just a week away since we'll be having people over. Better get out and pull some weeds in the front yard!

I've almost got my daughter's quilt finished- really, really almost. Can't wait to show you!

Art Inspired Doll

2010-03-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling bored because most of my projects were in the "just finish it" stage and I needed to CREATE something. So, I started this doll. I'll tell you, after I sewed the body, I thought she was going to be ugly- kinda alien-like. But, she turned out gorgeous! Just look at that hair! I based her on Wyanne Thompson's beautiful girl paintings (shown on the post cards)- which I LOVE!!! They are so feminine in the best way! You can find her blog here. Anyway, my daughter helped me name her- Glitter. Well, Glitter is going to be Mommy's doll, though, OK?

New Vintage Easter Dress

2010-03-10T14:57:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of sneak peaks of a certain little girl's easter dress, made by me in a vintage feed sack fabric with hand crocheted lace. She was a beautiful picture of childhood and spring running down the sidewalk in bare feet with this dress on. The neighbors were drooling because she's so pretty. Now, if only I can learn to capture that on "film"! Anyway, it feels so good to have things emerging finished from my craft room. Next on the agenda: a colorful little vintage reproduction quilt. Hope you're having a springy day!

Rag Rug Table Runner

2010-03-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

Just check out Mom's new table runner! Such bright colors! It will look great with her colorful paintings. Some things in the craft room getting finished- hooray! I'm telling myself not to start anything new until my to do list is shorter- but who knows when inspiration will strike?

Rag Rugs Run in the Family

2010-02-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

Last fall at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, I picked up a DVD of Aunt Philly teaching how to make her Toothbrush Rugs. I finally made one! I'm so happy with it, and it used up lots of scraps of fabric too ugly for other projects. My mom really likes it, and wants one for a table runner. I'm planning to use only batiks and hand-dyed fabric on hers, including some upcycled clothing from my "hippie" days.

I remember my crafty Granny making rag rugs. She sewed the strips end to end and wound them up into balls. Did she crochet them? I can't remember. It seems like she braided them and hand stitched them into rounds.

I also have this antique rag rug made by my great, great grandmother Wooten on a hand loom. It's kinda neat to have crafty, fiber arts people in my heritage. Do you come from crafty stock too?