Winter is perhaps the ideal season for crafting. The colder weather lends itself to long afternoons by the fire spent piecing together a quilt or organizing photos and keepsakes into a scrapbook. Or try your hand at making pottery or designing jewelry!
Crazy quilts first became popular in the 1800s and were often hung as decorative pieces or displayed as keepsakes, but they can also be warm and practical. They can be made out of scraps of fabric that are too small for almost any other use, and there is endless room for variation in colors, patterns, and texture.
Quilts are generally made up of many small squares that are sewn together into a large rectangle and layered with batting (a thick layer of fabric to add warmth—usually wool or cotton) and backing (the material that will show on the underside of the quilt).
• Non-woven interfacing or lightweight muslin (prewashed)
• Fabric pieces in a variety of colors and patterns
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Needle or sewing machine
• Pins
• Thread
• Iron
1. Make the foundation squares. If your foundation fabric (interfacing or muslin) is wrinkled, iron it carefully until it is completely flat. Then use a ruler to measure and draw a 13 x 13-inch square in one corner (your final square will be 12 x 12 inches, but it’s a good idea to leave yourself a little extra fabric to work with). Repeat until all of the foundation fabric is cut into squares.
2. Cut a small piece of patterned fabric into a shape with three or five straight edges. Pin it right side up on the center of one foundation square. Cut another small piece of fabric with straight edges and lay it right side down on top of the first piece. Sew a ¼-inch seam along the edge where the two fabrics overlap. If the second piece is longer than the first piece, don’t sew beyond the edge of the first piece. Turn the second piece of fabric over so that it’s facing up and iron it. Trim the second piece to align with the first, so you have one larger shape with straight edges.
3. Continue with a third piece of fabric, making sure it is large enough to extend the length of the first two patches combined. Sew the seam, flip the fabric upright, iron, trim, and proceed with a fourth piece. Work clockwise, each piece getting larger as you move toward the edge of the foundation square. Once the square is filled, trim off any overhanging fabric so that you have one neat square. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all foundation pieces are filled.
4. Sew all foundation squares together with a ¼ to ½-inch seam.
5. Sandwich the quilt by placing the backing face down, the batting on top of it, and then the foundation on top, with the patterned squares facing up. Baste around the quilt to hold the three layers together, using long stitches and staying about M-inch from the outside edge of the patterned fabric.
6. Binding your quilt covers the rough edges and creates an attractive border around the edges of the quilt. To make the binding, cut strips of fabric 2 ½inches wide and as long as one side of your quilt plus 2 inches. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and press.
7. Lay the strip along one edge of the quilt. The raw edges of the quilt and the binding should be stacked together. Leave a ½ inch extra hanging off the first corner. Sew along the length of the quilt, about ¼ inch from the raw edge. Trim the binding, leaving a ½ inch extra. Fold the fabric over the rough edges to the back of the quilt and slip stitch the binding to the backside. Fold the loose ends of the binding over the edge of the quilt and stitch to the backside. Repeat with all sides of the quilt.
8. Finish your crazy quilt by adding decorative stitching between small pieces of fabric, sewing on buttons, tassels, or ribbons, or using stitching or fabric markers to record important names or dates.
Clay is the basic ingredient for making pottery. Clay is decomposed rock containing water (both in liquid and chemical forms). Water in its liquid form can be separated from the clay by heating the mass to a boiling point—a process that restores the clay to its original condition once dried. The water in the clay that is found in chemical forms can also be removed by ignition—a process commonly referred to as “firing.” After being fired, clay cannot be restored to any state of plasticity—this is called “pottery.” Some clay requires greater heat in order to be fired, and these are known as “hard clays.” These types of clay must be subjected to a “hard-firing” process. However, in the making of simple pottery, soft clay is generally used and is fired in an overglaze (soft glaze) kiln.
Pottery clays can either be made by hand (by finding clay in certain soils) or bought from craft stores. If you have clay soil available on your property, the process of separating the clay from the other soil materials is simple. Put the earthen clay into a large bucket of water to wash the soil away. Any rocks or other heavy matter will sink to the bottom of the bucket. The milky fluid that remains—which is essentially water mixed with clay—may then be drawn off and allowed to settle in a separate container, the clear water eventually collecting on the top. Remove the excess water by using a siphon. A repetition of this process will refine the clay and make it ready for use.
You can also purchase clay at your local craft store. Usually, clay sold in these stores will be in a dry form (a grayish or yellowish powder), so you will need to prepare it in order to use it in your pottery. To prepare it for use, you must mix the powder with water. If there are directions on your clay packet, then follow those closely to make your clay. In general, though, you can make your clay by mixing equal parts of clay powder and water in a bowl and allowing the mixture to soak for ten to twelve hours. After it has soaked, you must knead the mixture thoroughly to disperse the water evenly throughout the clay and pop any air bubbles. Air bubbles, if left in the clay, could be detrimental to your pottery once kilned, as the bubbles would generate steam and possibly crack your creation. However, be careful not to knead your clay mixture too much, or you may increase the chance of air bubbles becoming trapped in the mixture.
If, after kneading, you find that the clay is too wet to work with (test the wetness of the clay on your hands and if it tends to slip around your palm very easily, it is probably too wet), the excess water can be removed by squeezing or blotting out with a dry towel or dry-board.
The main tools needed for making pottery are simply your fingers. There are wooden tools that can be used for adding finer detail or decoration, but typically, all you really need are your own two hands. A loop tool (a piece of fine, curved wire) may also be used for scraping off excess clay where it is too thick. Another tool has ragged edges and this can be used to help regulate the contour of the pottery. Remember that homemade pottery will not always be symmetrical, and that is what makes it so special.
Try making this simple vase or urn to get used to working with clay.
1. Take a lump of clay. The clay should be about the size of a small orange and should be rather elastic feeling. Then, begin to mold the base of your object— let’s say it is either a bowl or a vase.
2. Continue molding your base. By now, you’ll have a rather heavy and thick model, hollowed to look a little like a bird’s nest. Now, using this base as support, start adding pieces of clay in a spiral shape. Press the clay together firmly with your fingers. Make sure that your model has a uniform thickness all around.
3. Continue molding your clay and making it grow. As you work with the clay, your hands will become more accustomed to its texture and the way it molds, and you will have less difficulty making it do what you want. As you start to elongate and shape the model, remember to keep the walls of the piece substantial and not too thin—it is easier to remove extra thickness than it is to add it.
4. Don’t become frustrated if your first model fails. Even if you are being extra careful to make your bowl or vase sturdy, there is always the instance when a nearly complete vase will fall over. This usually happens when one side of the structure becomes too thin or the clay is too wet. To keep this from happening, it is sometimes helpful to keep one hand inside the structure and the other outside. If you are building a vase, you can extract one finger at a time as you reach closer and closer to the top of the model.
5. Make sure the clay is moist throughout the entire molding process. If you need to stop molding for an extended period of time, cover the item with a moist cloth to keep it from drying out.
6. When your model has reached the size you want, you may turn it upside down and smooth and refine the contours of the object. You can also make the base much more detailed and shaped to a more pleasing design.
7. Allow your model to air dry.
You may eventually want to make something that requires a handle or a spout, such as a cup or teapot. Adding handles and spouts can be tricky but only if you don’t remember some simple rules. Spouts can be modeled around a straw or any other material that is stiff enough to support the clay and light enough to burn out in the firing. In the designing of spouts and handles, it is still important to keep them solid and thick. Also, keeping them closer to the body of your model is more practical, as handles and spouts that are elongated are harder to keep firm and can also break off easily. Although more time consuming and difficult to manage, handles and spouts can add a nice aesthetic touch to your finished pottery.
The simplest way to decorate your pottery is by making line incisions. Line incision designs are best made with wooden, finger-shaped tools. It is completely up to you as to how deep the lines are and into what pattern they are made.
If you want to take your pottery making one step further, you can experiment with using a potters’ wheel and also glazing and firing your model to create beautiful pottery. Look online or at your local craft store for potters’ wheels. Firing can leave your pottery looking two different ways, depending on whether you decide to leave the clay natural (so it maintains a dull and porous look) or to give it a color glaze.
Colored glazes come in the form of powder and are generally metallic oxides, such as iron oxides, cobalt oxide, chromium oxide, copper oxide, and copper carbonate. The colors these compounds become will vary depending on the atmosphere and temperature of the kiln. Glazes often come in the form of powder and need to be combined with water in order to be applied to the clay. Only apply glaze to dried pottery, as it won’t adhere well to wet clay. Use a brush, sponge, or putty knife to apply the glaze. Your pottery is then ready to be fired.
There are various different kinds of kilns in which to fire your pottery. An overglaze kiln is sufficient for all processes discussed here, and you can probably find a kiln in your surrounding area (check online and in your telephone book for places that have kilns open to the public). Schools that have pottery classes may have overglaze kilns. It is important, whenever you are using a kiln, that you are with a skilled pottery maker who knows how to properly operate the kiln.
After the pottery has been colored and fired, a simple design may be made on the pottery by scraping off the surface color so as to expose the original or creamy-white tint of the clay.
Unglazed pottery may be worked with after firing by rubbing floor wax on the outer surface. This fills up the pores and gives a more uniform quality to the whole piece.
Pottery offers so many opportunities for personal experimentation and enjoyment: there are no set rules as to how to make a piece of pottery. Keep a journal about the different things you try while making pottery, so you can remember what works best and what should be avoided in the future. Note the kind of clay you used and its consistency, the types of colors that have worked well, and the temperature and positioning within the kiln, if you use firing. Above all, enjoy making unique pieces of pottery!
Making pottery at home is simple and easy, and is a great way for you to make personalized, unique gifts for family and friends. Clay can be purchased at local arts and crafts stores. Clay must always be kneaded before you model with it, because it contains air that, if left in the clay, would form air bubbles in your pottery and spoil it. Work out this air by kneading it the same way that you knead bread. Also guard against making the clay too moist, because that causes the pottery to sag, which spoils the shape.
In order to make your own pottery, you need modeling clay, a board on which you can work, a pie tin on which to build, a knife, a short stick (one side should be pointed), and a ruler.
To start a jar, put a handful of clay on the board, pat it out with your hand until it is an inch thick, and smooth off the surface. Then, take a coffee cup, invert it upon the base, and, with your stick, trim the clay outside the rim.
To build up the walls, put a handful of clay on the board and use a knife to smooth it out into a long piece, ¼ inch thick. With the knife and a ruler, trim off one edge of the piece and cut a number of strips ¾inch wide. Take one strip, stand it on top of the base, and rub its edge into the base on both sides of the strip; then, take another strip and add it to the top of the first one, and continue building in this way, placing one strip on another, joining each to the one beneath it, and smoothing over the joints as you build. Keep doing this until the walls are as high as you want them to be. Remember to keep one hand inside the jar while you build, for extra support. Fill uneven places with bits of clay and smooth out rough spots with your fingers, having moistened your fingers with water first. When you are finished, you may also add decoration, or ornament, to your jar.
Making a pottery candlestick requires a round base ½ inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. After preparing the base, put a lump of clay in the center, work it into the base, place another lump on top, work it into the piece, and continue in this way until the candlestick has been built as high as you want it. Then, force a candle into the moist clay, twisting it around until it has made a socket deep enough to place a candle into.
A cardboard “templet,” with one edge trimmed to the proper shape, will help make it easy to make the walls of the candlestick symmetrical and the projecting cap on the top equal on all sides. Run the edge of the templet around the walls as you work, and it will show you exactly where and how much to fill out, trim, and straighten the clay.
If you want to make a candlestick with a handle, make a base just as stated above. Then cut strips of clay and build up the wall as if building a jar, leaving a center hole just large enough to hold a candle. When the desired height for the wall has been reached, cut a strip of clay ½ inch wide and ½ inch thick, and lay it around the top of the wall with a projection of ¼ inch over the wall. Smooth this piece on top, inside, and outside with your modeling stick and fingers. For the handle, prepare a strip 1 inch wide and ½ inch thick, and join one end to the top band and the other end to the base. Use a small lump of clay for filling around where you join the piece, and smooth off the piece on all sides.
When the candlestick is finished, run a round stick the same size as the candle down into the hole, and let it stay put until the clay is dry, to keep the candlestick straight.
Bowls are simple to make. Starting with a base, lay strips of clay around the base, building upon each strip as you did when making a jar. Once the bowl is at the desired height and width, allow it to dry.
Vases can be made as you’d make a jar, only bringing the walls up higher, like a candlestick. Experiment with different shapes and sizes and always remember to keep one hand inside the vase to keep everything even and to prevent your vase from caving in on itself.
Pottery may be ornamented by scratching a design upon it with the end of your modeling stick. You can do a simple, straight-line design by using a ruler to guide the stick in drawing the lines. Ornamentation on vases and candlesticks can be done by hand-modeling details and applying them to your item.
Pottery that you buy is generally glazed and then fired in a pottery kiln, but firing is not necessary to make beautiful, sturdy pottery. The clay will dry hard enough, naturally, to keep its shape, and the only thing you must provide for is waterproofing (if the pottery will be holding liquids). To do this, you can take bathtub enamel and apply it to the inside (and outside, if desired) of the pottery to seal off any cracks and to keep the item from leaking.
If you do want to try glazing and firing your own pottery, you will need a kiln. Below are instructions for making your own.
This small, homemade kiln can be used to bake and fire most small pottery projects. It will only get up to about 1,200°F, which is not hot enough to fire porcelain or stone-wear. However, it will suffice for clay pinch pots and other decorative pieces.
• 20 to 30 red or orange bricks
• Chicken wire
• Sawdust
• Newspaper and kindling
• Sheet metal
1. Choose a spot outdoors that is protected from strong winds. Clear away any dried branches or other flammables from the immediate area. A concrete patio or paved area makes an ideal base, but you can also place bricks or stones on the ground.
2. Stack bricks in a square shape, building each wall up at least four bricks high. Fill the kiln with sawdust.
3. Place the chicken wire on top of the bricks and add another layer or two of bricks. Carefully place your pottery in the center of the mesh, spacing the pieces at least ½ inch apart. Cover the pottery with sawdust.
4. Add another piece of chicken wire, add bricks and pottery, and cover with sawdust. Repeat until your kiln is the desired height.
5. Light the top layer of sawdust on fire, using kindling and newspaper if needed. Cover with the sheet metal, using another layer of bricks to hold it in place.
6. Once the kiln stops smoking, leave it alone until it completely cools down. Then carefully remove the sheet metal lid.
Instead of throwing away your old newspapers, office paper, or wrapping paper, use it to make your own unique paper! The paper will be much thicker and rougher than regular paper, but it makes great stationery, gift cards, and gift wrap.
• Newspaper (without any color pictures or ads if at all possible), scrap paper, or wrapping paper (non-shiny paper is preferable)
• 2 cups hot water for every ½ cup shredded paper
• 2 tsps instant starch (optional)
• Blender or egg beater
• Mixing bowl
• Flat dish or pan (a 9 x 13-inch or larger pan will do nicely)
• Rolling pin
• 8 x 12-inch piece of non-rust screen
• 4 pieces of cloth or felt to use as blotting paper, or at least 1 sheet of formica
• 10 pieces of newspaper for blotting
1. Tear the newspaper, scrap paper, or wrapping paper into small scraps. Add hot water to the scraps in a blender or large mixing bowl.
2. Beat the paper and water in a blender or with an egg beater in a large bowl. If you want, mix in the instant starch (this will make the paper ready for ink). The paper pulp should be the consistency of a creamy soup when it is complete.
3. Pour the pulp into the flat pan or dish. Slide the screen into the bottom of the pan. Move the screen around in the pulp until it is evenly covered.
4. Carefully lift the screen out of the pan. Hold it level and let the excess water drip out of the pulp for a minute or two.
5. With the pulp side up, put the screen on a blotter (felt) that is situated on top of some newspaper. Put another blotter on the top of the pulp and put more newspaper on top of that.
6. Using the rolling pin, gently roll the pin over the blotters to squeeze out the excess water. If you find that the newspaper on the top and bottom is becoming completely saturated, add more (carefully) and keep rolling.
7. Remove the top level of newspaper. Gently flip the blotter and the screen over. Very carefully, pull the screen off of the paper. Leave the paper to dry on the blotter for at least twelve to twenty-four hours. Once dry, peel the paper off the blotter.
To add variety to your homemade paper:
• To make colored paper, add a little bit of food coloring or natural dye to the pulp while you are mixing in the blender or with the egg beater.
• You can also try adding dried flowers (the smoother and flatter, the better) and leaves or glitter to the pulp.
• To make unique bookmarks, add some small seeds to your pulp (hardy plant seeds are ideal), make the paper as in the directions, and then dry your paper quickly using a hairdryer. When the paper is completely dry, cut out bookmark shapes and give to your friends and family. After they are finished using the bookmarks, they can plant them and watch the seeds sprout.
Creating a scrapbook is a great way to process and preserve memories. Keep travel brochures from special trips, ticket stubs, event programs, photographs, and so on in a box or file throughout the year. Then, when cold or rainy weather sets in, you can pull out your book and begin arranging your keepsakes in a meaningful way.
Depending on the nature of your keepsakes and your own preferences, you can choose to base your scrapbook on a theme (musical or sporting events, family vacations, your wedding, home renovations, etc.) or to organize it chronologically. Of course, really you can do anything you want, including creating a collage-like book of scattered memories, keepsakes, magazine clippings, or even journal entries. Scrapbooking is a personal project and can be done with as much thoughtful organization or creative chaos as you wish.
There are many ways to create a unified feel to your scrapbook, whether or not the subject matter itself maintains any continuity. Here are a few suggestions:
• Layout. Design each page in a similar way, so that (for example) there is always a favorite quote on the top of the page, a photo on the side, text below, and an embellishment across from it. Or create a pattern of layouts, so that every third or fourth page has a similar design.
• Colors. Choose two or three colors or a single color palette to use throughout the book. Incorporate these colors in borders, frames for photos, backgrounds, with colored inks, and so on.
• Fonts or Script. Use the same style of writing for photo captions or other text throughout the book.
• Backgrounds. You may want a clean white background if you want to showcase high-quality photographs without any distractions to the eye. Or you can use scrap pieces of wallpaper all in the same style or color, colored card stock, or even thin fabric as the backdrop for your keepsakes.
Once you have a general plan for your scrapbook, you’re ready to begin:
1. Create a background. Unless you want a plain white background, select the cardstock or other colored papers or fabrics, cut them to size, and use rubber cement to glue them to the page. You may choose to use several coordinated pieces of paper to create a patterned background.
2. Matt your photos. Cut squares of paper that are slightly larger than your photos and glue the photos onto them. This will create an attractive border around your photos. Later you can add frames or leave them as they are.
3. Add text or other embellishments. Use neat handwriting or printed text to caption your photos, add favorite quotes, etc. Pieces of ribbon, stickers, or magazine clippings can also be added as accents. Avoid any thick materials that will make your page bumpy and keep the album from closing all the way.
The first rag rugs were made by homesteaders over two centuries ago who couldn’t afford to waste a scrap of fabric. Torn garments or scraps of leftover material could easily be turned into a sturdy rug to cover dirt floors or stave off the cold of a bare wooden floor in winter. Any material can be used for these rugs, but cotton or wool fabrics are traditional.
• Rags or strips of fabric
• Darning needle
• Heavy thread
TIP
Use thinner strips of fabric toward the end of your rug to make it easier to tack to the edge of the rug.
Cut strips along the bias to keep them from unraveling.
1. Cut long strips of material about 1 inch wide. Sew strips together end to end to make three very long strips (or you can start with shorter strips and sew on more pieces later). To make a clean seam between strips, hold the two pieces together at right angles to form a square corner. Sew diagonally across the square and trim off excess fabric.
2. Braid the three strips together tightly, just as you would braid hair.
3. Start with one end of the braid and begin coiling it around itself, sewing each coil to the one before it with circular stitches. Keep the coil flat on the floor or on a table to keep it from bunching up.
4. When the rug is as large as you want it to be, tack the end of the braid firmly to the edge of the rug.