Month: April 2026

Progress and Learning

by CZeitler

I did manage to finish my Edwardian gown sewn by hand. I do see some changes that I would certainly make, especially if I knew what I was doing. I love how the front looks, I’m not as thrilled by the back. I think I am going to try to add some to the waist to get things to be a little more flattering. This is made of cotton muslin, dyed with Rit wine dye, and with sequins added for interest.

There are two free learning opportunities coming up this week, the Quilter’s Life Summit and the Eco-Creative Summit. The first can be found here: https://the-quilters-life-summit-spring-2026.heysummit.com/?ac=UVJEWwz8&sc=qTK9onZv

https://events.hobbyscool.com/2026-eco-creative-registration-page/?affiliate=byheidigrace

I do not have any affiliation with either of these events. I plan on attending both for free and not upgrading to the paid method. I do attempt to support the events by supporting the presenters when and where I am able to.

My bead weaving class went amazingly last weekend. Everyone was amazing, I love how their projects turned out. I did focus on making sure that the materials I brought are somewhat organized once I got them home. I ensured that I have my materials for the May 30th Tapestry weaving class are mostly in one place, along with the bead weaving materials for the September class.

I do have a shed for my gardening equipment, however, I have to put it up before I can store my supplies in there…that is not going to happen for a couple of weeks at least. I did get some clover and shade wildflowers seeds scattered, and they started to poke their first 2 leaves up, unfortunately it started snowing this morning so I hope that the little bit of peat I put down will cover them enough to survive.

Sorry for the short post, I am focused on other things this week. When I have some spare time I am working on cutting out some pattern pieces for a couple of projects I hope to work on later this spring and summer. I am hoping to make a couple of memorial banners for family members before Thursday, as well as one or two sample blocks for my cousin. I believe that I managed to finish most of my pattern cutting done and will put them away before I pull out my Embroidery Machine.

Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract.

Tangled Threads

by CZeitler

*There is very little crafting content in this*

Sometimes you do ‘everything right’ and there is a tangled mess in the background. I spent quite a bit of time winding a very long warp, crocheting it into chains, and then warping the heddle. I am at the point of winding the warp onto the back beam so I can start tying onto the front beam and weaving my bog jacket. The threads have currently turned into a snarled mess that makes me want to cut the entire thing off and tie on the rest of the warp when I get time. I have had to take a break and leave things as they are until I get a little more time and patience so I can take the next step.

This is why, in my darker times, I wonder if making plans is even worth it. I had plans to do some traveling this summer, those have fallen through so I have attempted to pivot. For May I was going to have to miss my weaving guild meeting due to a conflict, that was fine, I was not that invested in the topic being discussed. I decided that I was going to miss my cousin’s bridal shower, I’m always single and didn’t want to deal with that, but I hoped to get some projects completed during that time. The bride’s mother (who had asked me to make the quilt) had been under a lot of stress attempting to help her oldest brother (my uncle) take care of his wife since she is an EMT. Unfortunately the morning of the bridal shower my aunt, my uncle’s wife, lost her battle. Instead of going to the April weaver’s guild meeting I will be attending a funeral. I am trying to be there for my cousin of that branch of the family, I will be working on making a quilt for her.

In the long run the pieces that I am having to pivot are small potatoes. I would rather be there for my family than worry about a chance to learn card weaving on an inkle loom. It looks like this year, similar to last, is going to be one of remembering what is truly important in life. Things are not all doom and gloom. I have made significant progress on sewing up my folkwear Edwardian gown. I am currently fighting with myself about adding the zipper onto the back, I would like to be able to add more authentic closures, however I am not double jointed so a Zipper is a must.

(Note, I started this post almost a week ago. I discovered that if I do not hit the ‘Save Draft’ button at the top then the draft is not saved for me to work on it on other devices. The rest of this post is from the 17th of April, while the first is from the 12 of April.)

I did manage to get the zipper added as well as remembering that I wanted to add pockets. It fits amazingly well, I am so pleased. I do plan on using Rit dye in the color Wine to add a pink to red color to this dress. I am hoping that it either turns out pink or burgundy-ish. I then hope to put some hot-fix rhinestones on to add a small amount of weight in the hem and decoration. I am hoping to ask one of my colleagues to take photos of me in the dress on Monday so I can send them in to the Folkwear contest.

I have made no progress on getting the rigid heddle loom warped up, I will in the near future, however it just seemed so daunting when I have this dress to finish and a funeral to attend. The funeral is next weekend so I have not dealt with that yet. Next week is going to be quite busy for me, I am planning on using a system of treats to allow me to get through the week in a relatively positive way. Every day is a chance for new adventures and new blessings. Often it is your attitude that gets you through each day, and sometimes bed rotting for a day or two is the only way to get through things.

Until next time remember to Live Life in a way that is A Little More Abstract.

Busy Weekend

by CZeitler

My sister has been without a car for a couple of years now. She lives in a larger city in Pennsylvania so she could use a bus to get around, however the busses are not always reliable and she often has to call an uber or another transportation service that is a bit costly. In 2023 I was able to get financing to purchase a hybrid car that will be paid off in 2031. One of our cousins in New Jersey managed to get a scratch on the side of her car that her insurance considers ‘totaled’. She fixed that car up and gave it to me, I gave my car to my sister (I’ll still work on paying it off), so that we both have vehicles. I am very grateful that I was able to do this, I didn’t realize how much it was stressing me that she did not have transportation. This did force me to clear out my car, which allowed me to find some amazing items that I ‘lost’ in the car. I am trying to keep my new to me car a bit cleaner.

Since we were visiting our cousin I decided to stay on a few extra days to hang out with the family, it is always fun to spend time with them. We visited a huge mall and I was able to find some mini block kits for over 1/2 off, and I treated myself. These are the super cute ‘monsters’ from Pac Man, I have the PacMan head and cherries to put together another time. I have been getting some spinning and weaving done on a tapestry piece that I choose to call my “Vacation Tapestry: Time is Fleeting”.

I also attempted to be a ‘passenger princess’ and craft in the passenger seat of the car since my sister drove us both up in my car. This did work somewhat, but not entirely. I managed to get some braiding done on a new kumihimo braid in Christmas Colors. Not as much as I wanted, though I did get some dozing done, I haven’t been able to sleep in a car in quite some time.

This was an amazing trip. It has taken a lot off of my mind, we both have transportation, my car insurance cost went down significantly, and I have had time to get quite a bit done. With the cost of gas this summer, the fact that my new to me car has horrible gas milage, and other considerations means that I am going to spend more time at home this summer. This is going to be a great boon for me. I am going to finally get my home organization finished, I have definite steps to take. My garden and garden storage are going to be greatly improved this summer. I have clover that I need to plant when the winter weather holds off for a few days, and there are English summer garden bulbs on the way for me to plant when frost holds off. At work we created ‘Seed Balls’, because b-o-m-b is a Nono word in a public library, and several of the seeds need to be stratified in a cold environment (kept in the fridge) for 30-60 days. That means that I have several seed balls that will be thrown in my back yard the beginning of May and a few that will be thrown the beginning of June. I am very excited to see if these are going to bloom.

Okay, I think that is enough for this post. Until next time remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

Keeping the Flow Going

by CZeitler

I have been asked to teach two different craft classes for another library. One is a bead weaving craft class. I made a lovely piece with size 8 beads out of blue with a red heart and diamond. To ensure that I have some pieces in different sizes I used size 11/0 seed beads to create the moon wall hanging, the random forest colors are out of 8/0 and the various plus signs is out of 6/0 beads. I love how these turned out, they were so much fun to put together, I am very exciting to teach this class. It is fun to purchase the supplies knowing that people are going to love learning this skill. Apparently there were enough people that signed up so another class was requested. Unfortunately Saturday’s are very busy for me so I cannot teach another Saturday class (other than the 2 scheduled) until September. The second class is going to be weaving a tapestry pouch using cardboard and worsted weight yarn. Both of these are going to be a ton of fun, and easy to learn.

This is only part of what is going on in my life right now, this is the fun part really. I have some dental problems that I am getting treatment for, which is very expensive and anxiety inducing. Fortunately I have enough money to cover my bills and basic expenses.

At present I am working on making an Edwardian Gown using a Folkwear Pattern. There is a contest where Threads and Folkwear have teamed up to offer a prize, I hope to enter with this gown. I am making it out of Muslin cloth, dyed red with some trim. Hopefully this will turn out good enough that I can wear it to my cousin’s wedding.

Life is amazing, I am so lucky for everything that I have and can do. The weather is warming up so I hope to be able to work on my garden/yard soon.

I wrote this post several weeks ago, so the information is accurate, but a little out of date. I am going to post this today, and follow up early next week with updates to this post and what I was up to the last weekend in March. Until then, remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!