Gauze Wrap with Reverse Applique

This project was conceived from two recent creative sparks. The first is our trip to Japan, during which I saw some great multi-ply quilted cotton gauze spa towels that were glorious to touch. The second inspiration was checking out a few books from the library about the Alabama Chanin design aesthetic. I decided a multi-ply gauze scarf with some stenciling and reverse applique would be a great project to try both. It occurred to me that reverse applique in a woven rather than a knit was a questionable choice with potential fraying, but I also thought the fabric paint might help to limit fraying.

I bought 2 yards of cotton bubble gauze (58" wide, $10) and decided the final scarf would be 3 ply, and about 12" wide by 72" long. I bought two bottles of RIT dye ($6) at the craft store and proceeded to dye the inner panel lighter gray and the outer two panels darker gray. I heated the water to a simmer and let them soak in the dye for a full 30 min, but the dark gray fabric has some mild mottling. It's not significantly noticeable, but I would use a higher-quality dye next time. After dying, I washed, air-dried and pressed the fabric.

One of the Alabama Chanin books had a "bloomer" stencil sample in it, and I traced the sample onto a sheet of 6 mil mylar (pack of 10 sheets, 12" X 24" on Amazon for $14) and cut it out with a craft knife. I applied acrylic paint through the stencil by pouncing with a stencil brush. 

I used a large embroidery hoop and medium-weight sashiko thread that I bought in Japan. I stitched a running stitch around all of the stenciled edges, then carefully cut away the top layer of fabric. 

One side done

On the first side, I accidentally cut through both layers a couple of times, so on the second side I pre-cut slits into the top layer before any stitching (this would be even easier to do next time before basting the two layers together). I did my best to repair these areas with fusible interfacing and small stitches. Once I'd stitched around, and while it was still in the hoop, I used a long serger tweezers to lift up and tug the top layer so it could be more safely cut away, but this is still a bit of an arduous process. The second side went faster, and it was helpful to have the pre-cut slits to start with.

2024 Camping Retro

We love the convenience of storing the camper at the State Fair, but they give you a pickup time window (this year at 10:30 on Wed April 3) that you just have to make work. We made it work.

First up was back to Whitewater state park the last weekend of April. We made the chicken and parsnip stew cooked in beer again- so delicious. It rained on Sunday so we left early. April camping is dicey with the weather, but we're so eager to get out there.

Lunch at Whitewater

Chicken and parsnip stew with carrots and celery

The trim on the ceiling was coming down in the same spot as last year. Last year the dealer fixed a few things for us including this trim but for some reason it was sagging again. I used a toothpick to work epoxy under the bowing area, then got creative with our extendable window washing wand to apply pressure to the epoxy for 3 days. I actually had to do this twice, because I don't think I used quite enough glue the first time and it sagged again after a couple of weeks. 

Gluing loose ceiling trim

For Memorial Day, we went to Lac Qui Parle state park in western MN for the first time. It's in the prairie, so not a lot of trees. We were up on a bluff which was quite windy (which turned out to be a benefit because there were so many mosquitos and the wind helped keep them away). Andy did a little kayak fishing in the sag area of the lake, and I tried to hammock, but it was so windy we both had to bail. We had Sat dinner in Montevideo because Andy was suddenly craving broasted chicken. We decided to leave early Sunday afternoon to get home so Andy could continue with his garden-building project and so we could watch the Wolves v. Mavs playoffs game with Will and Cara (we lost the 3rd game in a row). On the way home, we stopped and toured Historic Chippewa City in Montevideo. It's a little recreated village with 24 historic buildings moved there. The nice lady let us take Harriet with us.

Peach crisp

June 21-23 we went to Rice Lake State Park for the first time. It's only 53 miles away, near Owatonna. We've been in a real rainy jag, and it was forecast to rain over the weekend but since we weren't going far, we decided to go for it and we could always return home if it got bad. We ate dinner at home Friday then got there and set up camp and turned in just before it started raining. On Sat, we tried to take a walk, all of the trails were very muddy and even partially submerged. There isn't a lot to do in this park, but there are a lot of nice trees in the campsites. Sat afternoon I drove to Faribault for the 1 PM tour of the Faribault Woolen Mill, Andy stayed back and had a fire and a roasted hotdog before the rain came. Sat evening we ate a wonderful dinner at the Hubbell House, which opened in 1854 in Mantorville while the dog waited patiently in the car (it was not hot out). We left right after breakfast on Sunday, and came home to wash the muddy dog, camper and car.

The usual blueberry pancakes

Mudpit Harriet

Over Labor Day weekend (Aug 30-Sep 2) we enjoyed another stay at Cascade State Park. We spent Sat in Grand Marais where we ate lunch at Hungry Hippie Tacos, got donuts at World's Best, bought a Superior rock lamp at an outdoor craft fair, and took a guided walking tour put on by the local museum. Sat night we ate at Cascade Lodge, and Sunday we had a lazy day at the campground, hiking, taking a nap, reading in the hammock and cooking dinner over the fire. I tried making brownies for the first time, the bottom and edges got a bit burnt as the fire was so hot. Andy made dutch oven pork chops with mushrooms and a nice gravy.