Crafting a Meaningful Home By Meg Mateo Ilasco (preview)

Sian Keegan 56

Braided Rag Vessels

Oorbee Roy 60

Alpona Pillow Doily Rug

Jean Lee 66

Love Notes

Nick & Lisa Wong Jackson 72 Paula Smail 76

Decoupaged London

Christine Schmidt 80

Locker Hook Rug Heritage Flag

Christiana Coop 86

City Rubbings

Susan Connor 92

Family Banner

Samantha Hahn 96

Folklore Chair

Diana Fayt 100

Needlepoint Racquets Cityscape Collage

Lorena Siminovich 112 Brooke Davies 116

Button Garland Two-Family Crest

Chika Eustace & Jean Lee 120 Joanna Mendicino 126

Modern Norens Jewelry Tree

Amy Holbrook 106

Carolina Saxl 132

Wallpaper Luminarias Family Teepee

Christiana Coop & Aimee Lagos 136

Billie Lopez & Tootie Maldonado 140

APPENDIX 150 Resource Guide 158 Acknowledgments 160

Decoupaged P lates lisa congdon

san francisco, california

Although Lisa Congdon, her younger sister Stephanie, and her mother Gerrie can confidently call themselves artists now, this was hardly the case four years ago. Back then, Lisa was a director in a nonprofit educational organization, Stephanie, a stay-at-home mom, and Gerrie, a retired food writer. Although Gerrie had exposed her children to art while they were growing up, neither of her daughters pursued any formal training.

So when Lisa decided to take a Friday-night painting class in 2001, she was surprised to discover she actually had talent. Likewise, the other Congdon women began to explore the depths of their creativity, Stephanie with sewing stuffed animals and Gerrie with art quilting.

With their latent talents coming to the surface, Lisa, Stephanie, and Gerrie began blogging to share the things they were making. It was especially helpful because Lisa lived in San Francisco while Gerrie was in Northern California and Stephanie in Portland, Oregon. The blogs became a way to express mutual support, stir motivation, and show each other their latest experiments, like Lisa trying her hand at collage and Stephanie getting behind a camera. At the time, they weren’t thinking about using their blogs to reach a larger public audience—but they did. Blogging quickly put all their work in the public eye. Lisa found herself being offered her first art show in Seattle, Stephanie received online orders, and Gerrie got commissions for quilts. As more offers followed suit, Lisa began to realize that she could make a living from her art. By 2007, she was not only a full-time artist but also a co-owner of the boutique Rare Device in San Francisco.

As a tribute to the two women with whom she has shared parallel creative journeys, Lisa decoupaged plates dedicated to her sister and mother. To capture the essence of each person, Lisa chose papers with colors expressive of their personalities and included imagery and memorabilia connected to each woman. For her mother, she made a chartreuse-based plate, which is her mother’s favorite color and also indicative of her love for nature. The images on the plate include illustrations of trees, a photo of Gerrie at five years old in upstate New York, an image of a European building (to represent travel), and replicas of Depression-era ration stamps from Gerrie’s childhood. Because Stephanie has a quiet and gentle demeanor, Lisa chose pink-toned papers but included punches of orange, representative of Stephanie’s energy. Lisa created

Family Teepee Billie Lopez and Tootie Maldonado pronounce their love for the outdoors with their family teepee made from a vintage quilt top and bamboo sticks. If you don’t have a quilt top suitable for this purpose around, try looking for one at local thrift stores or consider sewing one yourself from your family’s clothing (see Dad’s Patchwork Coverlet on page 29). Alternatively, you can use an old or new sheet.

Finished overall size of project shown:

Straight pins

88 x 52"

Fabric scissors

MATERIALS

Fabric marker

Old quilt top or flat sheet (preferably queen or king size)

Sewing machine

10 yards solid linen or lightweight canvas fabric

Large safety pin

Hand-sewing needle Stepstool or ladder

1 M yards patterned cotton fabric Vintage napkin or handkerchief

Sewing the Teepee

Butcher paper (at least 27 x 81")

1. Wash, dry, and iron all the fabric before cutting.

2 pieces fusible interfacing, each 2" square

2. With your butcher paper oriented vertically, trim the

Coordinating thread 3 pieces rope, 3’ long 2 pieces K"-wide elastic, each 6" long Three 1" buttons

top edge with your scissors so that it is perpendicular to the side edges. Draw a line parallel to and 1 ½" from the top edge. Fold the paper along this line. The folded portion of the paper will become the pattern for the casing, or drawstring channel, at the top of the teepee.

Straight twig 2" longer than your napkin or handkerchief 3' jute twine Paint pens in assorted colors Six 8'-long bamboo poles TOOLS Iron and ironing board Pencil Yardstick or clear acrylic grid ruler Paper scissors 7

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