Sounds like we have some interest in a sewing workshop, maybe a weekend, BYOSM (sewing machine). Stay tuned!
See also
The ruched fabric rosette known as a yo-yo in North America and a Suffolk Puff in the British Isles and elsewhere is a curious little thing.
A yo-yo is produced by forming a fold on the edge of a fabric circle with a running stitch, and then pulling the thread to form a gathered round. It can then be combined with others to produce an “open-weave” quilt top, or used singly as an embellishment for three-dimensional appliqué.
It is one of those novelty techniques that’although closely associated with quilts—does not of itself produce a true quilt. Many yo-yo “quilts” have no batting or backing, and are more like coverlets or throws. Even those that are attached to a backing are usually tied rather than quilted. Nevertheless, quilters love yo-yos.
Most commonly associated with the 1930s and ‘40s, yo-yo quilts of that era frequently mimic hexagon mosaic patterns popular at the time [see our granny hexagon blanket project 2018], such as Grandmother’s Flower Garden. Yo-yos were also used to create remarkable pictorial quilts, such as Texas Under Six Flags created by Leila Chaney in 1936 (pictured), which features over 10,000 silk yo-yos of varying sizes.
(continues, click link to see full article)The Yo-Yo quilt was a popular style of quilt making in America from the 1920-40s. Yo-Yos, or tiny circles of fabric, were gathered up at the edges and sewn together to create a three-dimensional effect. Yo-Yo quilts were popular because women could carry the little circles of fabric with them and make Yo-Yos whenever they had a free moment. Another way to explain the popularity of the Yo-Yo quilt may be its association with the toy called the Yo-Yo, very popular in the 1930-40s. There are many theories or ideas about how long the Yo-Yo has been in existence. But we know that a wooden toy with a string looped around the center axis was developed in the Philippines over 100 years ago. Some people believe that the Yo-Yo comes from the Filipino word for “come-come” or “return”. In the 1920s a man named Pedro Flores brought a Filipino Yo-Yo to the United States. A businessman named Donald Duncan bought the Filipino Yo-Yo Company around 1928. In 1932 Mr. Duncan received a trademark for the word Yo-Yo.
Inspired by Pysanki Ukrainian egg decorating (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pysanka), we will be decorating eggs using this method, though you may make any design or pattern you want! We will have books on hand for ideas.
Pysanka comes from the verb "to write," as designs are written with beeswax
and the colors applied like batik. This is a cozy indoor craft with candles and beeswax smell.
Requires specific tools and materials, which you can obtain online (https://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/) or maybe still at Guild Art Supply in Easthampton (see https://www.bigwheelpress.com/).
Please bring an egg or two to decorate. White eggs provide more options of colors in your design.
More about the tradition and some video instruction: