crafts

Oh joy of joys! A frankenpen for my very own from frankenpen creator Tom Overfield!

The term “frankenpen” is used by fountain pen collectors to refer to a pen that incorporates parts from other pens – say, a cap or a barrel. The prefix “franken-” comes from the fictional monster cobbled together by Dr. Frankenstein.

Tom, an IT expert and a FP user and collector, makes entire pens from vintage Sheaffer parts. Like works of art, his creations have titles or names. This is “Thinenstein”. It has other siblings, all Sheaffer Snorkels – the first one he made was called “Frankensnork”, followed by “Son of Frankensnork” and “Bride of Frankensnork”, and all in the collections of Filipino penfriends.

Thinenstein is made from Thin Model (TM) parts and has a Touchdown fill system and a Triumph nib. The parts are of different colors – the cap burgundy, the barrel blue, the end cap green, the section dark amber.

“Sheaffer TMs were made for only a few years,” wrote Tom in an accompanying note. A Penspotters article says that the TM pens were introduced in 1950 and were fitted with the Touchdown system until the switch to the Snorkel filling system in 1952. For the bodies of their pens, Sheaffer used Radite (celluloid) until 1948, then brought in a new synthetic cast resin called “Fortical”.

Thinenstein’s section is a translucent or “visulated” dark amber plastic, which could not be used later on with the Snorkel “because of the need to house the Snorkel tube.”

The 14k two-tone gold Triumph nib is a marvel of design and engineering. It is a firm and sturdy nail, without the slightest hint of flex, making it more than robust enough for daily use.  Slightly upturned at the tip like a Turkish slipper, it lays ink in a consistent line.

It is is steady, reliable writer, one that can be counted on to perform day in and day out.

Its appeal also lies in its origin. Made from rare, old, and unusual but discarded parts joined to create an object of function that is at the same time an original work of art, Thinenstein is a perfect road warrior, combining the charm of vintage things, the attraction of beauty and exclusivity, and the practicality of performance.

Thank you very much, Tom, for this token of friendship that I will always treasure!

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On the Coastal road to Naic, Cavite, last Saturday, I saw these funky passenger transport vehicles in Imus, Cavite. They were smaller than a bus but larger than a jeepney, and as flamboyantly decorated with folk art. Let us call them “beeps”.

Beeps have the characteristic artwork common to jeeps – the “title” on the signage above the windshield; the names of the owner and his family painted all over the vehicle; and colorful motifs.

The design on the back of this beep reminds me of Hawaiian quilt appliques.

This artwork shows Mickey Mouse as a cruise director – implying, perhaps, that this beep is your own cruise ship to your destination.

The backs of beeps, like taxicabs, often bear the names of the owner’s wife and children and some motif that has special meaning for them. The splashguard at the bottom will often have either the name of a patron saint or some quotation.

This beep’s rear splashguard bears a quote about love. Filipinos are, in general, a romantic folk. Why the matching prawns? No idea. I saw several beeps with the prawns.

The airbrushed art on this beep is eye-catching. Note the color-coordinated passersby. Photography is a serendipitous activity.

Motifs from popular culture are often used. This is an anime-decorated beep. The side panel shows characters from “Kingdom Hearts”.

The bishop’s miter and crook are also common motifs for Cavite beep artwork. The back art of this one – a  guardian angel watching over two children crossing a log footbridge – is beautifully and painstakingly rendered.

Since beeps have more surface area than jeeps, there is more scope for folk artists to let their creativity run free in creating large designs. This kind of art work, executed on a moving canvas, reaches a wider audience than if it were just hung on the wall.

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A recent trip to Hong Kong yielded some interesting finds from the markets. Much were tourist-y gimcrack doodads, but since I was, after all, a tourist, I flung myself into the role with enthusiasm and poked around for items to take back.

I fell in love with a personalized seal and a watch.

On our first day of our trip, we headed to the Stanley Market for souvenirs to take home as pasalubong (lit., “to welcome”). It is part of Filipino culture to take home gifts to family and friends.

After looking at countless tee shirts, silk bags,  and other things, a seal engraving shop caught my eye. Run by a family – the mother, who sp0ke English, was the sales person while the father, son, and grandfather did the custom engraving, drawing, and other services – the shop offered countless blank seals to choose from.

I’d always wanted my own seal, ever since my Mandarin teacher at the Ateneo, Prof. Songbee Dy, gave me a Chinese name – “Ai Fei Fei”.

“Ai” is from the “A” in Alcasid, and “Fei” means “luxuriant and beautiful”, from the “fer” in “Jennifer”. Prof. Dy had thought about the name over a weekend, putting much effort in coming up with something special. After all, it was like she was naming me all over again.

I told the seal lady and she wrote the characters down for me, asking me if they were the right ones. We were taught to speak a little Chinese, not read it, so I wasn’t sure. I gave her the meaning; she nodded and asked me to choose a seal.

Since my zodiac animal in Chinese astrology is a Sheep, that’s what I chose, along with a red box. I was told to return in twenty minutes.

When I came back for my seal, it was beautifully engraved. My Anglo name “Jenny” was added at the bottom, rendering it invalid for use as an “official” seal. Still, it is special as a souvenir of this trip.

The box is of red brocade and fastened with a plastic splinter. Formerly, deer horn was used.

Closeup of the seal, with my Chinese name engraved in the ancient seal script.

The interior of the box is lined in red silk, with hollows for the seal and the covered dish of seal paste.

Playing with the seal.

The seal is marble, while the seal paste dish is porcelain.

The underside of the seal and the dish of seal paste. Seal paste is made of pulverized red cinnabar mixed with castor oil and silk strands to bind everything together.

At the Night Market at Jordan, one subway stop away from where our hotel was in Tsim Sha Tsui, I got this watch.

I don’t usually wear watches. But I couldn’t resist this old fashioned clockwork one, which features Chairman Mao constantly waving his arm up and down.

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Before email and text messaging, people kept in touch through letters. Penpals waited months to hear from correspondents around the world. When the letters finally arrived, they were opened like little treasures. The stamps were carefully inspected, as were the handwriting (or typewriting, but this was seldom), envelopes, and stationery. Relatives abroad sent missives scrawled on thin aeropost paper that folded over to make its own envelopes. Everyone was a handwriting expert and puzzle decoder, the skill gained from deciphering the chicken tracks sketched by friends and family.

The advances in technology have nearly killed off letter-writing. True, it is now more convenient than ever to communicate with people, yet there is a touch of soul and heart missing in the disturbed electrons that dance across a computer or mobile phone screen.

Interior decoratrix and lifestyle guru Alexandra Stoddard attempts to reverse this trend by waxing lyrical about the art of letter-writing in her book Gift of a Letter (1991).

She tells of her love of stationery, fountain pens, and sealing wax – interests I share – and how she uses these objects to pen handwritten notes to connect to people in an intimate and special way.

She makes clear, though, that you don’t need fancy pens or paper to drop your friends a line. What is important is sending something tangible – a piece of yourself that they can read over and over again, and tuck away in a box to read again later. Telephone conversations and text messages do serve the purpose of keeping people in touch, yet these methods of communication are ephemeral. They travel over the ether and vanish, leaving you with a dim memory of someone’s voice or a shared sentence or two.

Among the things I keep in my “memory box” are letters from my aunt, Araceli “Cely” Ortuoste, our clan matriarch. Her letters share stories about her parents and grandparents whom I never met.  When I visited her in her home in California some years ago, she told me the same stories. Yet the details of our conversations are forgotten; the letters, though, will always be there to remind me. My mother sends greeting cards from the Bay Area; her hand cramps and it’s difficult for her to curl her fingers around a pen, yet she manages to scribble a line or two in inks of different colors. I run my hands over the ridges on the paper and feel her with me, although it has been seven years since we last saw each other.

A letter shows that you cared enough to exert the effort of picking up a pen, writing a few lines with your recipient in mind, and mailing it. Use whatever’s at hand. A stray pentel and a page torn from a notebook are materials enough.

If you don’t like writing, why not send a little gift? A UK-based friend, Annie Merginio-Murgatroyd, mailed Ty Beanie Babies for my daughters; I sent her a signed mini-quilt. No words need be shared; the mere act of sending something that can be touched speaks volumes.

Vita is brevis. Let’s not take anyone or anything for granted. Think of the people you hold dear, and send them a little bit of your heart.

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Six months ago, Ik asked if I could teach her to knit.

“I’m sorry, babe,” I apologized. “I’d like to, but I don’t know how.”

I can cross-stitch and embroider on Aida, linen, and other materials; quilt at the intermediate level (drafting, rotary-cutting, machine- and hand-piecing, applique, setting, machine- and hand-quilting, binding, the works); and do paper crafts – collage, decoupage, origami.

But mastering the art of twisting and winding yarn with long sticks or short hooks has eluded me. I can crochet a chain, but that’s it for that. Knitting I never learned. So when I recently re-connected with Mona, a friend from college and fellow University of the Philippines Journalism Club and Fountain Pen Network Philippines member, I was intrigued to learn that she’s a knitter, and asked her where in Manila one could buy supplies.

Mona told me about Dreams in Glorietta 2 (Quad side), Ayala Center, Makati. “Look for the owner, Mrs. Lilli de Leon,” she urged. “She gives lessons, too.”

I knew about Dreams and used to buy cross-stitch patterns and embroidery floss there years ago. I didn’t know they carry other things now. I took Alex with me there last Friday, and was glad to see that they have nearly everything one might need by way of needlework supplies.

For Ik’s Christmas present, we decided to get her a complete beginner’s kit. Upon Ms. Lilli’s recommendation, I bought a pair of 4mm Lion brand knitting needles in lavender plastic; two balls of lightweight Red Heart yarn, one in pastel stripes and the other plain pink; and a book, “I Can’t Believe I’m Knitting” (Leisure Arts).

When Alex and I got home, I wrapped the presents. Ik’s suspense was torture – for me. She kept asking questions and we kept giving her clues, until we decided to let her open the kit. She was excited. The next day, we went back to Dreams for Ik’s first knitting lesson.

Dreams is indeed a “shop of dreams” for needleworkers. Knitting needles hang from the wall, along with scissors, rulers, other supplies. Bins against the wall are stuffed with yarn – acrylic, wool, silk-tweed blend, mohair. Shelves and racks hold crochet thread, hooks, patterns, books, thread, needles, bag clasps, and other interesting things.

Embroidery floss in many colors reminds me of the stash of thread I amassed as a cross-stitcher. I resolve to bring them out of boxes, check if the tapestry needles are still bright and shiny, the tiny steel-and-goldplated crane scissors sharp. Now where is the alphabet cross-stitch sampler I began eight years ago? It was my first attempt to embroider on linen; I had even added my own embellishments with Kreinik gold metallic and pearl thread.

My excuse for not finishing that piece back then was, “Life got in the way.” But as I’ve come to realize, hobbies and other creative activities are life.

As Ik and Ms. Lilli go through their knitting lesson, I read a beginner’s book on crocheting and study the diagrams for the single-crochet stitch. I weave the hook in and out the loops of variegated yarn, coaxing  stitches into straight rows.

The swatch grows; if I keep at it, I’ll soon have enough for a bookmark.

I stuff Ik’s knitting bag with yarn in rainbow shades. But I admit, it’s more for my pleasure than hers. Color makes me happy. That’s why I collect floss, fabric, and fountain pen ink in as many hues as I can.

Yarn is new to me. I wish I had been introduced to it sooner. It’s soft and warm, and if you squeeze a hank it springs back into shape, like a heart that keeps on loving and forgiving no matter how many times it’s broken.

With cold and impersonal technology so much a part of daily life, people are reacting – perhaps subconsciously – by turning towards crafts and other hobbies with tactile aspects. Knitting, quilting, and cross-stitch are now billion-dollar industries, a trend that began in the 1980s. John Naisbitt’s concept of the dichotomy of “high-tech/high touch” in his 1982 bestseller Megatrends first pointed this out.

He develops this idea further in his 1999 work High Tech, High Touch: Technology and Our Search for Meaning. Many of us, he says, live in a “technologically intoxicated zone” where we are drowning in stimuli from TV, cellphones, the Internet. Struggling to be free of it, people turn to religion, self-help books, Prozac, hobbies. Naisbitt’s solution is simple. Switch off your electronic devices, and spend time with friends and family.

Our “real life”, awash in technology, professional concerns, and other pursuits, is no excuse to put off or set aside the simple pleasures that can lift your spirits and bring you even a few moments’ comfort. This is real life, the only one we have. Once you understand that you don’t need to wait for happiness to come to you, rather it is wherever you find it, then you’ve discovered the secret for a wonderful life.

Ik starts another swatch of knitting, to show Ms. Lilli her progress at her next lesson. Using the English method, which suits her southpaw orientation, she winds pumpkin orange yarn around the needles, casting on stitches. I take up my crochet hook again; my bookmark will be finished soon.

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One of the hobbies I indulged in before I had to return to work full-time was quilting. It was something I swore I would never do.  I don’t recall exactly why, but there it was. So I took up cross-stitch and embroidery. And when I take up something, I go all out. I am self-taught when it comes to crafts, and I prefer to read and research and put the things I’ve learned into practice. So far this approach has worked well for me.

My husband once said, when I asked him if I could take x-stitch lessons that a shop was giving, “You don’t need lessons. You do okay from just your reading.” For me, that was a vote of confidence to proceed on my own. Baking or cooking – I just pick up a cookbook. I’ve churned out rellenong bangus, leche flan, and brazo de mercedes on my own, dishing them all up without once having seen them being prepared by someone else. The caveat here is that you must have an excellent cookbook or else it won’t help.

Back to quilting. So. After having done x-stitch and gone to roughly intermediate levels (stitching on linen; adding my own flourishes like metallic thread, even if not called for in the pattern; getting adept at resizing calculations), I entered the ”been there, done that” mode and looked for a new challenge.

When I started quilting in the late 1990s, there were still a lot of quilting (and x-stitch) magazines available at Booksale. Sadly, that’s not the case now. I’m glad now that I was able to collect many helpful and informative materials ten years ago – Traditional Quiltworks, Miniature Quilts, and Quilting Today (all published by Christine Meunier of Chitra Publications, now defunct); American Patchwork and Quilting (by Better Homes and Gardens, for the longest time edited by Heidi Kaisand); and the revered and venerable Quilter’s Newsletter (started by Bonnie Leman in the ’70s but later sold out to Primedia; it was influential in the revival of quilting as a popular hobby).

But I digress. Let’s get back to quilts. In the late ’90s, home Internet in the Philippines was in its infancy, and it was a tremendous boon in getting me in touch with quilters from around the world. I was introduced to swapping – of fabric fat quarters and charms, of patterns and magazines, of blocks and entire tops and quilts. Thanks to the generosity of quilters around the world, especially from the USA, I amassed quite a respectable stash of FQs, siggies, charms, and blocks.

Let me introduce you to some of my quilts. Though I “rested” from quilting since I went back to working full-time in 2002, prior to that I made many quilts, quite a few of which I have given away. One was stolen. Others must have been lost in the moves we made. Some are still left, though. My children know this is their inheritance (along with what’s left of my stash, and my books).

These are just some of them. There are more quilts in my linen closet. Not to mention the UFOs (unfinished objects) languishing in my stash.

Wall quilts are among the very first kind of quilts I made. When you are a beginner, often it’s best to start small so you don’t get overwhelmed, and you are motivated to finish quickly. You can be done in almost no time at all, and the gratification you’ll feel will make you more eager to start again and take on bigger challenges as you learn new techniques and hone the fundamentals. Wall-quilts are, as the name suggest, usually hung or displayed on walls or other flat vertical surface; a “hanging sleeve” through which a dowel or curtain rod may be inserted is often attached to the top edge.

I made this wallquilt in the late ’90s, as a beginner, to celebrate Philippine Independence Day (June 12). Notice that not all the seams line up properly! The fabrics are all local, so there isn’t much of a scrappy variation. This was before I was able to augment my stash via swaps and purchases at Divisoria. The stars and sun were hand-appliqued with yellow thread in a blanket stitch. The light-colored background squares are from an old sheet that I cut down to size as it was too large for our bed. True scrappy “make-do” spirit there!

The blocks from this quilt (“Words of Wisdom”) came from an Internet block swap that my quilter friend Lani Cabalza (also from the Phlippines) both joined. The blocks have quotes and signatures of the makers. I machine-pieced the blocks together, and hand-quilted.

Corner detail on “Words of Wisdom” quilt showing signed blocks and hand-quilting, which is uneven, I know, I know…I was a beginner and this was a way to practice. I think I got around 8 stitches to the inch here.

The label for this quilt came from a printed panel. I inked in the details using a Pigma Micron .05. It is important to put labels on quilts (usually attached to the lower-right hand corner of the back) to preserve information on the maker, date it was made, name of the quilt, and other particulars.

I received the quilt top (from “nono nanette” of the USA) in a Christmas swap, and had it hand-quilted by my househelp at that time, Mina Capote. She did much better work that I did, achieving, 10 stitches to the inch and very even.

Another top that I got in a swap, this time with Lani. I don’t remember what I made for her. I think she requested something in her favorite colors and design. I asked her for hearts in pink, and she did a lovely job! I did hand-quilting on this one. By this time, my stitches were much improved.

Detail of hand-quilting – white thread on the heart-flower blocks, red on the setting squares and triangles.

Yet another wall-quilt obtained from a swap – “Fourth of July”, from Felicia Ryan. She’s a very good quilter who’s had her work published in quilting magazines. She sent this all quilted and everything.

Label made and signed by Felicia attached to the back of the “Fourth of July” quilt. Note beautiful machine-quilting detail in red thread.

The very first quilt I made was a hideous red and yellow “lap quilt” for my daughter Alex who was around six or seven at the time. (This was ten years ago!) A lap quilt is something big enough for one person to use, while “bed quilts” are made to cover beds – twin, queen, or king.

After reading about the Olympic Quilts made by Georgia quilters for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which were given away to each participating country, I decided on a personal standard of 54″ x “70 for my lap quilts, the size of the Olympic giveway quilts.  I set these “bottle” or “jar” blocks I had gotten from yet another international swap into a lap quilt.

The Bottle or Jar design was very popular at the time it came out – late ’90s? – and practically everyone was making it. You put “stuff” in the jar – aliens, frogs, whatever – and there were a lot of fabrics printed just for Jar quilts. Another variation was the “Button” quilt – basically a Jar made with plain fabric with buttons of all kinds sewn onto the top by hand, “filling” the Jar. For this quilt, I made a conventional setting with black sashing to separate the Jars, and brown sashing to simulate “shelves”. I was so happy to get this “wood” fabric!

Label for the Jar lap quilt. I stitched together everyone’s siggies (signature squares) in the order that their blocks appear on the front of the quilt. I used a particularly shocking yellow print for the back.

Detail of Jar blocks “filled” with marbles, frogs, and shoes.

I made many queen-size bed quilts and some twin-size, most of them with blocks from swaps. I later started “downsizing” to lap quilts. They are my favorite size now – larger than wall quilts to be more functional (in bed, on the sofa as a throw, to take along on trips, etc), but smaller than bed quilts so they don’t take too long to finish.

If you would like me to make you a quilt from your own fabrics (old clothes, ties, etc) or with fabric from my own stash, just drop me an email.

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In 2002 I was in LA and a friend of mine, Marian Domoje, took me to the Getty Museum. It was an utterly beautiful place. I could have stayed there the entire day, wandering the quiet, well-lit halls, admiring the paintings and photographs, sculpture and antique furniture.

In one of the halls I chanced upon this work. It was hung close to the entrance and reached almost floor-to-ceiling. This and all other photos I have seen do the original work no justice. Up close, it is breathtaking. Each brushstroke is pure genius.

“Spring”,  Lawrence Alma-Tadema

I like my art “traditional realist”. Abstract and modern leave me cold – those splotches of color? Ik could do as well, if not better. It requires genuine drawing and painting skills to create works that live and breathe, that are like windows you could step through to enter another world, the artist’s world that he created from his own imagination.

Immerse yourself in art and visit worlds of wonder. You’d be doing your soul a favor.

See more of Alma-Tadema’s works and those of other realist painters at www.artrenewal.org

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I have loved sewing ever since 3rd grade at St. Scholastica’s Academy (Bacolod City) when we were taught basic mending and embroidery stitches on a retazo or scrap of fabric.

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The quilt on the bed, in a Dresden Plate design, is one I made for my sister-in-law, Gigi Alcasid, whom we visited last February 2007 in her home in Baldwinsville, upstate New York. I made it for her around 2001. I’m glad to see she’s still using it. In this photo, Alex poses in the spare bedroom where the quilt is laid out on ate Irma Nuevo’s bed, who was also visiting from the Philippines at the same time.

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