Common Textiles

I have many sets of old pillow cases. They are pretty but that is not the primary reason I have them. I bought most of them in the 80s at the Salvation Army, thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales. I could spot them in almost any setting and the amazing handmade detail would compel me to buy them every time.

Although some of them are probably quite old I've use them all. I hardly ever make the bed without vintage pillowcases on it. They are all one hundred percent heavy cotton. Most of them are made from actual pillowcasing fabric, woven in a tube without a side seam. They have been washed over and over again so they feel velvety and I iron them (yes, I do) so that they are crisp AND velvety.

I noticed the colors in the roses on this one this morning. I wonder if the fabric has faded from a more brilliant pink to the salmon or if she was thinking of a particular rose that she had seen and reproducing the shading on the petals with thread she chose to edge the applique with. The two-tones of pink seems to argue for deliberate shading.

Sew or Die

I love everything about this little quilt! I love that it is inspired by tattoos, I love the tough imagery, I love the Virgin of Guadalupe, I love the sewing tools appliqued on, but most of all, I love the title!

The artist is Marcia Zimmerman. She won my personal prize for Best Sense of Humor, Wall Quilt.

Peace

An extended family member died suddenly and unexpectedly this weekend. Someone who, I think it is fair to say, was challenging to herself and others. No matter what happened during or after her life she is at peace now. But because of who she was many in my family are left to sort it out.

There have been people in my life who have died that I miss greatly. I expect to miss them for as long as I am alive. Because we are human, and so imperfect, there is always a list of regrets but I see and read things that I know would make them laugh or that they would love and I feel a familiar mix of emotion that always ends with a kind of pure sadness. I have come to think of that feeling as what grief is transformed into.

It is harder by many degrees when loss is so intermingled with anger, relief and shock. In the days ahead everyone will get to make their choices about all of the unfinished business she left behind.

The Sweetest Yo-yos

By Anna Macaluso this is called Sweet Hearts and it is.

I have not seen yo-yos doubled like this with a very tiny yo-yo used as a center for a larger. The edging is great also. I have all those hearts left from my quilt-as-you go quilt. Could I combine them with yo-yos and make a wall quilt...?

It is a reason to make more yo-yos. The tool makes it fun and just about perfect every time.

Yo-Yos

In the last few weeks I've bought several Clover Yo Yo makers. Two in Paducah of the large size, one to keep and one to give away to one of the Library quilters. I liked mine so much that I bought two more at my local quilt shop, the small and the jumbo -- so I've been making yo-yos. And apparently lots of other people have too.

This yo-yo wreath appliqued quilt is by Barbara Smith and won first place for an appliqued bed quilt. Please notice that each yo-yo has a blending or contrasting color laid inside.

This one, Blue Poppies, by the same artist, uses yo-yos as centers for the dimensional blue flowers. Her descriptive sheet mentions that the yo-yos are padded with batting.

I particularly like the orange and blue color scheme. This combination showed up several times.These are wonderful crisp, classic quilts.

New Jersey Quilt Convention 2009

My own projects are sitting alone. Work is as frenetic and stressful as I have ever experienced. The poor economy has meant budget insecurity but also the need to prove our value, seemingly in every direction at once. The result has been many extra hours on the job.

But today the weather was beautiful and it was time for a drive and a quilt break. I didn't get lost going or coming home, that's a first. When I got to the Expo Hall I had to hunt a bit for a parking spot and I was glad. I've thought about the impact the economy could be having on quilting, crafts and the arts. Today is the second day of the three day show and it looked well attended to me.

I did buy a few things but mostly I looked and I took pictures. Here are some favorites:

Sunflowers quilts always catch my eye and there seems to be endless techniques and design arrangements. This one won "Best Innovative Design." The artist is Raina Lynn-Knapp.

The center looks to be woven strips of fabric. They are wonderful colors, so luminous that they look like they might be satin but I think they are cotton. I love the way she has chosen to weave the colors together. Wonderful shading results.

I think some of the petals are hand-dyed velvet. Many are dimensional and stand away from the background.

The petals, leaves and stalk are also a combination of raw-edged and satin stitched applique. Some of the pieces have such a sculptural quality they almost look as though they are wired, like french ribbon. I often have mixed feelings about dimensional applique, understanding the idea and the attempt but not so convinced by the final product. This is a case where the dimensionality really adds to the piece. The use of the texture and color direction in the fabric is also outstanding. I came back to it at least three diffrent times to admire.

Because I'm not sleeping

I'm wandering through older quilt show photos. This is one of those nearly traditional or, traditional art quilts (take your pick), that I seem to love. The grid/block arrangement is there, and in this case the block content repeats but the pattern is in no way traditional and there are lots of non-repeating elements straying out side the lines.

Then there is this fellow. The art nouveau-influenced heart jungle provides a great context for him.

I believe the quilt is hand appliqued, at least partially hand pieced and certainly hand quilted. The surface also features some beading.

The whole thing is whimsical without being cartoon-like.

What I've Been Doing

Twittering. I signed up for Twitter because I didn't "get it" and I needed, both professionally and personally, to understand what it was - AND - I will confess I like all of the words that go along with Twittering. Like Tweet. I actually started to use Twitter as part of my day job, tweeting through "webinars" and on line conferences as a kind of widely distributed on line chat. Now I like it. It is a quick way to record what I'm thinking about or doing to some extent (although, honestly, I don't use it much that way). A convenient way to promote anything I want to promote and an easy way to connect to others across a wide spectrum of my own interests. For example, someone sent out the URL to a great blog the other day: http://www.subversivestitch.blogspot.com/. I love all the content it is packed with. It makes me want to try to do something different with my own blog.

Cleaning my sewing studio. I've been taking stock of everything that I actually do and putting away or getting rid of materials and tools that I seldom use. I've also purged some projects that I accept that I will never finish. This is part of the Paducah effect of looking at quilting more seriously. It is like walking around what I do and looking at it from an entirely other direction. Interesting.

Piecing and thinking. I am working on piecing my moon and stars quilt. I have been quilting some off and on since undergraduate school. Over the years there have been various parts of the process I didn't like. Now I like all parts of the process. Maybe some more that others, but there is nothing that stops projects from moving forward. An illustration, in part, of skills building through classes. Thank you to all the wonderful and diverse teachers I've had over the years.