Perspective

When you see this block, how big in diameter does it seem to you to be?

And when you see these two together? 

Being at the V&A in April was truly wonderful, and seeing the blocks in the George coverlet was mind blowing. As I have mentioned before, the blocks were so small, about four inches. Also all the different patterns this seamstress had come up with was so nice to discover. It was like encountering the aunt or grandmother of Mrs. Jane Stickle. Oh, that is a presumptious assumption, but who knows? One thing they would have had in common, though, would be their love of creating patterns.

The blocks above I made after returning from England. It was one of the rosettes of the coverlet I had not seen before. I drafted the bigger the same size as the other circles, and then gave the smaller size a go as well. Can you guess the size? I decided not to break my fingers making it, knowing there are other more intricate patterns to draft and sew up, so I landed on a five inch finish. That would make the one about five and a half. The bigger one? It is about eleven inches in diameter - finished. Using my compass and quilting rulers I draft them. It is a joy to make my own patterns - from scratch so to speak, from "circle one". I don't know how many I'll make or how to put them together - just plain loving the process. 

We are having some chilly but beautiful days, for the apple blossoms to come out from hiding. Just because. Now the compass is beckoning... Oh, and a link to an Austen aficionado reviewing the exhibition. 

Happiness today

Finding these videos.

Inspiration to get all the projects done:) Bach and his contemporaries and patchwork in true harmony.

When the world seems smaller

This week I happily could pick up a parcel at the post office. I grew up in a time – I sound a hundred years old, but it was only twenty years ago – when receiving something from America was a great event. To imagine getting something from The Far East was not something … we did – really. Times change. This book was in my parcel. It is so beautiful. One can only ponder on what Yoko Saito might find in her imagination to thrill us with next. … or not, for seeing these projects and dreaming of making some is bliss …

The latest circle. I will soon have to “square up” these blocks. The search for background fabric has begun:) Little pumpkin had her tonsils out yesterday, and we are stuck at home for a couple of weeks. I hope to get some sewing done. See ya.

Spring

Quilts 1700-2010, V&A April 2010

What can one say? I’d say: Go if you can. Buy the book if you can’t. And this: I for one want to go back.

The quilts were beautifully and thoughtfully displayed. The show provoked smiles, thoughts of empathy for the makers and deep respect for the craftsmanship performed yesterday and today.
Representing the latter category: Natasha Kerr, whose installation is on the cover of the book/catalogue.

The six years of hard work Sue Prichard and her colleagues have put down have paid off. – In the highest number of preordered tickets in the history of the museum, but not least in the interest in and pride in the cultural heritage of quiltmaking that the exhibition has promoted.
It was a thrill to see the quilts from Kaffe’s museum book in person. The one above was a coverlet probably made in 1829, by Elisabeth Chapman. The top had been attached to a board with cut out squares, that were like windows to the back. It was displayed in a glass monter so one could see both the front and the paper pieces still there in the coverlet’s back. Some of the pieces had beautiful hand writing on them – fragments of letters.

And the main reason I went to London this time: The coverlet “King George III reviewing the volunteers” I was amazed to see the size of the small rosettes – I measured them with my 6 inch ruler (yes, I brought it with me) to be about 4 inches in diameter. It is a most intriguing piece of work.
Taking pictures was not allowed. Here are some links to British bloggers who were invited to a special preview before the official opening of the show:
http://cottoncocktails.blogspot.com/2010/03/v-quilts-1700-2010-preview.html#comments
http://aquiltersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/03/quilts-2010-at-victoria-albert-museum.html
http://aquiltersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/03/quilts-1700-2010-victoria-and-albert.html
http://makedoandmendquilts.blogspot.com/2010/03/quilts-1700-2010-at-victoria-and-albert.html
http://susanbriscoe.blogspot.com/2010/03/v-exhibition-thoughts-on-king-george.html
There are many more impressions whizzing through my brain. Maybe some will come forth in future postings.
For now – good night.

London

Nice weather. Lovely buildings.
Window shopping at Harrods.

Wonderful food from all over the world. Here: Lebanese hummus with lamb.

Kensington.

I long to go back.

Restless

I want to write about our trip to London, but my thoughts are not yet quite sorted. Yesterday my head was spinning, and I could not figure out which project to work on, if at all… And then these prepared patches fell out of my DJ book. OK. Better. A project I could manage in a day.

Done.

This morning

After a few days of playing the who-finds-the-bucket-first game, life has calmed down. So much that a little quilting could be done. The internal rush to get the borders finished has begun. It feels good to be almost there.
This time two years ago these snow drops gave us joy. The snow disappeared this week – very late – and yesterday I spotted the first snow drop’s head.  I will have to venture into the rainy garden today to see the progress of our little white headed friend. Maybe some friends have joined her:)

Yoko Saito

A week ago I attended Yoko Saito’s class at the Norwegian Quilter’s Associaton’s annual meeting. It was a class with a master.

Despite a rather bad interpreter, we all felt she came across as a warm, generous and humorous woman. When it comes to her enormous skills and artistry: Had quilting been generally accepted as the artform it truly is, she would have been given the title professor a long time ago.
Here are some impressions of the two quilts in the exhibition area.   The workmanship is astonishing, and the use of motifs shows the mind of a truly creative soul.
  
Baskets – she told us of her love of baskets, and that she is now studying the making of Nantucket baskets.

The “Talking houses” quilt below hung in the class room. Ms. Saito I believe has set a goal – to gently encourage a younger audience to pick up their needle and thread. The houses in this quilt were made during a period when she went to – if I remember correctly – shopping malls across Japan. She had a stand and sewed up a house on each occasion. Her view was that Japanese quilters had come to a level of artistry, that younger people might be “scared off” and think it too difficult an art form and never give it a try.
Full pictures of the three quilts are shown in May Britt’s post here.

And some are maybe a bit sceptical to hand piecing. So we were given a kit of wonderful taupe fabrics, told to cut with scissors strips and piece them together to small log cabin blocks. It was such a pleasure to sit with fellow enthusiasts and piece quietly. No buzzing sewing machines, no running back and forth to the ironing boards. Just stimulating conversation all around. And respectful and assertive tutoring from Ms. Saito and her wonderful co teacher Satomi Funamoto.
A picture of our class is shown at the end of Hanne’s lovely post.
Here are my log cabin blocks so far. I love that these humble blocks once assembled and appliqued to each other will make up a beautiful bag.

Slowly I am adapting to Ms. Saito’s sewing technique. She is sewing with such incredible speed. 
The technique is demonstraded here by one of her students.

Another detail of one of the quilts.
Now I’m back in real life, and I have to run, because my kids are sick. Take care. More later.
Oh, one more thing: Emily was there too! She has written a wonderful report here.

“King George”, its maker and Tracy Chevalier

Thanks to Jette at Parttime Perfectionist I found this beautiful, beautiful clip about Tracy Chevalier and her encounters with quilts at the V&A.

The film about Tracy Chevalier at the museum storage shows her seated beside the quilt “King George III Reviewing the Volunteers” writing notes. The quilt is featured in Kaffe Fassett’s museum book. And I’m currently making some of the circles. The only guide I have had so far, when it comes to patterns and size, is the pic above from Kaffe Fassetts museum book. To my astonishement - and amusement – when seeing the blocks in the right perspective, I discovered the blocks are so small. I tell you much smaller than I had pictured in my mind. They must be about 6 inches in circumference – and I’m making mine 11! 
It is also wonderful to hear more background information about the quilt. The maker incorporated herself in some of the appliqued blocks. “So funny,” Tracy Chevalier comments. I agree!

Here’s the one in the works these days -back and forth to my job, peacefully sewing on the train.