Bookbag

bookbag, 30 x 22 cm, machine- and handsewing, handquilting and -appliquéing

(all visible stitches and the patchwork on top are made by hand)

The design of the patchwork star in the center is mine.

This bookbag is designed to hold hardcover or paperback books of different sizes.

A large book is put in horizontally, 

while a smaller book is put in vertically, the bookbag is folded then and is held together by the attached ribbon. 

Such a bookbag is meant to hold and protect a book while commuting or traveling.

And since both reading and quilting are very personal acts, I do love to personalize such a bookbag by using typical colors and fabrics which represent the taste and particular likings of the owner.

And how about a bookmark to go with it? 

The books shown here are both by Jennifer Chiaverini:

"Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker" and

"The Quilter's Kitchen",

I love them both, as I love ALL books by Jennifer Chiaverini.

.... ah, and yes, such a bookbag is durable and washable, too. As it is the case with most items here on this site: before you wash it for the first time, let it sit in cold water for at least eight hours, that prevents fabrics and yarn from shrinking. After that the item can be washed by hand or machine with a mild detergent (for wool) at low temperature. If there is machine washing: use the wool-setting and let it spin  at the slowest possible speed. Then let it dry, lay it flat over a laundry rack, keep it in its shape while it gets dry.

More information about how to treat quilts and quilted objects can be found on the right hand side here.

French - Star - Quilt

wallhanging, handmade, 92 x 92 cm, cotton, linen, cotton blends, wool

As it is always the case with my quilts, this one, too, includes lots of personal stories: 

I know exactly which star I made at a hotel room in San Francisco,  I know which fabric was given to me by a friend, this fabric is cut off an old tablecloth used in my family, that fabric I once bought at the  Oriental Market in Berlin, this is a part of a dress I once wore, this is the same piece of fabric I also used in my Winter Quilt, this is from a dress my sister once wore, this is a part of a shirt which belonged to my brother-in-law and these stories go on and on and I love to combine these fragments of my life in a quilt.

This way a quilt is permanently talking to me, and I like that.

Another story is how I got the idea for this design:

I was leafing through a wonderful book at my friend's place in Berlin. The book was from 1999, it is now out of print it seems, it's by Dorothy Wood, the title is: 

"Couture: Patchwork, Broderie"

It's in French, and on one page I found the picture of a large quilt with an extraordinary pattern: stars and stars and more (different) stars, some side by side, some interwoven, light and dark colors gorgeously arranged, a spectacular piece that is!! I had been thinking about the magnificent person who had been able to complete a large quilt like this! 

As for me, I copied a small part of this "French Star Quilt" (so I called it) and used it for my design of this wallhanging, and it really took me a lot of time and patience to accomplish that, so again, I can only deeply admire the person who completed a large quilt with such a pattern, and I'm very grateful to her (or him) for giving me the idea for my little quilt here. Sadly no information about the quiltmaker could be found in the book.

Here are some pictures how I went step by step to complete my wallhanging:

assembling the pieces:

finished patterns:

the back of the top:

the top is finished and rests, hung over a chair:

three layers (top/strong cotton/wool) had been basted and are now being quilted:

the quilting is done:

a small binding and a label are attached:

two tubes at the back hold a rod, and the wallhanging is hung up:

Two Things

Two Things

Two things possess the power,

Two things deserve the name,

Two things can reawaken

Perpetually the flame.

Two things are full of wonder,

...

Langston Hughes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqyZ8Mq0Wk&list=PL0A2009C984E15518

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is one of my most beloved poets. 

I am so glad I found this website here with videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZKSRqTzabg&list=PL0A2009C984E15518

... where some of his poems are very well read and combined with lovely photographs and paintings. I do like that VERY much.

Here is one of those poems:

OLD WALT 

.

Old Walt Whitman

Went finding and seeking,

Finding less than sought

Seeking more than found,

Every detail minding

Of the seeking or the finding.

Pleasured equally

In seeking as in finding,

Each detail minding,

Old Walt went seeking

And finding.

Langston Hughes

(a cushion top, in the works)

I also warmly recommend this website:

http://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.de/2006/08/183-old-walt-langston-hughes.html

In this anthology I especially like the poem "A Civil War Veteran" by Norbert Krapf, which is also about Walt Whitman:
http://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.de/2006/08/192-civil-war-veteran-norbert-krapf.html

I'm so glad these things exist!

Improvisation

For my latest quilt I used certain elements of African American textile design: large shapes, asymmetry and improvisation. I had much fun: after I had found the right fabrics and had cut the first pieces I used the machine to assemble the blocks and listened to lovely music and added this and then that and at some point I had finished the top. I then quilted the layers of the quilt (batting: a soft, light cotton-polyester-blanket, backing: flannel) by hand, and this took me really some time. But again it was fun, I just made spontaneous decisions where and how to go with my quilting stitches, no plan, very easy-going ... then I added the binding, also by hand, ( I did the binding twice, my first choice of fabric didn't satisfy me), ... well, now it's all done! :-)

Happy New Year!

Das neue Jahr sieht mich freundlich an, und ich lasse das alte mit seinem Sonnenschein und Wolken ruhig hinter mir.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I really like these lines, so here I try to translate them into English:

The new year is looking at me in a friendly way, and I quietly leave behind me the old one with its sunshine and clouds.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(letztes Blatt von "Der literarische Katzenkalender 2012")