Happy Easter!

"Easter is…

Joining in a birdsong,

Eying an early sunrise,

Smelling yellow daffodils,

Unbolting windows and doors,

Skipping through meadows,

Cuddling newborns,

Hoping, believing,

Reviving spent life,

Inhaling fresh air,

Sprinkling seeds along furrows,

Tracking in the mud.

Easter is the soul's first taste of spring."

Richelle E.Goodrich,

Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/easter?page=1

Spring has returned!

Spring has returned.

The Earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.

Rainer Maria Rilke

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/spring

"And many surprises I bring"...

I come when the children are sleeping,

And many surprises I bring;

As long as no child is peeking,

I'll leave my tokens of spring,

I'll leave my tokens of spring.

I come when the children are sleeping,

Hiding eggs in each cranny and nook;

And then quick as a wink, I'm leaping

Right back into my storybook,

Right back into my storybook.

(From: Youth's Companion, Music by: Wm. Luton Wood, adapted by: Terry Kluytmans)

www.kididdles.com/lyrics/s135.html 

These are Mini-Quilts, a piece of magnetic foil is attached to the back, so that they can be used as magnets at the fridge or so.

Spring is coming...

... and the birds are singing in the morning!

This one is pinned at the door of my fridge -

(it has a piece of magnetic foil at its back).

Circle of Stories

"We are all joined in a circle of stories."

- Linda Joy Myers, Journey of Memoir: The Three Stages of Memoir Writing 


This is a sketch of the pattern which I found somewhere,
but I forgot where exactly, it's a decade ago.
Originally it shows even lines only,
but I added some curved lines to achieve a smoother impression.

I thought this pattern might be nice for a wallhanging, 

decorating like a wreath a door to a home,

where so many stories are taking place which are all interwoven.

This piece here is hanging on a branch from the local park.

Cushion (Sampler)

I so much like the names of these patterns, sometimes they sound like pure poetry:

LeMoyne Star

Scrappy Star & Stepping Stones

Waste Not

Star Center Log (Variation)

Monkey Wrench or Hole in the Barn Door

Double X No 4

Hovering Birds

Shoofly (Variation)

Mother's Favorite

and that's the back of the cushion:

Flying Geese

This is a daybed, covered with my latest quilt.

It's my first quilt that is not made for lying beneath it but for sitting upon it.

It is made in a non-delicate manner, that means this quilt is a robust one, it consists of strong fabrics, is padded with a rather thick cotton batting and the quilting is done with an extra strong thread.

The pattern is a Flying Geese variation.

It's also the first time that I tried out the "quilt-as-you-go"-method, 

that means I completed each patchwork block, added the batting and backing, quilted the center line, and assembled the finished blocks one by one by sewing the edges of the layers together, rather than working on the top first and adding batting and backing as whole pieces later, in order to quilt them afterwards.

It was crucial here to not quilt in close proximity to the edges, because then it would have been almost impossible for me to assemble the sandwiched blocks.

This method is a bit tricky, I didn't find it easy to sew together the different layers, 

but the beauty of this process is that I didn't have to deal with the painful process of assembling these super large pieces of fabric, I almost always had ended up doing so lying on the floor for hours to stretch out and to baste top/ batting/ backing and this is simply too much for my back these days. :-)

I'm glad I made it!!

meinketoy.com/blog/

Quilts and Books

I always think that there exists a natural bond between those two,

a book and a quilt.

So it's just a natural thing for me to make such bookmarks,

it feels to me as if they call for one another.

It's all about searching for patterns.

The pattern I used here is a double version of a "LeMoyne Star".

The book shown here is by Henry James, "The Portrait of a Lady".

To understand is to perceive patterns.

Isaiah Berlin

quotesgram.com/pattern-quotes

Things with Wings

This was a Christmas gift, I love that piece, it is super sharp, but the best is the idea, that it helps to produce things that have "wings". :-)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” 

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/stars

This here is a very lovely video, showing stars and meteor showers and shooting stars… enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/76418903

Stars are Wishes

He believed the stars were wishes,

and that one day they would all come true.

- Daniel Wallace, Big Fish

www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/stars?page=13

Traveling Patterns

This picture shows a section of my light quilt, which I take with me when I'm traveling,

the pattern is a lovely one I think:

depending on how you look at it, it shows a couple of "Six-pointed Stars" or 

"Tumbling Blocks".

… and I had been very surprised and delighted when I discovered - when I stayed in Weimar/ Germany for a couple of weeks - that the very same pattern can be found on the floor of the entrance-hall of the very lovely Anna-Amalia-Library, which was founded in 1766 (I don't know when these floor-tiles were built in.) 

More information on this fascinating pattern can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhombille_tiling

I always love to see that such patterns occur in multiple situations and places, that they are rooted in different cultural traditions and crafts…and that these patterns are building silent links between them.

"Big Magic", by Elizabeth Gilbert

Since I love all her books, I was very interested to read this one here as well: "Big Magic", by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's not a novel or a collection of stories like the books she has published before. This time she writes about what is standing behind her career as a writer, she writes about creativity, about "Creative Living Beyond Fear". She looks at this subject from all possible angles and in doing so she is witty, thoughtful and very very helpful. She shares stunning stories about some of her friends, describes experiences from her own life, provides some interesting background information on her stories and novels she has published before, and when I read her book it was like she was sitting like a friend with me over coffee at my living room table. I hung on every word of her and learned a lot. When I feel that way about a book, I know it's a good one (for me).

Here is a lovely quote, the first lines of a chapter with the headline "Stubborn Gladness":

"All I can tell you for certain is that my entire life had been shaped by an early decision to reject the cult of artistic martyrdom, and instead to place my trust in the crazy notion that my work loves me as much as I love it - that it wants to play with me as much as I want to play with it - and that this source of love and play is boundless."

Yeah! 

I do feel that way when I make my quilts! And this is what I wish to share when I give a quilt away.

Funny Quilt Patterns

Is there any such thing as a funny, humorous quilt pattern?

Well, yes, I find many of the quilts by Freddy Moran very nice, light-hearted and funny, if you are interested, just google her name and lots of colorful fine quilts will

come up which will make you smile.

But other than that?

Quilt patterns usually show finely arranged lines and pieces,  and often I stand in awe of the grace and rich cultural and historic tradition they reflect...

but I don't know many patchwork-patterns which are really telling FUNNY stories, but maybe that's just me, I'd be grateful for suggestions.

So I created my own pattern, which is hopefully SOMEWHAT funny, 

I called it "Funky Doo", 

and this is my first attempt to make a quilt with this pattern:

And since the Christmas season is not too far away anymore,

I added a "Happy Reindeer"-pattern:

So this is now a "Happy-Reindeer"-Quilt:

(… it's on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lupinequilts)

Doll Quilts

"Sewing was an essential task for women in the 19th Century. Little girls were taught their first sewing skills at the age of three, and many of the initial sewing projects were doll quilts. The child was able to choose her fabrics from the scrap bag, measure and cut the pieces for a simple quilt block, and hand sew with small and regular stitches. This "practice" was made more enjoyable by the prospect of having a cover for a beloved doll.

During the pioneer era, quilting was popular due to the expanding textile industry and the availability of inexpensive fabric. Quilts were needed for the westward journey and would adorn beds once the pioneers were settled. Young girls brought their treasured dolls for the journey while the women packed quilts made by friends and family as going away gifts."

http://www.quiltingboard.com/resources/article-15.html

Under this above link you'll find more interesting information on Doll Quilts, the article is called "The History of Doll Quilts in America" and is one of the rare really nicely written articles upon Doll Quilts… rare, because we all think it's clear what that is… and essentially it is true, yes, but there is more to say on this subject because Doll Quilts reveal so much about the role of a child in a household over the centuries, and also about the history of quilts in general.

I love Doll Quilts, very much so. I think they give a cozy bright light to a room, when they are seen with the eyes of an adult, and a cozy warm feeling to your family of teddies and dolls, when they are seen with the eyes of a child.

I started to make a few, some I keep here, some I offer on Etsy:
hhtp://etsy.com/shop/lupinequilts

Put variety in white.

Charles Hawthorne

www.art-quotes.com