Work In Progress

Dieses kleine Teil ist schon längst fertig, aber ich hab gerade dieses Foto wiedergefunden und ich mag es mich daran zu erinnern, wie die Dinge entstanden sind. Ich liebe einfach meine Arbeit!

This little piece is long since finished, but I just came across this picture again and I just like to remember how things came into being. I just love my work!

A Cow

Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them; and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures. 

~Thomas de Quincey (English essayist, 1785- 1859)

http://www.quotegarden.com/cows.html

 I  LOVE them, too!

a little folk art quilt for kids of all ages, handmade, 18 x 20 cm

ein kleiner Folk Art Quilt für kleine und große Kinder, handgearbeitet, 18 x 20 cm

Bookmark / Lesezeichen

I love bookmarks!.

Here are two with the leaves I also used in the mini-quilt below.

They measure 15,5 to 6 cm. 

Handsewn and handquilted,

they are filled with sackcloth, so they are thin but firm.

Spring Is Coming Soon!

It's spring fever. 

That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, 

you want it so!

- Mark Twain

www.quotegarden.com/spring.html

It's not spring just yet, but isn't it good to be well prepared for this fever?? 

For me it's just nice to have some blooming flowers around... so I make them!! Such as these flowers shown here...  they come in various sizes, some have ribbons,  and I love to use them just for hanging them up, or for coasters, or larger ones for table-mats or potholders. They really look good on a table or in the kitchen! A friend of mine attached one of my flowers to her purse. I think smaller ones are nice gift-tags, too, or just to be fashionable, I put a small one on my coat... 

They are completely handmade and filled with a cotton-polyester-fleece.

If you would like to have one, I am glad to receive an e-mail (MARIASmail@t-online.de), please send me the fabrics you like or tell me your favourite style and colors and I try to make one for you with the fabrics I have at hand. For more information please go to "Give And Take" on top of this site.

Mark Twain nennt dieses Gefühl "Frühlingsfieber" .... 

Ich weiß, es ist noch nicht wirklich Frühling, aber macht es nicht Freude schon einmal vorbereitet zu sein? Ich find's einfach schön, blühende Blumen um mich zu haben, also mach ich sie schon mal selbst! So wie diese Blumen auf den Fotos, ich gestalte sie in verschiedenen Größen, einige haben auch Bändchen, und ich mag es, sie einfach aufzuhängen oder sie als Untersetzer zu benutzen. Größere Blumen benutze ich als Tischläufer oder für die Küche als hübschen Topflappen. Sie sehen auf dem Tisch oder in der Küche ganz nett aus! Eine Freundin von mir hat eine Blume an ihrer Handtasche befestigt, sieht sehr fröhlich aus! Ich denke, dass kleinere Blumen nette Geschenkanhänger sein können, oder vielleicht macht eine kleine sich auch gut an einem Mantelkragen, ich hab's ausprobiert! 

Die Blumen sind komplett mit der Hand genäht und sind mit einem weichen Baumwoll-Polyester-Vlies gefüllt.

Falls Sie auch eine haben möchten, freue ich mich über eine e-mail: MARIASmail@t-online.de. Bitte senden Sie mir dann die Stoffe, die Sie mögen oder beschreiben Sie mir Ihren bevorzugten Stil und teilen Sie mir Ihre Farbwünsche mit, ich versuche dann, mit meinen Stoffen Ihren Geschmack zu treffen. Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter "Give And Take" ganz oben auf dieser Seite. 

This fine book helped me to find my design - ideas:

 English Paper Piecing, Muster aus geometrischen Formen,

by Claudia Schmidt

Utility Quilts

When I start to make a new quilt, either for myself or for a person who asks me to do so -

I begin with the questions: How much time do I wish to invest? And what purpose will this quilt serve?

It's ultimately the choice between a fancy and a utility quilt.

What's a utility quilt?

Well, this is what I think: 

while fancy quilts radiate some kind of an artistic charisma, and are primarily used on special occasions, utility quilts are meant to be practical household quilts for daily use. Utility quilts are often pieced in a simple and quick way and are more or less thickly batted so that they provide warmth and comfort. A household with a love for quilts usually possesses a larger quantity of utility quilts and only a few fancy quilts.

But then, just like a fancy quilt a utility quilt shows all the traditional elements of an individually designed quilt, as for example:

- traditional patterns (mostly an arrangement of squares and/or stripes),

- the use of fabrics which have a tight connection to the life of the owner (but other than in fancy quilts no silk or velvet)

- a quilting work which is lovingly done, often by hand,

- a label with some information at the back.

When I make a utility quilt, I normally need 2 to 4 weeks to finish it, while working on a fancy quilt with a more intricate patchwork takes me from 3 months to a year or more, also because I don't use a sewing machine for fine patchwork.

Here is one of my fancy quilts:

.... and these are some pictures of my latest utility quilts 

(125 + 175 cm, cotton fabrics, the batting is a warm but light cotton-polyester blanket, the backing a soft flannel sheet, machine- sewing, hand-quilting)

... and as always, I love to combine a quilt with a cushion:

"Gwen had never imagined that fabric could convey so much meaning."

The Winding Ways Quilt, by Jennifer Chiaverini

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")

Merry Christmas!

Follow your own star!

Dante Alighieri

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/star_3.html

The German singer and songwriter Reinhard Mey celebrated his 70th birthday a few days ago, and I like him very much. And I found this lovely song which describes so much of this feeling I have when one year turns into the next... sorry, it's in German!

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr

Ist das schon so lange her?

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

Noch weht mir der Wind von der See her entgegen,

Noch finde ich Sand in meinen Hosenumschlägen

Und Dünengras in meinem Haar,

Spür‘ auf den Lippen das Meer;

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

Ist es schon wieder so spät?

Mir taut noch der Vorjahrsschnee von meiner Mütze,

Um meine Schuhe entsteht eine Pfütze

Auf dem gewachsten Parkett,

Werd‘ ich den Winter gewahr.

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

Ist also morgen schon heut?

Noch schwirren vom vorigen Sommer die Mücken

Um meinen Kopf, meine Finger zerpflücken

Akazienblätter zerstreut:

Ein wenig, von Herzen ... ist‘s wahr?

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

Die Tage hab‘ ich nicht gezählt.

Noch raschelt verwelktes Laub unter den Schritten,

Im vorigen Herbst von der Hecke geschnitten.

Noch glimmt Erntefeuer im Feld,

Flammenlos, kaum wahrnehmbar.

Bin immer noch der ich war,

Erwachsener werd‘ ich wohl nicht.

Ich hab‘ einen Jahresring mehr wie die Bäume,

Eine dickere Rinde, ein paar neue Träume.

Und Lachfalten mehr im Gesicht.

Wirklich schon wieder ein Jahr?

http://www.reinhard-mey.de/start/texte/alben/wirklich-schon-wieder-ein-jahr

Winter Quilt

I just completed my Winter Quilt! 

I worked on it each Christmas season over the past years, I started in 2009. 

I talked about it before here, 

if you are interested go to my post from December 6, 2011: 

"St. Nicholas' Day".

This quilt is 123 x 173 cm, is completely hand made and it has quite a nice touch, because for the first time I used a 60%cotton-/ 33%polyester/ 7%polyacrylic-blanket  for the batting and a lovely piece of soft flannel for the backing. This was a good choice I think, the quilt is not heavy at all while it feels warm, and the materials went very well with my hand-quilting-stitches. 

My Favourite Fairy Tale

It's 200 years ago to this date ( December 20, 1812) that the first volume of the "Household Tales" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm was published. I thought that could be a good reason to show a post here again which I first put on this blog in February 2011. And again:
This fairy tale here is my favourite, no war, no cruelty, no winners or losers, my, I love that! :-)
And so I made a quilt about it. It's a wallhanging.

The Three Brothers

THERE was once a man who had three sons, and nothing else in the world but the house in which he lived. Now each of the sons wished to have the house after his father's death; but the father loved them all alike, and did not know what to do; he did not wish to sell the house, because it had belonged to his forefathers, else he might have divided the money amongst them. At last a plan came into his head, and he said to his sons, "Go into the world, and try each of you to learn a trade, and, when you all come back, he who makes the best masterpiece shall have the house."
The sons were well content with this, and the eldest determined to be a blacksmith, the second a barber, and the third a fencing-master. They fixed a time when they should all come home again, and then each went his way.

It chanced that they all found skilful masters, who taught them their trades well. The blacksmith had to shoe the King's horses, and he thought to himself, "The house is mine, without doubt." The barber only shaved great people, and he too already looked upon the house as his own. The fencing-master got many a blow, but he only bit his lip, and let nothing vex him; "for," said he to himself, "If you are afraid of a blow, you'll never win the house."

When the appointed time had gone by, the three brothers came back home to their father; but they did not know how to find the best opportunity for showing their skill, so they sat down and consulted together. As they were sitting thus, all at once a hare came running across the field. "Ah, ha, just in time!" said the barber. So he took his basin and soap, and lathered away until the hare came up; then he soaped and shaved off the hare's whiskers whilst he was running at the top of his speed, and did not even cut his skin or injure a hair on his body. "Well done!" said the old man. "your brothers will have to exert themselves wonderfully, or the house will be yours."

Soon after, up came a nobleman in his coach, dashing along at full speed. "Now you shall see what I can do, father," said the blacksmith; so away he ran after the coach, took all four shoes off the feet of one of the horses whilst he was galloping, and put him on four new shoes without stopping him. "You are a fine fellow, and as clever as your brother," said his father; "I do not know to which I ought to give the house."

Then the third son said, "Father, let me have my turn, if you please;" and, as it was beginning to rain, he drew his sword, and flourished it backwards and forwards above his head so fast that not a drop fell upon him. It rained still harder and harder, till at last it came down in torrents; but he only flourished his sword faster and faster, and remained as dry as if he were sitting in a house. When his father saw this he was amazed, and said, "This is the master-piece, the house is yours!"

His brothers were satisfied with this, as was agreed beforehand; and, as they loved one another very much, they all three stayed together in the house, followed their trades, and, as they had learnt them so well and were so clever, they earned a great deal of money. Thus they lived together happily until they grew old; and at last, when one of them fell sick and died, the two others grieved so sorely about it that they also fell ill, and soon after died. And because they had been so clever, and had loved one another so much, they were all laid in the same grave.

(by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt, London: George Bell 1884, 2:148-150)

What I so much like about that fairytale is: no cruelty! Only an attempt to find a solution to a problem in mutual agreement. By searching for excellence and friendly competition. There are no losers or winners. The fruits of their labor are for the benefit of them all.

This is the line from the fairytale I worked into the quilt:

"Go into the world and try each of you to learn a trade." 

(photograph by Arndt Laude, Hamburg, www.alaude.de )

Here is another picture of my quilt, I like how the sun played with it!