International Quilt Festival in Chicago

I had been to the International Quilt Festival in Chicago (Rosemont).
I had only time to attend on the Preview Night and the following day, but, oh, I had so much fun!
So many beautiful quilts on display!  I especially love the ones which are pieced and quilted by hand, so much personality and individual "handwriting" in them! And next to each quilt hung a written statement by the quilter upon why they designed the quilt in this special way: so many interesting stories were told!

At one booth I also talked to some charming ladies from the "Project Linus": they create and then donate handmade quilts to children in need, such a wonderful idea! On my next trip to the US I will bring a quilt, there are "Project Linus" groups and places to collect quilts all over the US and Canada!

I so much love the "Peanuts" cartoons, especially Linus who always carries a blanket, and this project is simply fabulous!

There is a lovely book by Jennifer Chiaverini about "Project Linus", the title is 

"The Giving Quilt".

And this is the website:

http://www.projectlinus.org/

And here are some more of my mid-19th century- style- bookmarks, I wrote about them in my post from June 4, 2013. I made them while I had been on my US-trip..... this is MY country for learning more about quilts, quilters, quilting books, quilting techniques, quilt-history and quilt projects! :-)

Bookmarks - Reminiscent of the Civil War Era

This is the first of a series of bookmarks I'm going to make in the style of American Civil War quilts. (Civil War: 1861-1865)
These bookmarks will show all the beautiful traditional elements of quilts of that era: 
the typical rich patterns, fabrics with a traditional design of flowers and diamonds and blocks and stripes, the autumn-like colors of quilts of that time: 
gray, olive, beige, a pale blue, brown, auburn, a warm yellow....  They should also have a certain "rural touch", represented by rough quilting stitches and a durable quality, that means for me: they shouldn't feel too soft or delicate.

Here is a picture of a typical Civil War quilt, it is from an exhibition at the New England Quilt Museum in Massachusetts: 

 (http://images.patronmail.com/pmailemailimages/1886/325649/articles_19.jpg)

An incredibly rich source of information on American Civil War quilts and many wonderful instructions can be found here:
 http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.de

Also: here is a very good article on Civil War quilts:
http://www.kellybutterbaugh.com/completecwquiltarticle.html

I think that the concept of "war" equals a declaration of bankruptcy and is a betrayal of all accomplishments that culture and civilization have given to mankind  -  
so I want these bookmarks to be reminiscent of that time but also in a way transcend the cruelty of war, so I give them the shape of a leaf....

My bookmarks will all be 21 x 6 cm (8,26" x 2,36"), they are sewn and quilted by hand, and they are filled with rough sackcloth (I love the smell of sackcloth: it reminds me of horses!). The back is a one-piece of a fitting fabric. I do each bookmark only once, and there is a small "M" stitched in on the back.

This is the one I started with, I will show the next ones here soon: 

Here are more:

"At the foot of their bed , she threw open the lid to the steamer trunk Uncle Jacob had bequeathed her and withdrew a quilt she had packed away for the summer. She draped it over the bed, sparing only a glance for the painstakingly arranged triangles and squares of Turkey red and Prussian blue and sun-bleached muslin, some scraps carefully saved from her household sewing, others shared by a dressmaker friend and others among her sewing circle. She folded the quilt in half length-wise, quickly rolled it up into a tight bundle, and tied it off with a wide length of ribbon she had been saving for her hatband. When she returned outside, Thomas had the horses ready and waiting. He watched, silent and perplexed, as she placed the quilt into the back of the wagon with his pack and provisions.

...

He shook his head. "It's too fine to take on the road. It could be soiled or torn or lost. Likely the army will issue us sturdy blankets with our uniforms."

"And if they don't, or if those blankets are delayed?"...

"I am thinking of the conditions you'll face." She felt wretched, helpless, but she fought to keep her voice even. "Take the quilt...."

... "Very well." He chirruped his horses. "You're right. If I don't take it, I'll regret it later."

(from the WONDERFUL book "The Union Quilters", by Jennifer Chiaverini, 2011)

Origami Butterfly

I'm not sure I really remember how I did it, I made it up and it is written down nowhere... :-)

Handbag

Just completed this handbag: 

it shows handmade quilting stitches, 

it's large (40 x 66 cm with handles) since I have no use for small purses, 

it is colorful and shows some of my self made buttons, 

it's robust and washable (it's all cotton, jeans fabric for the handles, filled with a polyester fleece).

I combined it with a smaller bag for items which would get lost in such a bag.

Plus there are three inner pockets to hold everything in place.
So now I hope for summer to come soon! :-)

This here has not much to do with quilts... but I love this picture somehow, I like how the figures seem to be in deep conversation, they seem to contrive a means of helping a friend in need...
I took this picture at an old greenhouse which is now used for workshops and for exhibitions...so lovely!
If you like: click on the picture for a better view.

Happy Mother's Day!

Manchmal findet man etwas wieder, das man schon lange vermisst hat, nach dem man lange gesucht hat....

"Gazing at the quilt that had so long eluded her, Sylvia resolved to gather the precious scraps of her mother's history and piece them together until a pattern emerged, until she understood as well as any daughter could the choices her mother had made. ...
She had found the New York Beauty at last, and with it, a small portion of her mother's history. ... 
'My mother made this quilt,' said Sylvia,..., knowing that in a moment, Claire would turn over the quilt to reveal the initials and date Eleanor Lockwood Bergstrom had embroidered so many years ago, as if she had known this day would come."

(from: The Quilter's Legacy, by Jennifer Chiaverini, 2003)

This is going to be my next big quilt,

it's a "pinwheel"-pattern, set on top,

but I like the name "windmill" better -

and it just comes naturally to me at the moment to use all these bold colors!

It's just like Pablo Picasso said:

"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing?

Can one really explain this?

no."

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

Conversation

I had been in conversation with someone recently about my quilts and he said, that using a handmade quilt which was sewn by someone who is a friend or belongs to your family, that this resembles the feeling you might have when someone reads a story to you aloud: you loved it as a child, you felt cozy and loved and warm and you dived deeply into the worlds of the stories which were read to you personally in a warm voice..., and you were lucky when someone in your family did that, ...
and silently you love (and need?) that also when you are a grown-up already .... 
The thing is, you don't really NEED that, there are easier ways to cover yourself when you are tired or you feel cold: just grab a store-bought blanket, and you are perfectly fine with reading a book by yourself or with listening to one of these perfectly made audio books, and anyway: daily life challenges are calling you ....but ... there is a longing for the personal touch...
I just listened and I could do nothing but agree wholeheartedly! 

Ich hatte letztens eine schöne Unterhaltung mit jemandem über meine Quilts und er meinte, dass das Benutzen eines handgemachten Quilts, genäht von einer Freundin oder einem Familienmitglied, dass das dem Gefühl sehr nahe kommt das man bekommt wenn jemand einem etwas vorliest: man liebte das als Kind, man fühlte sich warm und angenommen und man konnte tief in die Geschichtenwelten eintauchen. die einem ganz persönlich mit warmer Stimme vorgelesen wurde... wenn man das Glück hatte, dass jemand in der Familie sowas machte...
und ganz im Stillen mag (und braucht ?) man das, auch wenn man schon längst erwachsen ist...
Die Sache ist nur, man BRAUCHT das nicht wirklich, es gibt einfachere Wege sich zuzudecken wenn man müde ist oder einem kalt ist: greif dir einfach halt eine Decke, und es geht dir ganz wunderbar wenn du selbst ein tolles Buch liest oder du einem dieser perfekt gemachten Hörbücher zuhörst, und : die täglichen Dinge des Lebens halten dich genug auf Trab....aber... es bleibt ein leises Gefühl, dass man das Persönliche um sich haben möchte...
Ich hab ihm nur zugehört und konnte ihm einfach nur mit ganzem Herzen zustimmen!

Handmade

Since I love handmade things, "handmade" music also - and bookshops.... 

here is something very lovely: great music by "Mumford and Sons", 
recorded at a wonderful location, a bookstore, 
it's beautifully photographed also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Od0PJp6GI

Enjoy!

Cat

This cat is made after a quilt block in a Texan quilt from 1910-

I found an image of it in this wonderful book I found at an American antiquarian bookshop, the title is: The Quilt Encyclopedia Illustrated, by Carter Houck, 

Museum of American Folk Art, 1991, a very lovely book!

I like that motive of a pieced cat: I have seen lots of patterns showing a cat, but none was so lightly and playfully designed as this one. I can imagine, a quilt with such blocks in different colors for the cats would be a gorgeous piece for a cat lover; it's also a lovely pattern for a cushion top or a potholder...

This here is a wallhanging, three layers of cotton fabric, pieced and quilted and sewn entirely by hand, 30x30 cm, 12"x12".

Happy Easter!

well, it was too cold for her this morning, so I had to bundle her up ....

... and after she came home from her errands she refused to remove her warm clothes for a long time, she was sooooo cold, and a cup of hot chocolate was most welcomed!!

But, she said, I really did a good job today!! Easter eggs look good in snow!!

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs

  

This Easter Egg is a mini-patchwork-quilt,  7" x 11",

and these are little minis, I use them as gift tags, to achieve a good oval form I stretch and tie the fabric for the egg over a piece of heavy paper, iron it, put a ribbon underneath and then the little egg is ready to be appliquéd:

 and  I love this here: 

From: It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! (1974)

Linus van Pelt: Every Easter the Easter Beagle comes dancing along with his basket full of eggs, which he hands out to all the good little children.

Sally Brown: That sounds faintly familiar. I remember sitting out in a stupid pumpkin patch all night waiting for The Great Pumpkin to come. That was the worst night of my life.

Linus van Pelt: But this is different. That was Halloween. This is Easter.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071679/trivia?tab=qt

So, let's hope for the best! :-)

Im Café / At The Café

"Strangely enough, the first character in Fried Green Tomatoes was the cafe, and the town. 

I think a place can be as much a character in a novel as the people."

Fannie Flagg

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

Well, not only in a novel I think!

For me a café IS a character,

it's just another one of these magical places, 

where you feel very much alive!

My wallhanging shows:

my idea of a coffee bean

a tea leaf

(design: 501 Quilt Blocks, Better Homes and Gardens)

a sun bonnet, hung up for a while, or:

used in one of these lovely garden cafés...

(design: 501 Quilt Blocks, Better Homes and Gardens)

a heart!

a cup with something hot and tasty in it

a lovely piece of Black Forest cake (well, there are two in fact, this is soooo delicious!)

a nice window

... and lots of books of course!! :-)

this is my quilt as a wallhanging, 64 x 64 cm, 25" x 25",

patchwork and appliqué,

completely handmade

The letters say "Im Café", 

it's German for "At The Café"

Bin am Meer/ I Am By The Sea

"Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little."

Paul Carvel

dreilagiger Quilt, Wandbehang, 64 x 64 cm, Patchwork und Applikation, handgearbeitet, 

außerdem: Ich habe vier kleine Glastropfen angebracht

Quilt as a wallhanging, 25" x  25", patchwork and appliqué, completely handmade, 

the letters mean "I am by the sea" in German

also: four little glass drops are attached

This is how I made the lighthouses:

"As I gaze upon the sea! All the old romantic legends, 

all my dreams, come back to me!"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

here I found the lovely  two quotes:

http://www.kyledesigns.com/c=GKe6OP9Wzs3Wk8HLoFh391dAa/category/

useful_information.quotes.oceans/

... and as always, for a better view of any of these pictures: please click on the image