The Joy of Quilting By Hand

It really is so much fun! 

Gradually the quilting stitches replace the rough basting stitches (black thread) on my "windmill"-quilt, 

and I like to look at the reverse side, too! 

And yes, it takes some time to do this all over the quilt, 

but as long as my hands don't rebel 

(and yes, occasionally they do), 

I really love the look of hand made stitches, 

they give quilts an individual face and character, I do believe so. 

And yes, it IS a long way to go, but even so...! :-)

Basting my Windmill-Quilt

I'm basting my "windmill"-quilt with pretty rough stitches to prepare it for hand quilting later.

I rolled up the three layers (lavender colored cotton for the back, a light 60%cotton/40%polyester sheet for the batting and the finished hand sewn patchwork top) around an older quilt to form a big stable roll, put it all on a wide table (two ironing boards serve the same purpose) and now I baste it row after row, slightly rearranging and stretching the layers when necessary.

Many quilters find basting very tedious, but I like it somehow because now for the first time I get an idea what the finished quilt might feel like, as the three layers now begin to form some kind of integrated whole.

(Originally this pattern is called "Pinwheel", but like the image of windmill sails better.)

Grandma

Well, obviously I grew infatuated with making these single-letter-minis, I love what happens when they are combined to express something, and I love how each letter is an individual.

Well, here is a little story:
A very dear person (slightly older than me and feeling very young, mostly) once told me: You are a 

!! So. I must admit, at that point I was a bit thinking: what the hell ...?? , means: I didn't feel particularly flattered, considering the fact that I don't even have children and I don't feel so very old (mostly), only being a bit over fifty....
( I love these lines in "To Kill A Mockingbird":
"Nome, I mean the folks on our street are all old. Jem and me's the only children around here. Mrs. Dubose is close to a hundred and Mrs. Rachel's old and so are you and Atticus."
"I don't call fifty very old," said Mrs. Maudie tartly.)

So, we couldn't clarify all implications right at that time, but maybe this very dear person will shed some light on this remark one of these days...

So well, - I hope something like this was implied, that would be nice, because I can absolutely relate to these rules:

http://www.nnhs65.com/NNHS-NEWS-B/SGT-grandparents-house-rules.jpg

Magical

"Our Bookshop Manifesto

WE BELIEVE IN THE BOOK. We believe in quieting the noise and listening to the stories. We believe in traveling far and wide between paper pages. We believe in touching the words, scribbling in the margins, and dogging the ears. We believe in surrounding ourselves with books long finished and books not yet read; in revisiting our younger selves each time we pull old favorites off the shelf.

We believe in five-year-olds inking their names in big letters on the flyleaf. We believe in becoming someone else for four hundred pages. We believe in turning off the screens and unplugging the networks once in awhile. We believe in meeting the author, reading the footnotes, looking up the words and checking the references. We believe in holding our children on our laps and turning the pages together.

We believe in standing shoulder to shoulder in comfortable silence with our fellow citizens before a good shelf of books; we believe in talking face to face with friends and strangers in the aisles of a good bookstore. We believe that together, readers, writers, books and bookstores can work 

If you believe, please join us: SAVE THE WORLD. BUY A BOOK."

Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle's Children's Book, Mendocino

http://www.gallerybookshop.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gallery-Bookshop-in-Mendocino/295139709224

I've been to this Californian bookshop twice, for the first time in 1987, and then again some months ago, and all I can say is that they really live up to their principles which are written down on their website as this manifesto. I have quoted it here and took the liberty to emphasize the word "magic" ...  which it truly is when - as they say - readers, writers and bookstores work together and combine their efforts to establish a garden which then stands in full bloom. It is always worth a try.

Letters

These are some of my three-layers-mini-quilts showing letters so that they can be grouped to form individual messages. 

They are 8 x 8 cm / 3,14" x 3,14", the letters are appliquéd, it's machine and hand sewing. Each quiltie has a small loop at the back, so it can also be fixed onto a pinboard for example. 

I came across this quote here just at the right moment :-)

"Writing for the page is only one form of writing for the eye. Wherever solemn inscriptions are put up in public places, there is a sense that the site and the occasion demand a form of writing which goes beyond plain informative prose. Each word is so valued that the letters forming it are seen as objects of solemn beauty."

James Frenton

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/letters_4.html

What Fabrics Can Do: Christo

The BIG AIR PACKAGE by Christo in Oberhausen, Germany:
I had been there and it's marvelous.

You are kept away from everything outside and enter a room which consists of light entirely. The brightness of the light depends on the season, time of day, weather. This BIG AIR PACKAGE sits inside an old tower, an industrial monument from the time when coal-mining was an important economic sector in this area.

This creation is more beautiful than words can say. For me that is exactly what I wish for art to be: moving, touching and uplifting!

Outside of the package - but still inside the tower - you can touch a sample of the fabric used for this installation, it is surprisingly soft on the inside and strong and rough on the outside.

Gorgeous!

Here are some pictures:

Three Ladies - Young At Heart

"I'm very happy with the way I look. I wake up some morning, catch myself in the bathroom mirror, and go, 'hey girl, you're alright'." 

Cameron Diaz

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/hey.htm

Sooo.... these girls here may say the same each morning, and each real girl should!! :-)

So I made these wallhangings as a humorous reminder to say something encouraging to oneself, 

on a daily basis,

no matter what!

They are completely made by hand, dimensions are 28 x 32 cm (11"" x 12") without the hanging sleeves, the batting is light wool. A selfmade button is attached to the hair, which is made of woollen threads.

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.