Ginkgos

These are leaves from the Ginkgo trees in Weimar and Jena (Germany), they belong to the eldest Ginkgo trees in Europe. They are more than 200 years old, both were planted by our beloved German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I tried to use Ginkgo leaves as a motif for my block with five leaves forming a circle, thereby giving space for five petals in the middle in another color, all having their origin in the five-sided form in the center.

Since I had been thinking of Ginkgos this way for a longer time now, I was very glad to find these lovely trees: in Weimar opposite the Amalia Library, or here in Jena in the very lovely Botanical Gardens:

"Matter is thought, and thought is matter. Nothing exists that cannot be synthesised."

... thinks a physicist in the book "Ghostwritten" by David Mitchell.

June

I didn't plan it, but I think I was influenced by reading this very very lovely book "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd when I designed this block for June, for my 2014-quilt.

"Light spilled through a crack in a red-rimmed cloud, and I walked toward it along a path that led from the honey house into the woods. I passed a child's wagon loaded with garden tools. I rested beside a plot growing tomatoes..." 

ah, this girl goes quite a long way from anguish and horror to finding friends, and a real home, and ultimately a soft spot within herself. I so much love such stories!!

This is my quilt-top so far then (January - June):

"You've Got Mail"- Quilt

http://hudsonnewsandmuse.blogspot.de/2013/04/quilt-inspiration-in-kleenex-box.html

Isn't that a lovely quilt? 

It belongs to Kathleen Kelly in the movie "You've Got Mail", from 1998,

I like this story VERY much.

It's about books, bookstores, book lovers, lovers, New York... wonderful.

With Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and more great actors 

and a lovely dog, too.

http://tazziequilts.blogspot.de/2013/02/a-fun-find.html

It's the Day of the Garden in Germany today!

"Some men like to make a little garden out of life 

and walk down a path."

Jean Anouilh

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_gardening3.html

Octascope Pictures

An octascope is some sort of kaleidoscope. Only, you don't look into an octascope the way you do it with a kaleidoscope, you look through it while it segments the view you chose into these tiny parts which form new patterns constantly whenever you move the octascope. Very fascinating! I once found one at the shop of the Botanical Gardens in Berlin. These pictures were taken while I directed it towards some of my quilts, I photographed through the "eye" of the octascope.

Fly High!

A small wallhanging, telling the story of a birdie which was always told that it could NEVER learn how to fly. 

And look what it does! :-)

And here is another one, same story:

I've started sewing the top for a new bed-quilt, and since I really like my pattern with five Ginkgo leaves and five petals, all spreading out from the five-sided small piece in the center, I decided to use such blocks, and: to make it colorful. In between I put some strips...

And what I do is, I wash each finished block and every strip before I sew them all together, so I can work spontaneously, grabbing fabric I like - pre-washed or not - , but I also avoid having unwanted surprises (shrinking, color-bleeding), 

at a stage when it's difficult to solve such a problem.

Much fun!!!

World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue and Development

It's today! 

"Our cultural diversity is the common heritage of humanity. It is a source of renewal of ideas and societies, through which we open up to others and craft new ways of thinking. This diversity provides opportunities for peace and sustainable development."

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/world-day-for-cultural-diversity-for-dialogue-and-development/

This fabulous book celebrates just this: Celia Eddy shows and describes historic and contemporary quilts from all continents. I love it and it is one of the finest books about quilts in my collection, "Quilted Planet" by Celia Eddy, it's "Die Welt der Quilts" in German:

"She smiled.

She was picking up with the rest of her story. She wouldn't say what happened to her with words. She would tell it in the cloth."

Isn't that an idea all quilt-makers from all over the world, female, male, old or young, from whatever century or country they come from, can relate to?

The quote is from: "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd, it's an incredibly beautiful book and quilts play a very important role here.

Red and White Quilts

There had been a WONDERFUl exhibition in New York in 2011:

Infinite Variety, Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts. 

The American Folk Art Museum presented 650 quilts! 

I just found out about it, it must have been so BEAUTIFUL!!

Here is a lovely video, enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XK99ct7o5s

Different, but Equal

... because they are all cut from the same cloth!

I arranged four squares, each showing five Ginkgo leaves forming a circle with five petals in the middle, in a wallhanging. It could also decorate a table or a chest. It is 102,5 x 25.5 cm (40 1/2" x 10"), consists of linen and cotton, the batting is a thin piece of untreated cotton, and it is sewn and quilted by hand.

"A Priceless Coin of Time"

"For a priceless coin of time, their hands are linked by a few inches of fragrant herb, witnessed by a dozen blood-orange sunflowers."

This is one of many really stunning sentences in the book "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet" by David Mitchell. 

I think this novel is absolutely fantastic: abundant with detailed descriptions of extraordinary historic situations and places, abundant with unique characters, rich in plot, in wisdom as well (I think he very subtly and successfully promotes the idea of  the importance of peaceful cooperation and solidarity between humans of different ages, genders, cultural or social backgrounds).

 I so much enjoyed reading this book!

The picture shows my May-block for my 2014-quilt.

It looks like this now:

Quilt with Ginkgo Leaves

A little quilt with Ginkgo leaves forming flowers and circles...

it's very light and thin, consists of only two layers of fabric, 

the top is all linen, 

the back is cotton,

dimensions are about 60 x 60 cm,  23,6" x 23,6".

It is meant to decorate wall or table. For hanging there are several tiny loops attached to the back which can hold a rod, but which are not noticeable when the quilt lies flat on a table.

It's all hand sewn and hand quilted.

As in all quilts the time of day and light and shadow in a room influence the visibility of the quilting lines which give more or less profile and depth to a piece.

I designed this Ginkgo motif to find a combination of several cultural influences,

as there are the symmetries unfolding from the center, the "good spirit", and the use of forms found in nature in Hawaiian quilts and 

the patchwork- and block-technique of many European and American quilts.

Under Construction

Yesterday my site had been under construction. As you can read on the right hand side here ("New Philosophy of My Work"), I changed and added texts (also under "Give And Take" and "Lupine" at the top of this site). It took me all day to think about the right way to express things and to find all the right phrases in English and German, so - if you checked my site in between - you might have been irritated.

I'm still not sure whether there are mistakes here or there, but then again, this site is under construction constantly, so again: Please pardon any mistakes!

Gestern habe ich meine Seite hier neu überarbeitet. Ich habe Texte neu geschrieben ("New Philosophy of My Work", Meine neue Arbeitsphilosophie,  und einiges unter "Lupine" und "Give And Take" oben auf dieser Seite habe ich geändert), in Englisch und in Deutsch, und ich habe einige Zeit gebraucht, um alles fertig zu bekommen. Ich bitte um Verständnis, wenn ihr gestern hereingeschaut habt und einiges durcheinander war! 

World Book Day

It's Unesco World Book Day today!

The book shown above with the wonderful illustration 

and a cat-bookmark is 

"Die Unendliche Geschichte",

"The Neverending Story", by Michael Ende, 

a book I love very much. 

And here is a scene from the movie "The Neverending Story" which says so much about reading and the love for books!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsKaLIWGS4I

Happy Easter!

" 'Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees

Filled all the air with fragrance and with joy."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Spanish Student

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

Happy Easter!

Poem by Bertolt Brecht

Karsamstagslegende

Den Verwaisten gewidmet

Seine Dornenkrone

Nahmen sie ab

Legten ihn ohne 

Die Würde ins Grab.

Als sie gehetzt und müde

Andern Abends wieder zum Grabe kamen

Siehe, da blühte

Aus dem Hügel jenes Dornes Samen.

Und in den Blüten, abendgrau verhüllt

Sang wunderleise

Eine Drossel süß und mild

Eine helle Weise.

Da fühlten sie kaum

Mehr den Tod am Ort

Sahen über Zeit und Raum

Lächelten im hellen Traum

Gingen träumend fort.

Bertolt Brecht

I didn't find an English translation, and I don't want to try it for fear of ruining this beautiful way of speech, but here is a summary:

The next evening his exhausted friends visited his grave to find that his crown of thorns had come into blossom. From among the flowers a bird was singing a beautiful tune.

So in that the friends found solace, they smiled and went away, dreaming a bright dream.

"These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, 

but minds alive on the shelves."

- Gilbert Highet

http://impertinentremarks.com/2012/10/12-quotes-about-reading/

... and is it not so that one opens up one's own mind whenever one opens a book? Oh, I so much love books, and that surely is the reason why I like bookmarks as well, they just sweeten the moment when I open a book.

These here are done with my beloved Ginkgo leaves, 

and when two leaves are put together like this they both form 

a new figure, which I like.

The book shown above is by Jennifer Chiaverini, 

it's "Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker", 

a wonderful novel.

April

There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye; 
There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by.

William C. Bryant

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

This is my block for April in my 2014-quilt, 

where I add a block each month and work with two colors only. 

Since I had been thinking so much about Ginkgo trees lately and I just had tried to make such a design with five leaves which form a flower

(see my post below), 

I decided that this is just the right motif here.

This time I arranged the circle of leaves in a way that one can choose between a more static view of the circle with a clear axis of symmetry in the middle as shown above, or a view with more movement and rotation in it; to achieve that impression one only has to turn the block like this:  

For my 2014-quilt, I chose the more symmetrical version. 

So, all blocks assembled, "my year" looks like this so far:

An Attempt

I pieced a circle with five Ginkgo leaves, and went from bright green to dark green to bright yellow to dark yellow to brown-gray to bright green again.

They all stem from a five-sided figure in the middle.

Over the last months I had been exploring the Hawaiian way of quilting, I still find it fascinating and the beautiful Hawaiian spirit and technique inspire me, but this here is something else. The main difference is that this is no appliqué, it's patchwork.

It took me hours to figure out how such a block might be designed, I didn't find it easy to do, and this is my first attempt. More will follow.

I just LOVE Ginkgos!!

... oh, and someone asked me, why I didn't choose a design where there could be drawn a vertical centerline as the exact axis of symmetry in the middle. Yes, that would have been possible, just arrange the circle of leaves a bit more to the left for example. But that would have given the impression of something firm and static, as if all leaves formed a flower. Such a flower is created, yes, however, I wanted to have some movement in the design, as if there were a rotation going on... But there are lots of variations possible!