bloggers bom #9...

Here is my Bloggers BOM block #9 from the delightful Cathy from Cabbage Quilts. It is made up of Kaffe Fassett scraps set against lots of dots. This was one of my favorites to make which seems fitting since it was designed by one of my favorite quilters. You can see lots of Cathy's work at her blog but also over on Flickr. She has a great sense of style and all her work is joyful and madly colorful. This block of the month is great fun and organized by Jackie Ms. Canton Village Quiltworks herself. You can check out everyone else's blocks here.

color challenge #8... rust...

The eighth color challenge is rust. Victoria asked us whether we thought rust is an orange or a brown. It depends. In my earlier "peach" challenge block I used lots of rust that was more orange. In this one, I added darker browns accented by cobalt blue and a bit of purple. A photo of a blue tanker rotting in the harbor was the inspiration. Love rust and the way it sets off clear colors. Will definitely be more conscious of making sure there is lots in my stash.

The starter fabric is on the lower left and the rest are the added fabrics...

This shot is by PariahRising at Deviant Art and the oil painting is by artist Julie Caves.

color challenge #7... dusty blue...

Fairly recently, we moved to a home with a huge garden after years in an Edwardian house with a postage stamp sized lot. Have really caught the gardening bug so lately my blocks all seem to be reminiscent of flowers. This "dusty blue" challenge block is inspired by the hydrangea. I added more blues, brown, green and little bits of fuchsia.

Here are the added fabrics with the starter on the lower left...

Am having lots of fun playing with my scraps to make these blocks. I've misplaced my challenge #6 "orange" block so will post that one tomorrow. Now on to #8 which is rust. It is never too late to join in. You can read about the challenges here.

what is old is new again...

I love to collect books filled with antique quilts from everywhere in the world.. The history, the use of color and the improvisation within them are fascinating. Like many other people, I find old quilts inspiring. My most recent find is "North Carolina Quilts". It is amazing how modern-looking some of them are.

You would expect this quilt...

to be have been made by someone like this...

Instead, it was sewn by this lovely woman Mrs. Callie Elizabeth Wooten Godwin Jackson in 1939...

The first patchwork was sewn by Winnie Cook Fox in the same year almost three quarters of a century ago! Both of these timeless quilts are ripe for reinterpretation... Am thinking shot cottons for the first and some shibori dyeing for the second. How would you remake them?

color challenge #5... yellow...

This bright yellow also reminds me of the 80's. I wore a Stephen Sprouse tunic that was this color with bright orange, green and shocking pink accents. I also sported black leggings, shoulder pads and enormous hair from a spiral perm. Was very young and desperate to look sophisticated... These are the fabrics I added to my original yellow which is on the lower left. Always thought that warm and cool yellows did not look good together but making this block changed my mind.

At this time of year, the garden competes with the sewing machine. Must catch up and make the challenge orange and dusky blue blocks next!

nqr maurice sendak...

Am so sad to read of Maurice Sendak's passing. I never met this wonderful illustrator and author and yet he was a seminal part of my childhood. This is one of my favorite M.S. anecdotes:

“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

We will all miss M.S. very much... 

color challenge #4... peach...

Peach was a tough test this week because I own very little of this color. Was hard pressed to find a single fat quarter. Like in the other blocks it is easier to combine fabric scraps if I have an image in my head. Perhaps because these challenges have kindled a certain nostalgia I kept thinking of the Grand Canyon. There was a time in the 80's when regardless of your geography every home, retail store and restaurant interior evoked the American SouthWest. My sister had a steer skull mounted on an exposed brick wall in her first place. For the record, the closest this city girl ever got to a cow was on her dinner plate. In my block, peach became the lightest color. I added terra cotta, salmon, gold, sienna, green and a few hints of blue to symbolize the sky and the Navajo turquoise jewelry that comes from this extraordinary part of the world. Definitely will add more peach to the stash...

The starter fabric is on the lower left and the rest are the added scraps for the "made" fabric.

BOM block #8

Here is block #8 for the Bloggers BOM hosted by Jackie. This block comes from Amy over at Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts. Am a long time reader of Amy's blog. She is funny and ridiculously talented. I think she is genetically incapable of making anything ugly. Her quilts are stunning and she writes a mean tutorial. If you are new to her blog you must read through her archives. You'll thoroughly enjoy them. Anyway, this block is made like those before it and those to come of Kaffe Fassett scraps and lots of dots...