merry christmas...

Technology has not been my friend the last few weeks and I've missed sharing some great "quilty goings on" in particular the release of Sujata Shah's beautiful new book!

Because of its colouring and star motif, this gorgeous quilt seemed an appropriate one to show today. This beauty is from The Quilt Complex and was made by African American quilter Artemeasie Brandon from Port Gibson, Mississippi. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

happy thanksgiving usa...

I wanted to post a great modern Thanksgiving quilt, or an antique turkey red one, even fabrics from Turkey but settled on a shot of this vintage toile. To all our friends and family in the USA, quilters and non-alike- Happy Thanksgiving!

blogathon canada 2014...

Well it is time for the third annual Blogathon Canada hosted by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop. Check out these blogs. There are daily giveaways at both the hosts' sites and the store's one- as well as links to other quilters in each province. I've also included a map to help navigate this beautiful country if you are unfamiliar with it. Enjoy!

The Hosts:
Monday, November 17    BC    Stacey    Stacey in Stitches
Monday, November 17    BC    Jessica    Momiji Studio
Tuesday, November 18    Maritimes    Linda    Scrapmaster
Tuesday, November 18    Maritimes    Linda    Stitch Lines
Wednesday, November 19    AB    Kelsey    Every Day Fray
Wednesday, November 19    AB    Leanne    She Can Quilt
Thursday, November 20    SK    Heather   Peace.Love.Quilt
Thursday, November 20    MB    Lori    Night Owl Quilting
Friday, November 21    QC    Josée    The Charming Needle
Friday, November 21    Territories    Janet    Caribou Crossing Chronicles
Saturday, November 22    ON    Lorna     Sew Fresh Quilts
Saturday, November 22    ON    Sandy    Upstairs Hobby Room

2001 patchwork blocks...

So many good books have arrived in the mail this fall and I'm hopelessly behind writing about them. This superb Quiltmania release is "2001 Nouveaux Blocs de Patchwork" by acclaimed Japanese quilter Chuck Nohara. While the title is in French the book includes an English translation.

Chuck Nohara set out to design 2001 original quilt blocks. The book is divided into themes such as creatures, furniture, vehicles, seasons, flowers, wreaths, hearts, ribbons, baskets, houses, log cabins, complex 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 patch blocks, hexagons, stars, curved blocks and double wedding rings. It is made up of a combination of colour photos and very precise black and white drawings. The breadth of the book is extraordinary and is a wonderful reference to design your own blocks, resize and rescale CH's blocks as they are or just admire the interesting way the fabrics are combined.

The book also contains a centerfold shot of a sampler quilt made using over 700 of these new blocks in Japanese fabrics for the Tokyo International Quilt Festival.  The reverse of this beautiful quilt is in red and white. If you are interested, "2001 Nouveaux Blocs de Patchwork" can be found here. Scroll down and click on the cover to see a detailed preview of the contents. There is also a Flickr group with some beautiful images devoted to Chuck Nohara inspired patchwork... Have a great weekend!

 

happy halloween...

Happy Halloween everyone! I'm not sure why there are not more orange and black quilts perhaps because the colour combination is so closely tied to a specific holiday. This striking quilt is from the 20's or 30's and can be found on Ebay. Love this Lone Star...

Miniature quilt and pumpkin madness...

Quite by accident, we went to a miniature show. Truly, you can find a quilt anywhere. The one above is a scant 6 x & 7 inches. Other recent fall events have included weird and wonderful things to do with pumpkins...

tenugui and furoshiki...

One of the few downsides of the internet is a degree of sameness when it comes to fabric. All the collections are available everywhere all the time. In the solely bricks and mortar era of retail, going to a fabric shop always had a degree of mystery because what you found was so dependent on the owner's personal taste, interests and even geography. In the pursuit of different material, thrift shopping for men's shirts and unusual prints can be rewarding but this has also become more difficult as everybody else seems to be doing the same...

So over time, I've been collecting Japanese tenugui and furoshiki which are cotton hand towels and wrapping cloths to make things with. They are generally about 15" by 36" and 16" by 16" respectively and are printed with the most interesting patterns. The weave of the tenugui is a little looser than quilting fabric somewhat like a bandana. On the lighter colored ones you can spray baste some white voile with temporary adhesive on the back to give the fabric a bit more body while sewing. When my brother lived in Japan, these fabrics were free;) but now excluding the incredibly fast and inexpensive shipping, they generally start at around $3 and up each on Ebay. A quick search comes up with these and these beautiful cloths...

My most recent favourite is this sushi towel. If I was ever reincarnated as an animal I would love to be a seal. There are few better things I can think of than living on a diet of raw fish:). Now your turn, what other sources of cool textiles are out there? Where do you find your fabric? Please tell...

zippers...

I saw these great zippers at Willow Lane Quilting. The owner Priscilla Knoble was recently featured on "The Quilt Show" speaking about Japanese quilting. They are excellent quality and I could not resist the pulls which are tiny sewing machines, irons and scissors. Mine are going in a version of this great jacket...

but they would work well in any quilted bag or pouch...

unconventional & unexpected...

True confessions, this book was pre-ordered as soon as I heard about its publication and I was predisposed to love it. Happily, it does not disappoint and my nose has been buried between the covers since it arrived last week. Roderick Kiracofe's previous and wonderful work explored the evolution of American quilts up to 1950. "Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar" explores quilts made after this time and more specifically utility quilts. These are my favourite kind of quilts: the ones I obsess over on Pinterest and Ebay. To see them treated in an academic way so beautifully as modern works of art makes my heart sing. 

The book is gorgeous with lots of images and essays from renowned textile personages. Am still at the child-like stage of looking at the pictures and trying to pick my favorite one which changes daily. These quilts are the most colorful, joyful and soulful expressions of their creators' spirit. Made of polyesters, wools and corduroys as well as cottons they are the embodiment of recycled materials. They were made for warmth and they were made to be used. Stylistically, these patchworks intersect traditional quilts and purely improvisational ones. They are abstract in pattern and yet have form.

I love this book and can't recommend it enough. My only regret is that I wish Kiracofe had written it decades ago so that these quilts were valued as I suspect the most beautiful of their kind have been worn to bits, abused and discarded... 

 Camera cord where art thou? These quilts deserve more than my phone.

Prairie points...

And yo-yos...

Now I know all my favorite bloggers are writing about this book. Have studiously not looked at their posts and am now off to read what more intelligent insights they have about it :)  

let there be light...

Well we are back from some ferry hopping and beach time with cell phones turned off. In the modern age it feels subversive to go off the grid. A bit caught up in the film festival but am feeling refreshed and looking forward to lots of sewing. As written in a previous post, I love the Juki in every way but one. It could do with more lighting. At a hardware store, I found this LED product pictured above.

It is quite thin, can use rechargeable batteries and the adhesive hook and loop strip is repositionable. Here are the before and after shots unfortunately taken with my phone...

Now the LED is just over half an inch thick so it may get in the way when quilting but for piecing it really lights up the bed without any heat or an electrical cord getting in the way. I bought two lights as I think my serger could use one...

Also on a final and exciting note, the much anticipated this and the sure to be interesting that arrived in the mail so book reviews to follow. As well, there is the most beautiful (and sadly only borrowed) antique quilt given to my friend by her client that you all must see...

random holiday shots for my Mum:)

shoes for a sewist...

Am not much of a shopper (fabric excluded!) but when an additional 40% off clearance prices email from your  favourite shoe store lands in your inbox it is really hard to not go to the site "just to have a look". I could not resist these shoes which are perfect for a sewist. Look at that stitching and those tiny little red scissors?!! Sold...

quilts on the creek...

It may seem odd to visit a re-creation of a Canadian 18th century pioneer village to buy modern African fabric but that's what I did yesterday. "Quilts at the Creek" is an annual show rather like the "Sisters" show where hundreds of quilts are hung in a beautiful setting called Black Creek Pioneer Village. Unfortunately, rain set in so most of the quilts not sheltered were being quickly taken down before we could see them. I did manage to get a shot of the quilt above made by Valerie Prideaux. It was sewn with  Cherrywood Hand Dyes and was positively luminous in the grey light.

Embroidering under a tree...

Loved this quilt's simple design echoed by the barn boards behind it.

Pioneer woman who devastated M. by telling him there were no baked goods to sample from the bread oven...

Lastly, the Shweshwe fabric. This African fabric is created through a discharge and printed roller technique. It is similar to Balinese batiks but much finer in detail. I have some in the traditional blue and white indigo but thought you might find the green and black interesting. It is apparently called "the denim of South Africa" due to its long-standing popularity. I bought it from this lovely vendor. We are on the move again here and there for the next couple of weeks so expect even fewer sewing posts but hopefully more fabric purchases ones:) Hope everyone is having a great summer (or winter- hello Australia)!

sampler quilt...

This antique sampler quilt is from the late 1800's. The seller suggests that the fabrics have probably faded with age but the present color combination looks very modern. I've been thinking of making a sampler quilt in the hopes that the variety of blocks keeps things interesting: that is, when I get my sewing room tables back after several large pieces of furniture painted by my other half dry. This kind of friendly takeover is the danger of having the largest flat surfaces in the house. Have you ever made a sampler quilt? Did you use a pattern? Re-create an antique like this quilt? Am thinking of choosing blocks that are symbolic of events in our lives... Thoughts?

more vintage goodness...

Here is more vintage goodness from 1st Dibs. This quilt from the late 1800's has all my favorite elements- stars, stripes and lots of dots in the fabrics. Timeless!

hexie obsession...

Current obsession is this vintage quilt from Granny Loz in Australia that I first caught a glimpse of at FMQ goddess Karen's blog. Actually I owe another Karen thanks for sending me there. Am determined to learn to free motion on a domestic machine and have been wanting to make a hexagon quilt. That blog is the perfect intersection of these two desires. Her skill set is extraordinary and I'm avidly reading all her tutorials and planning on going through the archives too. Between Faeries and Fibres, Leah Day's Youtube channel, Diane Gaudynski's classic book and at least 15 minutes a day hopefully I'll pick up a few skills of my own. In the mean time, isn't this quilt a beauty?! Love the colors, the fussy cutting and the shape of the lozenges...