Blog Archives

Elephants FPP

1/28/2023

A month or so after my mom and I returned from Africa, life chugging along as usual, I met my uncle and he said "so you went to Africa, huh?" "Yep," I answered, ready to offer a few illustrative words for the experience, such as I'd perfected in the short time I'd been back, when people would ask me to "tell them everything" and not actually want to hear very much. But "Did you see elephants?" my uncle asked--

Something inside my breast shifted, like a door opening, and inside me was the Serengeti, and oceans of grass swaying without hurry, while massive gentle beasts swayed unhurriedly with it, walking... and eating... walking and eating, nudging and brushing up against each other.

I loved elephants.

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Bargello (re-think)

1/23/2023

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Remember the Hunter's Star quilt I started for my sister last October?

NO MORE HUNTER'S STAR

The more I look at it, the less I like it. I hang it up out of sight to give myself some space from the project (working on my Memories of Africa quilt is a creative balm!), and when I return over a month later, I recognize

the sage sprig is too gentle for the spikes of the star, and
the contrast between the colors is not high enough for the Hunter's Star, and not low enough to flatter the sage sprig!

A new pattern is required. And quite accidentally, I find it through a merry link trail on Reddit!

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草の花 - Kusa no Hana

1/20/2023

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Back when I first conceived my Dandelion quilt, I mentioned before that I have long loved this haiku by Teiji:

名を聞いて
また見直すや
草の花

na wo kiite
mata minaosu ya
kusa no hana

When I first read it, the translation given was "Hearing its name / I look at it anew / this flowering weed". However, some translations give us "wayside flower" instead, and the literal translation of 草の花 is "grass flower" because 草 is "grass".

Flower-head of grass, Ranmore; On the steep south-facing slope of the Denbies hillside. (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Stefan Czapski and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

This presents a matter of interpretation: in English, "grass" connotes something unremarkable and ephemeral, while "weed" connotes something hardy and unwelcome. The poem changes pretty dramatically depending on whether the poet pauses to reconsider humble grass or a noxious weed! I lean toward the "grass" reading, though. I like to think that the existence of a name makes the passer-by stop to observe something he'd never considered noteworthy before.

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Storm at Sea Pattern Ideas

1/9/2023

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Since the first time I saw a Storm at Sea quilt (at a quilt show, with intertwined hearts emerging from the pattern through clever use of color), I wanted to make one. I love how it's all straight lines, but because of angle changes gives the illusion of curving lines. It does look like waves, but made from squares and rectangles. The kaleidoscope block has a similar appeal.

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Gustav's Jewel Box - my blank verse quilt in progress

1/5/2023

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Some quilts -- like my Memories of Africa Quilt or my Dandelion quilt -- start with a plan. I sit down and draw an idea, pick my fabrics, and work my way toward a fore-visioned end. I love working like that, because I can bring an idea into reality! But those quilts tend to be thinky quilts, and sometimes I don't have the reserves to think my way through my hobby. Lately, I've been getting home from work at 6:30pm, and it's dark, and I have just enough space in my brain for a little Foundation Paper Piecing... before I feel my focus slip, like a car falling out of gear. I get maybe a half-hour of concentration, and then I find myself picking the wrong fabric for the pattern and having to rip seams, or just staring at the same piece for a while doing nothing. I desire to be creative, but sewing to a plan leads to frustration.

That's why I like to have a second project at the same time, a non-thinky project. The Acid Trip, Scrappy Double Wedding Ring, and today's featured project are all examples of what I think of as "blank verse" projects.

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Campfire FPP

1/2/2023

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My mom and I did two tours and one friend-visit while we were in Africa. The first tour, The Great Rift Valley, was a safari, and we camped outside many nights. Here's my mom and I at home in Pennsylvania, ready to set out:

Yep, that's all we brought! I have a light sleeping bag shoved into my backpack, and Mom's sleeping bag is at her feet. The tour company provided tents, and (when they realized how unprepared we were) lent us foam pads for the hard ground. We had no flashlights, so we spent a lot of time lying in the dark. Equatorial regions have about 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. Twelve hours is a long time. It's impossible to sleep that much!

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