Corey in Quilt-land

How is November nearly gone?

Life has certainly run off with me. I have decided after much debate to make a new quilt for my three year old nephew...And in the excitement of choosing a whole new set of fabrics...I stopped working on my nieces quilt...thereby putting me dreadfully behind in my self-imposed deadline...and to make matters worse...I took on another quilt project to boot. However, I am not repentant at all...as usual. This is an ongoing issue for me...multiple projects in multiple states of "done-ness" and though I think for some this would be an untenable situation for me it is the norm and honestly, I am just not as happy crafting unless I have at least three plans running at the same time. I am very excited to show you my new plan for my nephew's quilt...

It is very dinosaur themed...I love it...I also have random other things I knew that he loved (like fish...he loves watching stuff about the ocean and its inhabitants...and tools and such...I tried to get a lot of cool colors with patterns that were sort of "scale-like" for the "background" pieces) And I must say that the vintage Dino pattern I found is beyond cool. Okay...truthfully my mom found it at a garage sale this last summer and bought it for me...and when she gave it to me at the time I was like...wow...this is totally awesome fabric...wonder if it would be weird if I made a quilt for me out of it? Not that it is weird...one should be surrounded by things that they love no matter what the societal norms suggest. But now...I have decided to make it the focal point of my nephews quilt...and I think he will LOVE it...which means that I can try not to be selfish and share...though...I might just have to take one or two of the pieces to include in a quilt that I make for myself. :]. I have always adored dinosaurs. But I think the very best part is that many of the dinosaur images are a vibrant orange...which just happens to be his absolute favorite color...at least for now... So, I think on the whole that it will be a brilliant hit!

I am also excited at how my nieces quilt is turning out...

These are the blocks I have done so far...It did take me a minute to decide how I wanted to put them together after this. But, after some debate with myself (once I could focus on it again because I had finished choosing the fabrics for my nephews quilt) I have a plan for how I want them to go together after this. I think it is going to be lovely...but of course I would. My lovely niece is very excited but I don't think she truly understands what it will look like once it is completed. She keeps telling me that there are a few squares she doesn't like...I keep telling her that the quilt needs them to add cohesiveness to the final product. Her response is always the same..."well if you are sure auntie" I think she really will love them all once it is done...mainly because the ones she doesn't love now will fade a bit once thrown together with the others. Which is of course what they are supposed to do.

I am realizing that I have fallen down the fabric-rabbit-hole...I LOVE quilting...far more than I used too...I think this is because I have more confidence about it. I know that I KNOW how to make a good sturdy warm quilt. And I also realize that all my worry in the past about whether the person I was making said quilt for would like it was ridiculous...because, if they don't like it I can just keep it and have a lovely quilt for myself. :]. I have fully admitted to myself that I am really making the quilt for me...I love planning them...I enjoy making them...and it brings me joy to see the faces of my loved ones when they see what I have concocted for them. And lets be honest...being in a fabric store is just as fun as being in a book store...so many possibilities...so many worlds to explore! Indeed it seems lately that the hardest thing to decide is whether I am quilting or reading....

Well, Happy Crafting! And remember to take a little time for you during the hectic holiday season that is now fully upon us!

Seckmea

Bookspiration

Hey all,
Pinnotheres here, and I've got a tasty read for you crafters and artsies today.  It's also a great one for history buffs - which I occasionally am.

I read this more than a month ago, and have been trying to do it justice for a while.  I've finally got to the point where I don't think I CAN do it justice, and really just need to write about it and move on.  So here it is:

Image courtesy bookworld.com.au

Now, why post about a history book in an arts and crafts blog?  Well, here's the long answer:

Written by the director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, and published in 2011, this is actually a bookified version of a BBC 4 radio series that aired in 2010.  I haven't looked up the archived broadcasts, but if this book is any indication, I probably should.  The premise is fairly simple:  A group of experts at the British Museum chose 100 items from around the world that they felt exemplified key ideas and innovations in human history.  The book begins sort of in the middle, with the wooden mummy case of the Egyptian priest Hornedjitef (circa 240 BC), which forms the basis of a discussion of the power of objects to excite us about the past, and why humans maintain history museums to begin with.  MacGregor then goes on to discuss how objects give us a window into not only the ceremonial life of the elite (like Hornedjitef), but more importantly, the everyday lives of everyday people from long ago.


As dense and broad in scope as this book is, it was really approachable for me as a layperson.  It includes a lot of quotes from experts who appeared on the radio show, and the choice of those experts is one of its major strong points.  Instead of only involving academic historians, archeologists, and anthropologists, the book and the radio series brought in the expertise of potters, textile makers, painters, architects, bankers, biologists, and activists - basically whomever they thought could speak to how the object was made, how it might have been viewed when it was made, and how similar objects are constructed and used today.   

What made me want to share this on an arts and crafts blog was the excitement I read from the artists who got to interact with and help interpret things made by their intellectual predecessors.  In some cases, ancient manufacturing techniques were similar to those used today, but whether or not that was the case, there was this magical feeling of connecting to ancient people through the eyes and hands of modern artists.  I love and take a lot of inspiration from visiting museums, and this book let me feel like I was visiting one of the most famous museums in the world with a whole group of talented people who could interpret those objects in a deep and fascinating new way.

Of course, it's not just museums that give us this feeling of deep connection to past artists.  Going though old quilts, paintings, scrapbooks, and other artistic creations in our own attics and back rooms is, I think, a very similar experience, with the added interest that we may be recently biologically descended from the creators.  So this book also made me feel more connected to human history as a whole, particularly as it begins its timeline where we all began - with one of the most ancient of human creations found so far: a hand axe unearthed in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge. 

Now, there were things I thought the book could have done better, but overall, it's a great read.  I really encourage anyone interested to give it a try.

Overall, reading this book was like opening up the hope chest of humanity.

- Pinnotheres