We are all a thread.....

 "We are all a thread in the cosmic, collective collage..." 
                 - Michael Jennae

 So much thread, yarn, it boggles the mind.  Just a bit of a sneak peak at some of the gifts I've been frantically putting together. Some for donations. My daughter Dale made this mini Spencer and Smokey.  Adorable. Destined for the Women's Shelter....

 Adorable. Smokey and Spencer side by side once more. 

 We imagine Smokey bouncing around somewhere, in kitty heaven.......catching birds.

 An artsy bed runner, layered and stripped with sari fabrics....

 Beads, lace, ethnic ribbons....

 Sequins, quilt pieces...haphazard. That is what I like best about it.

 "We are all creative beings.The act of creating puts us in direct connection with the greatest creator.The master artist that is our Divine Creator." -Eileen Anglin

 I find that I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to make, and how. Often the first idea I have I toss out, then just go with something else. 

 But then other times, I come back to basics...I love Civil War quilting, other than the abstracts. Spencer often rolls around in his flower pot, while I decide on fabrics. He kind of blends in.

 And then I end up with something like this.......easy squares, but great fabrics  dyed with tea.

 "Seeing is making, whether you see with your mind or your true self...." -Katherine Catmull

 And then there are the ones that leave this country and saunter down south for a friends' birthday.  A huge civil war table runner, that can double as a bed runner.

"When you imagine it, feel it...." -T.F. Hodge

 And as always, Spencer was terribly helpful, as I sorted through batiks and  solids for another project. Personable cat. He likes to help. Smokey used to like to help.

 I often wonder if he notices that Smokey is gone. His  shadow still remains.

 As the days grow longer, and the sunrises and sunsets grow brighter. 

 And the last quilt, just finished. Another wedding runner. I ripped the batik fabrics and paired them with more sari strips and twisted/braided netting....

 Supposed to be like the sun's rays ( in my imagination). Shows up well against the bright green grass, that has just a touch of snow left.....winter still on the west coast.

 And then at end of day, I see Spencer standing in his pot. Cat Plant  ready for spring. He's watching the silly doves swooping and bumping into the trees. 

Spencer 2018

 "Create. For the pure joy of creating something and sharing it...."
                                                  -Ernest Barbaric

Smokey 2017

Photographs 2018

Civil War Quilting

LONE STAR

 “July 22, 1861. The telegraph today brings us tidings of a terrible battle fought yesterday, Sunday, between 20,000 of the Federal troops and  the Rebels. At Bull’s Run….A rough estimate of our entire loss, is made at 5000….provisions left behind fell into the hands of the Rebels. We are startled and confounded…” (Rebecca Lorraine Richmond....Diary of a Civil War Quilt by Rosemary Youngs)

 I love  making Civil War  quilts. I try and find fabrics that are as close to what would have been used.  Some of the best pattern books I have used are "The Civil War Diary Quilt" by Rosemary Youngs,or her "Civil War Love Letter" book. Recently, I found "Civil War Legacies 2" by Carol Hopkins and Barbara Brackman's "Civil War Sampler book". I love the era, the style, the distressed fabric .  I like nothing better than to  stain fabric with tea and coffee,  beet juice and  watch it turn  into something old and wrinkly.

BLAZING STAR

 In  some of the online fabric  sites you can find actual reproductions. But they can be costly, so instead I search the  local stores here. 

 During the Civil War,In the North,  women would show their beautiful sewingto  raise money for  causes; like the civil war. Wealthy women, and their households, sewed squares using  silk.  Supplies  could then be bought for the Union.

 Southern women were first involved raising money for gunboats. In 1862 this was abandoned. From then on, money was raised for medical supplies,blankets, clothing and quilts for the soldiers.

 "Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them."
- Abraham Lincoln

THE BLUE and the GREY

 Quilts had to be sewn 7’ x 4’,  to fit a cot. And big enough in which to wrap a body. That was the reality. 

SAWTOOTH STAR

 Any fabrics  were used, including cut up rugs, draperies, old quilts and sewing them together. By the end of the war it is said that over 250,000 quilts were made.So many have not survived. 

 BROKEN WHEEL

 FRIENDSHIP STAR

 KING'S CROWN

 PINWHEEL CARD TRICK

 AMISH STAR

 In 1829, the term “underground Railroad” was first heard. It ran till about 1862,helping  slaves reach freedom.

 Some people say that quilts were used in  leaving messages and signs for the slaves as they made their way to freedom.A sort of code . 

 PATRIOTIC STAR

 GENTLEMAN'S FANCY

 The squares of this era, designed got their names after 1900. There is much speculation whether or not the quilt squares carried a “code” or message,  relating to their style and colour. 

 LOG CABIN

OHIO STAR

 All I know, is that  the blocks tell of a time in history when a household object was  raised above that of mere fabric and thread.  Something that tells a story that shapes us in its wake.

 FISHERMAN'S REEL

FOX and GEESE

 “And the quilt tells a story and the story is our past.” 
– Quilt Sayings

ROAD HOME                                                                           Photographs 2017