I was in Oakland, and saw this very quilty mosaic star on the side of a concrete trash can. Here’s another one:
I can’t decide which one I like better! They would both make good quilts.
I was in Oakland, and saw this very quilty mosaic star on the side of a concrete trash can. Here’s another one:
I can’t decide which one I like better! They would both make good quilts.
This is the basket quilt I’ve been working on. It was a secret until last night when I gave it to the past president of EBHQ. She likes to make pine needle baskets when she’s not making quilts. I received so many blocks that my basket is on the back. Actually I really really like the back!
My block is the one on the right with two baskets. Here’s a close up of it. There are directions on how to make liberated baskets like this in Gwen Marston’s book, Liberated Quilting II.
I forgot got to take a photo after it was quilted. The label on the back was a basket that I hand appliquéd on, with the signatures of the quilters who contributed baskets.
Look at this new way to rearrange a disappearing pinwheel block! To me it looks like a wrapped piece of candy. One of my students made it in the class I recently taught at HelloStitch. I’d like to see four of these blocks in rotational symmetry. (Isn’t that a good word?)
This is the tile floor of an Indian restaurant in Berkeley called Nameste. It’s also a quilt pattern called the exquisite. I think it’s more interesting when it’s made in a wonky fashion with the triangles all different sizes.
I’m surprised to realize that I let a whole month go by without a single blog post. We arrived home from France on May 1st. We dashed to pick up our guinea pig, Milkshake, from where he was being boarded. He must have caught pneumonia there. By the end of the week he was gone. We buried him in the back yard under a large heart shaped stone, found years ago on a beach. He was at least 6 years old, which is a lot for a guinea pig. Here’s a photo of Milkshake:
He was a wonderful piggie, with a lovely loud purr when he was being held. I worry that I’ll never find another one like him. Many guinea pigs don’t like being held.
The photo above is from the wall of a couscous restaurant, on our penultimate day in Paris. It has my favorite 8 pointed star.
Heres another. Same star, different pattern, from the same restaurant.
This was part of the sidewalk. I stopped to take a photo of the chocolate store across the street. I looked down at my feet, and there was this lovely pattern.
Here’s the chocolate store I was taking a photo of.
I saw this in the Musee d’Orsay. It was an example of using images from nature in art nouveau. Note the octopus on the bottom in the middle. It was in a display in the stairwell.
Both of these are tile floors at the Paris Opera Garnier. I enjoyed seeing my favorite 8 pointed star there. There’s even a nine patch! And here’s the ceiling by Chagall, just because.
Today I went to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and saw a retrospective of Sheil Hicks’ work. She has taken tassel making to a whole new level. I’ve only used tassels once in my current work, on Traveler’s Mizrach. You can see it under Quilt Gallery 2013, above. She also had small tapestries, which I neglected to photograph, as well as other sculptural pieces. These ones using the wrapping/tassel technique were my favorite.
Here are some more photos of the retrospective.
The one above gives you an idea of how tall these pieces are.
Here’s a tile floor from the castle at Azay Le Rideau. Very quilty!
How about this window from the same castle?
Or this window, from the abbey we visited yesterday? Also quilty.
It was because we saw this amazing roof in a book that we decided to visit this abbey. Isn’t it wonderful?
This is a tile floor from the abbey where Eleanor of Aquitaine is buried. If it were a quilt we’d call it snow balls, or robbing Peter to pay Paul. Here’s an effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine, reading a book!
Below, is the wall of a building, across the street from the chateau of Angers. I think it would make a wonderful quilt!
Below are more tiles from the Abbey.
Here’s a nine patch, growing in the garden.
I Love these multi headed creatures from a 650 year old tapestry in Angers. I think Hagrid would want one for a pet.