Creative Life Sampler

A Closer Look    (3 of 3) An expert could examine the fabric patterns and its condition in order to date the center of this quilt accurately. I believe the original quilter had sewn on a machine, so it can't date too far back...  A lot of these four square blocks contain a plaid, and I would guess that they are all cottons. But my teen-aged self didn't really seem take that into account when I chose scraps to construct new blocks. Apparently, I just used what was on hand in the scrap box. (I don't think I even considered fiber content.)  I may not be able to say when the quilt was started, but, because I recognize fabrics from my clothing projects, I have a pretty good idea of when this was finished.  I remember having to problem solve when the pink ran out- it was impossible to match exactly. So, I switched to white solid blocks for two rows. The remaining original squares were interspersed with the new four square blocks. It is a...

Picking Up Where a Quilter Left Off   (2 of 3) For several summer vacations, we would make the long drive from the DC area to visit my grandparents in Connecticut. Their home had been in the family for quite some time, so it held all kinds of personal treasures-turned-antiques; the accumulations of one life passed to, or left for, the next generation.  It was on one of those trips that I ran across an unfinished quilt in my grandmother’s upstairs hall closet. Some of the top had been pieced together but there were also loose four square blocks. She clearly had no interest in it. I'm not sure she even knew where it originated. So, I eagerly inherited it. This quilt has been stored in the chest for years. I think this may have been my first effort at quilting... a project that some relative, I know not who, started, but never finished. At that point in my life, I thought it was quite an accomplishment to finish it , and somehow it connected me to the origi...

The Treasure Chest   (1 of 3) As I was cleaning up around the house recently, my eyes fell on an old chest which had been our neighbor's cast off and had made the migration west with us. There it sat, under cover of clothing and other assorted items: a horizontal surface to hold the laundry; an inconspicuous fixture in the room. I knew what it held. But I hadn’t thought about it for a while, so I took a moment to crack it open. When you lift the lid of something this old, it has the very distinct smell of old wood and faded, worn, textiles. It reminds me of the entry way in the home we left to come to California. It had been built in the 1920’s and, when we bought it, we thought it was a mansion. You entered the front door into a small vestibule decorated with a large patterned wallpaper in browns and greens. I could never bring myself to remove that wallpaper. It was a small reminder of the house's history; a nod to those who'd come before us. T...

Linen Closet- June Through the years I have made several quilts as gifts for weddings. So in observance of June, the wedding month, I thought I'd pull out pics of the most recent wedding gift. I have always wanted to try the traditional Double Wedding Ring, but its arches and curves kind of intimidate me. I found this pattern, which is completely comprised of straight lines but visually reads as circles, in Judith Martin's Scrap Quilts . (It's title is "Maltese Circles".) In the past, I considered the time of year for the wedding, or something about the couple, to choose a color palette. This was the first time I used the wedding itself as inspiration for the quilt top. The bride and groom chose plum for their wedding color, which, it turns out, is a color in the eye of the beholder- there are so many shades of purple available! Purple wasn't a color I'd worked with much, so it was a challenge... I like challenges. I went with a purple on the...

Sewing Skills Utilized I took some time off from quilting recently to do some garment sewing. Many stores were visited before we came to the conclusion that we weren't going to find a skirt in the right color with the right length... so we made a trip to the fabric store. Simplicity makes a line of vintage patterns that covers decades of fashion and we found this simple skirt which was just right for professional attire.  On those shopping expeditions, we were seeing lots of jumpsuits on the racks, but in some less than flattering fabrics and/or styles. So my other daughter found a sweet floral pattern with a flattering navy blue background and a McCall's pattern which we tailored to fit.  A jumpsuit from another time What I'm most tickled about is the fact that this has come full circle. When my kids were little I sewed quite a bit of their clothes but they eventually found their voices and asked for store bought clothes. I was relegated to Ha...

Return to the Beach We were back at the beach recently for a walk. The beach artists had been busy...  And what do you suppose we happened to see from a distance? Some one at work on the beach! Ordinarily, my husband would prod me to keep moving, but this time he actually suggested I go over and introduce myself. So I took advantage of his good mood and went out to meet this guy... This is Juan Cisneros.  When I wandered over, he was carefully choosing and placing stones for these arches. It turns out he is one of several people who create work along this bike/pedestrian path on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. I felt a bit guilty, interrupting his creative process, but he told me he creates these sculptures because he loves it, and enjoys talking with people when he meets them on the shore. He handed me his business card:                                  ...

Riding the Streetcar (4 of 4) We had the great fun of riding a streetcar downtown to the acclaimed World War II museum. This book in one of the displays at the museum caught my eye: On the way back, our path crossed a "second line" celebration of jazz music- a fortuitous brush with a wonderful New Orleans tradition. Though we were on a tight schedule, multiple fellow passengers exited the streetcar to spontaneously join the festivities! Amazing to think how happily they abandoned ship, how readily they embraced the experience... to visit  New Orleans is to live in the joy of the moment! (Note- to view this video, tap to down load and then tap again to start it)

Jazz Playing in the Background... (3 of 4) The wall paper in these rooms depicted fruit and flowers grown in the area,  though not necessarily native to the region.                                                                                  Wandering through these light, airy spaces, surrounded by all kinds of artifacts and submerged in the backdrop of this colorful, graphic wallpaper, you began to get a feel for the vibrant life and people of New Orleans. That was clearly the mission of this tricentennial exhibition. The unique approach in presentation provided virtually no information labeling for what was displayed. This was a bit disconcerting at first, until you got used to the concept of just absorbing it all. It became an experience much like exploring ...

A Different Kind of Exhibition (2 of 4) A ceramic lamp post on the street outside the museum. Our visit coincided with a special exhibit commemorating the 300th Anniversary of New Orleans. This was a unique, eclectic presentation of artifacts from life in New Orleans. Unlike the neutral backdrop in a traditional gallery, these walls were covered in wallpaper which had been commissioned for the occasion. The wall paper in this room was made up of illustrations of costumes and floats from the 1923 Mardi Gras. This room was devoted to women of New Orleans. The bibliophile in me couldn't pass up perusing this table of books from their archives... found this intriguing title, and longed to see its contents. Researching on line, I found it is a book published in 1903, and it contains all kinds of creative pursuits to occupy any young lady. The room across the way had a decidedly male focus. The wall paper here was a rich silhouette of tree branches. (All the wa...

Travel Log- New Orleans (2) (1 of 4) A few years ago I received a gorgeous book entitled The Arts & Crafts of Newcomb Pottery . Newcomb College of New Orleans was founded in 1886. It was the first degree-granting institution for women and was part of Tulane University, which was all-male. During a time of limited opportunities for women, it was an innovative and successful approach to a liberal arts education. Its art department trained women in the decorative arts, giving them skills which would provide a means of financial support. The work produced through the Newcomb Pottery became a unique expression within the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts movements. My admiration of these styles, combined with a growing awareness of women’s history and an appreciation for innovation and creativity, compelled me to place it at the top of my "to do" list, when planning a recent trip to New Orleans. I was hoping The Newcomb Art Museum on Tulane's campus would...

Real Life Color Observation (3 of 3) I had to stop to take a picture of these homes because, as you will notice, it is an example of complimentary colors from the color wheel, (in this case, yellow and violet), harmoniously standing side-by-side. Adding the pale blue of the house on the left to this scene makes for a nice combination. Notice that the violet is not "full strength", but is a tint of the spectrum color. (If you missed the post about complimentary colors take a look at this link: http://creativelifesampler.blogspot.com/2018/05/and-colors-multipy-8-of-8-there-are-as.html  ) While we were driving around I wanted to drop by the Mes Amis Quilt Shop because I was curious about the Mardi Gras themed fabrics they mention on their website. I found a nice selection of colorful, fun themed fabrics, and pleasant people to help. It got me wondering if different quilt shops at different locations specialize in fabrics themed for their region. Would a shop by t...

And then there are the murals... (2 of 3) tributes to jazz...  and tributes to Mardi Gras. So many walls and vertical surfaces a canvas... and in the most unlikely places, there is vibrant creativity...

Travel Log- New Orleans (1 of 3) We recently took a trip to picturesque, lively, and dynamic New Orleans, where one seems to be surrounded by splashes of color! Just driving down the street, you are treated to artists' work on almost every corner. I always find it fascinating to see how individuals in a group of creatives each produce something unique when given an assignment with the exact same parameters (in this case, a large rectangular box). The variety of themes and styles was so interesting that I began collecting these photos of electric boxes- much to the frustration of my family, who were only really interested in getting to the next restaurant. Frequently the images on the boxes were a tribute to something close by, like a hospital,... or a clock across the street... and there were lots of flora and fauna depictions,  which were great inspiration for color combinations. It took me several attempts to get a picture of this on...