Friday, August 9, 2013

FOQ meet-up Thursday

I am sure there will be other meetings today, as well, but I really enjoyed seeing Margy and Lyuda in Birmingham yesterday. We also met Caroline and her mother from Sweden. There was so much to see, and purchases to make (or avoid in my case!). The standard of art quilts was high, and there were many that I photographed. There were several exhibits that did not allow photographs, which was a pity, but understandable as they were selling catalogues. I will post my photos to a Flickr account later and give the link.

I love how quilting brings us new friends!

Julia

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Memories

When I ask people about their memories, the first thing that comes up is how simple things were “back then”.  We remember riding our bikes without a helmet, sitting in the front seat of the car, eating watermelon with seeds, or when a phone had a rotary dial and was attached to the wall with a cord.  My, what a simpler time.

My quilt represents how we start with a very simple beginning and as we branch out, our lives become more cluttered and full.  Even when I think about my early quilting days, I started with a simple pattern, a few colours and quilting that blended into the background. As my quilting has progressed over the years, the patterns have become smaller, the quilting more detailed, more colours are being used, different threads and even the odd bead has been added.  I cherish those early memories, but also look forward to continuing on the road of creating more great memories in my future.

Techniques:    hand applique, hand embroidery (French knots, running stitch, whipped running stitch)
Materials:       commercial cottons, embroidery floss, beads, perle cotton thread





The Next Theme: The Sound of Silence

Silence can be a positive thing, like peace after your noisy kids are asleep, or a negative thing, like people not speaking after an argument. There is also the silence in bars of music, Beethoven going deaf, snow falling, owls' flight, the global winter, Simon and Garfunkel, to name but a few!

With modern life and its constant twitter, silence can be elusive.

What do you think of when you think of the sound of silence? 

Good luck and have fun!


Julia