Sometimes I'm happiest when I have several things going at once. This is one of those periods, and the controlled chaos of the studio reflects these several projects. I made myself finish bags 3 and 4, using the grape/vine fabric and the matching lining. These bags are boxed, perfect for groceries. I'm trying to whittle down a pile of fabrics designated for Mors bags and build up my stock. Just because.
Newlyweds Tim and Kim Gibbons began the selection for their wedding quilt. Kim really liked Tumbling Blocks, and Tim is color-blind. He responds to values of a color rather than the color itself. So to create a 3-D effect, fabric selection is tricky. To see what I need I have to see what I have. Thus, the piles of various fabrics. These tumbling blocks will go on a black background.
And as long as I'm touching so many of my fabrics, I'm putting together a 16-fabric palette for the Jinny Beyer tote bag pattern. It's an interesting and frustrating exercise, but one that was made sweeter thanks to some CD's my grandson made for me. One was by Jason Becker, a guitar prodigy who was diagnosed with ALS when he was 19. He's now 40 and writing music using only eye movements. The other CD is by Yngwie Malmsteen, a fascinating Swedish multi-instrumentalist. Both have "symphonic rock" in common and are CD's I'll look forward to listening to again and again. The album by Jason Becker (youtube him - fascinating) led me down this path: what quilt would I make if I knew it was my last quilt. The tumbling blocks and color/value exercise are just out of my comfort zone. Challenging. Nice.
3 comments:
You are always doing such interesting things! You have inspired me with your Mors bags. I had never heard of them until I saw the link to the site in one of your older posts. In August, I picked up some cotton Waverly bolt ends from a caterer at a yard sale, and didn't know what to do with them as they don't really go with our decor. Now they're reserved for Mors bags.
Not to raise a very touching, but possibly disturbing topic, but Dodie's quilt is just beautiful. You truly have a gift with the tumbling block pattern. The brights against the neutrals were so unexpected and pleasing. Her story made me pool up, as several of your life stories on here have.
Regarding Jinny Beyer, I have her glorious Christmas book, which I read simply for inspiration and coziness, and it contains her method of fading one color into another. You're doing that so well on the tote! Other than her, I've never known anyone who actually attempted that. Seems like great fun. Someday, I'd like to make her Enchanted Forest quilt. (Her tumbling blocks in that book are lovely, too.)
And lastly, I'm off to YouTube both the musicians you've mentioned. I love hearing what music people are weaving into their activities. Music and book recommendations are one of the "funner" things about blogging.
Please stroll through my "garden in the rain" if you get a chance and need a break! :-)
Josie Ray
Appalachian Dream
Ah, you made me cry...
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYIZP1hrfZI)
Josie Ray, I did indeed take a walk through your rainy garden earlier - just the break I needed. So glad you are going to start making Mors bags. They are great for that feeling of accomplishment, and people are so appreciative when I give them out. And I am thrilled you took the time to learn about Dodie - she wept when I gave her Tumbling Blocks, and of course so did I. Preparing the eulogy for her memorial service was like I was writing the most difficult and important paper of my life. Dodie's grandchildren are in Charlotte, NC - that they are growing up without their grandmother breaks my heart. Which leads me to why the CD's Ryan made me are so important. When he was 2 and 3, I would - like so many grandparents with kids that age - get running leaps and hugs. Now that he's 14, grandparents don't loom large in his life. So I was thrilled that he wanted to share something with me - and even more thrilled that I liked it! Sorry the video about Jason Becker was a tearjerker, but I'm so glad you saw it. Just as Dodie was dying, I became fast friends with a grief counselor. Cecilia really is an upbeat and fabulous friend, and I'm learning so much about grieving from her. It's good to talk about Dodie - and death. And life. Every day is a gift.
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