The Girl I Was, The Woman I Became

In the last couple of years I have unselfconsciously be turning out what I think of as life-summary quilts. One is called I have Measured out my Life, another My Milagros.

So I wanted to share with you The Girl I Was, The Woman I Became. This quilt wins no compositional prizes, but it is full of feeling & heart. And I believe these are the main threads of my life, then & now.

Now for the eight windows.

Part 1. My best teachers.

Part 2. I fall in love with cloth

Part 3. I love music

Part 4. I like to make things

Part 5. I dance

Part 6. I am given a camera

Part 7. I read

Part 8. My family [first & next]

If you happened to notice & wonder about the discrepancy between the layout & the numbering system I have no answer for that! And maybe you didn't, no matter.

That's it for now.

Down-Dilly Progression

 I don't know how such a strong yellow got chosen, but it is the color of a favorite dress I wore at the age of 6 maybe. That was back when I felt the nursery rhyme "Daffy-down-dilly went to town in a yellow petticoat & a green gown," was a secret cousin to me. I loved yellow & daffodills. In those days was called Daffy by everyone. And sometimes Daff, & then finally by my best math teacher, Miss Louisa Alger, Daph. I loved her for that. It somehow was a dignifying of me as a growing-up person at age 11. 

Other things I have been drawn to is what I call softened rectangles. They feature in the progression.

And the last seed for the work in progress was a collage-making workshop put on by my friend Sabina. In it I found myself cutting soft rectangles in paper & creating windows for what was underneath to show through.

My beginning... the windows & the distorted rectangles!

Rearrangement  of larger shapes happened & infilling...

Elaboration begins...

& more...  I was test-pinning patch in on top before committing...

Winding down & closing in... when to stop....?

...widen margins for framing...

Commitment! 

The quilting began with my trusty Bernina 1080. I love echo quilting to enhance the shapes. Quilting is a stage where I really have to let things flow. Only occasionally to I rip out quilting stitches because they don't "work".

And now that I have come nearly to the end I have a name for the new piece, Down-Dilly Windows.

And another session quilting with darker thread in three of the larger tan & brown shapes...

I love how this kind of photo really shows what effect quilting has on the texture!

That's it for now.

Other Parades in my House (whimsy part 2)

 

I guess most people collect something & I collect lots of somethings! I've just gone through a stage of getting rid of stuff that really had become clutter in my life. A variety of my collections got reassigned to other homes.

But after the pitcher parade event one quiet Sunday, I decided that part of another Sunday could be given over to the captures I did of Other Parades in my House.

One of the most prominent collections is my eggbeaters. The collection began with 3 charming ones found in a junk store years ago & then grew bit by bit. I have promised myself that I have just bought my final eggbeater. 

Also in the kitchen & not quite a parade, but more a group of parade watchers, are the condiment collection.

Wall plates make a vertical parade.

On my bureau I have the bears & the crows.

 

On a wall in my workroom is a parade of New Yorker covers by Sol Steinberg, one of my favorite artists.

Also birds there on a high shelf.

Then there are birds in my bathroom.

Scissors in need of a parade marshall.

Thread spools in marching band formation.

Plants on the windowsill.

And lastly, Bonnie, Sam & Isabella, the wonderful doll grandbabies  Joslyn, Erica & Lesley presented me on May 14 2000. They were calling attention to my wishful, not yet fulfilled grandmother status. This trio is a sweet reminder & a very funny gift that still gives.

I think they are a bit young to be in the parade, so they are spectators.

That's it for now.