Monday, May 23, 2016

More dots and a new obsession

I think I am nearing the end of my Quilty 365. As my stacks of fabric squares & fabric circles shrink, the number of thimbles in my little sewing kit grows.


Thimbles -- I inherited a handful of utilitarian ones from my Mother & Grandmother; I keep them in a Depression glass sherbet bowl in my sewing room. Then one day, I was looking at Etsy & for a reason I cannot explain, I did a search of thimbles. A wealth of possibilities came up. One bunch caught my eye: a group of 63 from a seller in The Netherlands -- some utilitarian, some souvenirs of travel, some fine china. But these 6 sealed the deal -- 5 brass, 1 pewter, all with little delftware tops. This was the first of quite a few shipments from Etsy sellers that have arrived at my house.


Collecting is in my genes. Back in the day, Mom & I would go to the thrift stores & antique malls, each of us with our list of collections: elephants, interesting birds, wedding cake brides & grooms, cow creamers, butter pats, etc, etc. The hunt, the thrill of a find, the fun & companionship of the search -- such wonderful memories! But I rarely add to my collections anymore, it isn't as much fun going alone. I do sometimes look on Etsy or eBay, but it is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel -- the sport is gone. I doubt my thimble mania will last long, but for now, they are giving me pleasure. When we were emptying out Mom & Dad's house, my brother, 2 nieces & I could not absorb all of the collections that lived there. Some were put up for sale & I like to think of those things now being loved & enjoyed in another collector's collection. This is how I feel about the thimbles -- someone's tokens from travels, gifts, pretty purchases -- now living & being loved in my house.

Mom would understand.


Inspiring books

I've been building away at my towers of owls &, because I am a fickle quilter, getting a little bored with them.

I looked around my sewing room & pulled out a pair of my favorite books by Cherie House: City Quilts & Urban Quilts.


They are both pattern books, but Ms. House also writes about the process that went into creating her quilts. They are simple, elegant & really speak to me -- I love their graphic nature. She encourages looking at our surroundings & using the things we see everyday as inspiration for our patchwork.  I am pretty sure it was her voice in my head when I made my Downtown Foley's quilt. On this particular trip through her books, City Sky caught my eye. It looked like the perfect thing for all those early 1990s strips that had recently bubbled to the surface.

So, shifting gears, off I went, making a brand-new, 20-year-old quilt!

Let me be the first to say it -- this quilt is a little muddy & dull. The sky in my Gathering Storm quilt is what you might see before a hurricane -- the perfect thing as we are just a week away from the beginning of this year's season.