Various & Sundry 2020 #4

Media

I read this essay on receiving a quilt as a gift and really thought it was spot on.

Remember Mel from the Great British Baking Show? Well, she is making a quilt along with a co-presenter on a podcast. It is described as “Mel Giedroyc is quilting. No really, she’s making a quilt. … Each week on this brand new podcast follow along as Mel Giedroyc and her presenter pal Andy Bush add to their patchwork quilt with new squares of material donated by friends, famous types and most importantly the listeners! They’ll find out the stories behind the fabrics, develop their sewing skills and naturally, have a big old chat. And a cup of tea. And probably some biscuits.… A Somethin’ Else production. ” I haven’t had a chance to listen yet. What do you think?

I found an article on the group project to finished a deceased quiltermaker’s map of the US.

Barbara Brackman talked about Kim McLean recently in a blog post. Kim makes quilts based on traditional designs (lots of applique’). She makes them fresh and new by using Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. One of the things Barbara mentions is the trail of inspiration Kim used for one of her quilts. I found it so interesting. It reminded me of that scene in the elevator in 9 to 5 where the secretary is talking to the stock trader about how she came up with the idea of a trade or stock purchase.

Quiltmaking hits the mainstream on CBS This Morning with Jenny Doan!

Want to know about Rose Kretsinger? Thanks to Frances of the QuiltFiction podcast and the Off Kilter Quilt, I can offer up a video. “Assistant Curator of Exhibitions, Jonathan Gregory, discusses the life of quilt designer Rose Kretsinger (1886-1963) in this 2009 video from the International Quilt Study Center & Museum archive.”

Patterns, Projects and Tutorials

I saw flower pincushions and they made me smile. I thought I might be able to figure out the pattern by looking at the photos, but I think this is one pattern I would have to buy.

HandyLim Mum has a wordless double zipper pouch tutorial. It is surprisingly effective. Yes, I want to make one.

From Sewing Times, another wordless tutorial, comes a great cosmetic or go on retreat small bag. It has outside pockets and a small handle. Yes, I want to make this one, too.

Pink Pony Designs is a new designer of bags to me and she has great bags. I really like the shape of the Hollywood Handbag. She also has acrylic templates for some of her bags, which can be used with a rotary cutter to cut out bags. Her work is gorgeous – lots of leather (fake leather?), etc. She has a few free patterns as well.

Inspiration

Check out the gallery of improv quilts by Janet Steadman at the Pacific Northwest Art School.

Paul Klee’s personal notebooks are now online.

Barbara Brackman has a blog post about the pattern Broken Circle AKA Suspension Bridge. I really love the first example in red and white.

Other Artists

I sometimes mentioned QuiltDivaJulie. She makes a ton of tops! Recently she referred to a friend, Lynne Tyler, who is telling the story of how they met. Lynne is illustrating the series of posts with quilt mages. One REALLY grabbed me. It is a letter quilt, but the letters spell out the names of colors. Not blue, red, green, but turquoise, vermillion, malachite. I love the letters, but I also love the ingenuity in naming the colors. It makes them exotic, fabulous.

Supplies, Tools, Notions and Fabric

I found one of the best machine reviews I have read. The review covers a Juki TL-2200QVP Mini, mainly, but mentions other machines as well. I don’t have a Juki, but I have several friends who love theirs.