Saturday, April 30, 2011

I wonder!!!


If you are wondering...What have I been up to?
We all go through the ups and downs of daily life. When it get to a point when you have time to focus on less things than you normally do, we start prioritizing and some things have to get on the back burner..

In my case, it was blogging..

It has been almost a month since my last post. I have to thank each and everyone of you for spending your precious time reading, leaving wonderful comments of encouragement and sometimes even with personal emails just checking up. Your friendships means a lot to me and if you are a blogger, your posts and projects are also a constant source of inspiration to me. 

I have to admit that after the visit to NY Red and White show, I came home very inspired to make some quilts. Within  a week's time I also had opportunity to visit my friend Christine's home and got to see her beautiful collection of her handmade quilts... Finished quilts.... might I add!

It became clear to me that I needed to slow down.. I took a second look at my stash of tops.. Yes, I have stash of quilt tops and decided that it was time to change gears.. It was time to slow down and finish some of the tops into quilts.

So I went to the quilt shop and bought some batting.

Remember this?


I basted the top and started hand quilting the quilt. It has been little over three weeks and I have completed
hand quilting all 25 blocks. I decided to stitch in the ditch to preserve the pattern that is already heavy with texture. 


 Here is the close up of the block.


Now the border dilemma....
I am not sure how I want to quilt it. It is the only place where I can show case my hand quilting. But I am a lazy hand quilter that does not like marking the patterns. I started with this ivy but feel that the design is quite a contrast to the actual pattern of the quilt.. Some more pondering to do!


I know that these stitches are not perfect but having spent time with this quilt and being at peace has proven  to be more rewarding than fussing over the perfection. And any given time, perfection is the last thing on my mind so I am pretty happy.. 
My focus for this month was the echo of good old Nike slogan.. 'Just do it'
And it worked..





I will be back with more pictures once it is complete.
May be hanging on the fence or off the barn door.. 
This quilt will be fun to photograph outdoors in the country side. 

Spring is here... In my heart and everywhere I see!
Happy Spring!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Infinite Variety - Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts

I am still walking in circles at the Park Avenue Armory. I am so certain that this experience will never leave my mind. From what I saw, heard and experienced first hand, those layers and layers of red and white quilts were breathtaking and mesmerizing for every single soul that walked in there....

I wish all of you could have seen this.


Imagine a three tiered round cake, hollow from inside and you could walk within the cake!



Now imagine the size of bed quilts that were formed into that cake like circle.. Quilts that looked like inlayed stone work on the white marble. Lighting was so perfect, it made each and every quilt a show stopper. Since they were all Red and White, none of them were competing against any other quilt. They hung in their own elegant and unique existence.The dark background of walls and ceiling were even more enhancing the beauty of each quilt.
I have hard time picking one out as my favorite. When I look at the pictures, I already know that I have missed seeing some of them from up close.  I notice a new one every time I go through the pictures.



Layers.. that sprawled across the entire exhibition hall. No matter which side or angle I looked at, my views were of simple, bold and stunning beauty.

The center of the exhibition hall had quilts spiraling upwards into a tower.


Can you imagine the scale when you see the crowds?

There was a quiet and very respectful atmosphere throughout the hall. Quilters had brought their young grandchildren to experience the quilts. Young mothers were there with their babies in strollers. I have never seen so many men at any other quilt show. 

The silence which only comes from disbelief was all around me. As I entered the exhibit, I could not believe what I was experiencing. In loss of words, I hurried to get my camera out of my bag..trying to hold back the emotions I was feeling. I am sure you have experienced beauty that moves you from within and heard music that brings tears to your eyes. In that moment I knew that this was my once in a life time experience.

It has been two days since I went to the exhibit.
I still close my eyes just to revisit this enchanting experience!
 





I wish you could have been there. If you were there, you know what I mean. 

My sincere thanks to Mrs. Joanna S. Rose. Her passion and love for these quilts have allowed me  the experience of a life time!

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