Angela's quilt

My friend Angela is a most accomplished and prolific quilter.  Everytime I go up to Toowoomba to visit she has more quilts that she has finished on display.

There has been a selection of crocheted laces that she had taken out of work done by her grandmother hanging near her desk.  What to do with them has been the question.  Now she has created the most beautiful tribute to her grandmother using these pieces, her grandmothers embroidery and photos of her from the time she was a young mother through to her old age.  All the lace came out of bed pillows that her grandmother had backed with red fabric.  She has used the white and red as the colours of her quilt.

Her parents emmigrated to Australia when Angela was 11 years old leaving behind the grandparents. ( How heartbreaking to lose you grandchildren to the other side of the world.) Her grandmother had taught her to embroider when the family lived in Germany and her childhood stitching is there alongside that of her grandmother.  She has used this piece in her quilt as well, along with the lace and the monograms that her grandmother had embroidered on all of her household linen.

I didn't think that crocheted lace would quilt up so well.

The photos were all printed onto fabric and framed with the same fabrics used in the pillows.

Her grand mother is a young teenage girl, young woman through to old age.

They start with a family group of four generations of women, her mother being the baby. (Top left hand corner.)

There is so much love stiched into this quilt.  It brings tears to my eyes every time I look at it. Time and distance have only made those family ties tighter and one woman life is woven through the fabric of the story.    I'm glad to say that Angela's daughter loves it as well so the story of the women in that family will continue.

Eagles

Every morning I see the sea eagles hunting along the front beach out the front of our home.  They live in the next bay around from us where there are mangroves growing along the foreshore and lots of pythons in the swamps.  I have counted up to 6 birds in the air at any one time and to see them swoop in and take a fish is very exciting.  This photo was taken by someone on the island who was in those swamps.  No way will I go down the stairs that once went to an old jetty.  It is not only the snakes but there is the most eiry feeling comes over me when I go down there. ( I believe it was an old burial ground used by the aboriginals as some time in the past.)

The other day I spotted an eagle in the trees out the front of our home and as it was intent on spotting prey I tried to get a photo on my iPhone.  Now that makes almost no noise at all but it heard me and was off.  Their hearing must be super sensitive.

We have had some rough weather with winds of over 30 knots and before the winds hit flocks of birds flew in from the more exposed islands to the mainland.  Nature is quite awe inspiring.

WIPW

This section has taken quite a bit of thought.  The diagonal stitching that I had first thought of doing just didn't look right.  I wanted something to mirror the original classic design and finally came up with a box pattern.  But the math didn't work out to fit the space.  To overcome this I took a smaller count pattern and blended it into the other.  I'm sure if I looked closely at the old pieces of work the women stitching them would probably come up with the same solution.  (I hope.)  Anyway this is the piece to date.

One thing I have found is that if you unpick the Kogin thread more than twice you have to bin it.  It becomes very weak and will break.  Also, you have to concentrate on the counting.  The regular count is broken by the small insert blocks so no thinking about anythings else but the count.  

Now that my rib has healed a bit I won't have an excuse to sit and stitch for the long periods I have over the last couple of weeks so I expect less progress in this coming week.

Return to Music

I haven't bought any CD's or online music for a few years.  Why?  Well I just haven't found anything performances that really inspired me to do this, and this includes all genres.  From rock to Classical.  I was happy with the library I had.  Then I heard the piano duo Anderson and Roe and I had to rush out and buy their new CD, the Art of Bach.  (I have it playing now.)

So I thought I would have a look at what was on You Tube and there is heaps.  I love this from the Magic Flute.

 

This interview has made me like them even more and the version of a Piazolla tango is just so exciting.  In the interview they explain why they do what they do and then demonstrate how they do it.

 

It feels wonderful to be inspired by music again not just enjoying it but feeling it as well.  This duo has another fan.

Margaret

One of the positive things about moving to a small community has been how caring people are about each other.  It isn't in your face but people keep an eye on each other and are there if you need help.

One of our elderly residents is Margaret.  Every morning she is up just before dawn and walks,  Mostly she heads off around one of the beaches and you can see her heading home as the sun rises in the sky.

No elderly person is ever left to walk home with their shopping, someone always stops and drives them home.  Residents always stop to speak to them and make sure that they are fine.  And for those who are unable to make it over to the mainland we have a community shopping van that delivers to their homes.

I often see Margaret walking in the morning and I always thought the she was walking her dog.  But no, that wasn't the case.  A couple of the dogs on the island go out walking at about the same time and they keep an eye on her.  I see them wait at certain spots for her and don't walk on until she comes up from the beach.   One or the other always escort her right back to her house.  They do this even when the weather is bad.  This border collie has been keeping an eye on her for the past couple of weeks.

People ask me why I wanted to move away from our big house in the city that was so convenient to everything anyone could want.  This sense of community is one reason along with the beauty and tranquility of the place.

WIPW

I had a slight accident last Friday and have had to stay still so that things heal.  Great for stitching.  I'm not really sick so I'm able to partake in my favourite activity.  This piece has really benifited from the time I have been able to put in.  I can see that I need to add a little to some of the small squares as they don't look balanced.

I have been having another look at the next section and have decided that I think I can do better than the first design.  So it's back to the computer to see if it will work.  There is a big difference between what looks good on paper and how the piece looks when it is stitched.

Meet Roger

This was my major purchase from the BVAC Pop-Up shop, Roger.  I think it's a boy but it might be a girl.  I will have to ask the maker,  Judy.  I can see this one is going to be lonely so I might have to buy another.

Finished hat No 1

That didn't take long and I am getting so much better at cables. The hat to go with the hand warmers is finished.  If you want to use this pattern for someone with long hair I think I would do the 4 repeats of the pattern as suggested in the pattern but for a nice firm fitting hat I have used only 3 repeats.

The wool is aran weight from Bendigo Woollen Mills and as I still have about 200grams left I have a couple of little girls who have requested one each.  The pattern did come in a child's size as well.  As I said in a previous post, this is a free pattern from Perle Soho and really easy to follow.

Today was the Brisbane Visual Arts's Community (BVAC) Pop-Up shop Mount Cootha.  There were some seriously lovely pieces for sale at reasonable prices.  One artist who's work I would like to see more of is Sandra Pearce.  Her blog has some interesting information and her website has a link to her Etsy shop.  I am going to buy a copy of her book "Nature in Print"  so I will let you know what it is like.

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