Quilt Progress March 2009

Here is how far I have gotten on the quilt restoration project. If you click on the collage it will get bigger and you will be able to see it better. The panel on the lower left shows the famous spider, almost lost her in the process.

The stitching around the edges between the old quilt and the framing material is what I have done. I have made it around three sides of one panel so far. I am getting less awkward and am doing much better since I abandoned the antique thread. I will use the old thread again for small sections, and will use the sections of thread that are in the best condition. No use making it harder than it is.

Part of me is very embarrassed by my lack of skill. When this quilt was originally made, probably between 1910 and 1919, girls were not allowed near a project like this. They practiced hand sewing by hemming dish towels, handkerchiefs, sheets, pillow cases - you name it. While you are naming it remember to be thankful for the stacks of linens, blankets and couch cushions that you own and have not made by hand! I digress.

Part of me is quite proud I have even tackled this at all! I rarely sew, even by machine and I am getting better. By the time I finish the fourth panel, I will be quite accomplished or I will never want to see a needle again.

NOTE: Today is Gramma Dee Dee's birthday, she was born this day March 7, 1893! This is her 116th anniversary of birth. That makes the quilt older as I am quite sure she was allowed to stitch the spider as a reward for learning a bible verse when she was ten years old.

Journals from the Past

I have stumbled across another type of art journal. A journal indicates a passing of time, and is a recording of events of the lives of the people journaling.

In August last year, my mom gave me a quilt that was passed on to her when her mother-in-law, my grandmother died. The quilt came to my grandmother from her mother and I believe, her mother either made it with my grandmother’s grandmother, or on her own.

The quilt is what is known as a Crazy Quilt. The blocks are made from black and brown velvet and top stitched with bright cotton thread. There were also several blocks made from violet silk, this material did not pass the test of time. When I think back to the women working away, making the quilt, I see them using carefully saved scraps from the best dresses made in that household for a decade or more. There is a little embroidered spider along one side that my grandmother was allowed to stitch on as a reward for some accomplishment. She was about 10 years old when she got to add the spider. And she remembered it as a highlight of her growing up. If you look closely you will see the spider along the bottom edge, near the bad fray.

The quilt I received is dirty and frayed, with several blocks of stringy raw silk hanging with just the top embroidery holding it together. Still it gives the sense of lush beauty overall.

This is a journal with large blocks of time between entries. I think it was the bedspread on my Gramma’s bed when I stayed with her when one of my brothers was born in 1955. My Gramma passed away in the late 1970’s and the old quilt has been in one trunk or another ever since.

Now it is in the process of being restored, well that isn’t exactly the right word, a friend and I are taking it apart, replacing the shredded parts with parts that are still whole, and making it into a wall hanging.

I haven’t sewn much since I was a girl but I find my awkward hand stitching and my friends experienced cutting very satisfying. Between us we are adding a block of time to this journal of cloth. I expect it to hang on my wall until I die and pass it on to my granddaughter. It will need to be cleaned and maybe somewhere along the line it will get sewn back into one piece…those blocks of time will be for another to decide.

Art Journaling

Art (art) n. 1. The ability of man to arrange or adapt natural things or conditions to his own uses. 2. The creation of works that are, in form, content, and execution, esthetically pleasing and meaningful, as in music, painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, dance, etc. 3. The principles and techniques governing the creation of such works. 4. The works so created, esp. paintings, drawings, and sculpture. 5. Skilled workmanship; craft. 6. Any skill, craft, trade or profession: the art of cooking: a teacher’s art. 7. Printing Any illustrative or decorative material that accompanies the text….

Jour-nal (jur’ nel) n. 1. A record of daily occurrences, as a diary. 2. A record of the proceedings of a legislature, club etc. 3. A daily newspaper. 4. Any periodical or magazine. 5. Naut. A logbook …

Diary (di’ e-ree) n. pl. –ries 1. A written, daily record of the writer’s experiences, feelings, activities, etc. 2. A book for keeping such a record. [diarium >L dies a day]

As you can read in the above, Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary has a lot to say about art, more than I was willing to type. The three dots mean that there were more meanings mostly to do with artifice etc. And then Mr. Webster defines Journal and in the definition used the word diary – which he also defines. The highlighting is my own.

There are as many different expressions of ‘Art Journaling” out there as there are ‘Art Journalers.’ I have taken a few (art journal) classes where there is nothing written or only one word (usually dream or believe) that is then illustrated. Then I have taken classes where there were only words, with funny fonts or embellishments. My art journaling has words, illustrations, collaging and paint! My definition – my name is close to Webster – comes down to:

Art Journaling v. The act of making a daily record of the artist’s experiences, feelings, lessons and expressions.

Art Journal n. A book for keeping a daily record of the artist’s experiences, feelings, lessons and expressions.

Art Journaling fits my life like a glove and I love it. I have book after book of pages. Pages that are the art itself and pages that have spaces left just for writing in at some other date. Being self-taught I am always experimenting with techniques I have read about. Often I don’t care for the result. When I try something out on a page-sized paper and it doesn’t do what I think it should, I can just turn the page and try again.

Another thing about art journaling is that it can be done in ten-minute (or 20, 30 etc) increments and be very satisfying. No matter what the reason, we usually do not have hours and hours to sit around with a pen or a paint brush. When I have a few minutes, even if I am not feeling artistic, I can always do a little something to a page. I always have more than one set of pages in the works.

As the pages add up the growth of the skill is obvious and progress can be seen. Progress more as progression…

Blogging Practice Challenge!

I intend to have a practice of blogging daily in 2009 and this will be a month of blogs to get me in the habit of doing it.

B and I found a hilarious site, a knock-off from the NANOWRIMO, the NABLOPOMO.com site. (Makes you wonder about poor Mo.) Anyway, National Blog Post Month, is a challenge to write and post for thirty consecutive days on your blog. If anyone is interested (or if anyone is even reading) in seeing the original challenge here is the link http://www.nablopomo.com/ . Okay – I just went to the site to check the link and really – it is not hilarious, many folk are really committed to this as a contribution – it just strikes ME as hilarious…must be something about ME!

Being the ornery and obstinate females that we are, B and I have modified the challenge to our own uses, and plan to write a post daily, but not to post them as we figure this will give us about 3 months of posts if we are smart about it.

The blog site that I mean to post to is meant for my writing and art journaling life. I have several blogs and have stopped blogging altogether and actually miss doing it. I will have to get better at taking pictures of my art journaling so I can post them too. I believe B and I are agreeing to post written entries, but I should check with her on that, maybe the Sunday post could be a picture. Give us a break…HA!

I think we should probably write around 300 words per post to make it something we don’t just wander off from – but actually develop a useful habit – with posts having a beginning, a middle and an end. And posts that make a point.

The point? To develop a habit of posting to my blogs on a daily basis. The point of posting? To communicate (one of my highest values) the fun and juiciness of playing in the world of words and art.