Little Welsh Quilts and other Traditions

Journey to Lampeter

2012-03-14T12:11:00.000Z

Going to the Opening of Jen's Annual Exhibition at the Quilt Centre in Lampeter (see my last post) was an excuse to re discover some of the places I haven't visited for a while which I will share with you in a future post.

We did a bit of a detour on our journey to Jen's delightful little shop in Llanybydder to pick up the key to the farmhouse where we were staying -

Not deliberately, but because we were talking so much we took a wrong turning! Getting back on track, we took a road which led us past the Black Mountain which is the source of two great rivers of Wales, the Tawe and the Usk.

We could see both sources from the road, just two streams cascading over rocks on their long journey to Swansea and Newport - it was quite thrilling! Then down into Llandovery and a lovely lunch of fish and chips at the Castle Hotel - the chips done in dripping, a taste from childhood and a very guilty pleasure!

This old coaching inn has been looking a bit run down for a while, but I'm pleased to say that the HRH effect (The Prince of Wales has a farmhouse nearby) must be working as it was very welcoming with plenty of locals enjoying their lunch in this off peak tourist time.

I am gathering images of some of the quilts at the exhibition which I will share with you next time!

"A Quilted Bridge" - The new exhibition at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre.

2012-03-07T18:12:00.000Z

This weekend a new exhibition is opening at The Jen Jones Quilt Centre in Lampeter.

Welsh Quilts from Jen's Collection will be displayed together with a selection of Amish Quilts from the American Museum in Bath. This will give us an opportunity to study their similarities and differences at first hand, all of which have been explored in a wonderful new book by Dorothy Osler.

Dorothy herself will be opening the exhibition on Friday evening and I am off to Lampeter to enjoy the experience. Every visit to Jen's shop and Quilt Centre is a treat and I will tell you all about it on my return.

A Daffodil Basket Quilt for St. David's Day

2012-03-02T14:48:00.001Z

Yesterday was St. David's Day here in Wales. It isn't a public holiday, though many think it should be, however, the schools celebrate with special events and the children dress in national costume - my neighbour's four year old looked so sweet in her outfit! The rest of us usually have a bunch of Daffodils and perhaps tea with Welsh Cakes!

I celebrated by digging out my Daffodil basket quilt which I began (according to the label) in 1981 and finished in 1984 and I thought I made quilts quicker then!

Practically all the fabrics are from Wales, mostly Laura Ashley but the Daffodil fabric from a factory that used to print near where I live - I actually picked it out of their free remnant box!

I was in my green phase and wasn't into Welsh quilting. Now when I look at it I think I might do a bit before I put the quilt away again, there's certainly some scope within the baskets. The rest is quite intensively quilted but without much imagination - it needs a stamp of Welshness!

This was made before the Trip Around the World quick technique was generally known here, so every piece was cut out and sewn separately. But then, even if I had known about the quicker way, I doubt if I would have used it - I'm not into quick techniques! It is my own design but heavily influenced by a quilt made by Joyce Blair on a cover of Quilters' Newsletter Magazine - that used to be my bible!

We are having the most wonderful Spring weather here and this was the first time this year that I have been able to take pictures in the garden. Sadly the forecasters are saying that rain is coming!

Oh - I have just heard that my Pansy quilt, which I showed on an earlier post, is going to be in the 2013 Quilters' Guild of the British Isles calendar! That was also made in the eighties - so it's never too late for a bit of exposure!

Visiting the Tokyo Quilt Show

2012-02-28T08:36:00.000Z

Six years ago in January I visited the Tokyo Quilt Show. It was so exciting visiting Japan as I had long admired the quilts made there and I loved the whole experience even though it was bitterly cold and Tokyo had its first snow in six years!.

The show was mind blowing. They have about 250 thousand visitors and it is opened by one of the Royal Family and has an ongoing live TV show covering all aspects of the show. There were so many things to absorb it took three visits and then I'm sure I missed lots.

One of the things I most enjoyed were the famous quilters' displays - here is one from the latest show this January which featured rooms of quilt artists. This is Keiko Goke and her very colourful work -

This is such a good idea. I just loved looking at the work of all these clever quilters and having a chance to meet them and try a talk to them. It was easily the best part of the show for me and I wish other big shows would copy the idea! Many do have famous quilters' galleries but I prefer this more informal approach.

The year I was there is was styled workrooms which, though they were obviously contrived, were extremely decorative and enjoyable to view and did give a glimpse into the life of the quilt artist and what inspires them.

Of course it does take up a lot of space but then the Tokyo Dome, which is a baseball venue, is more than big enough to cope!

This picture is from this year's event - I don't know the ladies, but check out the masks!

This will give you some idea of the venue - we all sat in the tiered seats when we wanted a rest or to eat our lunch. A wonderful experience!

Comparing Five Samplers

2012-02-23T15:08:00.000Z

Following on from my last post about the two images I found in Hardy's Cottage on the National Trust Collections website, the second was a sampler which I had seen in situ many years ago.

Though I have been concentrating on quilts for the last twelve years, prior to this I was working on my first book which was on samplers and I continue to be extremely interested in their history. It's a very frustrating form of research, because so many of our British samplers are sold and resold through dealers and auction houses and each time they change hands vital information is lost, so it's an uphill struggle trying to make sense of it all.

As in the USA, the majority of our British samplers were made in schools, which means that there are groups of samplers very similar in form and substance because they were based on the same design. If just one sampler can be identified as coming from a certain school in a certain place, it usually means that all the rest in that group were made there too.

Lets start with this one, it's quite well known as it's in the V&A collection.

It was made by Sophia Stephens, around 1830 and I hope you will be able to see that the house is named as Horse Hill House near London. This sampler is quite large in comparison to the others below, though no size is given.

Now here's another -

This sampler was made by Mary Davis in 1825. It has many of the same ingredients including the same border though the house is different and is named as Newton Cottage. It like all the others is much smaller than the first one by Sophia Stephens, though all share key ingredients.

Here's another made by Jane Mortimer in 1822

Again it has the same border and many of the same motifs but this time there are two houses - Horse Hill House and Newton Cottage!

Now we come to my discovery at Hardy's birthplace -

It was made by Esther Ann Turner aged 11, in 1839 and again shows Newton Cottage.

My book "House and Garden Samplers" features yet another one lent to me by a friend

It was made by Eleanor Roberts in 1835 and this time, though it isn't named, the house is Horse Hill House and again it has the same border and other identical motifs.

Well what do you make of it all? Are the houses real houses, which wasn't usually the case with houses depicted on samplers and if they were, were they near London? These two aren't the stereotyped sampler house and do have a look of real houses and both are named, but why did all the girls use the same two houses over a period of years. Did they have two house patterns to choose from and Jane Mortimer being ambitious decided to do both?

We shall probably never know, but wouldn't it be nice to find out more? All we need to discover is a village near London with a Horse Hill House and a Newton Cottage - easy peasy! Answers in comments box please!

National Trust Collections now online

2012-02-19T13:03:00.000Z

I don't know when it happened, but I have just discovered that the National Trust Collections are now on line. This is really good news, because until now if you saw something interesting in one of their properties, especially if it was a textile, you wouldn't have be able to obtain an image of it, let alone any information.

You have heard me grizzle before about museum websites being difficult to negotiate and in comparison this NT site isn't too bad. You can either search through a property or a category. "Textiles" is a very varied category and I had to trawl through a great deal of quite boring stuff to find things that interested me i.e. quilts and samplers. However I did have some success - two items from Hardy's cottage - one this very beautiful patchwork coverlet. Perhaps a bit high status for such a humble cottage but an English coverlet where the design has been planned for once!

Sorry about the quality of the picture, I have tried to enhance it but without success, it is simply not a good enough image to start with which is a shame because it is a very pretty coverlet.

Here are some closeups I found on Google Images and it looks as if many of the pieces have been appliqued to the background rather than pieced.

If you haven't been to Thomas Hardy's birthplace in Dorset you have missed a treat - it really is the most delightful little thatched cottage and set in a pretty garden. If you do have a chance to visit, don't take the easy way along the lane, approach it through the wood, it's a bit of a trek but well worth it and try not to get lost as my husband and I did, pick up a map!

Referring back to the NT Collections website, I'm not giving it high marks because the pictures generally are not good enough and seem to vary from property to property. Though there is a zoom facility on all the images I would prefer to be able to save a much larger image as a reference.

Could do better NT, but may be seven out of ten for a reasonable attempt at moving with the times!

English Summer Coverlet c. 1820-25

2012-02-16T13:32:00.000Z

It's amazing what you find when you start trawling the auction archives - this beautiful unquilted patchwork coverlet for instance! It's such a hotchpotch of a design and would perhaps benefit from a few quiet areas?

It's a shame that this picture of the centre is a bit out of focus, but isn't it wonderful?

As usual there is absolutely no provenance so we don't know where it was made or who made it, but it doesn't look as if it has been used. I wonder where it is now? Some lucky person owns a treasure!

A new obsession!

2012-02-11T08:47:00.001Z

Pinterest is my new obsession and I am spending far too much time collecting images to the detriment of everything else. Fortunately the weather is so miserable that one doesn't feel too guilty being at the computer - it's a different matter when the sun is shining!

What I enjoy about collecting on Google images is that one doesn't know where it will lead! It's like a magical mystery tour - you may be looking for quilts but other, quite unrelated, things turn up! However, samplers are appearing in abundance and I've chosen this one to show you. (I've put this link so that you can go to the original source and see a much enlarged version of this sampler if you keep clicking) -

This sampler is packed with content yet very organised and I love the clothed Adam and Eve! The capital lettering of the name and month are unusual on a Welsh sampler and at first glance look rather Scottish!

It isn't anything like the Welsh samplers I have described in my earlier post. It was made in 1843, just before the time when woollen samplers seem to burst on the scene and the Welsh language began to appear. The naming of of Wrexham Church is a obvious indication but images of churches were very common on Welsh samplers and are always an indication of Welshness. As are the flight of birds surrounding the church and the style of the tree and plant motifs.

What I find interesting, is that though Wrexham is in North Wales, this sampler displays motifs very much in the style of those found on samplers made in South Wales and this is unusual.

God Bless Her Majesty

2012-02-06T11:27:00.001Z

God Bless The Queen - it is sixty years ago today since she ascended the Throne.

We will be celebrating later in June but today is the actual anniversary so let's do something now -

While we are about it let's stand up and sing - I especially like the third verse!

Glasgow and Camille Pissarro

2012-02-05T21:34:00.001Z

I spent much of my teens and twenties living in Glasgow, the commercial capital of Scotland. I look back on that time with great affection and take every opportunity to return to the city for a refresher course in Glaswegian. It has changed a good deal since I lived there, mostly for the better, it is now a much cleaner and more pleasant place to live, though I do miss some of the wonderful department stores I used to haunt.

One of the reasons for this change was that it was declared the European City of Culture in 1990 which has boosted its tourist trade enormously. I am mentioning this because it leads to the other part of the title of this post, Camille Pissarro.

In the Year of Culture I visited The Burrell Collection, then a newly built museum, for the very first time. I was attending an evening reception for the Embroiderers' Guild, but while we were mingling and enjoying the experience of a quiet museum, a private view of the works of Camille Pissarro was also taking place - it was an evening to remember!

Pissarro is one of my favourite artists. Every time I come across an impressionist painting that I like, it's usually painted by him. He is very versatile and as you can see from the above picture, he can paint as prettily as Renoir, though I particularly love his street and river scenes -

Then there are his landscapes -

and he can do portraits too -

Self Portrait

Luckily we have some of his paintings here at the National Musuem of Wales, so I don't have to go too far to see the real thing. However, on that evening in The Burrell, paintings from all over the world had been gathered there, so we could study, compare and admire them at our leisure in wonderful surroundings. I shall never forget it!

If you would like to see more paintings click here - if you scroll down there's a video!.

Charity Shop buy and Pinterest!

2012-01-31T11:35:00.000Z

Cowbridge is a little market town in the Vale of Glamorgan and a favourite place to visit! It has lots of interesting shops and excellent places to eat and also a good charity shop.

Normally I am not a charity shop browser but I ventured in to see if they had any crochet hooks. Yes I've decided to try crochet - haven't begun yet but one needs hooks to start! I bought three hooks of different sizes and then, across a crowded shop, I spied some EB -

It was just sitting there on a shelf waiting for me - well who could resist?

Though they were sold as a set, they are actually two different patterns - Elephants and Farmyard and better still, they are early sponged ones which are now sought after and I have neither! Good result!

(Jilly if you are reading this? Thank you so much for the grape hyacinths in the picture.)

If you look on the side of this blog you will see that you can now follow me on Pinterest - thank you Karmen for my invitation which I shamlessly canvassed here! I have had such fun creating boards and filling them with all my favourite pins, though it does take so much time because one can't help following other people pins. Do take a look.

A new discovery

2012-01-27T08:48:00.000Z

As I have probably mentioned before, I love collage and I have recently discovered Mandy Pattullo. This is some of her work -

I was going to show you more but for some reason Blogger has gone on strike and won't upload the images, but do go to her website and browse.

What I love about these pieces is that she uses old bits of everything and puts them together in such a wonderful way. I long to do this but that would mean starting to collect so much more stuff and I am already bursting at the seams with fabric and thread, I don't want to start saving old clothes! Though I know deep down that there's a lot more to it than random pieces of re-cycling - an artist's eye is required!

Goodbye Erica

2012-01-23T11:03:00.000Z

I have just been given a newspaper cutting - an obituary of Erica Wilson who died on the 13th December.

I was so sad to hear this because she had quite an influence on me as she helped demystify embroidery and gave me the courage to have a go at it. After I joined my local Embroiderers' Guild Branch I learnt that many of my fellow new members had watched her TV programme and they too had been inspired.

This book accompanied the TV series

I can see her now bounding onto the TV set full of enthusiasm, explaining each week a different method of embroidery, so that when the programme ended we just wanted to drop everything and start! Of course this was impossible, because the BBC, in their wisdom had chosen a late Sunday morning slot, just when most of us were preparing Sunday lunch. This was before video recording and typical of how TV schedulers treat women; instead of giving us a nice afternoon slot when we could sit down and enjoy such a programme, oh no, that would interfere with men's sport!

Anyway rant over - back to Erica. When I had any embroidery problem it was her embroidery book I turned to and it never let me down -

Her speciality was crewel embroidery and I remember admiring this picture in the book which is obviously inspired by 17th century British embroidery -

I admired it then and I still like it now, but I never tried crewel embroidery - too scary, but then Erica learnt at the Royal School of Needlework where she later taught, before crossing the pond!

RIP Erica Wilson and thank you.

Welsh woollen samplers

2012-01-13T09:12:00.001Z

I am particularly fond of the large woollen samplers that were made in great numbers here in Wales in the second half of the 19th century, long after sampler making had faded away in other countries. Samplers something like this one -

It certainly isn't a conventional sampler design, but isn't it fun? Quite zany - zaniness being something that these large woolly samplers have in abundance and something they share with many Welsh quilts. Here is a detail of a teapot -

This sampler is actually for sale - for more details click here.

When the craze for Berlin woolwork swept across Europe, canvas and wool became more affordable and girls from poorer backgrounds could then make a sampler. Welsh girls took up the challenge with enthusiasm using these new bright wools and the large meshed canvas instead of the more costly silk and linen. They sometimes included a new Berlin motif on their samplers, but they usually stuck to the traditional motifs that had been used on earlier 19th century Welsh samplers.

These large woolly samplers are the Cinderellas of the sampler world. Most collectors want fine needlework and these Welsh woollies don't fall into that category. They really are folk art and look extremely decorative in a "country look" setting, especially combined with quilts!

I have great fun hunting for Welsh samplers on websites and in catalogues because, unless they have some words in Welsh, they are usually credited as English and then I try to correct this. Welsh was banned in the schools of Wales for many years, but in the latter part of the 19th century you begin to see Welsh quotations and biblical verses appear on samplers. As speaking Welsh is fashionable again and has been heavily subsidised by government, many of the new Welsh speakers now favour samplers that include words in Welsh.

When I study the one above for Welshness, the easiest and most obvious clue is the name - Mary Hopkin or Hopkins, this being a very Welsh surname. Then there is the very large naive flower at the base of the sampler which is a Carmarthenshire favourite and the two pairs of figures on either side of the house also appear on other samplers from this county. So the chances are that this is a Carmarthenshire sampler. It can't be proven until another similar one turns up with maybe a place or school name stitched on it . This will then help identify any other ones that appear and then perhaps a group from a certain place can be identified.

I have doing this detective work for many years and have more than enough material for a book, but despite trying very hard to find a publisher, all my writings and photographs are languishing in a deep drawer in my desk. However, there are now many new ways to share information, blogging being one of them.

When I began writing this blog I did a piece on Welsh samplers and showed some that I own, strangely that post has disappeared from my archive? Blogger has obviously had a glitch but I may well show them again in the future, but I don't want to bore you with too much in one post!

Portrait of a young woman.

2012-01-08T13:25:00.000Z

Normally I have no trouble thinking of things to blog about, but since being ill over the festive season, my brain seems to have seized up and nothing seems interesting enough to write about. Today, however, I have stirred my stumps and as it is mild and not actually raining, I have ventured into the garden to take this picture of my latest acquisition.

I saw her on eBay and though I instantly fell for her, obviously no one else did, because I was the only bidder and she went for a very reasonable price. This rarely happens to me, but I can't help but feel rather sorry for the seller, because I would have been prepared to pay more.

Hasn't she got a rather serious expression? My first thought was that she might have been a maid servant because she doesn't look a very happy bunny, but servants rarely had their portraits painted because they were considered part of the furniture and were expected to keep working rather than sit around having their portraits painted.

We shall never know - but isn't it intriguing - I do love portraits! Maybe I will name her Ernestine? I'm open to suggestions!

Georgian Patchwork coverlet on ebay

2011-12-29T19:32:00.000Z

Every post needs a picture, so to fill that need I will show you my 2011 year mug and say a premature goodbye to this year and be first to wish to you a Good New Year in 2012.

However, the subject of this post is a quilt on eBay (click here for details) which a friend has just drawn to my attention. I would have liked to have included pictures instead of redirecting you but I can't seem to download eBay pictures successfully.

I had to fan myself at the astonishing price. The seller obviously thinks that they have something very special and I wish them well, but I can't really think that anyone would actually pay that price!

As you know I am a terrific fan of Georgian patchwork and I am interested in seeing the format of these now rare quilts. The fabrics too are interesting and worth studying but when I sent these details to Bridget Long (an expert on British quilts of this period) she was doubtful of the claimed date of 1810. Though she was studying pictures and not the actual quilt, she thought that some of the fabrics were perhaps made later and as you know a quilt is dated by its youngest fabric!

Changing the subject, I am on the waiting list for Pinterest but as yet have not been invited to join. Do any of you participate and would be kind enough to send me an invitation?

2011-12-25T11:39:00.000Z

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thank you for reading my blog and I'm sorry about the glitch in proceedings. Hopefully normal service will be soon?

Short and sweet and EB

2011-12-17T12:07:00.000Z

I have been suffering from some sort of virus this last week and feeling very under the weather, not Christmassy at all. I have been confined to the house, done no shopping, missed several pre Christmas celebrations and completely lost the will to sew or write. So the only way to keep this this blog going is to feature some of my favourite EB images -

A wonderful collection in Boston

2011-12-13T11:56:00.000Z

Does the name Elizabeth Day McCormick mean anything to you? Well perhaps if you are a fan of wonderful samplers it might well do, because the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston now holds her collection of over 4,000 textiles and what a collection it is!

At one time you could see the samplers on line but for some reason I can only find two now! Here I go again moaning about museums giving textiles such a low priority, but they do infuriate me so. Why go to the bother of photographing and producing a catalogue, putting everything online for a short while and then drop it? Grrrr. However, you can still buy the catalogue which will at least give you a taster click here for the link.

I save images as I trawl the net and then of course I have no idea where I found them - no matter, our luck is in because here is a close up of a section of my very favourite band sampler from this fabulous collection -

The colours in this image aren't quite right (for some reason what should be pale pink has come out turquoise) but oh isn't it wonderful? I only wish I had an image of the whole sampler to show you but this is the best band and the one I would love to be able to sew!

The sampler is English mid 1600's and made by Hannah Thornbush - isn't that a lovely name? It is approximately 33 inches long and 7 wide and worked in all the popular stitches found on these samplers - couching, cross, detached buttonhole, double running, eyelet, long armed cross, Montenegrin, running and satin. It is so crunchy, I just love it!

I have been trying to find out about Elizabeth Day McCormick and if possible a picture, but again I can't find much but this -

Born  into a wealthy Chicago family, Elizabeth Day McCormick (1873-1957)  dedicated her life and considerable means to collecting textiles,  focusing on European needlework, costumes, and costume accessories from  the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. Between 1943 and 1953,  she donated approximately 6,000 objects to the Museum of Fine Arts,  Boston (MFA). Gertrude Townsend (1893-1979), the museum's first textiles  curator, worked closely with McCormick to encourage her patronage,  manage the donation, and research and interpret objects in the  collection. McCormick and the MFA serve as a case study for exploring  the relationship between collectors and museums, and what happens when a  collection is transferred from private to public ownership and an  individual's taste becomes institutional fact. The relationship of  McCormick and Townsend also highlights how female networks of  collectors, professionals, philanthropists, and enthusiasts influenced  museum development, particularly in relation to textile and costume  collections. Overall, the conviction that museums reflect intellectual  and social priorities of their time drives this thesis, and this case  study begins to dissect the institutional authority cultivated by  museums.

Isn't it a shame that we can't see this collection online? Writing to museums doesn't work, if you get a reply you are lucky and nothing much changes. You just have to hope that they get around to textiles eventually when they have spent money on all the other boring exhibits!

Baskets on quilts

2011-12-10T16:12:00.000Z

Baskets have long been an ornamental element in decoration particularly in the 18th century, being found on carvings, embroideries, china etc., eventually finding their way on to quilts both in applique form, then as a quilting pattern and eventually as pieced patterns.

I am working on a basket design at the moment, which I found on an English quilt dated 1799, a time when basket decoration was at it's height. Then of course there is this quilt, which was all over the Internet a while back -

It is now known as the "English Basket Quilt" and I think it is fairly early - around 1800 maybe? If anyone has more dating information on it I would be very pleased to know?

This is an adapted pattern of it designed by Corliss Searcey at Threadbear Designs

which is being reproduced all over the world, though I suspect not many here in the UK. We tend to be out of love with hexagons because they used to be considered the only form of patchwork here and many of us have awful unfinished projects tucked away in deep drawers!.

I like this adaptation very much indeed. It concentrates on the baskets and omits the mass of hexagons and stars which dominate the original. There are so many of them that the border of baskets, which is easily the most attractive aspect of the quilt is almost overlooked. Corliss has put that right and the basket in now centre stage.

However, if I was working this reproduction, I would be greatly tempted to have the corner Ohio/Variable Star blocks of the original. They look so American don't they and slightly incongruous? That is why I would include them, because though Corliss's choice of linked hearts is more in keeping and better design, the fact that these patterns were worked on a British quilt around 1800 means that we did them first - along with the Dutch of course!

Who do you think this is?

2011-12-07T08:44:00.000Z

You are probably aware by now that I love portraits and if they have a mystery attached to them, all the better and if the BBC are doing a documentary exploring that mystery, that's my kind of programme!

Well who do you think this is -

I know that many of you reading this are fans so prepare to be amazed - it is said to be a recently discovered portrait of Jane Austen?

On Monday it was all over the British media starting with the "Today" program on Radio 4 and picked up by the national newspapers who are of course sceptical and think that it maybe the owner has an ulterior motive.

For Dr Paula Byrne who owns it is a well known biographer and Austen scholar, who is presently writing a new biography of Jane to be published in 2013 on the 200th anniversary of "Pride and Prejudice" She is convinced it is Jane and said that as soon as she saw it she recognised it as the real Jane as she had never really been convinced by the only other portrait done by Jane's sister Cassandra, after Jane's death.

The portrait drawing, in graphite on vellum, had been in a private collection for years, and was being auctioned as an "imaginary portrait" of Austen, with "Miss Jane Austin" written on the back. Dr Byrne said -

"When my husband bought it he thought it was a reasonable portrait of a nice lady writer, but I instantly had a visceral reaction to it. I thought it looks like her family. I recognised the Austen nose, to be honest, I thought it was so striking, so familiar. The idea that it was an imaginary portrait – that seemed to me to be a crazy theory. That genre doesn't exist, and this looks too specific, too like the rest of her family, to have been drawn from imagination."

If you would like to compare the likeness to the rest of her family do visit Austenonly which does a really wonderful job for all of us Jane Austen fans.

Well I for one am looking forward to the programme which is going out on 26th December, a little treat for Boxing Day! Sorry to those of you not in the UK but if you are interested you could watch it on-line on the BBC website?

Another piece of information re Jane is that Professor Amanda Vickery, who did that wonderful series "At Home with the Georgians" has a programme coming out on 23rd December entitled "The Many Lovers of Jane Austen". This is a deliberately provocative title, but then sexing up everything is what the media do now, they even try it on Jane Austen!

It looks like being a Jane Austen Christmas - yippee!

An early 19th century Cot Quilt

2011-12-04T09:41:00.000Z

Again I am most grateful to the Needleprint blog which regularly features interesting textile items coming up for auction. This quilt caught my eye -

According to the catalogue it's a George III Child's cot patchwork coverlet measuring 84 x 98 cms. The central hexagon is embroidered with "May thou be blessed sweetest babe 1808" It has some staining but it's considered by the auction house to be in good condition for its age and is estimated at £100-£150.

I love so many things about Georgian patchwork, the colours which are not so bright as Victorian, the interesting patterned fabrics and the traditional forms of stars, hexagons, etc. combined with applique. I feel that it is truly British and I do wish that we did more of it here and weren't so taken up with blocks and quick techniques. We have such a strong tradition to draw on but we seem obsessed with international trends and ignore our own. I'm on my hobby horse again I know, but some ones got to say it!

This little quilt would be a perfect project for someone beginning patchwork and quilting and if I were still teaching I would re-design it slightly to make it a bit more interesting. I think one of the borders could either have more stars and/or hexagons added or even be re-designed in another simple border pattern - I would consult Averil Colby for ideas. Then of course I would quilt it, as that would make it come alive!

A project like this one wouldn't be too intimidating for a beginner and would be a combination of hand piecing and some simple machining. If I wasn't so bogged down with quilts that need finishing, I would be up and running! Just think what a wonderful family heirloom it would make for a new baby?

Tartanware

2011-11-30T12:54:00.002Z

Continuing on the theme of boxes and wooden things, as it is St. Andrew's today I thought I would talk about Tartanware, a type of Mauchlinware.

I have a similar collection to the one above, in fact I have just been dusting it which is always a bit of a bind, not because it was St. Andrew's Day, but because the sun was shining in on it and I was shamed into it!

Long before I lived in Scotland I loved tartan, but when I lived there, unless you were wearing your own clan tartan, it wasn't really the thing to indulge in. That was the prerogative of tourists! However, tourism was what Tartanware was made for. When the railways brought tourists to the more isolated areas of the country, they of course wanted to buy souvenirs and in Mauchline in Ayrshire they manufactured small wooden items for this market. They were decorated in different ways and some were tartan - hence Tartanware!

I found the picture above online and am not sure what "A Great Highland Fling" means - please ignore! It was probably taken from a magazine illustration which as usual, can't differentiate one part of Scotland from another!

Happy St. Andrew's Day to all Scots wherever you are - have a wee dram for me!

Very special boxes - Coffor bach from Gower

2011-11-27T09:41:00.000Z

As I write this, on the table beside me, is a wooden box made for me when I was a child and given to me when I started in big school, to hold pencils, pens, compass, protractor etc. It still holds those things and has travelled with me wherever I have lived up and down this country and abroad. It is simple, sturdy and useful and I treasure it, but it is only valuable to me.

Boxes have served this useful purpose to millions of us through the centuries. Sometimes they were the only private space that their owner could claim. Most are like mine, simple and sturdy and of little value, but others are elaborate, decorative and valuable and they take many forms.

I want to share with you some special boxes that were made in Wales in the mid 18th Century.

Coffor Bach, is Welsh for "little coffer" (a coffer another name for a storage chest) and it seems to have been a tradition on the Gower peninsular in South Wales to make and decorate small coffers to celebrate a marriage, with the initials of the bride carved upon them. What a wonderful way to commemorate a wedding? It's both romantic and practical and would safely hold the most precious things the bride would bring to her new home and was perhaps the only place she would have had of her own.

My friends Christine and Philip Havard own this box, they can claim the "H" but as yet there is no "M". Oh I do wish the letters were MJ or MW but even if they were, I don't think they would part with it because it is very special. When Philip spotted it in an auction catalogue, it was listed as "Dutch, made of Walnut" but actually is is Welsh, made of Oak!

Chris and Philip are antique dealers and their business Havard & Havard have a current exhibition entitled "Chairs, Coffers and Cockerels" and here is similar coffer which is for sale -

I just love this decoration, it is pure folk art and to the uninformed it has tulips, so it must be Dutch, or Pennsylvanian Dutch! But tulips were a popular decoration in many countries, and why not? They have a very distinctive form and are also easy to draw, which is an excellent reason to use them to decorate objects, be it china, wood or textiles.

When I look at the urn filled with tulips, paisleys and roses - it could also be a Welsh quilting pattern, with the very same ingredients as the pattern on this Pembrokeshire quilt in the Jen Jones collection!

Welsh Kerchief Quilts

2011-11-22T16:38:00.001Z

Wearing a patterned kerchief around the neck, as a head scarf, or to keep a hat in place, is a feature of peasant costume in many countries, not just in Wales - but we used them in our quilts too. Did other countries do this, or was it just us I wonder?

The patchwork has been dated 1890 but the backing fabric (therefore the quilting) is about 50 years later.

The two pictures below are both sides of a wonderfully quilted one. Not sure which one you would treat as the reverse?

Believed to have been made by Bariah Adams Lewis of Penybach, Llanboidy or one of her associates. c.1885

Wouldn't it be lovely to have either of these glowing on your bed over this winter season? Not that I would of course, even if I owned them, as both are far too precious for constant use - maybe on a guest room bed? They are part of the Jen Jones Collection and featured in her second exhibition at her Quilt Centre in Lampeter.

This poster gives you a close-up of the wonderful quilting on the second quilt

Here's another - an early 19th century one -

This is another favourite of mine from Jen's collection. There is just something about it that appeals, probably the glorious chintzy fabrics and the fact that it's yet another lovely one made in God's own county, Pembrokeshire!

I made a my version using some of my treasured vintage Laura Ashley fabrics to try and capture the rich patterning of the original quilt.

Because it was so much smaller, I had to cheat a bit to get the right sized kerchief. I cut down a table napkin which had been printed in India - it so difficult to source this very bright bluey pink now and this napkin was a find. Then, as on the original quilt, I appliqued a rose motif at the centre. There are instructions for making this little quilt in my new e-book "Little Welsh Quilts" - see the sidebar for more details.

Somewhere in my stash, I have a Liberty of London fancy hankie together with a selection of fabrics which I would like to turn into another little quilt. For one fleeting moment I thought that I might include a picture, then I realised that finding them would be a day's work, so sadly no picture for the moment!

Kerchief quilts are very dear to my heart as I own one which was made at the end of the 19th century by my Great Great Aunt, Elizabeth John, who lived in our home village in Pembrokeshire. The quilt had left the family's possession, but on hearing of my interest in patchwork, the family friend who then owned it, returned it to me. It is a humble quilt, as most kerchief quilts were. They were not intended for best but for everyday wear and because of this, few have survived. Unless of course, as is the case of those in Jen's collection, they have stupendous quilting which puts them above average!

For my friends in the USA, an Emma Bridgewater Turkey Platter to wish them a

Very Happy Thanksgiving

Continuing the Jerusalem theme

2011-11-18T09:24:00.001Z

When I wrote my last post I intended to talk a little bit about William Blake who wrote "Jerusalem" and Amanda White, an artist whose work I admire.

William Blake was an engraver, as well as a poet and in 1800 he and his wife were lent this cottage in West Sussex.

The intention was to get away from the dirt and bustle of London and gain some peace and inspiration, as well as doing illustrating work for a patron who owned the cottage. It didn't entirely work out as these situations rarely do. Though very pretty, the cottage was damp and after enduring it for three years, they returned to London - I'm sure that you can imagine the complaining that went on there? However, those years of country living did make an impression on William. because afterwards he wrote of "England's green and pleasant land", in his poem "Jerusalem".

This is William's engraving of his temporary home -

and this is Amanda White's paper collage -

I have recently discovered Amanda and I love her work. She has done a series of Writers' Houses all of which I like because they are quirky and patchworky!

Before I did patchwork I used to make house portrait collages using different types of fabrics and had great fun embellishing them with bits of lace and braid to achieve architectural details. Though I enjoyed the making when patchwork took over my life, fabric collage ceased but I still admire it as a craft, though it makes for an even messier workroom.

As I am rather obsessed with houses, I can't resist mentioning that a thatched cottage in West Sussex is an "Escape to the Country" dream. Click here if you would like a tour of one on the market now in the lovely village of Amerberley.

It's an area of great beauty with delightful towns and villages with lovely and varied architecture and not far from London. This makes the William Blake's cottage in Felpham a very desirable place to live, with a correspondingly high price tag. Let's hope that the damp problem, which so irked Mrs. Blake, has now been solved with a good damp course!

The Welsh National Anthem and "Jerusalem".

2011-11-15T09:26:00.000Z

England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, may have unofficial anthems, but Wales is the only country in the United Kingdom to have it's own official National Anthem - "Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land of My Fathers), but always sung in Welsh! Even those of us who don't speak Welsh make a bold attempt at it!

It's a jolly good anthem and to use popular parlance, you can give it plenty of welly! Here it is on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtCOprRDUm8

I love this rendering so much that, after selecting it, I have played it four times already. My goodness we can sing in Wales and you can imagine how it would feel singing it in rugby stadium with thousands of others?

I'm also very fond of Catatonia singing "Every day when I wake up I thank The Lord I'm Welsh", so let's include that too! It has some lovely views of Wales to look at while listening, which will give you a taste of our varied scenery!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwyR-ir9XX4

I didn't intend this post to go in such a musical nor indeed a national direction, because I was going to talk about William Blake who wrote "Jerusalem". I will save that until next time - it's won't be as boring as it sounds - honestly!

The link to all of this is "National Anthem", because though we in Wales have our own, we also share with the other countries of the UK "God Save the Queen" Now this can sound a bit dreary and though we wouldn't of course drop it, many feel that England should have something more uplifting as an anthem, such as "Jerusalem".

Well - in for a penny in for a pound - here it is too! Hope you are all singing along?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8VH0sbEU20

Sissinghurst

2011-11-11T10:10:00.000Z

I first visited Sissinghurst one boiling hot day at the end of May, many years ago now and was bowled over by it.

The Tower in Summer

I absolutely detest hot weather and usually avoid going out in it, but we were on holiday so I had to make the best of it. It says a lot for Sissinghurst that neither the heat, nor the fact that the garden was full of visitors, stopped me from dashing around it like a woman possessed. My husband took a more leisurely approach and refused to climb the tower, but I did along with 24 others (only 25 are allowed up at a time) and the view and seeing Vita's writing room was worth negotiating the rather precarious steps.

Vita's Writing Room the Tower

The Cottage Garden

This garden is very famous and of course I had heard reports from friends and seen it on television, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the beauty of it. After one visit I couldn't wait to return and so we travelled back in the August. Now August isn't the best time in gardens here, but Sissinghurst is one of those gardens that always pleases and never looks past it's best. There is always something to see and marvel at and pick up ideas from.

One of the lovely brick walls and a distant view of the Lutyens bench

The Lime Walk in Spring - fabulous to visit when the rest of the garden is sleeping

More of the wonderful Spring Border

View through archways to the Tower

View from the Tower looking down at the White Garden

In the White Garden

The Tower from the White Garden

Though it is a difficult journey from Wales, since that first memorable visit and my second follow up visit, I have been again and again and still love it - it is just magical. Those of you who haven't been, put it on your list of places to visit. I am an avid garden visitor and I can't think of a better one - what other garden has a fairytale Tudor tower in it?

Since Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson died it has been in the care of the National Trust who maintain it extremely well and I hope these pictures give you a flavour of its magic. I didn't take these wonderful pictures - they are from a presentation by Dave Parker - if you would like to see lots more the link is -http://www.invectis.co.uk/sissing/sstwrl.htm

Wall of little Welsh quilts?

2011-11-08T09:13:00.000Z

This image is from a Mary Emmerling book on American Folk Art, which is so often seen online it is obviously an inspiration to those of us who aspire to wall of little doll quilts. I would love a wall of little Welsh Doll Quilts!

Inspiring as this idea is, there are problems which I am sure you will share? The first being - do I have a suitable free wall on which to hang them and the second, even more crucial, where and when do I have the time to either make or acquire a collection?

I have other problems too - do I really want a permanent wall of quilts? Wouldn't it be more of a seasonal thing and if so what would be the best way of hanging them?

All I have done so far is spread out what I have on my spare bed, some are finished and others are in various stages -

These are the finished ones -


and these are in various stages, some ready for quilting and others may well not make it!

Like all females I can multi-task, but I do have difficulty when it comes to quilting projects, especially when engaged in such a demanding project as my Cottage Orne Quilt (see other blog). Now when I look at these unfinished projects I itch to start on them!

I have seen a few Welsh Cot Quilts, though they are quite rare, but I haven't yet come across any Welsh Doll Quilts. This doesn't mean that they weren't made, but were most probably either worn out or thrown out. Remember, we didn't used to rate our large bed quilts, so a doll quilt wouldn't have stood much chance of survival!

The ones I have made are based on the designs of the larger Welsh Quilts and you can find some of them in my new book "Little Welsh Quilts" (see side panel for details).

Those of you who do not have or use an iPad look away now, but it you do there is now an Ap for Adobe Reader so you will now be able to read it on your iPad. At the moment the video content won't work on the Ap, but there will most probably be an update on this soon, as it has been requested.

I am also doing a two day workshop on a Welsh Doll Quilt at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre next April, entitled "Little Welsh Treasure". If you are interested details will be announced soon?

Patchwork with Pots

2011-11-04T09:03:00.000Z

Collecting Emma Bridgewater is addictive. Over the 25 years of manufacturing, hundreds of different patterns have been made. There has been long runs and trial runs, sample pieces and "specials" and there are some very avid collectors out there, all keeping a more than eagle eye on eBay and prepared to pay high prices for the current "must have" shape or pattern.

Actually "avid" is a mild word to describe them, perhaps obsessive or just plain bonkers is nearer the mark. If I told you of the recent "Mince Pie Plate" saga, you would scarcely believe it! I think a social historian or psychologist would have a field day if they tuned in!

I follow this all on the EB Facebook page and enjoy it immensely, but though I laugh and tut tut about the antics, the virus spreads and my Emma Bridgewater collection is growing steadily. Here's some of it -

and here are some I would love to own but never will because they are rare and would break the budget.

Why do I like them so much? Well it's as the title says - its "Patchwork with Pots"!

Pat Albeck - another heroine

2011-11-01T08:57:00.002Z

Not "All Washed Up" - the title of her exhibition, but I'm glad to say, still going strong!

I have been collecting the work of Pat Albeck for decades and I am sure many of you have her wonderfully designed products too - even if you don't know it? My house has Pat Albeck everywhere and perhaps it is just as well that she isn't as prolific as she once was.

Her designs are instantly recognisable and (my friends can vouch for this) I can recognise them at sixty paces! The ones below are typical - Pat has done lots of cats! Her book "A Cat's Guide to England" is a favourite of mine and it can still be bought online - Amazon uk has it for 1p plus postage! It's just wonderful and makes a lovely present for a child or a cat lover or both! Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of it online but I recommend it!

I have these egg cosies in my kitchen

and quite a few of these too!

At the age of 81 she is still working and occasionally designs Emma Bridgewater products and as you can see from the first picture and the video link below, she uses them in her home!

As far as I know, there has never been an exhibition of her work but there is to be now.

The exhibition celebrates six decades of Pat Albeck's involvement in tea towel design, though of course she designs lots of other things too. Pat has selected fifty designs from a collection of 300, and the exhibition includes a new tea towel specially commissioned for Norwich Cathedral.

Born in 1930, Pat attended Hull School of Art and continued her training as a textile designer at the Royal College of Art from which she graduated in 1953. She married a fellow student, Peter Rice, the theatre designer and lived in London for many years until they retired to Norfolk to be nearer their son and his family. Pat and Peter have obviously passed their talent on because their son, Matthew, who is married to Emma Bridgewater and now runs Bridgewater (Emma is taking some time out), is multi talented and a noted artist and designer.

The National Trust asked Pat to design her first tea towels in 1967 and she has designed a calendar tea towel for them every year since then. I have quite a few of them, along with trays, tea cosies, pot holders, boxes etc. etc. Of course I never dry dishes with them, they are kept for posterity! Hope posterity appreciates this?

Sadly, because Norwich is extremely awkward to get to from Wales, I won't be able to visit but I am delighted that her work is being recognised at last. She really is the Queen of Tea towels, as well as other household stuff and has certainly brightened up our lives. Long may she continue!

Here is a link to a short video about Pat -
http://www.itv.com/anglia/terrific-tea-towels74321/

Darowen again

2011-10-28T14:14:00.000+01:00

About three years ago I did some research on the Darowen patchwork coverlet which is in the collection at St. Fagan's and wrote a piece on it which was published in Winter 2009 edition of "The Quilter".

It has always been my intention to visit the village and particularly the Church which is portrayed on the coverlet. Well last Friday I made it!

I rarely drive into the heart of Wales (more fool me because it is so beautiful) and though Darowen is just a few miles off the main A470 North/South Wales trunk road, it is a good 3 hour drive. Sonia and I were travelling to the BQSG Symposium at Gregynog and though Darowen was a bit further north, we decided that it was do-able. We weren't disappointed as when you turn at the small white signpost saying "Darowen", the narrow road climbs into another world of wonderfully varied country with beautiful vistas on every side which can't have changed much since the patchwork was made.

Sonia was with me when we first viewed the coverlet at the museum and shares my feeling for it, so we both found being in Darowen, seeing the Vicarage and visiting the Church quite an emotional experience. We walked the same lane from the church to the vicarage as the sisters who made the patchwork must have done so long ago - it was strange doing this!.

I now feel enthused to do more research. There is one obstacle, however, I don't speak Welsh and much of the information is in Welsh. Well I'm not going to let put me off, I will just have to ask for help from my Welsh speaking friends.

Visting the Land of Counterpane

2011-10-25T09:46:00.000+01:00

I had the most wonderful weekend at the British Quilt Study Group held at Gregynog in Mid Wales which I will tell you more about in future posts.

The road climbing out of Newtown to this special place turned and twisted and all around were wonderful views. I was exclaiming that it was a story book landscape and Sonia, who was driving, so could only have quick glimpses, said that it was "The Land of Counterpane". What appropriate place for a meeting of those of us interested in old quilts?

Counterpane is a rather old fashioned English word which isn't used now so I looked it up - maybe we should start using it again? Counterpane -decorative cover for a bed, bedcover, bed covering, bedspread.

I had also forgotten this children's poem by Robert Louis Stevenson even if Sonia hadn't and I looked it up to share with you. However, the pleasant land in the poem was more magical in Mid Wales for after all Gregyonog is said to have been the home of Caradoc, one of the Knights of the Round Table.

The Land of Counterpane

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.

Visual Storytelling

2011-10-23T16:53:00.001+01:00

Winter School in Visual Storytelling - this is the title for a selection of short craft courses at West Dean College, in West Sussex. Janet Bolton is the tutor for the one on textiles and I'm sure you are aware of her very distinctive style?

The title "Visual Storytelling" certainly sparks my imagination, especially as the details came to me on the day that I was revisiting my research on the Darowen Coverlet, which is a visual story if ever there was one. I only wish I had more time to unravel it!

I can think of quite a few storytelling quilts, in fact they would make lots to write about on this blog! Ed Larson immediately springs to mind. I remember the quilts he used to design in the 80s which were featured in Quilters' Newsletter Magazine. I can't find any pictures of these, but this is a more recent one and another made at a class he took - I think it is by Alex Anderson -

There is a great deal of potential for story telling in quilts. Some are easy to understand, as are the two above, but some are more subtle and need an explanation. Food for thought?

Red Room

2011-10-20T08:45:00.001+01:00

As you know red is a favourite colour of mine and when I saw this picture browsing the net I couldn't resist sharing it with you -

It's such an attractive image and there are lots of things I like - the toile wallpaper, the oval framed pictures and the striped carpet and of course the red and white quilts as curtains - what luxury! However, some things are a little fussy for me - I don't think I would choose the dressing table or the swan bed and that lamp - terrible dust collectors in a bedroom. I prefer a more simple Scandinavian or New England way with furniture, but what a sumptuous look?

Returning briefly to my last post, the cottage in Stow on the Wold, here is the link where you can have a virtual tour - http://www.english-country-cottages.co.uk/sites/english-country-cottages/pages/PropertyDetails_C.aspx?QS=2B831DC8-E0A4-4868-B1DF-DDB2FE4FD44A~C~NZR~~216~GBP~~~~A~~~~0~~0~~~~~&gclid=CM_56_ji8asCFZFc4QodACPZwg

I shall be travelling to Mid Wales this weekend to attend the British Quilt Study Group annual gathering and also hope to visit Darowen. I have wanted to do this ever since I did some research on the Richard sisters who made the coverlet which is now at St. Fagans (see earlier post). I will tell you all about both soon!

Cotswold idyll

2011-10-16T14:57:00.000+01:00

I have been on a short holiday in the Cotswolds, staying in a favourite cottage in Stow on the Wold. It is right in the centre of the village, tucked away behind the main street and approached by one of the medieval sheep runs - narrow alleys used for counting the sheep brought to the wool markets in years gone by.

I like staying in the centre of a village especially at this time of year as evenings darken. It's so much cosier than being out in the middle of nowhere! Also, it's handy for a lazy cook as Stow has lots of places to eat and good take-aways!

One of the places we visited was Great Tew, an estate village in Oxfordshire -

I remember visiting it in the 70s when it was almost derelict and I wasn't the only one to be concerned - apparently Sir Nikolaus Pevsner also condemned their deterioration as -

one of the most depressing sights in the whole county. Terraces of cottages lie derelict and will soon be beyond hope of restoration. A scheme of gradual rehabilitation is said to be in progress, but nothing has been done meanwhile to prevent the decay of unused cottages, some of which are completely ruinous and will need to be entirely rebuilt.

I am pleased to say that things have been taken in hand by the present owners of the estate and the village appears to be thriving, with a village shop, good pub and a much extended village school. However, we couldn't find the Church which was odd? It was there somewhere, because John Sergeant's (well known to us in the UK) father was Vicar there and John was brought up in the village and attended the school. We scanned the horizon but couldn't see any sign of it!

I took some pictures of the delightful thatch cottages because they are extremely picturesque, In fact, I have a birthday card somewhere with an image of the first cottage drawn by one of my favourite artists, Richard Partis, so it was intriguing to see it in real life!

So pretty! I wonder what they are like to live in?

Heather Clarke

2011-10-12T10:29:00.001+01:00

I have just had my loft insulated in preparation for winter and because I have just received a large gas bill! What has that got to do with the price of fish I hear you ask? Well I had to take down pictures that were a bit too near the loft ladder and I looked at them anew!

The first one could be of Wilfred - without the bell of course! Those who know him know that Wilfred wearing a bell would be out of the question! Long story - I have nothing against cats wearing bells, but Wilfred no - it would freak him out!

The second picture is in a box frame with glass, so please forgive the reflection, it was the best I could do. The bed is made of balsa wood, the quilt mainly Laura Ashley squares, the curtains Liberty Lawn, the sampler cross stitched and the carpets needlepointed. I wish I could say they were my designs but I made them many years ago before I realised that I could make up my own.

When I first married I used to buy Good Housekeeping magazine, not because I had high aims in housekeeping, but mainly because it featured things to make designed by Heather Clarke. She was very versatile indeed and I liked all the things she designed, but these are the only two things that I can remember making, my memory is rather hazy on the rest.

Where is she now I wonder? There's nothing on Google that rings bells! Does anyone else remember her?

Five Star Quilt made in Aberdare

2011-10-09T10:26:00.000+01:00

I have so many favourite quilts that I want to share with you and can't believe that I haven't shown you this one before now! If you are into Welsh quilts you will probably recognize it?

It was made by Sarah Lewis of Aberdare around 1875 and is one of two by this quilter in the Jen Jones Collection. If you zoom in you will be able to see the wonderfully bold quilting on wool.

Aberdare was a major coal mining town situated at the head of the Cynon Valley, one of the major coal mining valleys in the South Wales coal field. Indeed until quite recently this valley was known as the Aberdare Valley but now is named after the river Cynon which flows through it and joins the more famous river Taff at Abercynon.

The whole valley was extremely productive in the 19th and 20th century, but now all coal mining has gone along with its quilting tradition and the town of Aberdare has a very different aspect. However, the upside is that it is now a cleaner and more pleasant place to live and only a few miles away from the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Jen kindly allowed Clare and I to include this stunning quilt in our exhibit of Welsh quilts at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in 2006, so I was able to gaze at it throughout the 5 days of the Festival. It was chosen because of its bold and striking appearance as we wanted to attract people to our exhibit. We couldn't have chosen a better quilt!

I understand that some of you have had difficulty leaving a comment and reading other blogs it seems that changing to " comment box" mode helps! Let's hope so, as I love having comments just so that I know you are reading this!

May I wish all in Canada a Happy Thanksgiving and all in the USA a Happy Columbus Day. I was in Vermont on that day three years ago and it was simply wonderful!

Another talk and Serendipity

2011-10-05T14:21:00.001+01:00

Well after saying that I didn't enjoy giving talks anymore, here I go again with the spare bed covered in stuff!

Why? My friend Jackie, who is the Regional Co-ordinator for Region 12 of the Guild, asked me to speak at the Regional Day in Port Talbot this Saturday. I know that job - a few decades ago I was doing it and I know the problems, so I agreed! No more I say - unless I get an offer I can't refuse!

Sometime serendipity comes into play when fabric or quilts are thrown together. This time a quilt top that is on the back burner because I can't decide on a border, found itself thrown on a finished quilt -

I liked the combination! Must try and remember and look out that blue fabric - it's an old Laura Ashley dress fabric remnant and I think I have lots! Finding it though - that's another matter!

Welsh Chapels and Cefyn Burgess

2011-10-03T08:47:00.000+01:00

Welsh Chapels were such a part of Welsh culture. Notice I say "were" because they are now in steep decline, but, even in my lifetime, they provided a social as well as spiritual dimension to communities all over Wales.

I had heard of Cefyn Burgess, he is a friend of a friend, who sells his work, so I am familiar with his quilts and other textiles. I know that he exhibits all over Wales and recently at the Quilt Museum in York, but somehow I had missed his Welsh Chapels.

Chapels, whatever their denomination, were distinctive 19th century buildings, very often towering over the vernacular buildings around them. This was certainly true of the Chapel in my early life - a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel where my family worshipped in Pembrokeshire.

Cefyn's images of Welsh Chapels, reminded me of that time. When I watched this interview on his website talking about his memories of chapels, I was moved, because many chime with mine. He tells of how he began his Welsh Chapel project - here is the link http://www.cefynburgess.co.uk/cefyn-burgess-on-youtube-expressions-of-a-culture-movie/.

Listening to him brought home to me the plight of our chapels which are being demolished in great numbers simply because it is the cheapest option. To try and save the buildings and convert them for another use takes too much time, trouble and expense, so they are being torn down. It all so very sad as they are unique buildings. Future generations will most likely view what we are doing with horror, just as we do now when we think of what was demolished in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

I am grateful that Cefyn has done something to keep their memory alive.

Robin's request

2011-09-30T17:46:00.000+01:00

Robin has asked me about the basket quilt in my last post. I thought that I had shown it here but it seems that I haven't, probably because I haven't got a good enough photograph.

It was based on an old Welsh quilt in the collection of the Ceridigion Musuem which was included in MAKING WELSH QUILTS -

I am not sure why, but I loved this quilt and the thought of reproducing it nagged away at me, but I didn't have the right fabrics. I also felt that it would be difficult to capture the hap hazardness of the 25 patch blocks..

It was great fun to do and I was lucky finding a bag kit of Japanese fabrics which gave me a range of taupes, greys and slatety blues. I used both sides of these fabrics to get the variety I needed. I also bought a man's light navy linen shirt on sale in Tesco which was just the right shade of blue. I am pleased with the result, though this picture doesn't capture the subtle colours, they seem much harsher here.

There is a small quilt in LITTLE WELSH QUILTS based on the basket patten.

Return of the little Welsh quilts

2011-09-27T13:58:00.001+01:00

No - this is not the header picture - some of my little quilts have just returned to base and I thought I would peg them out and take a few snaps. Of course Bella had to get in on the act!

They have been on display at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre in Lampeter since April and it's good to have them back.

When Hazel (who organises the events at the Centre) rang to confirm that they had arrived safely, we talked about the content and name of my two-day workshop next April. I have made a special little quilt based on one in "Quilt Treasures" so I am calling it "Little Welsh Treasure". I have almost finished it but decided not to take a photograph as it still has its tacking lines in place and I don't think that quilts are photogenic until these are removed.

It's two years since I took the original photo which I use as a header here and a year since I started this blog, so it seems appropriate to have another similar photograph. I have so enjoyed writing it and for all you comments - please keep them coming!

More portraits

2011-09-24T23:14:00.001+01:00

I was doing some online research connected to my current quilting project (see my other blog) and came across this self portrait by Rolinda Sharples -

I must say I hadn't heard of her before. The name "Rolinda" is a new one on me and I'm not too sure about "Sharples", which, because of it's Coronation Street association, sounds a bit down market! However, I loved the portrait, so much so that I've ordered a print. This says a lot for my reaction to it, as pictures, samplers and plates jostle for space on my walls!

She was born in Bath in 1793 and was just an infant when her family moved to New York in 1794. Her father, mother and three older brothers were artists and she too showed a talent for painting from an early age. However, when her father died in 1811 she and her mother returned to this country and settled in Bristol, where she earned a living as an artist, painting in oils. She died there in 1838 and some of her paintings are in the collection of Britol City Museum and Art Gallery.

Here is one she painted of Madam Catalini -

When I saw the head dress, it reminded me of Susan Fleetwood playing the the part of Lady Russell, Anne Elliot's godmother in my favourite version of Jane Austen's "Persuasion". Perhaps the costume designer saw this portrait?

Oh I love that version of "Persuasion" and I am going to shamelessly plug it again! For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a link to a trailer -
http://www.artistdirect.com/video/persuasion/57218

Wilfred, LOLS and a jolly good rant.

2011-09-22T16:56:00.001+01:00

Two thing made me laugh out loud the other day. Notice that I don't say LOL because as I rarely do, it seems rather an over the top thing to keep adding to a post. Anyway these two LOLS were on the same afternoon and they really cheered me up! It's good to have a LOL!

It's not easy taking a photo of Wilfred because he is not a poser like Bella. Nor does he ever get into bags, boxes and baskets as Bella does. However, he has suddenly taken to squeezing himself into to this trug, which was a gift filled with plants, now of course filled with fabric.

It's not very large and he looks rather uncomfortable - but there you go! This picture was taken the first time he did it, the second time he attempted it wasn't standing firmly on the table but balanced slightly on another basket filled with sewing paraphernalia, thimbles, reels, pins - you get the idea? Well when he tried to insert himself into the favoured trug, both baskets went up in the air and everything was scattered over the floor some distance away. Both cats were astonished (Bella had appeared by now) and they viewed the chaos, sniffed it and looked. puzzled and then embarrassed at my LOLing and walked away. Wilfred has since given the trug a very wide berth!

Apologies to those of you who aren't able to, but who is watching the series "Royal Palaces" written and presented by Fiona Bruce?

I quite like Fiona, I think she does a good job presenting "The Antiques Roadshow", but I know some who don't. I was prepared to enjoy this new series which has been heavily trailed but I was a bit wary that it was going out on a Monday. However, when I saw it I thought it was pretty dire, more a showcase for Fiona than imparting much information about the Palaces. Fiona is obviously flavour of the decade at the BBC so you just have to accept it but you can't help but compare her presenting to that of Dr. Lucy Worsley

who as well as actually being the Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces has been doing such an excellent job recently presenting, most notably, "The Age of the Regency". She is terrific and knows her stuff, but despite being blond and attractive in a quirky way and so much better qualified, she didn't get this job.

Well what made me LOL again and where is the rant? Do read this blog on the subject and the comments -
http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2011/09/the-queens-palaces-aka-fionas-palaces.html

Lecture by Bridget Long

2011-09-18T16:01:00.001+01:00

Bridget Long is an expert on old British quilts and she has recently curated an exhibition at the International Quilt Study Centre in Lincoln, Nebraska entitled "Elegant Geometry: American and English Mosaic Patchwork".

If you follow this link you will be able to read all about it and see the online exhibition of the quilts -
http://www.quiltstudy.org/exhibitions/online_exhibitions/mosaic/mosaic0.html This link will also take you to the lecture Bridget gave at the Centre and I spent an enjoyable time watching it the other afternoon.

This is one of the quilts in the exhibition -

which I recognised as one sold at a Kerry Taylor auction here in the UK in 2006 for £1,700 plus premium. We now know it's crossed the pond!

It has an embroidered centre made by Mary Staveley in East Yorkshire in 1833 when she was 12 years old. Did she make the quilt or was her embroidery used later by someone else? This was often done and it would be interesting to know, because the patchwork is quite unsophisticated for 1833, which was only just outside the period 1780 - 1830 which experts believe to be the high point of British patchwork.

I must follow this up as I will probably have a chance to speak to Bridget at the next British Quilt Study Group Meeting next month, which is being held here in Wales. I am really looking forward to that and will report in due course.

Early British patchwork is very much on my mind at the moment as I deeply into to my "Cottage Orne Quilt" using patterns from 1797 and I have just updated my other blog of that name. May I ask those of you who like and follow it to add it to your blog list as it may help it a bit. It sadly hasn't taken off yet and being on blog lists would perhaps help?

A lovely Welsh Quilt at Llanidloes

2011-09-13T09:34:00.000+01:00

Last week I actually made it to Llanidoes to see their annual quilt exhibit just before it closed. The exhibition has been running since July and one tends to think there is plenty of time, only to realise suddenly that it is the last week!

It's always a pleasure to visit this lovely town in the heart of Wales, though it used to be more a place that we from South Wales passed through on our way to the North. Having the Quilt Association based there changed that, making it a firm destination. However, I can't help but mourn the closing of the Laura Ashley shop, which at one time was the only one in Wales, being near her home and factory.

The above was my favourite of the old quilts. There doesn't seem to be much known about it only that it had come from Ceridigion (also know as Cardigan on old maps and records) which of course is a rich quilting area in West Wales.

Who could resist that love rolling red star in the middle? As soon as I saw it I felt an urge to reproduce which I am resolutely quenching - but it's oh so tempting!

On the way home we decided to call in at Llangoed Hall which used to be Bernard Ashley's hotel near Builth Wells. It has always been a favourite with us discerning folk, but when he died last year it was sold and we were fearful that things had changed. We need not have worried however, it was a little bit shabbier but still lovely and we had a very good afternoon tea!

I wanted to add some photographs of the hotel but Blogger is playing up so I will do it another time and also tell you about the fabric shop!

More Squares

2011-09-10T08:58:00.000+01:00

Following up on an earlier post about how working with squares is so very satisfying, this is a scanned picture of a stitch sampler from my book "House and Garden Samplers". It does have a dark blue border with the name of the Education Centre, date and name lettered in gold, surrounding the stitched frame which sets it off, but that was not included in the photograph -

I made it when I was teaching embroidery and it was based on a patchwork sampler quilt. It entailed working a frame of squares and filling each square with a different needlepoint stitch in a combination of colours. It was a popular class project and I have lost count of the number of very different but highly successful versions.

I suspect that it was popular because everyone thought it would be relatively easy working within a square framework. Actually many discovered that it wasn't easy as they had first thoughtl, but it was addictive an excellent exercise in making colours work together and interpreting stitches.

Some students made more than one had them framed as little tables or trays, but most hung them proudly on the wall as a memento of a time when they struggled to fill their little squares and succeeded!

Luscious Welsh quilting

2011-09-06T09:58:00.000+01:00

This is another of my favourite quilts from the Jen Jones Collection. It was made in Pembrokeshire in the late 19th century . If you click the picture and zoom in you will see that the quilter has very carefully placed the urn of flowers over the central patchwork pieces -

Jen has kindly allowed me to use the images to illustrate a piece I am writing for the Winter edition of "The Quilter", the magazine of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles and I thought you might like to see them too?

The reverse of the quilt isn't usually on display of course, but it could stand alone as a whole cloth, which I know many of you are interested in. I personally I am not keen on cross hatching, but it does fill a design without too much cudgelling of the brain and it is a good way of coping with a rectangle! As as you can see from this close-up, the quilting is yummy!

My new blog - The Cottage Orne Quilt

2011-09-02T16:17:00.001+01:00

This post is a blatant plug for my new blog " The Cottage Orne Quilt" which I have just published somewhere in the ether - please visit me there?. Here is the linkhttp://cottagenornequilt.blogspot.com/

As you know I am a great admirer of the Sundial Coverlet in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum and ever since last summer when I saw it exhibited, I have been spasmodically working on a tribute project. It is a long term commitment sandwiched between my other work. I thought it was be good to do another blog about it so that it does not impinge on this one which I will still be doing as usual.

Over the years I have accumulated a file of photographs of this coverlet and have studied its details minutely. I drafted and worked some blocks last Autumn but had to put it on hold while I worked on my Little Welsh Quilt ebook. Now I am ready to begin again. It is a challenging project because the maker "MCB" was a very skilled piecer, much more skilled than I am, However, it does one no harm to be humbled by someone who lived in the time of Jane Austen! It was obviously an age of clever women!

I can't resist showing you this picture of Bella - I just happened to have my camera on my work bench bedside me! She doesn't meow like any normal cat, so has to think of ways to attract attention - this is the latest way, sitting on my monitor and staring at me. I do have a have a slimline one (monitor not cat) but I haven't changed to it yet, I'm scared everything will disappear!

Gees Bend and Cassandra Ellis

2011-08-30T09:10:00.000+01:00

I have made another discovery through the Needleprint blog - Cassandra Ellis who makes commissioned memory quilts. I love her blog and her philosophy and she says that one of her influences is the work of Gees Bend!

As you can see from the above, Gees Bend quilts make great images which grab attention, but I am rather uncomfortable about the whole Gees Bend phenomenon. I'm not sure why, it's probably because when something becomes the thing to admire, I am suspicious.

Some of you will have seen these quilts on exhibition, I have not, so I have absolutely no idea of their quality. Are they well made? Do they work as quilts, as presumably they were made as quilts even though now they are treated as art? How do you feel that they are now so revered?

Cassandra Ellis makes commissioned quilts using fabric that has personal meaning to her customers. She also does workshops encouraging her students to bring and use their own fabric collection, especially if the pieces are meaningful to them. She believes in re-cycling fabric as it adds a another dimension to the work produced. She is making a stand against the commercialism of the quilting industry and I am all for that.

I admire her approach which is to enthuse and encourage people to cross boundaries and make something very personal. I wish I could, but after years making patchwork by hand I can't switch to the sewing machine and do improvised piecing. My patchwork is not free and easy and I am terrified of doing "lumpy" work - a word my dear late friend Gill Thompson used to categorise below standard workmanship.

This brings me back to my questions about Gees Bend and their quality. If they are made to be quilts they should be judged by quilt making standards. Viewing them as art is just confusing everything and denigrating quilt making. I should love to know what you think?

Designing a quilting plan and Mrs. Lace

2011-08-26T22:48:00.000+01:00

First of all please forgive this really bad picture, it's actually a photo of a photocopy of a quilt found in an ancient out of print book by the Dryad Press. It's the only record of a wonderful whole cloth quilt which we wanted to include it in MAKING WELSH QUILTS but couldn't track down.

The quilt was made by Mrs Lace of Aberdare, a famous quilter and teacher and is very typical of her work. If you double click the picture and zoom in you will be able to see it more clearly.

I wanted to feature this design because I think it demonstrates how bold and dramatic good Welsh quilting can be. It has a format that was used in so many Welsh quilts - a large central circle set in a rectangular field with a large enough border area to give scope for some dramatic quilting. You won't go far wrong it you stick to it - a circle, set in a rectangle or square and then surrounded by a border, or more borders if you need a larger quilt, but don't make them all the same size, vary them.

These three main areas would be marked first. Then the primary motifs, hearts and flowers for the centre and the swirling Paisley pears and fans in the rectangular field would have been marked next. Everything else - the infill patterning such as spirals, flowers and smaller leaves were marked last, if at all, as many quilters, like Mrs. Lace, were experienced enough to make them up as they stitched.

A square field, with its equal proportions, is easier to mark out than a rectangle. In this design, Mrs. Lace has cleverly used the swirling Paisley pears to lead your eye around the rectangle. Had the field been square these Paisley pears would have linked up but not in a rectangle, so the side spaces were filled by a flower and leaves which works well. Clever Mrs. Lace!

The only part I am not so keen on is the border, I think I would have gone for some wonderfully curved leaves. However by using this fan shape formed by lines, Mrs Lace has again given herself some scope to adjust the number of lines to fill the required area - again a clever way of coping with the dimensions of a rectangle.

Mrs Lane kept a notebook when she began to make quilts during a long coal strike in 1907, to help feed her three small children. She was paid five shillings for the first quilt and from five to twelve shillings for others, according to pattern; during the year she earned ten guineas by making twenty-six quilts an average of about eight shillings.

I hail you Mrs.Lace, you are not forgotten!

Precious Reds

2011-08-23T09:24:00.003+01:00

This is one of the quilts from my new ebook which I thought you might like to see? It's called "Precious Reds" because is is made with pieces of very cherished red fabric, many of which I have had for a long time - so full of memories! (Don't forget you can double click and zoom in on the pictures to see more detail)

I just read this great crit on Amazon co.uk. If any of you wrote it - thank you so much! Is there anyone who would do one on Amazon.com? It would be such a help as a small publisher certainly needs it!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful, 20 Aug 2011

I. Mrs Iredale "cumbrian lady" (Cumbria) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little Welsh Quilts: Made the Traditional Way (CD-ROM)

An excellent item. I've never had an ebook before but this was v simple to use. It's a comprehensive quilting guide,informative, full of interesting Welsh history. The instructions are excellent with plenty of good photos, ideal for both the beginner & expert quilter. I especially love the easy to print off quilting & patchwork instructions. Mary, you have really fired up my enthusiasm to have a go at Welsh quilt making. So pleased to have bought this.

A patchwork coverlet in true British tradition

2011-08-19T14:55:00.002+01:00

Blogland is a wonderful place where you can learn so many things. One of my favourite blogs is http://needleprint.blogspot.com/ which is full of information and which eventually led me to this appliqued and pieced coverlet. It came up for auction at Penrith Farmers' and Kidds auction last Wednesday.

To quote from the catalogue it is -
A 19TH CENTURY PATCHWORK COVERLET having three central appliqué panels depicting various historical and social events with text, the upper section having an over hanging panel centred with a patterned material printed with banners reading 'Wellington Vittoria' and flanked by appliqué soldiers on horse back, this concealing religious imagery from the mid panel, all within an outer patchwork border. 229cm(L) x 170cm(w)
Estimate: 200-400

For one mad moment I thought I would put in a bid, but it came with a warning that viewing was essential. Now Penrith is a long way from where I live and would mean an overnight stay. When I zoomed in on the picture I could see considerable damage, so I stopped for a rethink! What do I want a damaged coverlet for and what would I do with it? I have too much stuff cluttering my house already!

So I decided to let the Quilters' Guild know about it. They were interested and the Curator viewed it, but they decided against it. They didn't say why, but I am guessing that it was the condition and the cost of restoration that ruled it out. If that is the reason, I understand, but I'm sad.

There are so many things that intrigue me about this coverlet. It is difficult to tell from a picture, but the applique certainly looks old, maybe it is early 19th century? Wellington's Battle of Vittoria commemorated in the panel was in 1813 which would fit, yet the whole thing looks a bit cobbled together! Could it be that the panels were found unfinished and someone decided to make it into a coverlet much later? It would be nice to examine it for clues!

Since writing the above I have discovered that the coverlet went for £3,500, way above estimate - so much for my idea of a cheeky bid! As I guessed, the Guild thought that the restoration cost would be very high and decided against bidding. Its acquistion fund is not huge and unlike a lone buyer, any purchase has to be justified.

We don't know who bought it but it might well pop up on the other side of the pond! Over to you quilt sleuths - you know who you are! Track it down and let me know what you think?

After the Festival

2011-08-18T09:16:00.000+01:00

I found the Festival of Quilts quite overwhelming, just so much stuff. I was fortunate because I had an Exhibitor's pass so was able to get inside early and have a wander. I take my hat off to the traders, it really is a marathon for them, they must go into training for the selling season.

I didn't really have time to study all the quilts but some did catch attention as I passed by without my camera, so I I am having to depend on friends. Here is one I liked -

It is called "Double Delight" and was made by Pauline Law Kloof of South Africa. It is woollen, knitted with some crochet and inspired by Gees Bend quilts. I love the bright colours, especially in wool which saves it from being garish. It didn't get a prize of course, when do quilts that I like get prizes? That will be the day!

I enjoyed meeting some of you who read this blog. I tried to persuade those of you who don't to leave a comment. Please leave comments, it's such an encouragement to the blogger!

The Hunting Lodge

2011-08-13T19:48:00.000+01:00

I have just returned from the Festival of Quilts and am now catching up - as you do! It will take some time to process my thoughts so I hope you will enjoy something I prepared earlier!

You will have gathered by now that I love all types of houses, gardens and I also admire the work of John Fowler (of Colefax and Fowler fame). It's a treat, therefore, to combine these three and show you this magical little house set in its lovely garden which used to be the country home of John Fowler.

Just click on the link below to see some more -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/8663723/Celebrity-Gardeners-Nicky-Haslams-garden.html

It's called The Hunting Lodge and was left to the National Trust by John Fowler. It is now in the care of another famous interior decorator, Nicholas Haslam who is a more flamboyant personality and decorator than John Fowler, as you will have gathered after watching the video? He calls it "the prettiest house in England" and though England is not short on pretty houses, it must be a contender?

Of course in the forty years he has lived there, Nicholas has changed a great many things inside and out but he has also retained many of the original interior decorations.

This is one of the bedrooms as it was decorated by John Fowler in which he stuck a beautiful Mauny border on painted walls. Nicholas has kept that but changed the bed drapes and cover - but I love the quilt - well this is a quilting blog!

It seems that John Fowler was fond of using old frame quilts on beds as they appear regularly in pictures of his work. At that time (in the 40s. 50s and 60s) they must have been easily come by and cheap and so different, for it wasn't at all usual for a top decorator to use humble patchwork!

A little bit of this and that

2011-08-09T10:43:00.001+01:00

I want to thank you for your comments on museums and on my ebook

Firstly I am going to post this picture, as every post needs a picture to cheer it up. This one is of the new tiny cyclamen that are now coming into the shops - the first sign of autumn and it isn't mid August yet - encased of course in some EB! I posted it on the EB Facebook page recently and thought you would like it too?

I do realise that musuems have budget and staffing problems but sadly there nothing new in that. These will always be there whatever the financial climate and will always be the excuse. It's simply a fact that textiles have a low priority and unless we make a fuss things won't change. The difficulty of course is, that we who work with museums don't want to cause trouble as we rely on a good relationship continuing. But perhaps those in Museums who are responsible for textiles could do with a helping hand?

I have always felt that the textile guilds could do more on this. They do sterling work in promoting their own particular textile. They amass a collection, have staff and headquarters, all of which are expensive to maintain, but they don't get together and fight the corner for textiles generally which would be relatively inexpensive. Act as a mouthpiece for their own members and the general public who want access to the vast amounts of textiles that are stored away in public collections. Be more like the W.I. and put on pressure!

I am pretty sure that this opinion will be viewed with horror - it's politics they will cry! But if we want things to improve we will have to dirty our hands and engage in politics!

I shall be at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the Rainbow Disk stand E33. If you are going, do pop over and say hello!

Thank you all for your kind comments on the ebook and if you could possible post a review on either Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com it would help considerably.

More Squares - The Mary Robson Quilt

2011-08-06T08:35:00.000+01:00

I am really cheesed off with Museum websites, yesterday I was searching for quilt information on three and all fell short of satisfactory. The last one infuriated me so much I sent a request to the site for clarification - I did actually get a reply!

It isn't just British museums that I have trouble with, its American ones as well! You seem to have to know what you are looking for to find it! If you do have some details, it's far easier to put that into Google than into the museum site that has the item in question! This can't be right! Sorry to sound off but I can't help wondering if it's just me or if anyone else has this trouble too?

This frustrated browsing did throw up this lovely quilt which was a bonus -

It was made by Mary Robson in 1801 (this information is embroidered on one of the squares), I do love Georgian patchwork! However, I had to contact the Quilt Museum in York to find out what size it was! It apparently has interesting quilting patterns but no pictures are available - grrrrr.

Because I love making little quilts this picture immediately suggested a cot quilt but it is in fact 228cms wide x 253cms long. I don't think in metric (or Napoleon as I once heard it called) so had to translate to Imperial - 89 x 99 inches approximately, so definitely not a cot quilt - no wonder she could embroider her name and date in a square!

I am very tempted to make it up with odds ends - Its very simplicity appeals to me, it's so unpretentious, so Georgian understated - oh here I go again - another project!

Little Welsh Quilt - the process

2011-08-03T08:30:00.000+01:00

All of you who have written a book, especially a craft book with diagrams and pictures, know that what eventually appears within the covers is just a fraction of the work. Here is some of the work in progress -

In the past I have enjoyed the process more than the end result, but I must say that working with Vivienne at Rainbow Disks has been very pleasurable and I am very happy with the finished ebook.

Of course I have known and worked with Vivienne for quite a few years and she has become a friend. It was she, when she worked for David & Charles, who commissioned my first book HOUSE AND GARDEN SAMPLERS and I remember her phone call asking to meet and discuss it. I was so thrilled, as it had long been an ambition to write about sampler making and I still look back and savour that exciting time.

Having a book published and on the shelves of a bookstore raises mixed emotions. On one hand you are pleased that it is there at all and look around furtively to see if anyone is interested - they usually aren't. Then you worry that because there are copies on the shelf they aren't selling! It's a case of a glass either full or empty again but that's the way if affects me.

Now, of course, we are in another age - books are marketed very differently now to then (the olden days book wise). I can write telling you about my book here in my workroom and it reaches all over the world - it's wonderful and scary at the same time!

LITTLE WELSH QUILTS can be ordered at -
http://www.rainbowdisks.com/

LITTLE WELSH QUILTS - almost there!

2011-07-29T10:58:00.001+01:00

I am so excited, my ebook is in production and will be ready for the Festival of Quilts on the 11 - 14th August. As I write this, review copies are being send out to all the magazines.

Ebook is not a misprint, because it is not printed but on a disk. This includes demonstration videos showing some of my ways of working - for example, my organic method of marking. You can also zoom in closely to study how I place my quilting patterns - rather scary for an author as warts and all are shown by the zoom!

I know some of you prefer printed books, but this is a way of bringing to the quilting world (and other worlds) subjects that large commercial publishers would not commission. They consider Welsh quilting a niche market and though we managed to get MAKING WELSH QUILTS published, they wouldn't be interested in another and frankly, I wouldn't want the experience of doing it their way again!

Fortunately Vivienne Wells, my friend and editor of my previous books, set up Rainbow Disks and I along with many well known textile authors she discovered, now work with her. We prefer it, we know and trust her and she treats us with respect. We actually have a great say it all matters of production and a fair return for our work, which believe me, is not the case with a large publisher!

Please will you help to spread the word? A small company does not have the publicity resources of a large publisher, so if you know of any Groups, Guilds and Quilt Shops, anywhere in the world, who would stock copies, please let Vivienne know on her website (link below). You can order your copy there too -

http://www.rainbowdisks.com/
Order at Rainbow Disks -

My third favourite from the V&A Collection

2011-07-26T12:36:00.001+01:00

I love 17th century British embroidery and for my third favourite object from the V& A collection I am choosing a band sampler. No it is nothing to do with music (one of my former embroidery students asked this), but one of our early forms of sampler making.

In my opinion it was a time when embroidery here was at its best, before sampler making had turned into sewing pretty pictures with a limited number of stitches. The young girls who sewed band samplers then used very complicated stitches indeed, many of which are rarely, if ever, used today.

This is one made by Elizabeth Short dated 1661 -

I first discovered it hanging in the corridor by the Textile Study Room (it has been moved since) and was charmed by it. It certainly isn't the most elaborate band sampler or by any means the longest, in fact it is quite short in comparison to some. Perhaps that is why it appealed to me, it made it seem less intimidating, somehow more do-able?

A shortened version of it has been charted for reproduction by The Scarlett Letter http://www.scarlet-letter.com/rsdescr/17thcen/short.htm#ShortE, but I haven't worked it and probably never will, because though I used to teach the subject, these days I am content just to admire band samplers.

The picture I have used above is the best one I can find. Even though the V&A photographed it for their book on samplers they haven't yet made a better image generally available. However, one facinating fact came to light when it was taken out of its frame to photograph for the book! This type of sampler should be as good on the back as on the front, as the stitches used were originally for decorating reversible objects, such as cuffs, collars etc. This makes them extremely challenging for us to do today as we are considerably less experienced at such work. Most of us don't bother, for instance, we do back stitch instead of Holbein stitch which looks fine on the front of the work but is not the same on the back. This is not so with Elizabeth Short, this is the back of her work -

After working the two delightful figures, she decided to "clothe" them with detached buttonhole stitch which because it is a detatched stitch, only appears on one side of the work. I think I like the back best?

A Welsh House Quilting Sampler.

2011-07-23T09:20:00.002+01:00

After going through a fallow time, ideas are beginning to stir in my brain. Sometimes a quilt in a magazine or catalogue acts as a trigger. The idea may have been lying dormant in my mind and suddenly I have a "ker-ching" moment and rush to my drawing pad.

I have EQ and Quilt Pro but I prefer to work an idea out on squared paper. Everything is then in proportion and it can be scaled to any size either in inches or centimeters, so it is a flexible way to capture the first idea. I then draft my templates referring to this pattern. Of course when the fabric comes into play the fun starts, as from then on it leads the design.

The latest is this little quilt with a little Welsh cottage at its centre. The idea is to surround the house block with much larger pieces on which I will quilt different Welsh quilting motifs, so it will be a sampler of traditional patterns.

I have added a few more fabrics to the mix which I may or may not use -

The pattern for the cottage is based on one on a group of Brecon samplers sewn around 1840. I chose red fabric for the cottage because not only is it a good colour for a centre, but painting farmhouses and cottages in a mixture of lime and oxblood was traditional in Wales in past centuries, so it lends authenticity to the design. This was done because, not only was cheap and easily available, but it was thought that red would ward off evil spirits!

This is a picture of Kennixton Farmhouse at St. Fagans: National History Museum and as you can see its roofing is thatch but very often when buildings like this deteriorated the thatch was replaced with corrugated iron. This links to my choice a striped fabric for the roof of my cottage as I felt a more graphic fabric would be best.

We are now getting there but still have a another round to go - I will report back on it's progress! However, I am still trying to finish quilting my Royal Wedding Quilt - it seems never ending but when you do get an idea you have to go for it or it may disappear!

Collecting EB

2011-07-19T09:30:00.000+01:00

As you know I am a china buff and am particularly fond of spongeware and love EB - that's Emma Bridgewater to those of you unaware of my addiction! Well last week was a big three days at the factory in Stoke on Trent as the annual Collectors' Open Days took place.

Fans from all over the country (and some from abroad) descended on Stoke, where very special one-off pieces created by the sponge decorators were for sale and lots of factory activities with food and music thrown in - there was even quilt making! The pictures above show the plan of events, drawn by Matthew Rice and everyone enjoying their lunch last Thursday - look at all that EB Polka Dot!

Sadly I haven't managed to get to one of these days yet but follow all the excitement on Facebook, a great way to feel involved but not spend any money!

This is a picture of the corner of my living room with some of my collection, together with my beautiful new vase, not EB but a birthday present bought at at the craft gallery at the Brewery Arts Centre in the centre of Cirencester. I used to visit it regurlarly at one time but many years have passed and things have changed there, but for the better as it has been enlarged. There are some lovely things to buy and it is is a great place for meeting friends and snacking in their cafe.

Tea in the garden on a little Welsh quilt

2011-07-16T09:10:00.000+01:00

This week has been very hectic as we have been filming video demonstrations for my ebook which is to be launched at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham next month.

I have developed my own way of working based on how I believe 19th century Welsh quilters worked We don't really know how they did things because almost nothing has been recorded, so there is a great deal of guess work involved. I like to think that I quilt in an ''organic" way (new word for quilting), in that I mark my quilting patterns as I go along and use very simple tools to form my motifs as the old quilters did and I will be demonstrating this in the videos.

We had great fun styling the shots and this is a picture of one of the projects together with one of my little tea sets.

Portrait of a Stuart Lady c .1611

2011-07-12T19:20:00.001+01:00

I love portraits and if I was as wealthy as Andrew Lloyd Webber, I wouldn't bother with the Pre Ralphalites, I would be collecting pictures like this one, which has just sold at Christies for £1,721,250.

It is a full-length portrait of Frances Howard, Countess of Hertford, later Duchess of Lennox and Richmond, in a masquerade dress with a wreath of pansies in her hair which was painted by Macus Gheeraerts II in 1611.

For an textile person who particularly loves 17th century embroidery, this picture is full of goodies. Just look at the wonderful dress with a bodice richly embroidered with roses and pansies in the typical style of time, together with that intricate lace around quite a daring neckline and then the cuffs! Just imagine the work that went into each piece. Then there is the velvet and brocade 'thingy' (non-technical term) draped over one shoulder and the skirt intricately embroidered with spangles which would have shimmered in the candle light as she moved.

Portraits like this one were all about showing the wealth and status of the sitter and every item included is full of significance. Oh I would love to talk it through with someone who understood - maybe Philip Mould of Antiques Road Show fame, but maybe he's bought it, it's very much his thing?
http://www.philipmould.com/aboutus.php

Well who was she? She was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, married at thirteen and considered one of the beauties of the Stuart court and painted by other artists including Van Dyck in 1633. She married three times but didn't seem to have produced any living children but did accumulate great wealth.

A much more sombre outfit in this portrait, obviously now in widow's weeds. She died in 1639 and was buried in Westminister Abbey next to her third husband. As there were no children, the title of Duke of Lennox was passed to a younger brother and the Richmond part became extinct, but Frances was still known as the Duchess of Richmond.

Now you on the other side of the pond will probably know about this, apparently she was a patron of Captain John Smith of the Virginia Colony and gave him financial support. Is Richmond, Virginia named after her or her husband? If so, maybe some rich Virginian might have been interested in buying the portrait? However there would be problems as an export license would be difficult to obtain. I would love to know what will happen to it!

The orginal Daylesford

2011-07-09T08:54:00.001+01:00

When browsing blogs, I sometimes get confused with place names as so many are taken from towns and villages here in the UK. For example just before I went on holiday, I saw a post entitled "Return to Daylesford" and immediately clicked on it. It wasn't "my" Daylesford but one in Australia - very confusing! However it gave me the idea to share with you one of the places I enjoy visiting.

My Daylesford is a most fabulous organic farm shop in the Cotswolds. It is very expensive, as all the great and the good with weekend homes in that up-market area of the North Cotswolds, shop there. I'm talking about Kate Moss, Hugh Grant, Liz Hurley etc. I go just to have a cup of coffee and look!

It is the brain child of Lady Bamford whose husband's company is JCB. Apparently she was inspired by the Duchess of Devonshire's farm shop at Chatsworth and decided to open one herself. However, when I visited her inspiration last week I thought it very different. It is a much more practical and work-a-day set up and I could actually imagine myself using is regularly if I lived near, Daylesford is a much more decorative establishment -

This is the original - Daylesford House, where Sir Anthony and Lady Bamford now live.

It was a medieval manor house but was remodelled in 1788 for Warren Hastings, who had been the Governor General of India. It has had other well known and wealthy owners since. Viscount Rothermere, the newspaper magnate, restored the house with the help of the interior decorator John Fowler, and Baron Heinrich Thyssen also lived there for many years.

I would love to have a peep inside but it's not open to the public, so have to content myself with visiting the Farm shop, which is uber stylish!
http://www.daylesfordorganic.com/engine/shop/page/our+shops

After a holiday - hard at work!

2011-07-06T13:24:00.001+01:00

I have returned from my lovely holiday in the Peak District and have lots to tell. The cottage we stayed in was as delightful as it's picture. A true Georgian one, built in 1806 and beautifully restored, surrounded by wonderful countryside. A perfect place for active walkers but a bit wasted on us rather more sedate house and garden ramblers.

It had a rather scary Aga type cooker which we found really frightening and by the end of our week ended up eating a cold collation bought at the wonderful Chatsworth Farm Shop - even in deepest Derbyshire I can track down good ready made meals! No doubt we would have got the hang of it eventually but it was quite an experience!

After the Lord Mayor's Show etc., now I have to get down to work and finish all the odds and ends for the BOOK which is being launched at the Festival of Quilts in August. We still have to do some video inserts so I have to do some preparation for that.

The above picture is from the book - the easiest project - just to get started on the Welsh way of quilting. Do you like my Welsh teddy which I bought at Jen's? He's called Chuck - I don't know why, it just seemed appropriate at the time!

In my absence

2011-07-02T10:07:00.001+01:00

This blog is beginning to read like a guide book of places in the UK, but summer is my time for travelling about and I can't resist sharing some of my visits with you.

As you read this I will be in Derbyshire staying in a delightful cottage - at least I hope it will be delightful, I will report back!

I can't wait to see some of the places on our itinerary, places I have longed to see, such as Chatsworth and Haddon Hall, not to mention more lovely gardens.

Will write soon!

A very famous Welsh Folk Art quilt

2011-06-28T11:38:00.001+01:00

This coverlet created in 1842 by James Williams, a Wrexham tailor was featured in our book MAKING WELSH QUILTS.

It is such a famous piece that I wasn't certain about featuring it yet again and of course it is not a quilt but a coverlet. It is also a complete one-off and unlike any other Welsh quilt that I know of. However, my friend Philip said that no book on Welsh quilts would be complete without it - it must go in he said and he was of course right.

We were very fortunate that we were allowed to exhibit it in our gallery of Welsh quilts at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in 2007 and it was also on show last year at the V&A Exhibition. When we Welsh "girls" stood in front of it at the exhibition we felt so proud, we wanted to shout out to everyone that it was WELSH as well as fabulous.

In my opinion it is the best folk art quilt ever! Every time I study it, I marvel at the workmanship, the dedication of its maker and the time it took to make and where did he start? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we knew how he went about it because I certainly can't work it out!

Walled Gardens

2011-06-25T12:15:00.000+01:00

A walled garden - the very name conjures up contained delight? It also suggests sheltering and cherishing something special - a place away from prying eyes.

Of course the children's book "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett has perhaps influenced our feelings about walled gardens, making them seem romantic. This book was first published in serial form in 1910 and it went on to become a classic which has spawned many TV and film adaptations.

The garden that inspired it is said to be Maytham Hall in Kent, where the author had lived for a few years. This is an early cover, isn't it lovely?

Over the years I have walked around many lovely walled gardens and only last week I visited a super newly designed one at Alnwick Castle which the Queen visited yesterday.

Another top two are -
West Dean in West Sussex -

and Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk -

Of course all of these are maintained by a staff of gardeners, as they were in the past when they needed to be the productive powerhouse that supplied each estate. Today they are mainly visitor attractions which we can only dream of owning - but oh we can dream! To walk around one in mid summer is just magical!

A little exhibition

2011-06-22T08:20:00.000+01:00

I forgot to mention that there is a display of my little quilts at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre in Lampeter. The main gallery has Jen's wonderful exhibition of old quilts entitled "OH THAT SUMMER WOULD LAST FOREVER" but in the little gallery you will find mine.

This is another picture which was taken when I taught there in April which will give you a flavour.

I also had quite a surprise when I found it on this blog - http://dutchquiltcat.blogspot.com/

Wales and Pennsylvania

2011-06-18T08:25:00.002+01:00

This lovely red and white quilt which is now on exhibition at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre is product of American and Welsh quilting influences.

It belonged to Jennie Rambridge of Merthyr Tydfil whose relatives emigrated to Pennsylvania at the end of the 19th century, the men to work in the coal mines. One of them, Jennie's Aunt Martha, who had married a James Treageo of Gilberton, Pennsylvania, is thought to have made this quilt which was brought back to Merthyr as a gift for Jennie. The quilting is Welsh but the block pattern is American - a true blending of quilting cultures?

The Welsh were among the first to settle in Pennsylvania. They arrived in two waves, the first at the end of the 17th century when they were fleeing religious persecution and then a second wave in the 19th century when many left Wales in search of work in the coal fields of Pennsylvania.

The first wave settled and integrated and had quite a lot of influence in their new country. Eleven early Presidents had Welsh antecedents, including John Adams the second President, whose family came from Pembroke (my family territory). The second wave weren't as influential and though many settled permanently, others returned home because there was by that time plenty of work in Wales. The above quilt fits into the second wave.

Sadly the Welsh connection with the USA seems to get overlooked and it is the Scottish and Irish influence that is celebrated. My theory is that it was probably because they were a sober lot and didn't party like the Scots and Irish? Singing hymns, though wonderfully uplifting, can't really compare to Scottish and Irish celebrations!

Thank you Jen for allowing me to use this picture of your quilt and to Hazel for sending it!

Visiting the North Country

2011-06-14T18:07:00.001+01:00

I have just returned from a weekend tour of gardens in Northumberland.

For those of you reading this who don't know where that it, it is in the very far north of England just below the border with Scotland. I have passed through it on route to Edinburgh a few times but have never visited this county before and was especially keen to visit Alnwick Castle and Garden.

Alnwick is the home territory of the Percy family, the Dukes of Northumberland who have played a significant role in British history. For example, it was a Percy who first romanced Anne Boleyn before it all went pear shaped. However, they managed to survive that episode and many others and are still one of the wealthiest titled families in the UK, owning large estates in the North as well as Syon House in London.

Ten years ago, the new Duchess imagined creating a beautiful public garden for families to enjoy, and from her bold vision, The Alnwick Garden project began. She made a very good job of it as this is a top class visitor attraction and has certainly put Alnwick on the map. The Queen is visiting later this month so everything was looking wonderful, not quite in full bloom for us, but by next week all will be perfect.

This is the sight that greets you as you pass through the beautifully designed entrance complex into the garden proper -

This photo of the new cascade was taken as I sat having a coffee in the spacious eating area -

The sun shone for us and the water in the fountains sparkled as we walked to the top of the cascade and entered the walled garden. It was magical, filled with exclusively European flowers -

This is beginning to sound a bit like an advertising promotion, but it really is worth a visit. I couldn't fault it and I don't say that very often!

http://www.alnwickcastle.com/visiting-us/the-alnwick-garden

Paper cutting masterpiece

2011-06-09T13:28:00.000+01:00

If you Google "My V&A" it will bring you to videos of famous designers choosing some of their favorite objects from the collections. Now generally when asked to list favourite books, films, music etc., I am struck by indecision and have to think long and hard, but choosing favourite objects at the V&A is easy peasy.

The first one I have shared with you already - The Sundial Coverlet, the second one is this -

Its a cut paper collage by Anna Maria Garthwaite done in 1707 and I think it is absolutely breathtaking in its exquisite detail and workmanship. Anna Maria was one of the most talented silk designers of her generation working in London and she made this collage when she was 17 years old. It gives some indication of her youthful artistic ability, which laid the foundations for her future success. Some of the trees in this cut-paper work resemble her watercolour textile designs of the 1720s.

This paperwork picture shows a country house of around 1700 surrounded by gardens, with gardeners clipping trees. Huntsmen are shown chasing deer in a wooded park and in the upper right corner is a village with houses clustered around a parish church. What I love about it is that it is so very English and of course it looks very like a sampler. It has a dream house, just like the red brick sampler houses, set in a formal garden and surrounded by it productive estate. Who wouldn't want to live there?

You will find it in British Galleries in Room 52b, Case 1, it is tucked away down in the right hand corner.

These British Galleries are a treat. They are arranged in exhibits that mix treasures from all over the V&A collections in rooms that put each period in context. You'll find clothing worn by a man or a women near their personal objects, their jewels, the furnishings and wall coverings they lived with and all have detailed and interactive information for you to access.

I have to say that I haven't actually managed to get through all of them as I tend to get lost by back tracking within the Tudor to Regency part seeking out my favourite things.

I will show you my third favourite thing another time!

"The Country Wife" - Stumpwork Panel c. 1951

2011-06-04T09:11:00.000+01:00

Years ago, when I first became interested in embroidery, I saw a picture of this collage and was very taken with it. I haven't actually seen it in real life yet, but it is now in the National Needlework Archive at Greenham Park, near Newbury in Berkshire (see link below) and I have put it on my list of places to visit.
http://www.nationalneedleworkarchive.org.uk/

It was made for the Festival of Britain in 1951 and designed by Constance Howard and worked by her students at Goldsmiths College. Some members of the W.I made the more specialised pieces such as the gloves, the basket of knitting and the hobby horse etc.

The commission was intended to portray the activities of the W.I. and it certainly does that. It also captures the feeling and the fashion of the time when everyone dressed up to go to meetings! I don't belong to the W.I. but I know it's a force for good with the same high ideals and aims, however, I should imagine its members dress quite differently now?

The panel measures 4.5 x 5 meters and is embroidered in high relief on a flat felt background with padded figures being 5/8 life size. In the centre are the W.I. activities such as baking, embroidery, weaving, basketry, dressmaking and flower arranging, surrounded by others which include hymn singing, gardening and fruit picking set in a small town with outlying farms as a background.

I wonder if Constance Howard was inspired by those 17th century stumpwork panels and embroidered caskets? The ones that usually depict characters from a bible story at the centre with other scenes and characters around it, all set in a stylised landscape? Same formula and both raised work?

This wonderful piece of work is undergoing restoration at the moment -

so check first before you pay it a visit!

Hay and Heroes

2011-06-01T09:37:00.001+01:00

On Bank Holiday Monday, at what seemed like the crack of dawn, I set off for the little town of Hay-in-Wye which straddles the border with England.

I was going to the Hay Festival to hear Matthew Rice and Emma Bridgewater talk about their pottery in Stoke and about Matthew's book "The Lost City of Stoke on Trent". I mentioned this book here a while ago and can't praise it enough.

The Hay Festival is world famous, though I had never been before and it attracts some very prestigious names. In the past Bill Clinton and Arthur Miller have appeared there and I believe that Rob Lowe and the Duchess of Cornwall are due there this week. Well I hope they have a better time that I did weatherwise. It should look like this -

with everyone lounging around having a good time discussing books and enjoying the sunshine. However on Monday it was raining cats and dogs and everything looked extremely dismal. We tried to make the best of it but oh dear, after our chosen event we beat a hasty retreat from the Festival field and retired to our favourite pub in the centre of the town. You can't beat a cosy old pub as a refuge from the rain!

Despite the weather, I enjoyed the experience. I am not sure if I will go again but meeting Emma and Matthew, afterwards in the bookshop was certainly worthwhile. They are very nice people and care very much about Stoke and Matthew's book is both a tribute to Stoke's past and a plea for its future.

Matthew and Emma both signed my book - just look at Matthew's wonderful printing -

and of course I had to buy the EB special mug as a momento!

The V&A effect.

2011-05-29T10:29:00.005+01:00

When I saw this picture in a magazine recently, it raised some questions in my mind -

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5401218

This French patchwork coverlet was sold at Christie's in London earlier in the year for £625, failing to reach it's estimate of £700 - £1,000. Patricia Frost, the textile specialist at Christie's, is quoted as saying that in the wake of the V&A exhibition last year it was hoped that prices of patchwork quilts would be more buoyant, but that this hadn't happened.

Now I am not sure whether to be sad or glad about that? Of course we want these wonderful objects to be considered valuable but in what way valuable? It seems in this day and age that things have to have a large price tag to be appreciated. On the other hand when we pay a lot of money for things we generally look after them! High prices for patchwork quilts also means that those of us who want them for the "right reasons" can't afford them? So in a way I am glad that the V&A effect hasn't pushed up prices.

This leads me to thinking what effect the exhibition did have, if any?

Though I make patchwork quilts and belong to a group, I don't know much about the big picture. I would love to know how many people came away from the exhibition and took up the craft and if they did what most influenced them? Whether they liked the modern work or were intimated by it?

I am not sure if we will ever know, though I for one would be really interested.

.

A favourite room

2011-05-25T13:17:00.001+01:00

Many years ago, just after I moved to my present house, I saw this picture on the cover of "Homes and Gardens" and because it was a British magazine I assumed that the pictured room was here in the UK.

Actually it isn't, it's in Houston, Texas and I've just found out that it is a room in the the house of Carol Glasser, an interior decorator, who is well known in the Southern USA.

I confess I have always been compulsive reader of design magazines so am familiar with the work of many American decorators, but her name didn't ring any bells. However, when I saw pictures of some of her work on a favourite blog - ( http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2009/04/story-of-one-perfect-house.html)
I realised I had clipped and filed many of them.

Of course my living room is nothing like this room (I wish) but it has so many elements that I love. The dresser (of course) filled with blue and white Staffordshire - well I have quite a bit of that! The dark and interesting portrait over the mantel, the wicker furniture and the large scale gingham and toile fabric - I have those too. The seagrass matting on the floor - well here I was ahead of Carol Glasser on one thing at least!

Now that I analyse the elements, I know the source of our inspiration, it's Colfax and Fowler, that legendary decorating establishment in Brook Street.

In my opinion, John Fowler was the ultimate interior decorator and his body of work has influnced so many of today's designers. Although he died many years ago, if I ever won the lottery I would make a beeline there as it is still in business. The premises are delightful even though I have just gazed through the showroom window and was too overawed to enter. So I content myself with just buying wallpaper and some bits of fabric to put in my quilts, but oh one can dream!

The main Colfax and Fowler website isn't very illuminating, this one is better and will give you an idea of their style and it shows Nancy Lancaster's famous "butta" yellow drawing room on the home page - http://www.sibylcolefax.com/decorators.html
There are also a couple of good books - both on Amazon.

Promised Poppies

2011-05-20T17:53:00.000+01:00

"Promised Poppies" - that would be a good title for a quilt and I know just the pattern!

A couple of weeks ago I promised you that some lovely poppies would soon be out in my garden and
here they are -

Many of my friends favour poppies over all flowers, I love them but they are not my favourite flower - Pinks are my favourites, but I love their dramatic entrance! One minute seemingly tight budded and they whoosh they appear!

The first thing I do every morning, after struggling from my bed, is to look out at the garden and see if they have burst their buds! You can see from the photos that there are lots more to come, but I just couldn't wait to share them with you.

This variety is supposed to be Cedric Morris, named after the famous artist, but I have my doubts! When I Google that name the poppy that appears looks different. That often happens to me, someone recommends a certain named variety, I faithfully buy and plant it and it's something else entirely!

In this case I don't mind at all. I love it's ragged edges and I don't even mind it's colour which I wouldn't have chosen. My dear Mother used to miscall it Choral Pink, which I thinks sums up the effect these poppies make!

Now to the pattern - I have always liked Ruby McKim's floral patterns and I think this one would do my poppies justice -

Another bright idea to stifle at birth! I have far too many other things to finish!

Hexagons

2011-05-17T09:50:00.000+01:00

I have been meaning to share this picture with you for ages. It was taken last year at the opening of Jen's annual exhibition at her Welsh Quilt Centre in Lampeter.

It is part of a small quilt, obviously done in Victorian times when crazy patchwork was all the rage. Of course there is nothing "Welsh" about it, as this type of patchwork was done by middle class women in every part of the British Isles then. It is an example of a "quilt made in Wales" rather than a "Welsh Quilt".

What I found interesting about it was the fact that each little rosette of hexagons had been appliqued to a large black velvet hexagon - you may be able to see this if you zoom in -then these larger hexagons were pieced together. I thought it an organised way to cope with what is sometimes a difficult shape to assemble.

Jen's 2011 exhibition is now on and I will be writing about it in a future post. Meanwhile, here's a link that gives some pictures -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jen-Jones-Welsh-Quilt-Centre/100944959971265#!/photo.php?fbid=140672539331840&set=a.140672312665196.28935.100944959971265&type=1&theater

Some of my little quilts are also on display in the little gallery.

The John Wilson Orchestra and Rod Gilfry

2011-05-14T10:00:00.004+01:00

I have never been to the BBC Proms, it's on the list of things to do. Every year I think maybe next year, but this year's seem to be booked up already, I just checked! I can at least watch the TV coverage though and for the last two years the John Wilson Orchestra has been thrilling us with an evening of music from the shows, filling the Royal Albert Hall with their wonderful Big Band sound.

Last year it was a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein with a great line up of singers, some of whom were familiar because they were British, the one exception being Rod Gilfry. All you from the States reading this, please excuse my ignorance, because he is a Californian, who is famous on the opera scene in the USA and in Europe, where he worked for many years. I am not interested in opera so had never heard of him, but I checked him out after hearing this performance.

I rarely like opera singers who sing popular songs. As far as I am concerned they should stick to what they can do and not try and muscle in what they don't do very well. Obviously these albums sell, so what do I know? Rod Gilfry is a rare exception as he seems to be able to moderate his very powerful voice and sing a ballad very well indeed. "Some Enchanted Evening" has never been a favourite of mine, even with Rossano Brazzi miming it, but when Rod Gilfry sang it at the Proms, I heard it for the first time! Just great! I was smitten!

Here's the link to the video, have a listen, it's about third of the way through, so be patient -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASS8PHn2X00&NR=1

A temporary blip!

2011-05-10T08:20:00.002+01:00

Since I gave up teaching, I have also stopped giving talks. I found driving to a strange area and searching for the venue, together with transporting stuff back and forth without mislaying it, was beginning to pall. So now I just go and listen to other people giving talks and admire them for all the effort I know it takes.

Well not quite, because somehow I have been persuaded to speak in Birmingham tomorrow. However, it's not quite the same as I am being driven there and donating the fee but, as ever, I vow that I won't do it again. When my good friend asked me it seemed such a long way off, so I agreed and this week I have been preparing. Here are some of the preliminary sortings -

Unless you do it, you have absolutely no idea what time and energy goes into the whole process and because we are operating in a female world, the remuneration is meagre. Most of us accept it because we enjoy it and perhaps treat it as a lost leader to publicise something, maybe classes or a new book.

One of my friends, an experienced teacher of textiles, was once the only female on a photography course, and found things different in a male world. She said how surprised she was that men do not hesitate for a moment when it comes to spending quite large amounts of money on their hobby, including paying the experts who advise them.

I don't think things are going to change anytime soon here in the textile world of the UK. Financial restraints have always been an excuse but now it's crucial for people who run Guilds and their branches. However I do think that those who sit in the audience should appreciate that, certainly in the case of textiles, it has probably taken the speaker the best part of three days to prepare and a great deal of confidence and experience to be up there on the platform, hopefully making it look easy!

Sorry for the rant, normal service will be resumed after Wednesday!

No more Royal Wedding - now Eric and Tizah Ravilious!

2011-05-06T08:18:00.000+01:00

It seems that having "Royal Wedding" in the title of a blog post certainly brings in more readers! I can't keep doing that however tempting, so it's time to move on!

As my enthusiasm for quilting is still zilch and the Royal Wedding quilt is languishing in my pending basket, I' m having to enthuse over other favourite things. One of them being the work of Eric Ravilious, who as an official War Artist, was lost on a mission over Iceland in 1942.

This now means that everything he did, and he was extremely versatile, is extremely collectible and so, very expensive.

Naturally because I love jugs and mugs, I particularly like the very distinctive commemoratives he designed for Wedgewood. This Gardening jug is now mega bucks, if you can find one -

He married one of his students, Tizah Garwood, and last Sunday her niece brought two of her pictures to the Antiques Road Show at Winchester Cathedral.

I love naive pictures and I was totally charmed with this one -

Tizah was well known, in her own right as a wood engraver, but of course her reputation was and is considerably overshadowed by Eric's fame. Later in her life she did oil painting, a medium that Eric never mastered and she certainly seems to have developed a very different style to her wood engravings.

Paul Atterbury, the Road Show expert, was, I thought, rather condescending about her paintings. He liked them, particularly the one I have shown above and valued it at £5,000, rather than a couple of hundred pounds for this one -

This seemed to be mainly because it chimed with the subject matter of some of her husband's work, as he had done a series of railway images. It certainly was the most colourful but I like the other too. Very unfair I think! This picture doesn't really do it justice as it was extremely detailed and almost three dimensional.

In the meantime, her grandson, Ben Travilious, has put out an appeal for information on the whereabouts of many of her paintings, there are quite a few of them on the list. Do take a look - you never know, you might have one in the attic! http://www.ericravilious.co.uk/

Best Dad Award

2011-05-01T09:20:00.000+01:00

I would like to award a Best Dad Mug by Emma Bridgewater to Michael Middleton, the father of the new HRH Duchess of Cambridge.

There has been a great deal of coverage on all aspects of this wedding but nobody seems to have mentioned him.

I think he did the most wonderful job and must have given great support to the bride before the ceremony. His journey down the aisle was measured and calm and he managed it without stepping on her train. He looked just like a dad ought to look at his daughter's wedding. I salute him!

After the Wedding - mostly about headgear and a cake!

2011-04-29T19:07:00.002+01:00

Well it's over! After all the hype about who made the dress and what it would be like, I was surprised how seemingly modest it was.

A beautiful gown designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen (as rumoured) in a simple, elegant style which belied all the intricate and expensive work that had gone into it's making. Who would have thought of lace? Certainly not me. All I got right was that it had a V neck. No pearls or crystals, not a bit of bling anywhere.

I was wrong again with the choice of tiara, though I was not alone in this, as this one was not even in the running with the bookies. However, as armchair critics, Dorothy and I weren't entirely happy with the choice and we thought that more height was needed. The veil seemed rather flat and looked too like the curtain from the dressing up box!

Moving on to guests' headgear, lots of lovely stuff but some awful ones too, the Queen's being one of them. This was one of the worst, worn by Princess Beatrice, who is certainly her mother's daughter in that she is prone to fashion howlers -

But here are three girls who got it right -

Of course it helps if you are blond and beautiful and Lady Amelia, Lady Eliza and Lady Kitty Spencer, Prince William's cousins who would have been Diana's nieces. Aren't they stunners?

Let's finish with one of the cakes -

This is for all of you who love McVities Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits. Prince William's favourite apparently and made especially for him!

Royal Wedding update

2011-04-26T09:06:00.004+01:00

I know many of you reading this are interested in the Royal Wedding because I still have lots of page views on the posts I have written. I said a while back that there wasn't a great deal of enthusiasm to celebrate among my friends and neighbours, but with only three days to go, things are warming up and there is definitely more interest.

Some of my friends are on holiday abroad, some specifically to avoid it, though I don't think that will be easy given the media coverage. There is to be a street party where I live and I may look in on it, but I am joining my friend Dorothy, with whom I viewed Charles and Di's wedding and we are going to watch the whole thing on TV. Her husband has been warned not to spoil our enjoyment with any jocular remarks - why do men do this?

The Middleton family now has a Coat of Arms -

and if you would like know more, here is a link that will tell you all about it -
-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378441/Royal-Wedding-Kate-Middleton-gets-coat-arms-use-family-business-too.html

Rumours of who is the designer of the wedding address abound, but it is still a secret. Daniella Helayel, Sarah Burton, Sophie Cranston and Bruce Oldfield have all been named but I think we shall have to wait until the press release just before the wedding.

I am going to predict that the dress will be simple, slim fitting and elegant with a V neckline, embroidered with pearls and crystals with a long train and veil. The bride will be wearing a tiara, probably one that the Queen gave to Diana, as they do recycle their jewels. Maybe this one -

which the Queen gave Diana as a wedding present, which she didn't actually wear at the wedding as she wore the Specer tiara, but maybe Kate will in her memory.

All this is fairly obvious if you study Kate's style and I am pretty certain it won't be strapless or a puffball. This will be a very good thing as it is sure to set a new trend and it will nice to see real elegance again. It's time strapless was abandoned, especially in our climate!

I am sad to report that the Royal Wedding Quilt has not been finished, in fact I haven't done any needlework since I returned from New York. Probably down to building works and travelling around enjoying myself, but I'm a bit worried as I can't remember such a fallow time stitching wise.

Beautiful Spring in Wales

2011-04-22T09:28:00.001+01:00

I am an urban person and live in the suburbs and I regret to say that I don't often venture into the countryside. However, last weekend visiting Lampeter and teaching at the Quilt Centre, I did drive through Wales and as always was struck by how sensationally beautiful the countryside is. Of course the glorious Spring weather helps enormously, but my goodness we are so lucky to have all this beauty around us.

This was the view from my bedroom window at the farmhouse -

As I was driving I couldn't take pictures but I have taken some of part of my front garden to share with you - the first is the view from my workroom window (Bella has managed to get into the picture again). I couldn't believe how it had changed in just a few days absence -

I can't pretend my garden is as beautiful as nature but we are having the loveliest Spring and everything is burgeoning. Of course as gardeners we want rain but in the meantime I glory in this warm sunny weather and hope to take advantage of it this weekend.

Hope you all have a very happy Easter break.

Teaching Little Welsh Quilts in Lampeter

2011-04-19T09:30:00.001+01:00

I have just returned from teaching at The Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre in Lampeter and enjoyed it all immensely.

It was a two day course piecing a little Welsh quilt and planning its quilting design and it seemed to go very well with everyone making their version of my Cariad III design. I was really cheered that, though some were complete beginners, they made a quilt that was very much their own and that every one's quilt was different.

The picture above shows the workroom with some of my little quilts lining the walls. They will be there for a few weeks, so if anyone is visiting Jen's latest exhibition I hope they pop in the room for a look.

I, together with some on the course, stayed in Jen and Roger's guest accommodation in the most lovely farmhouse set in the beautiful countryside of Ceridgion.

The above picture shows the house and one of its surrounding barns and the contraption that looks like a high diving board is where Roger photographs quilts. He stand aloft and shoots down at the quilt which is laid out on the tilted platform below.

I have stayed in many lovely holiday cottages all over the UK but I must say that this old Welsh farmhouse would be extremely hard to beat. Its atmosphere is welcoming and relaxing, as well as being extremely comfortable with delightful things to look at, indeed it was difficult to leave. Altogether an out-of-this-stressful -world experience!

Visiting "Greenway"

2011-04-16T09:23:00.001+01:00

I am just as keen on houses as I am textiles (and china and cats) and have a ongoing house selection game with one of my friends, where we choose which of the many beautiful houses in public ownership we would like to own. Usually we go for the smaller, more intimate ones, those that we could imagine living in if we had the wherewithal. Well it's harmless enough? I'm sure you have a "dream" house?

Our favourites do change and very often we favour the same one! However, for me at least, Greenway House in South Devon is a contender! I have fond memories of that part of Devon as I used to live in Totnes, but I didn't know then that Agatha lived nearby!

I used to read Agatha Christie novels avidly in my teens and when her country home opened to the public I was very keen to visit it. It had always been pointed out on the river trips from Totnes to Dartmouth and had looked remote and inaccessible, so a chance to have a good nose around was too good to miss!

As you can see from the first picture, I visited it on a beautiful day (last October) which of course helped tremendously, but it a must have been wonderful living there whatever the weather. Its setting is superb, looking down on the river Dart surrounded by an historic garden and grounds laid out (it is said) by Spanish prisoners of war in Elizabethan times.

Mrs. Christie obviously loved the house as it has an atmosphere of comfort and calm. All the family collections are there, cupboards full of china, wardrobes filled with clothes (which the housekeeper will bring out for you to admire) and the hall filled with antique boxes, which I particularly liked because I house my much smaller box collection in my hall.

My favourite room was the library, lined, of course, with bookcases filled with all the editions of her books in many languages. It was furnished as an informal sitting room with comfortable sofas where one could dream of lounging - perhaps reading the morning papers? Between the picture rail and cornice was a mural painted by an American artist who had been billeted there during the War when it had been requisitioned for the US Navy. After the war, Mrs.Christie didn't want it painted over - she said it was part of the history of the house.

The National Trust who now own it have carried out the wishes of the family and have kept it just as it was when they lived there. If you think you have clutter, this house will put your mind at ease, because boy did they collect stuff!

Here's a link that will take you to some videos that will give you a flavour - but put it on your visiting list!

-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsandculture/4797440/Agatha-Christies-home-Greenway-opens-to-the-Devon-public.html

http://www.torbayhospitality.com/agatha_christie_greenway.aspx

April Garden

2011-04-12T10:13:00.003+01:00

Isn't this a lovely picture -

I saw it in "Country Life" magazine. It's called "The Old Farm Garden" and is a recent donation to the Courtauld Insititute in London and is the work of a Victorian water colourist, Frederick Walker.

I love these Victorian garden pictures and used them as a reference when I was teaching embroidery. I love the little black cat in the picture, just like my late cat Frank who is buried in my garden in a pride of place in the middle of the lawn. Even when the garden was being made over, Frank's grave was sacrosanct.

My garden isn't looking so wonderful at the moment because of building works but the apple blossom and the scented clematis are out, so I took a few pictures away from the disturbance. You will notice that Bella has managed to get into the picture, just like the little cat in the painting!

It's all rather a symphony in green but in a few weeks my wonderful pink poppies will be out and I promise you another picture!

Now we have dealt with reality let's go back to a dream - this is a garden I did for a day school I taught at an Embroiderer's Guild Branch. It is worked on 18 to the inch canvas which gives you scope to use lots of different thread types. It is of course an idealised cottage garden though I tried hard to depict flowers and shrubs that are out at the same time in Spring -

Sorry about the picture being slightly skew-whiff, I'm not very good with the camera. Oh and that's Frank. I tried to put him in all my house and garden embroideries as he was such a good focus point!

Potty about Pew Groups

2011-04-08T09:32:00.000+01:00

One of the most inspiring places in New York for me was the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it definitely goes on my list of favourite museums.

When I wander a museum I like to choose an object that I would be willing to give house room too! I found two at the Met., one was a portrait by Matisse which I would love to hang in my bedroom, the other was this little beauty - a Pew Group -

You will have gathered by now that I am a china buff and I love my Staffordshire pottery and though I had heard of pew groups I have never actually seen one.

Thank goodness Pauline managed to take this picture, because as usual, as is the way with museum shops everywhere, there is never a postcard of the item you like best! The Met. does allow pictures and though I have deep reservations about that policy, I was grateful for it in this case, as now I can share it with you!

Pew groups were made in Staffordshire around 1740 and it is thought that they were made to order rather than as part of the normal pottery output and consequently are extremely rare. They are made of white salt-glazed stoneware and measure approximately 7 x 8 inches. They are usually of two or three figures sitting on a settle, sometimes the men hold a musical instrument of some kind and maybe including a little dog.

In many ways they remind me of 17th century stumpwork as the figures are dressed in the costume of the time but of course these are almost a century later. I think they are delightful and would love to own one but there is very little chance of that as the last one sold at Christies, New York in 2006 for - wait for it -

$168,000 - very expensive folk art indeed?

Oh and this is the Matisse - goodness knows what it is worth?

I don't think she is sitting in front of a patchwork quilt, but doesn't it look like it?

Returning home

2011-04-04T09:38:00.000+01:00

Visiting New York for the first time was exciting. As our taxi entered central Manhattan I felt I had been there before - it reminded me of Glasgow! My travelling companions agreed, so it wasn't just me being fanciful, because I tend to compare every city to Glasgow as it's a city I am extremely fond of and familiar with, as I lived there in my teens and twenties.

Now when I check on Google, I find that this similarity is well known and that Glasgow has been a stand in for New York in quite a few TV programmes and films. They share a grid system of wide streets and very large stone buildings, a combination which you don't see in other cities.

Of course we did a lot of touristy things, visiting Rockefeller Plaza, people watching in Central Park and viewing the city from the Top of the Rock. All very exciting but as the song says - "it's very nice to go travelling but it's oh so nice to come home" and home here in the UK is looking very good just at the moment - Spring has definitely sprung!

Flying the Atlantic to view an exhibition in New York was an expensive indulgence which I thoroughly enjoyed but which I will probably never repeat - but oh, it's certainly an experience to savour.

Later thoughts on Red and White

2011-04-01T09:09:00.000+01:00

Well the great adventure is over and I am collecting my thoughts on my visit to New York and the Red and White Quilt exhibit. It was amazing and really did look like the computer generated picture which first attracted my attention and inspired the trip.

The scale of it was awesome and it was interesting to hear the talk by the exhibition designers describing the process from the first idea to the actual installation, which only took 48 hours. That in itself is almost unbelievable but we were shown a 300 percent speeded up film of it which seemed flawless. Of course an enormous amount of preparation had been done prior to the installation, such as matching quilt sizes, because every quilt was back to back with another.

Mrs Rose, the owner of the quilts, was present at the talk and when asked about her reasons for collecting quilts said that she did not consider herself a collector, but an accumulator of quilts and she didn't know anything about the individual quilts.

An accumulator? Why would one want to be just that? I really can't figure that one out? Nevertheless one has to be grateful that this unique event came about because she was an accumulator and wanted to see all her quilts displayed in one place and allowed us to see them too, for free! What a way to celebrate being 80. I shall have to start refining my accumulation pronto!

This was a quilt spectacular not a quilt show and must be a first of its kind? Maybe it will start a trend, but perhaps not, because it was a birthday present to Mrs.Rose from her family and must have been an enormously expensive one. No-one dared question the designer on that point, but I would love to know!

Thank you Pauline for taking these pictures and for allowing me to use them. I didn't bring my camera because I assumed that taking pictures wouldn't be allowed! Actually I hate taking pictures at quilt shows and only do it if something really interests me. I prefer just to wander and absorb and boy could you absorb at this show!

Star Turn - New York!

2011-03-29T10:29:00.001+01:00

Well I'm back - what a trip! I can never get used to the speed of air travel, one day in the buzz of New York and the next in the calm of my garden which is now in early Spring mode. The progress made on my new garden room has been considerable too - it obviously pays to stay away!.

When I left UK last week the trees were still leafless, now they are a haze of green or in full bloom - so wonderful, especially as it was very cold in New York and snowing when we arrived. I'm not complaining because after the snow it was cold and sunny which is so much better than being too warm.

I will be showing you some red and white quilt pictures in future posts, but I thought I would share this quilt with you -

it seems to sum up my experiences and feelings of the last week as it is just bursting with exuberance and colour.

It is a Mennonite quilt - Star with Princess Feathers from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and can be found on the Woodward & Greenstein website where there are some wonderful things to see. It was on my list of places to visit but I never made it! http://www.woodardweave.com/

Another farewell

2011-03-25T09:01:00.001Z

When you read this I will be in New York, and while I am there my dear little Chesterfield, which my mother bought me and which has been with me for many years, is to be re-upholstered.

At the moment is is covered in Liberty Ianthe, which I love and am reluctant to change. Though it is a very bold print it seemed to fit in with my colour scheme in whichever room it graced, but I have decided that it is to go in my new garden room and there I intend to have a simpler, less patterned look.

Of course I wouldn't be doing this at all if the cats hadn't used it as scratching post while it's been in my present living room. This has forced my hand, but oh I'm going to miss that lovely pattern, which can hardly be seen in the picture, but it is there - disguised with cushions! Here's a better one with Wilfred - one of the culprits -

I'm a Cancerarian and apparently we have trouble letting go of things, so I'm asking the upholsterer to save as much of the fabric as possible so that I can do something with it for old times sake!

Preparing for New York

2011-03-19T09:07:00.000Z

These are very exciting times for me. I have building work going on at the bottom of my garden - the renovation of a rather decrepid building into, hopefully, a new garden room. Sod's law prevails and my much longed for visit to New York is happening just at a point when I should be here making sure paint colours and electric fittings etc., are correct.

My cats hate all the activity. Wilfred, who loves the outdoors, has taken to hiding in the house and is off his food. Bella is a house cat and is usually above worrying about such things, but she knows I'm up to something! Of course they are thoroughly spoiled and I don't like leaving them, but my friend Jilly will be here while I am away and I know they will be in good hands.

The Red and White Quilt Exhibition will of course be the high spot of our visit. I shall be carrying the above Emma Bridgewater Union Jack tote, suitably dotted with American Stars. If you see me there please tap me on the shoulder!

My friends in Japan

2011-03-15T08:23:00.000Z

I have just been reading Jacqueline's tribute to Japan in her Needleprint blog -
http://needleprint.blogspot.com/
and I can't really better what she says - do read it.

Many of the large Japanese electronic companies had factories here in Wales and the wives of the managers came to our textile classes. They were such fun and we had many happy times with them. They loved it here in Wales and didn't want to leave, indeed some had to leave their children behind because they had settled here.

Language difficulties caused much amusement and just when we were making progress they returned home. Some I am still in touch with, others not so, as over time communications falter, but my thoughts are with them all now when tragedy has fallen on Japan. May they be safe.

I have been searching for a suitable picture and knowing how they admire our traditions and all things British I am sending them my thoughts and prayers with some of my favourite things -

I am an anxious traveller and don't like leaving home but I have been to Japan and I loved it. It is the one of the few places that I would like to visit again.

My version of a favourite quilt

2011-03-12T08:39:00.000Z

OK - here we go! This is my much smaller version of Jen's wonderful spotty quilt featured in my second last post. It may seem now that I was being rather coy by referring to it but not showing it, but I really didn't mean to be!

Because this quilt is so much smaller (33inches square) I didn't try to adapt the quilting patterns of the original but to do my own design. This is a closeup of the central area -

Quilts come together in different ways and this was an easy one. It just flew together, mainly I think, because it is quite an organised design.

I didn't have any suitable spotty fabrics so I used a geometrically printed rose Laura Ashley dress fabric as the focus fabric. The majority of the other fabrics came to me from a friend who was getting rid of her stash. I chose a selection and used them in this quilt. My friend was thrilled to recognise some left over from her dressmaking projects!

Two Welsh Red and White quilts

2011-03-08T08:45:00.001Z

Taryn of http://reproquiltlover.blogspot.com/2011/03/red-and-white-quilt-exhibit-bloggers.html
has asked us to show red and white quilts prior to the forthcoming exhibition in New York. (The above link to her blog will explain all.)

I don't own any yet, but I know someone who does! Here are pictures of two -

I have shown the above one before but it it's worth another look I think?

At first glance the basket quilt could be American or indeed it could be from the North of England, because baskets were a popular pattern there. However, it is quilted in a typical Welsh way which declares its national identity.