old and new

Life has rather caught up with me lately, so blogging has been neglected. I have been rushing to finish my friend's quilt, so I can get on with making things for the next Handy and Divine shop, which should open on 3rd December.

As anybody who has been following this quilt's progress is probably sick of the sight of the front, here is a picture of the back!

I had enough fabric left to make a 'pillowcase' to keep it in, which can double up as a cushion cover

and, as every quilt needs its own poem and this one is going to a hippo fan, I have added a poem called Hippos on Holiday by the wonderful poet Billy Collins.

Hippos on holiday

is not really the title of a movie

but if it was I would be sure to see it

I love their short legs and big heads,

the whole hippo look.

Hundreds of them would frolic

in the mud of a wide, slow-moving river,

and I would eat my popcorn

in the dark of a neighborhood theater.

When they opened their enormous mouths

lined with big stubby teeth

I would drink my enormous coke.

I would be both in my seat

and in the water playing with the hippos,

which is the way it is

with a truly great movie.

Only a mean-spirited reviewer

would ask on holiday from what?

Billy Collins

The cheeky pink and green hippos are from my friend's husband's underpants (unworn, I am assured!) I used one for the tiny label on the quilt back.

I have a pile of other projects waiting to be finished. I'd really like to get this quilt done before the weather gets any colder:

Its made from a mixture of new fabrics and vintage tablecloths and other embroidered linens. I love the holes, and the laundry marks, which tell a tale of past lives, and the soft feel of the well-washed fabric. It is backed with an old sheet with tiny rosebuds on it. How I love a good charity shop find!

Its a bit of a monster (kingsize bed size) and it has been patiently awaiting its final quilting for far too long.....