knotlexic- tying a quilt

Is there such a word as knotlexic? If there is I reckon it describes me well in my efforts to tie the machine- pieced hexagon quilt I've just finished making.

After confusing myself completely by looking at lots of diagrams and videos of how to tie a surgeons knot on the internet, I proceeded to fiddle about with a reel of perle cotton, right over left, left over right, the rabbit goes down the hole and round the tree... Just as well I was expelled from the brownies because of my subversive attitude (yes, at that age...) before we got to the knot-tying part.

The diagrams never seem to bear any resemblance to what is actually happening in my hands- their threads are helpfully colour coded and don't fray or tangle or get pounced on by a cat just at the vital moment, and the videos mostly have a soothing American voice-over which makes it all seem obvious, but as soon as I look away it all goes pear-shaped.

Crochet has the same effect on me too- something about the diagrams turns my brain to mush. A friend patiently showed me how to crochet granny squares because I'd love to make one of those retro blankets I never appreciated in the seventies when my granny used to make them for us. 

All the time my friend was sitting there I really felt I had the hang of crochet but as soon as I was on my own I ended up with either a tight wad of felted wool or an endless chain with nothing to attach it to.

One day I'll master it and be able to run up a little number from this lovely book, which I bought (new) recently. That lady on the front with the groovy 1970's hairdo must be a great-grandmother by now!

Anyway, back to knotting, and my quilt tying process reminded me of that diagram you see of the evolution of man from ape to upright. First I tried tying knots individually, then realised that would take me forever, then I realised you could sew along a whole line and then cut the thread between the ties and knot each one. This is really speedy! Also if you remember to leave the spool on the end of the cotton, then you can pull through just the right amount without waste.

I'm not even going to try telling you how to tie the knots- basically its a sort of reef knot, but with a double twist as far as I can tell, and you can look it up on t'internet! The result is looking pretty good now, although these might still not be 'proper' knots. Maybe I've invented a whole new knot? Never mind, its done now and 'that's the way it is, and that's the way its going to be' to quote my late Mum. I made the knots on the back, but I guess they could be on the front if that fitted with your design.

After all that tying myself in knots, I love how this has turned out- a real summer quilt, soft and light and washed out. I like that some of the fabrics are old and on the edge of fraying, and when they do I'll patch them with other old bits too.

heirlooms and eiderdowns

At last I've finished piecing this hexagon quilt. Sewing it by machine was quite fast once I was in the swing of it, and I've backed it just with a soft old flannelette sheet and no wadding, for a light and summery feeling. 

I'm going to tie this quilt, something I haven't tried before. Apparently you need to use a 'surgeon's knot' so it doesn't come undone, which sounds like good practise if I ever need to perform an emergency operation...

It feels worn and loved already, and it reminds me of the eiderdowns my sister and I had as children.

And eiderdowns always remind me of hydrangeas. These originally came from cuttings from my Mum's garden, making them precious indeed. 

Memories are the extra dimension in a garden, each plant or cutting reminds you of the person who gave it, and of course there is also the pleasure of giving plants in exchange to friends. And a quilt is hopefully an heirloom in the making too, especially if its made from old fabric from much loved garments.

This year the hydrangeas, which are usually pink, have flowered in every shade of pink and blue- maybe its the lovely summer weather?

The garden is glowing with pink and blue at the moment. This lychnis really is this bright magenta, wonderful with the furry silver stems and leaves.

The sweet peas are starting to produce a bunch a day of divinely scented blooms, and the best thing about sweet peas is that the more you pick, the more you get.

(Later)... my trial surgeon's knots don't seem very secure to me, probably just as well I wasn't planning on doing a spot of appendectomy anytime soon. Will have to do further research on this one I think...

grown-up gap year

Things have been quiet here for a while, but now I have lots to say. I've taken early retirement from the day job, and I'm having a gap year!

Mr P and I have furnished ourselves with Art Fund cards, which give free or reduced entry to lots of galleries and cultural places around Britain, and we mean to make good use of them.

In April we kicked off with a visit to the wonderful Matisse cutouts exhibition at Tate modern- so inspiring, I felt as though the top of my head was going to fly off!

Then this month we visited the Kaffe Fassett show at the American Museum in Bath. The entrance is like a gaudy hall of mirrors, and the saturated colours hit you straight in the eye. 

Great place for a self portrait...

The lamp posts along the entrance and the big tree outside had all been yarn-bombed too. Definitely a good excuse for a day out in Bath, the show is on until 2nd November- a fabulous explosion of colour.

Carrying on with the creative theme, last Sunday I went to a one-day stump work course at the lovely Weald and Downland Museum. Just look at all these delicious metallic threads!

We each made a dragonfly, and I must say it certainly challenged my usual slapdash approach. Lots of tiny stitches with the thinnest
ultra-fragile thread to turn this unpromising looking cigar thingie,

... into this lovely gilded creature...

Its hard to imagine when looking at old pieces which have faded to a uniform drab colour that they would originally have been bright and often shiny like this. How those Tudor ladies would have loved our modern metallic threads.

While we were sewing we were entertained by these sinister 'stealth' morris dancers outside the window. I'm not a big fan of morris dancing in the normal way of things, but these were morris with attitude- pretty scary looking, and the music was great, driven along by the guy on the drum with the skull face and big boots- excellent!

Next week I hope to settle in to the many projects I've got in my head, like this updated 'stump work' lady, who has been caught in the act of carrying off one of Grayson Perry's vases on her head.....

always be a unicorn

When I make a quilt it must always have a poem. Sometimes its inspired by a poem, and sometimes one grows on it as it goes along.

I didn't have a poem in mind for this quilt that I've just finished for a friend, so I settled on this piece of useful advice.

Truly words to live by, in my opinion.

Here's the finished quilt miraculously hovering in the garden (if you ignore Mr P's feet at the bottom...)

...and the back, again modelled here by Mr P with a lot of help from Daisy. 

The black panel is made from a fabric which my friend really liked, but she felt it didn't belong with the ones on the front, so I sneaked it onto the back. I think it makes the quilt reversible, depending on your mood and decor. There is just one square of it on the front too.

There's more about this quilt here:

http://molebags.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/inspiration-embracing-beige.html

http://molebags.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/grey-cream-lime-black.html


Still in the garden, I think I'll have to make an exception to my personal 'no beige' rule for this auricula. My Dad grew these from seed and they are such extraordinary colours, beige, maroon, greenish beige, beige-ish pink, wonderful. And apparently they are a bit of a family tradition as my Dad remembers his Dad growing them too.

They make me think of faded Tudor embroidery on some noble gentleman's doublet.

This weekend is for planting out the vegetables which have been waiting for the warmer weather, and then its back to the sewing, although the hand-pieced hexagon quilt is growing, as it can be done in the summerhouse in the evenings. If I was asked to give another piece of useful advice apart from the unicorn one it would be: given the choice between spending your savings on double-glazing the house windows or buying a summerhouse, DEFINITELY buy a summerhouse!

more fat ladies

the fat ladies are taking over...

I'm particularly pleased with those bosoms, they seem to follow you around the room..

fat lady

I'm looking forward to going to a beginner's stumpwork embroidery day at the Weald and Downland Museum in June. It's something I've never tried but always admired, especially the collection of stumpwork pictures and boxes at Parham House in Sussex.

Stumpwork is a kind of fat embroidery, and I thought I'd get in the mood by making a fat lady. No doubt a stumpwork expert would have kittens looking at this but I had great fun, especially with the bosoms- and just look at those stomach muscles!

I've also been trying a bit of writing with the sewing machine. Its interesting to notice how you need to approach each letter so that it flows from the previous one. Of course when writing with a pencil you lift your hand from time to time, but with a sewing machine its all joined together. Hopefully I can improve in time, as I have some ideas using quilted writing... 
The words are from the poem 'Home from abroad' by Laurie Lee.

I think we will be embroidering dragonflies on the stumpwork day, and by hand rather than by machine, but I really enjoyed experimenting with my fat lady and its given me lots more ideas.

I've just read Jenny's latest post at Handmade Happiness:

http://jenny-handmadehappiness.blogspot.co.uk/ 

about giving yourself time to play creatively, and it seems we must have been of the same mind lately. I couldn't agree more that the older I get the more important it seems to have food for the soul rather than a nice clean kitchen!

grey, cream, lime, black

What a good eye for colour my friend has. I'm so pleased with this quilt top I've just finished for her!

I'm thinking of a pale grey for the back, and adding some of the left-over pieces of colour from the front...

Tomorrow I'll be in the greenhouse. Time to sow sweet peas, and baby lettuces for spring salads. Its dusk, and a blackbird is singing. Spring is on its way.