Bojagi by Chunghie Lee

One of the highlights of being in NYC was getting to spend a day with Helen.  

She came all the way from Long Island to attend the Bojagi exhibit with me.  What a treat!

The pieces are truly stunning.  

I was so fascinated by the hanging threads, that I forgot to take a photo of this whole piece.

In some of the pieces, Chunghie Lee silk-screened photos of many of the "no name women" who made beautiful bojagi centuries ago.  

The pieces are large and small.

This one was two layers of sheer fabric.  Some of what you see is showing through from the other side.

Exquisite!

Later, we went to the Museum of Modern Art.  But no photos there.

Thank you, Helen, for a wonderful day!

New York State of Mind

I got to explore New York City last week!

Thanks to dear friend, Victoria.  My husband and I doggie-sat while she was teaching in Australia.

Here she is, just before leaving for the airport, putting the final touches on a new quilt design to show her students.  That girl is the "Energizer Bunny!"

It was cold for springtime.  It even snowed a few days.  

The buds were just ready to pop.  Here's a shot of Central Park.

Everyone we met was friendly and warm.  Even the buildings display sweet virtues.

The sidewalks do too.

Inspiration is everywhere.  How about these polka dots!

The Garment District is right outside her door.  

Mood Fabrics is one shop I visited.  

In the evenings, I played with Victoria's scraps.  

Jenny Egg kept me company in the studio.

Crosses in the living room inspired some 9-patches.

A tile floor design at the Metropolitan Museum of Art inspired a quilt.  

Or was this at Grand Central Station?  Anyway...

 I had to visit City Quilter to get some more fabric.  Great shop!

I decided I liked this layout better, but I'm not settled on it yet.  

So I turned to another project, and cut out pieces for a Lone Star from the blocks that Julie gave me.

I also visited two fantastic quilt shows.  Stay tuned!

Generosity

  

A few months ago, Julie sent a box of 24 blocks from a quilt top she purchased on ebay. 

The seller said it was from Ohio and made around the 1940's.  

Julie said I'll "know what to do with them."  I hope she's right!  

 After being awe-struck over and over again at the beautiful old fabrics and petting them constantly, 

I decided to patch the few holes and embroider the fabric edges, 

similar to old crazy quilts.

I started with a simple blanket stitch, and decided I liked it.  It's also helping to reinforce the hand stitching that was done on foundations of various fabrics.  

It's fun to ponder about the original maker of this quilt, the sources of her fabrics, 

the purpose of the quilt, and the stories behind it.  

And Beth sent this lovely bag.  The image is from an old card that her mother had.  

Dogwoods and butterflies were my mother's favorites, and she was from Texas, like Beth.  

I love those sweet little coincidences.  It's perfect for carrying my embroidery thread.

On Friday, I'll travel to NYC to stay at Victoria's loft while she and her family go to Australia.  

I've never explored NYC, and I'm SO looking forward to it.

You can see what I'll be working on while keeping the dogs company!

THANK YOU JULIE, BETH and VICTORIA!

The generosity of quilt-makers always astounds me!  

Wordless Wednesday

Red!

 I finished the Scrappy Red Trips top this week.  

Scrappy Red Trips 60" x 72"

It was an experiment to see if I could use all reds in a quilt.  

Can't say I'm all that fond of it.  

But it got me thinking about other red quilts I've made.  I was surprised to see how many!

The first one was made in a class with Kaffe Fassett in about 2006. 

I made this from the scraps of the Kaffe quilt later that year.

This was inspired by the large print that I found at Goodwill.  I think it was made in about 2007.

This one was inspired by a quilt on the cover of the book, Georgia Quilts, in about 2008.

I made this one in a class with Freddy Moran in 2010.  The basket block is in the book, Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again, by Gwen Marsten and Freddy Moran.

I made "Eyelashes" in 2010, with a pattern in Kaffe Fassett's book, Quilt Romance.

This was made in 2010 with some gals over at the 15 minutes play blog.  

It's inspired by one called "Red Sticks" in Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again.

Hmm, will I ever get tired of red?  Maybe.

Scrappy Trip is Done!

Stitched in the ditch, all 96" x 96" of her.  

Although I could quilt lots more, I think it's enough.  

Here she is, wrapped around my sewing chair.

Folded up and ready for her new assignment.

Resting pretty on the bed!

(Just in time for my birthday--today!  Shhh!)

I think the reds are going to like this pattern too!

Happy Wear Red Day!

Thank goodness for Barbara Brackman!  She tells us about some important things in life--like today is National Wear Red Day.  It happens the first Friday in February with the purpose of raising awareness about heart disease in women.  You can see some great red and white quilts at her blog today.

Great day to start a red quilt, don't you think?