Bead art: spring flowers with beads.

Bead art: spring flowers with beads.




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Photo: http://liveinternet.ru

Art pictures: beautiful girls

Art pictures: beautiful girls by drawing

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Photo: http://photo.ru

Weaving art: Weaving palm toys

Weaving art: Weaving palm toys

Grasshoppers, locusts vibrant city.

Exposed to wind propeller spin reminiscent of childhood in the countryside.

grasshoppers clinging to the grass ... as they are.

Chim bằng lá dừa "sà" xuống, "nhảy nhót" giữa vỉa hè phố thị.

 

 

PLAYTHINGS OF UDUMBUNTHALA FOLK CHILDREN: PLAVILA KUMBIL/LEAF SPOON

PLAYTHINGS OF UDUMBUNTHALA FOLK CHILDREN: COCONUT LEAF SPECTACLES

PLAYTHINGS OF UDUMBUNTHALA FOLK CHILDREN: COCONUT LEAF FAN

PLAYTHINGS OF UDUMBUNTHALA FOLK CHILDREN: COCONUT LEAF SNAKE

PLAYTHINGS OF UDUMBUNTHALA FOLK CHILDREN: COCONUT LEAF WHISTLE

PLAYTHINGS OF UDUMBUNTHALA FOLK CHILDREN: COCONUT LEAF WATCH

Button art: Fall Colors

 

Button art: Fall Colors

Little Monkey has recently taken a great big liking to… BUTTONS!  He’s at the point that I don’t have to say “Not in your mouth!” every 3 seconds.  But, it’s still a ‘watch-him-close’ activity.  The other day, we were making shapes with all the buttons and then an idea hit!  Now, I don’t have enough buttons to send you all am original piece, but these would still be cute  framed as part of your Fall decor.

 

Or grab your button stash and make your own button art!

Quilt Show 2009

Posting has been kinda slow for me lately. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm trying to focus more on house projects and cooking rather than crafting lately. I am still crafting, but I'm not really getting anything done..

This week my Mom and I are going to the BIG quilt show in Paducah, KY. We've never been, but I've heard good things!

This past weekend was the International Quilt Festival in Chicago. This is the first year I took my daughter and she was super excited to get to come along. My friend Donna also brought her crafty daughter and we had a great time.

Here the girls are coloring quilt squares with fabric markers at the Project Linus booth:

We went on the last day and were racing around a bit to see everything. I didn't notice until I got home that I had some blurry pictures. A large part of the exhibition doesn't allow photographs so I really recommend that you try to attend and see things with your own eyes!

I don't even know where to begin! I think this quilt was one of the most impressive that I photographed. This is "The Breath of Life" by Harumi Asada:

I love this one called "After the Rains" by Betty Busby. each stone is a gorgeous batik:

Traditional patterns are really wonderful. This one is "Two-Color Pineapple Quilt 2007" by Anita Grossman Solomon and Miriam Janove, Quilting by Janice Petre. Red and white is somehow always seasonal:

I'll keep posting my pictures, but I'll be away from my computer for several days when I'm in Paducah.

Gees Bend Quilt Book

Do you all know about Gee's Bend and their stunning quiltmaking history? Mom and I went to the first museum exhibition when it came to Milwaukee in 2003. I think it has toured again and there are several art books and even a play (that we also saw) about the story. The play was mostly the civil rights history of the little isolated island visited by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I like civil rights history themes, but I wanted the play to be an examination of the artistic process of quilting and it didn't occur to me that such a theme might not have a broad appeal...

Above is a corduroy quilt by Arcola Pettway, 1934-1994 done in a flag style for the Bicentennial. It seems appropriate to post a flag today since our patriotism was stirred after yesterday's historic events.

I find that as I sit here to share this with you, I don't want to write an essay about the story of Gees Bend since others have already done that. Mom gave me this wonderful book Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt as a Christmas gift and I am only just now diving into it and revisiting the glorious inspiration I got 6 years ago when I saw these quilts the first time.



These two quilts are by Annie Mae Young (b. 1928)


I make nice things, but I am a pattern follower. I like the way that patterns make decisions for me and I can predict how things are going to turn out. I don't like to "unsew" seams if I don't like how things look. I often wish I had the freedom of these talented artists to know all the rules about quilt block making and then just toss them aside to create works of such modern originality. Make no mistake. These artists have carefully composed these fabrics into pleasing compositions regardless of wonky lines and uneven edges.

This quilt is by Annie Bendolph (1900-1981) I have a book on this flying geese patch that I simply must use.


Here's Annie Bendolph's photo taken by Arthur Rothstein in 1937. Image from Wikipedia:



This one is by Mary Lee Bendolph (b.1935). The colors are aqua, black and dark brick red.


I remember this one by Annie E. Pettway (1904-1971) from the exhibition. I love the way the section of wonky striped triangle dances in the center.



Lousiana P. Bendolph (b. 1960) does quilts that are variations on the housetop pattern which is concentric squares.



This one is made of old work clothes by Annie Mae Young (b. 1928)


This book is full of photos and detailed stories of the quiltmakers and the discovery of these treasures. It's a perfect gift for me! Thanks, Mom!