Spot the Difference

Precious Parasols on Mandala quilt

Pesky embroidery. To think that I was excited about adding the embellishments to the Mandala quilt! Well, the precious parasols were not too bad despite the fact they were completed when watching uninterrupted Marchlands and Upstairs Downstairs.

Things, however, started to go horribly wrong when I finally got around to starting on Deadwood, a box set that has been sitting in the back of the cupboard for at least 4 years. I did try it once before but couldn't get into the whole Western thing after watching Battlestar Galactica. So it took a minor DVD drought for me to finally try it again - akin to eating the leftover golden Quality Street toffees.

Well, not many people I know have watched Deadwood, but be warned there is quite a bit of cussing. I reckon that this was the reason for the wandering needle when sewing the Victory Banners:

Victory Banners on Mandala quilt

A note on Victory Banners - this, along with the Parasol, is one of the 'Eight Symbols of Good Fortune'. It symbolises 'victory over all disagreements, disharmonies and hindrances', 'victory of knowledge over ignorance...the attainment of happiness'*.

So instead of meditating on this noble sentiment, I was mesmerised by Calamity Jane. Boy oh boy. No wonder my lines got wiggly.

Anyway, I am fed up with embroidery now, because I messed up a lotus blossom and in unpicking it shredded part of the quilt and now have to come up with a fix. I tried darning it, but unlike this 140 year old darning sample done by my great great grandma in 1871, I doubt my darning will stand the test of time: 

Darning: sampler book, Helena Hallisey 1871

* Buddhist symbols in Tibetan Culture, Dagyab Rinpoche ISBN 0-86171-047-9

Rainbow quilts

Colour-wheel Rainbow Quilt

My common-law mother-in-law (what a mouthful!) sent me a few bundles of unusual vintage American FQs after a recent holiday. I keep meaning to photograph them but have been sidetracked.

This blog is getting a bit dusty and neglected so I thought a picture of the quilt I made for my nephew would brighten things up a bit. I was going through a colour-wheel phase at the time and spent many a happy hour sorting fabric squares into colours. I usually allow my carefully sorted fabrics to get jumbled up again over time so that I can have the pleasure of sorting them again.

I read an article in Sew Hip about a woman who collected swatches of fabric from her daughter's clothes from childhood through to adulthood and over 25 years or so stitched an English style patchwork quilt, which she presented to her daughter on her wedding day. I thought this was a lovely idea - now I just have to convince my sister to let me cut up her daughter's best frocks...