quilts

I had the pleasure of viewing many, many quilts this week, at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, MA. Here are some snapshots I took to share with the needlefolk and sewing-persons and quilters among you.

And anyone who just enjoys color!

Sorry I couldn't get close to the quilts to photograph them,

but you'll get a taste, at least.

There were also lovely garments displayed on these nifty wooden silhouettes.
This simple design looks like something I could really use,
and might possibly even be able to make!

I like this tunic-y smock very much also, but it's harder to see the structure of the garment through the pattern of the fabric. (Making a note in my new Fabric Design sketchbook.)

Some of the stitchwork made me think of Sally at Crafts, Cavies and Cooking :)

I just realized I have no photographs of the hexi-shape quilts that are very popular right now. They must have been there. There was a huge variety of quilts - at least to my eye. Some of the simple repeating patterns made with lots of tiny pieces remind me of the quilts I grew up with.

Oh, and this last one is not a quilt. It's a hooked rug.

This really caught my eye, as it is a view I have experienced hundreds of times in my life, and which has never failed to provide a warm thrill of anticipation.

Can't you smell that salt air?

I couldn't determine if the rug-maker, Robin Salmaggi,  is also the designer.

Here's a closer look, so you can see the color detail:

And now I'm going to sign off before evening chores, which are starting earlier. It's no fun carrying buckets across a paddock in the dark - my paddocks have a lot of micro-topography - and I've done it several times in the past week.

There has been stumbling and cursing.

It's possible the goats learned a new word or two.

Guess it's time to admit the days are not just "getting" shorter here in the northern hemisphere...they are shorter.

Onward!

~~~~~

because summer will come

One day recently I came across a picture of a sewing pattern

for a garment that is just about exactly what I've been imagining

for several years.

Imagine that!

It took a couple of hours to figure out how to order it online.

 

And now it's here.

Time to dust off Auntie Ruby's Singer Featherweight!

With very good luck,

by Summertime (no rush, no pressure)

I shall have a functional yet stylish,

rugged yet comfortable,

smock/dress garment

suitable for gardening, and throwing hay,

and feeding hens and stirring dyepots

and lounging with a glass of iced tea.

The sort of garment I hope I'll reach for every day.

The search is on for appropriate fabric.

I'm thinking something the color

of goat hoofprints would be good.

Really? Why would you think that?

Disclaimer/Disclosure: I'm not much of a seamstress

(Sew-er? Sewperson?)

but I'm quite excited about this project.

And when a simple dress pattern arrives

packaged like this:

 I feel tremendously encouraged.

I shall do my best!

And after all, it's just one foot in front of the other, right?

(Right?)

Wish me luck!

~~~~~

Dear Quilters: advice, please?

Dear quilters and other fabric folk,

could you please advise me on the safest way to clean a quilt?

I recently inherited this quilt, made for a double bed.  It has personal significance, but even if it didn't, it is a beautiful quilt in its own right - the amount of work that went into it is both staggering and inspiring.

It is in fantastic condition as far as I can tell, apart from a few small stains of unknown origin; you can see two examples above the ruler, in the 5-7" area, in the pink and white fabrics.  I would guess beverages, but it is a guess.  The certainty is, that the stains have been there for a good long time.

In fact, I feel certain the quilt has not been washed or cleaned in years.  It has probably been folded up at the bottom of a bed in a spare room.  So even if this was good sun-bleaching weather, the entire quilt should still be cleaned in some way, just to get years of what I imagine as sneakily infiltrating dust out of the fabric.

My washer is a front-loader, and I could fit the quilt in it easily, but I wonder about the potential hazards of the spin cycle...?

Thanks very, very much for any and all suggestions!
~~~