The Incredible Power of Handwork

I was deeply touched by this short clip of Renate Hiller, co-director of the Fiber Craft Studio at the Threefold Educational Center in Chestnut Ridge, New York, who speaks on the transcendent and meditative qualities of creating with our hands and the importance of using natural and beautiful fibers in our work.

To quote from the video clip:

"...in handwork, in transforming nature we also make something truly unique that we have made with our hands, stitch by stitch, that maybe we have chosen the yarn, we have even spun the yarn — even better, and that we have designed. And when I do that, I feel whole. I feel I am experiencing my inner core because it’s a meditative process. You have to find your way; you have to listen with your whole being. And that is the schooling that we all need today. Because we’re so egocentric and this makes us think of what is needed by something else. So we are in a way practicing empathy — empathy with the material, empathy with the design. I think this practicing of empathy that we do in the fiber crafts is paramount for being healing to our world. And it’s a service for the divine that we are surrounded by."

Thank you Amanda!

Colonial Day with {K}

I volunteered down at the school for Colonial Day today. I cut off a pair of thrift store pants to make breeches for {K} and made a simple mob cap out of muslin and a long skirt and apron for myself. I was able to help teach the children how to tie quilts. The kids were so smart and quickly learned how. They finished 6 baby quilts that will be donated to the Humanitarian Center.

{K} was such a pill about the tri-corner hat I wanted him to wear! Apparently the rest of the school was having "Crazy Hair Day" and he thought the hat would get in the way. He would only wear it for a picture - and then only begrudgingly. Oh well.

Christmas Granny Squares and Harmony in Provo

A brand new fabric, knit, and gift shop is opening in a historic house in downtown Provo this weekend! It's very exciting, especially since I will be teaching some crochet classes in the new shop! Laura Harmon and her amazingly talented daughters are opening up Harmony at 315 E. Center Street in Provo this Friday September 14th.
 

www.harmonyprovo.com

Isn't it kind of funny that during Rivalry Week (BYU plays against the U of U this Saturday in football) that we're going to get some Harmony in Provo??


I'll be teaching an Intro to Crochet class, which will be a small class to allow lots of one-on-one help for beginners, and a Granny Squares class where I'll teach lots of great tricks to update this iconic classic crochet motif! It is going to be so much fun! Stop by this weekend to sign up and check out this amazing new shop.

I've decided to crochet a Christmas Granny Squares afghan as part of the Granny Squares class. The other week {G} was horrified that I had already started planning what I wanted to make for Christmas, but with hand-crafted gifts you have to start early! I'm really, really excited about how this afghan is going to turn out and super excited about Harmony!

A Thank You Gift Beyond Words

A dear friend gave me the loveliest thank you gift on Monday. It was WAY too generous, and completely unnecessary, but I am tickled beyond words! The silky soft Liberty of London fabric and the Koigu 100% Merino Wool fingering yarn purchased from Purl Soho in NYC are stunningly beautiful and I am all a-twitter with anticipation and delight at what to make with them!

I've been wasting precious time researching today on Pinterest (the time-sucking void of delicious ideas and pictures) for a summer hexagon quilt for my bed. Our duvet and down comforter is WAY too hot for summer, so I'd like a lighter quilt during the hot season. I won't get to a quilt until the new year, but I'm so excited at the possibilities!

I think that I'll make some finger-less gloves with the yarn. Won't that be colorful and fun during the drab winter?!

I'm so grateful for this unexpected gift!

Grandma Lavelle's Dresden Plate Quilt

My grandmother, Lavelle Pyper Wallace, was renowned for her thrifty Scottish nature and her impressive baking and homemaking skills (I've talked about her before, here). When Grandma Wallace passed away, my mother inherited a "day old" bread bag filled with dresden plate quilt squares my grandmother was in the process of making.

For almost fifty years, my mother has kept these treasured quilt squares tucked away, still in the old bread bag, until she could finish the quilt her mother-in-law started.

My grandmother had sewn some of the dresden plates onto squares of muslin, but not all, so my mother carefully unattached them, sewed all the plates onto new cotton, and finished the quilt top. She just had the top machine quilted and will soon finish the binding.

All the dresden plates are different, and were made with whatever scraps of fabric my grandmother had on hand. Remnants from other projects, scraps from old clothing, or fabrics that she found at a discount or that were given to her were turned into something beautiful and useful.

I think it's amazing, Mom! Thank you for preserving and finishing what will be a new family treasure!

From Heart to Hand: African American Quilts Exhibit at the BYU MOA

This last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Brigham Young University Museum of Art with dear friends. On exhibit until November 15, 2011 is a collection of African-American quilts made by women from the Alabama region from 1945 to the present. It was so interesting to see these quilts and think about the women who made them and the many hours they spent stitching and quilting them together.

This first quilt by Mary Lee Bendolf made me think of a well loved bookshelf, full of interesting books. I liked the strong architectural quality of the piece, as well as the play of light and dark.

Strings, Mary Lee Bendolf, 2003-2004

I really loved this crib quilt made ca. 1945. All of the vintage floral fabrics made my heart flutter! And I thought of the love stitched into this quilt, pieced together with fabrics on hand, and made for a new little one.

Crib Quilt, Unknown, ca. 1945

Close up of Crib Quilt

This next quilt grabbed my attention because I have a large pile of thrashed jeans at home waiting to be made into a outdoor park quilt! I loved Catherine Somerville's geometric design and the faded and shadowed spots where the pockets had been removed from the fabric. I really loved this quilt because it also reminded me of my Grandma Lavelle Pyper Wallace, who was a master at thrift and industry and who would have turned a pile of used work clothes into something beautiful and useful too.

Log Cabin/Checkerboard, Catherine Somerville, 1950-1960

This quilt, I think, was my very favorite. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! The bold geometric design, the brilliant use of red and white, the whimsical ticking stripe on the binding. I love everything about this one!

Pig Pen Quilt, Unknown, late 20th Century

This Lone Star/Star of Bethlehem quilt was magnificent! The quilter had an amazingly deft hand at color selection and the background colors evoke a sense of the star rising. Truly amazing.

Lone Star, attributed to Mary Duncan, ca. 1950

Close up of Lone Star

This exhibit also has on display a section of 10 of Yvonne Wells quilts. This next quilt of Ms. Wells was my favorite, partly because of the design and color (loving the metallic!) and partly because of the message. Taken from Ephesians 6:10-18 this quilt brings into vivid focus the fight we all fight against our own demons. A triumphant fight made possible by the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The Whole Armor of God, Yvonne Wells, 1996

"Take that, demon!"  Close up of The Whole Armor of God.

The best part of visiting the exhibit was being able to share it with amazing friends! Let's do this again girls!

Me, Ruth, and Andrea