Seminole quilt

Last January I started sewing two different quilts. One is a calendar quilt: every month I would sew 30 or 31 (or 28 !) pieces of different materials, according to the Season. The twelve months are ready, I just need to figure out how to put them all together.

The second quilt is made with Seminole patterns.  The art of patchwork created by this Indian Tribe of Florida always fascinated me. The extreme precision needed in sewing together those various patterns prevented me to make more than a few small pieces in a sampler, for instance.

The instructions for this quilt were well explained  in the Austrian Patchwork and Quiltjournal.  One different stripe and pattern each month of the year. I used fabrics left from previous quilts.  2009 is a “scraps-year” for me, both quilts are made of scraps and I barely managed to finish the twelfth stripe of the Seminole. I had to cheat a little bit… you will see this later

There is still a lot to do ! Black coton  will separate each coloured strip, top and bottom. To avoid having too much “dark”,  I will sew a narrow stripe of a colour of my choice – and still in stock ! – between the two black parts.  A border will be added, of course.  Only then will I  start the hand quilting, mainly in the black parts.

The colours I used are not those proposed in the Quiltjournal but they were the ones I had in stock: turquoise green, dark blue, dark red (burgundy), pale yellow, pink and a mixed pattern with some of the other shades. I am quite happy, I think they blend in nicely together. What do you think ?

Precision was very important all along the sewing, not exactly a talent of mine A few millimeters too much or less did make a visible difference, unfortunately !

Needless to say there are “visible differences” in my quilt !

Some patterns were much more tricky than others… in this picture the last stripe gave me a headache…

All of them were a pleasure to discover once the different colours were assembled in a stripe. I learned a lot all year long. But please, don’t ask me to sew another Seminole quilt next year !

A garden in November

This is how my garden looked at the beginning of this month… Since then we have had rain, wind, frost and snow is not far ! Now this garden is no longer so colourful but our Autumn has been exceptionally mild and bright.

This image is also my contribution to the “November” challenge Scott Infinitum proposed for the coming month. See the link below please and join us if your wish so !

http://stphoto.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/assignment-4-november/

First Autumn for my beagle Ninio, 6 months old, full of energy and curious about just anything, including maple leaves !

wetland

An oasis of peace and harmony. Three small ponds surrounded by reeds and trees where ducks,  swans, fish,  frogs and birds live together. Occasional songs and cries, swift dives in the water or wings flapping behing the bushes. Those are almost the only sounds beside your steps on dried leaves.

The bright spark of an old blue boat resting on the grass.

A chair left at the edge of one of the ponds. A fisherman’s ?

I sat on it for a while looking at the reflections of the bare trees in the water and listening to the sounds of nature around me. Simply beautiful.

Fascinating reading

This past Summer and Fall several books have followed me wherever I went. One that I never forgot to take with me was “The Shadow of the Wind” by Spanish (Catalan) writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

The novel, set in post-Spanish Civil War Barcelone,  is about a young boy, Daniel. After the war, Daniel’s father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. As tradition goes, everyone entering this secret place is allowed to take one book from it, and asked to protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. On the night he takes the book home Daniel starts reading it, and becomes completely obsessed with it and his writer. He then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author, but can find none. From then on Daniel’s life takes a completely different turn !

I will not tell you more… in case you would decide to read this fascinating book (mystery, romance, thriller, period epic). One of the best books I read this year, one that is so difficult to put down !

Walking to the woods

Soon they will be all gone, the golden leaves of our beautiful Autumn, the weather forecast for tomorrow is snow, falling up to 1000m. A cooler breeze is blowing already. The moon is almost full and as people say over here: “The new moon means a change of weather”. We’ll see… but in the meantime let’s go for a walk through the woods.A bench and table that went through better days and were used to see many picnics…The late afternoon sun playing hide and seek between branches, my favourite time and light to take pictures.

A pause at the edge of a pasture where cows were peacefully grazing before  cooler days that will bring snow. Not too soon hopefully !

Some delicious boskoop apples were just waiting to be picked in a field near the forest. Walking back home I was looking forward to a tasty apple pie !

Autumnal quilt

This is a quilt I like to have around when Fall comes.  The walls of my home change as the seasons come and pass. I find that the shades of this particular quilt blend in  well with the colours of my surroundings: yellow, ochre, brown, green, rust. It  seems to capture all the rays of a sun that has lost its Summer warmth.

It is sewed mostly with precious leftovers  from other quilts.  French and English ancient fabrics, various silks and a pastoral scene on linen in golden tones.

The touch of these different materials is both soft and raw under your hands. The hand quilting adds a kind of uneven texture on materials that would normally be softer. Harmony in differences. I like it for the light it brings into the house and for the movement created by the various textures.

A blade of grass

A poem that came to mind this afternoon as I walked through the fields bordering the forest. Leaves were falling  over my face, swept away by a soft but freezing breeze. They touched the soil gently, without hardly any sound to my human ears but not so to the blade of grass…

“Said a blade of grass to an autumn leaf, “You make such a noise falling! You scatter all my winter dreams.”

Said the leaf indignant, “Low-born and low-dwelling! Songless, peevish thing! You live not in the upper air and you cannot tell the sound of singing.”

Then the autumn leaf lay down upon the earth and slept. And when spring came she waked again — and she was a blade of grass.

And when it was autumn and her winter sleep was upon her, and above her through all the air the leaves were falling, she muttered to herself, “O these autumn leaves! They make such a noise! They scatter all my winter dreams.”

K.Gibran

The Madman Chapter 30

with every breath

“With every breath I take today,

I wow to be awake;

And every step I take,

I vow to take with a grateful heart

So I may see with eyes of love

Into the hearts of all I meet,

To ease their burden when I can

And touch them with a smile of peace”.

A poem I like and whose author I do not know. I hope it is inspiring to you as it is to me.

Welcome to Fribourg

Fribourg is a medieval town (the old part dates from the XIIth century) in Switzerland. It is situated in the French speaking part of the country but very close to the German speaking area.  A town of paved roads,  narrow lanes borded with old houses mostly restored in the ancient style. The sunrays bring out the beauty of some picturesque ancient constructions.

This is a town where you can walk for miles along the river Sarine which is a natural limit between two areas : Swiss French and Swiss German. A river coming down from the Alps and flowing slowly through Fribourg, although  it can be quite wild in the lower and ancient part of the town in the rainy season.

Fribourg is also a town of squares  decorated with fountains of all styles. I love to sit there on a warm day reading a book or just enjoying the sun and watching people walking by. On the day I took this picture, it was freezing cold though, hardly anyone around… In Summertime Fribourg is a town where terraces bloom all over the place. A lively town which I enjoy visiting and meeting friends. These are just a few flashes of a town I live close by and which is well worth visiting if you are in the area (Geneva, Lausanne, Berne, Neuchâtel, Lucerne).

Misty morning

This is the first sign of Autumn’s arrival. A light mist over the landscape. The  humidity  covering the grass, quite different as the dew of warmer days. Subtle shades on a green landscape and this nip in the air that makes you look for  a sweater and go for the morning walk with the dog. Nino-the-beagle would not feel this new cold  though, too busy looking for new tracks and his nostrils filled with scents of the hunting season.