shadows and light

"Where there is light there must be shadow, where there is shadow there must be light. There is no shadow without light and no light with out shadow."

--Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

I cannot shake these words. Too often, I am a black or white thinker -- the whole world, today, forever, past and future, is either light or dark. How hard it is to grasp that we need our shadows in order to shine. We are all bursts of sunlight into the dusty, unswept corners of the world, and we are all smudges of thunder on the summer evening skies. Simultaneously.

This quilt -- still just a top -- was born from that thought. A translation of words into fabric.



Spot the red?

(A selection of these blacks available as a bundle at WestwoodAcres)

+ + +

A quilt of black plusses -- paying hommage to the lovely Pia Wallen blankets I see and love in Scandinavian-style homes. The idea was inspired by Film in the Fridge's colourful take on the Marcelle Medallion quilt, using only one part of the border from the original quilt to make an entire design. I loved her use of low-volume whites for a more interesting background, but decided to do away with the multi-coloured plusses in favour of simple black.

I couldn't resist throwing in some low-volume prints with just a little colour -- some favourite red dashes (from the Walk in the Woods line), and a little yellow Lotta, too. From a distance, though, it is simply a black-and-white design, and the prints and variances are only apparent up close.

After posting a photo of the blocks for my quilt on Instagram, I got a request for a custom quilt in the same design, and so I'm overjoyed to get the chance to make this -- my favourite top so far, without question -- not once, but twice!

{in progress: 'not a lotta sleep' quilt}

With a few small pieces of my favourite Lotta Jansdottir prints left over from making cushions, I had the idea of patching them together to make a little modern runner for our dining table. 

The scraps were arranged, sewn together... but then, as I laid it out, unfinished, on the table, the very thought of crumbs and curry and bolognaise and all the rest of our eating-time mess and mayhem splattering on these delicate little prints, the plan changed.

The table runner grew and grew, using up the few larger pieces of Lotta fabric I had, plus a couple of Justin's shirts, of course, and some long solid panels along the sides. It grew to be an over-sized twin-sized quilt (large enough to cover our guest bed completely, so that it doesn't look too blanekty in the day, but can be slept under at night).

As the guest bed is in what will be the new baby's room, I like to imagine having this nice big quilt to cuddle up with/collapse under during the long winter nights of newborn nighttime fun. The calming colours -- greys, whites, a touch of turquoise -- seem perfect for creating a little calm when sleep is in short supply. It'll be a Lotta sleep, if not a lot of sleep.

Now fully-quilted with many many long, straight lines, I have yet to add the binding, but have in mind a scrappy modern binding of black dots, IKEA houses, and a touch of red (well, there needs to be some red in there somewhere!)

Deadline: December. Though we'll see if I can keep myself from using the quilt before that -- how nice it would be to save it as a special you've-just-had-a-baby treat, but then what a waste of cosiness to leave it unloved for all those months!

{annual summer knitting}

Every year, as it gets hot, I'm overcome by the illogical impulse to knit a thick and woolly blanket. In 2010, it was a little faded pink, basket-weave project for Tilly. Last year, it was a gigantic patchwork throw for my sister, Alice, to take to university. And this year, I bring you the grey stripes -- a baby blanket for our forthcoming little winter elf.

Though the knitting is now all finished -- happily, it worked out that I could cosy up with it while in chilly England this May -- all those stripes means a few dozen ends to weave in. And end-weaving-in is top of my list of unexciting projects. But hopefully by December, it'll be ready to wrap around a new little person... you know, if Texas temperatures ever decide to drop down to blanket-wearing weather!

{most of a part of a bit of a quilt}

Roaming the pinboards for inspiration, I stopped short when I saw this piece of patchwork, from haven. 

I've been wanting to use some of the old quilt scraps that Justin's grandma gave me to make a new quilt -- to take some of that beautiful hand-stitching and not just recycle it, but take it back to its old life a little bit. And maybe transfer some of that seventy-year-old magic to my slightly more modern choice of fabrics. Red, white and grey -- the official sponsors of Christmas 2011.

Can you spot the antique?

(No, Justin's ten-year-old shirt doesn't count!) 

Happily, my giant pile of "nice fabric" old clothing is shrinking down to a single box. The lid doesn't quite fit on it yet, but we're getting there.

Also in the mix: a pair of baggy Thai trousers from our honeymoon that never quite looked as hip once we were back in America, mikodesign's lovely russian doll fabric, a great stash of red fabrics from my Mum, a rather more revealing top than I'd ever like to admit to wearing, and a couple of those $1.99 a yard! fabrics I see now and then at Walmart and can't resist, though I don't know what to do with them.

Of course, even after cutting and piecing six king-size rows of strips, the whole thing is looking a little short. Wrap it around yourself on a chilly morning and you'll have some frost-bitten ankles. So, back to the cutting board for now...

{pinterest challenge: ruffles}

This tutorial -- seen on, you guessed it, Pinterest -- was for a ruffled tote bag to take Trick or Treating. With a different set of colours, though, it was easily adapted for a new season of celebration.

Don't know how to make ruffles? You will after sewing this bag. (Note: you'll probably also have discovered how NOT to do it!) Tilly has been trotting around with ours today, and I love how it looks as if she's wearing a floor-length flamenco dress!

P.S. Looking for a free Christmas present? I'm giving away a new piece from my shop over here -- stop by, leave a comment, and win yourself an original bit of Red Red.