Saturday, November 24, 2007

... a book by its cover

I feel like a bad blogger. Sometimes I have "words" to write, but no pictures to accompany, so I don't blog. Sometimes I have wonderful pictures, but I haven't downloaded them, so I don't blog. Sometimes I wonder why anyone would care to read my mindless blabbling, so I don't blog. Sometimes I spend so much time reading other blogs that I get tired, so I don't blog. Sometimes I am busy busy busy in the studio, so I don't blog. (Only one of these is a really good reason not to blog, don't you think?) Anyway, enough of that pathetic rambling.

Here are the books I bought in Houston. (Ok. Confession. I ordered them from Barnes and Noble.com when I returned because I have a member card that gets me a discount and they are cheaper to begin with. I know I should "support" independent vendors. That's why I bought a bunch of other stuff which I will blog later.)

The Quilt of Belonging was one of special exhibits in Houston. Amazing. Awe inspiring. There are blocks representing every country in the world. AND every group of native people from Canada. It was conceived and coordinated by an ambitious Canadian woman. I believe each block is made by someone living in Canada with some kind of nearly-direct tie to the country represented in the block.

In the book, each block has a page with a lovely picture and stories of how the block was designed and made. It's an atlas and social studies book all rolled up in a fiber art package.

I also ordered this book, which I didn't really see at Houston.

Apparently, it's hard to find. Not online, of course. I am really inspired by the Kemshalls. They are doing some new things with art quilting! Refreshing. I haven't really begun to dive into the book yet. I'm bribing myself -- when I finish one of the projects on my table at the moment, I can read the book.

I'll be wrapping up a huge project on Monday night. Tuesday morning: cafe mocha and books!

This is also waiting for me on the bookshelf.

More truly fresh ideas for fiber artists.

And I couldn't resist this.
It's a children's picture book with illustrations from the Best of Show quilt from last year's Quilt Festival in Houston. Didn't we all just love that quilt and its charming maker? Delightful. The words are translated from the German and there is even a picture of the original publication that the quilt maker remembered so fondly from her childhood. I'll confess that my kids didn't seem to love it as much as I do. But it's a treasure to keep on the shelf.






4 comments:

Joanne S said...

We don't always need a picture. Sometimes we come visit your blog just to read about your day, or your plans, or the flavor of coffee you prefer that day.

Now that you have new books--we expect book reports.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you have enough good reading material to get you through a long, cold winter!

I have mixed feelings about the Mother Earth book. The quilt has garnered so much attention (well deserved, of course, as the craftsmanship is fabulous). But credit for the design work really goes to Sybylle von Olfers whose book (Etwas von den Wurzelkinder) Schoen Smith's quilt is based upon. This is a beloved book for German speakers of my generation or older. Little dwarves and children representing the seasons (Jahresseiten kinder) dolls are part of the visual vernacular here. So, what seems to be completely new and fabulous to an American audience is more nostalgic to Europeans. I guess what I'm saying is that I love the quilt and the era it represents, but I'm not giving Schoen Smith too much credit for creating the imagery out of thin air.

Unknown said...

I am a stranger (to you) who reads your blog to get ideas and inspiration. Interesting that we bought the same books (except for Mother Earth) on Amazon after the show. In addition I bought the SAQA book. I also loved the Canadian quilt, very inspiring.

Pat

Jules said...

Thank you for the book ideas. I do love the Quilt of Belonging. Thank you for sharing.