In checking my blog, I realized I never had posted the fourth of my Nova Scotia quilts made in 2010. This one is called "Irish Whiskey." I let my sister choose which of the four she would like to have, and she chose this one.

End of the Mayan Calendar mystery

Scrap quilts are still always my favorite.

Several months ago I came upon a mystery quilt that had been presented by Bonnie Hunter in 2011 (to be finished in 2012.) By the time I came upon it , it was no longer a "mystery." The quilt was already unveiled, and is no longer available on her website for free, because it is coming out in one of her books sometime this summer. It is called Orca Bay.

Because I am always fascinated by history and enjoy reading about early civilizations and how they relate to where we are today, I thought it would be fun to do this as a "End of the Mayan Calendar" quilt...I chose bright colors that might depict some of the Mayan artwork I have seen in books. I found an Indian piece for the background...not Mayan, I'm sure, but still Indian. I'll embroider a label, attach it, and then enjoy it for myself as a remembrance of December 21, 2012...the end of what???????

Our world is changing at an ever increasing speed, and certainly every year will see major changes. We are living in a historically tumultuous era. Hopefully December 21, 2012 will roll by without great problems.

High School graduation quilts for grandchildren

In 2007 my grandaughter Meg Henning and grandson Matt Ruppel graduated from high school. I found the printed "sayings" in a booth at the Chicago International Quilt Show ...and designed a quilt for each of them centered around a sketch that was made from a photo of them. Matt's quilt has a lot of Japanese prints, as he traveled in Japan and is very interested in that culture. Megan's quilt is bright and cheery...lots of color for the beautiful young lady that she is. Both Megan and Matt have now graduated from college. Matt is in San Diego working on a doctorate (already) and Megan is a graphic artist in Iowa City. I'm proud of both of them.

The verse on the quilts are William Blake quotes...

To have Ideas is to gather flowers
to think is to weave them into garlands.

To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wildflower

A life of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds...

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

Peppermint Candy

My sewing room, like that of many other quilters, has baskets or zip lock bags of little pieces for  projects not yet started…this on top of the many unfinished projects hidden behind a cabinet door.
My latest little collection consists of half square triangles cut from strip tubes of Christmas fabrics (good way to use up a lot of Christmas remnants) and then sewn into little 5” finished pinwheel units.
I had a lot of fun putting these three quilts together last winter. The holidays to me are best enjoyed listening to Christmas music and sewing with Christmas fabrics. Snow flurries outside the window only enhance the experience.

A Thousand Pyramids

I made this quilt probably 7 or 8 years ago. Where it is now I have no idea...I hope whoever has it cares for it well.  I gave it to someone I barely knew, just because it felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. They had done a job well for me, and at the same time expressed a desire to buy a quilt for a family member, although they could never afford what a quilt is worth. I love that quilt, but have no regrets in giving it away......just hope it stays in ONE piece.

 

Who Would Tear an Antique Quilt Asunder for Jackets and Skirts?

(Erma Bombeck 1983)
Bet you never figured me for a "quilter," did you?
My image brings to mind such phrases as "Connect-a-dot," "Paint-by-number" and "Drop pouch in boiling water."
Well, you're wrong.
I have always been in awe of anything that a 2-year-old cannot dismantle in 10 minutes.
Right now, there is a battle raging between the "purist" quilters and the style-makers as to whether or not antique quilts should be dissected and made as wearing apparel or left in their original state on beds and walls.
I'm with the purists.
If anyone approached one of my quilts with a pair of scissors and a pattern for a vest, I would personally charge them with assault with a deadly weapon. Would Betsy Ross let you make underwear out of her flag?
Only people who have done handicraft really know what goes into it. When I was expecting my third child, I decided to cross-stitch quilts for twin beds. For nine months, I did nothing but grow and sew. Dishes sat in the sink. Beds became nests. Laundry spilled out of the hampers.
When the nurse said, "Would you like to see your son?" she patiently held the baby while I finished up the tree on the last square.
A finished quilt represents my personal marathon--my Miss America victory--my Nobel Prize. It's an achievement that ranks right up there with writing your name legibly on the Christmas cards all the way to the names beginning with W.
I read where Bonnie Lehman, editor of the Quilter's Newsletter magazine, was enraged when a leading designer cut up antique quilts for skirts and jackets for his collection. "Vests, pillows indeed!" she said. "Quilts are made to be used on beds where primal events in life took place . . . conception, birth, illness, death."
I'm finishing up a celebrity quilt where each square carries a sketch-drawing-bit of wisdom-signature of someone I admire. Art Buchwald's square says it all: "Whoever sleeps under this quilt better have a good reason."
That's what quilts are all about.

Page 5 Mystery of Oak Island

This is my first attempt at blogging, so I'm afraid my story is being told backwards, as the latest blogs posted, appear first. 

In telling the Oak Island story, I mentioned that I made not just the two quilts, but four quilts(in my excitement about going on the trip.)

My first was Gaelic Fantasy...(I was thinking Irish)....but then was reminded that Nova Scotia actually means "New Scotland" and Scottish ships are known to have visited under Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who is reputed to have sailed to North America 100 years before the voyages of Christopher Columbus...(and in some accounts is related to the Oak Island Mystery.)

It was then, that I designed and made the Scottish Dreams quilt pictured here...

Page 4 Mystery of Oak Island

But photoshop can take care of most anything, so here is the correct quilt at the entrance to Oak Island, Nova Scotia

Page 3 Mystery of Oak Island

It was not until that evening when we were at our hotel reviewing our photos that I noticed that I had grabbed the wrong quilt. I grabbed the quilt Carol chose to take on the trip (Irish Whiskey) by mistake.What a disappointment.The next day we were headed to Great Breton (looking for moose.) While in the highlands, we took more quilt photos...I snapped her with "Irish Whiskey" and then she snapped me with the real "Mystery of Oak Island

. While I was disappointed that my quilt had not gotten photographed at the island causeway, it dawned on me that Photoshop could fix most anything......

Page 2 Mystery of Oak Island

I made four quilts before leaving on this trip.."Irish Whiskey, Gaelic Fantasy, Scottish Dreams and Mystery of Oak Island."
I offered my sister to choose which she would like to choose to take along on the trip...the plan was to be photographed with the quilts in Nova Scotia and they would forever be a remembrance of the trip. Carol, my sister, chose "Irish Whiskey." I was relieved, because I was so into the Oak Island story, that I really wanted the quilt named after that.
On our way to Peggy's Cove (the second time we went there)...we decided to drive down a road we passed by the first time. The first time we went to Peggy's Cove, it was getting late in the afternoon, and we didn't want to lose any photo opportunities. This time we decided to check it out, and it was not very many miles off the main road.

When we arrived, we noticed the causeway leading to the small 125 acre island was posted as private property, so we went no farther. I did, however, grab the opportunity to reach for my "Mystery of Oak Island" quilt, and have my photo taken with it here.    (I thought I grabbed the right quilt)

Mystery of Oak Island

There is a story that goes with this quilt.
In 2010, my sister and I planned a trip to Nova Scotia. When she heard that I was interested in the story of the mystery of Oak Island, she commented that we would have to look that up. I told her not be concerned about building that into our agenda, as I felt sure there was nothing there for us to see. It is a story that goes back hundreds of years when pirates and buccaneers sailed along the coast, as did some early European visitors. It is thought by some that there is treasure there to be found...but so far it has not been discovered. In the meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent, and at least six have lost their lives seeking this treasure. It is an intriguing story...

I came upon a photo of a painting....by Erin Bennett Banks done for a children's book. The painting was titled Mystery of Oak Island. I liked the painting and the colors, so I decided I would make a quilt, take it with me to Nova Scotia, and as a memory of the trip, would have myself photographed there with it. I loved making this quilt, but the story does not end here......(to be continued)