Tag: textiles

a lovely old quilt and freestyle piecing

March 24, 2016
by annwood
lovely old quilt

lovely old quilt

Quilt is a generous description – it was really more of a duvet and it has come all undone. I made it 20 years ago – the year I moved to Brooklyn. I love quilts and live with lots of them in various states of disrepair. This one has been at the bottom of a trunk for the last ten years.  I’m not sure what made me think of it – I’ve been looking at quilts a lot lately – I have some collected on Pinterest and I’ve been making boats with some pieces of old quilt tops.  The boat below is made from a tattered top with hundreds of different little pieces – it’s like a library of fabulous depression era small prints.

patchwork boat

sailboat sewing pattern

My old quilt top is missing huge sections so I’m going to take it apart and rearrange everything in a new way and add some sections of pieced scraps. I did some tests and found  the freestyle piecing to be way more difficult than I had imagined. I do love the idea though of turning my giant supply of beloved little scraps into something I use everyday. The little and more subdued sample on the right is the beginning of something that might make it into my  repair. The kookier experiment on the left might become a doll.  It will be a slow summer project  and maybe by next winter I’ll be ready to turn it into an official quilt.

freestyle patchwork

fabric sail boats

In other news – the boat pattern is finished and  in the shop.  Make a sweet spring regatta!

textile treasures from sri threads

September 2, 2015
by annwood
sri textiles

My first encounter with boro textiles was in 2003 in this article in Country Living magazine. I was stunned – instantly in love with them – the color and the composition were perfect.  The mending, the layering, the meandering stitch work all spoke to me in a novel way – I related to them at the time as paintings – as compositions that strike that magic balance, my sewing had been mostly put away for years.  I cut out the pages and stuck them on my refrigerator – my percolating thoughts place.  When I began this blog in 2006 my focus shifted pretty quickly to stitching  and through the magic of happenstance I had the opportunity to visit the Sri Threads showroom. Stephen was an instant friend and ever since packages of intriguing old cloth and garments periodically appear unannounced in my vestibule – it’s a beautiful thing.

sri threads

So much of my inspiration comes from these things I did not choose.  I’ll preserve the hand mending in the pieces below in some new creature. I love that those stitches made so long ago, and that traveled so far through so many thoughtful hands will have  a new place and meaning and the energy that went into them will impart qualities I could not.

sri textiles

I think the piece below ( it’s quite large ) is part of a futon cover – the color combination is stunning – that intense textured brown and smokey blues and purples.

sri textiles

sri textiles

This package also had lots of kimonos in various states of undone -ness.  Intense red and a variety of unexpected melony pink silks. I’ve had an idea for something rolling around for years, one of the back burner ideas I have not gotten off the ground that these are perfect for – the missing piece.

silk from sri

And pale pink, ivory and melancholy lavender –  they will also play a part in my afore mentioned stalled idea and I’ve already started a sheer, whispery and pale ship. Thank you Stephen! For all the inspiration and joy I get from these surprises. The Country Living pages remain on my refrigerator as a daily reminder of the good and unexpected things that are just around the corner.

P. S. If you like this sort of thing Sri has a spectacular instagram feed.