Landscapes

I live pretty much outdoors. Our boat certainly has an indoors and we sleep indoors and hide from the elements indoors, but the outdoors is right there, inches away. It's very different from the insulating feeling one gets living in a house.

Landscapes and seascapes are my visual world. I don't often make representational images in my tiny quilts, but I couldn't resist making an attempt at rendering a shoreline that we saw coming up the ICW (the Intracoastal Waterway) this Spring somewhere in NC.

                             "ICW 2013 NC", 10" x 16", hand appliquéd and quilted.

Here's the actual landscape that inspired it.

What does one DO with a tiny quilt?

I certainly don't know. I just like to make them.

I suppose one could hang one on the wall, use one on table under the teapot, make a pillow, wrap a dolly, sew one to a tote bag, or display one on a tiny quilt rack on a table to gather dust.

As an avowed minimalist who doesn't currently own anything that could be considered a "decoration" (not even a single Christmas ornament), my inclination is to wad a tiny quilt up in the sock drawer. I do draw the line at using them for engine rags.

The point is, they don't have to be useful or displayed. The joy is in the making. However, if you want to use one as a potholder, be my guest!

Threes: stuck in my head

Why are collections of three objects so visually appealing?

In composition there is a rule of thirds, in which a square or rectangle is visually divided into a three by  three grid and objects placed along the grid lines for balance.  Balance is key with threes. A tripod balances more easily than an object with two legs or with four. Philosophically we have a kind of threes balance in democracy - two makes a majority decision in a group of three. Some religions use three manifestations of a deity. We love the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears because we identify with the small-medium-large, the soft-comfy-hard and the two extremes of hot and cold and the "just right" in between.

Nature abounds with groups of three in the plant kingdom, so many beautiful flower and leaf structures. Google images delights me with inspiration. Here's a quilt from the archives called the Napster.

I have a lot more ideas on groups of three for tiny quilts, but it's been way too hot to sit with fabric in my lap.

Community

Last night I hightailed myself to the local Quilt Guild meeting! It's been many years since I belonged to a guild, and since I've picked up the quilting again, I have been missing the community. It's sometimes hard to find opportunities like this while traveling around, but I found a guild directory online that indicated a guild meeting in Deltaville VA less than a mile from the Deltaville Marina where we are living for the summer. How cool is that?!

Even for an August meeting, the church hall was packed with the Sting Ray Stitchers with their beautiful name tags and welcoming smiles. It was great to plunk myself down and hear the voices catching up on family life, talking about their projects and seeing the beautiful items for the show-n-tell session.

Can't wait until the September meeting!