Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Humility Quilt

It's been ages since you've seen any photos of Paris, so I'll start out with these. In my last post I was off to take a walk? Well by the time I changed clothes and got ready to go, the sun was gone. I took this pic from my balcony:

At least it improved a little bit, so I did go out. It didn't rain on me, that's something.

Yesterday we had a couple hours of sun so that was a much better walk. The temps here are pleasant - high 40's. If I could have sun I might be able to tolerate below freezing temps, but there's no way I'm trading with Joyce for sun and -24 degrees. brrrr.

I am almost done with all my blocks. Here's more of them. I jinxed myself by saying that I'd been doing a good job with getting the fabrics were they were meant to go. D'oh. Spot the humility block - it was finished, so I left it alone. You probably can't - I can only find it because I know where it is. I think it actually adds some fun and doesn't change the flow of the quilt.

And here's another humility block. I decided to keep it as is and just add to it. I was obviously very relaxed while I was sewing.


See that beautiful woven striped fabric amongst the lights? It is such a gorgeous fabric -it's from the early 1990's. I bought it from Irma's Sampler, so I think it's Dutch. It's heavy -- not gauzy -- but not too heavy. Why don't they make fabric like this anymore?

Pokey cat has been an attention-seeking terror. Sitting on the blocks, nipping at my ankles, and her new trick is to stand on the chair next to me and shove my arm with her paws. That last one makes sewing darn impossible -- I could have finished my last six blocks otherwise. Hmm, I could have moved the chair, but I didn't think of that until now.

Good thing she's so sweet and loveable. If she needs loving that much, she get's it.




I counted blocks - there are 72. So hopefully today I'll get them all finished and will play with settings and such. I need 64 blocks for my quilt, so I think I'll choose them by size - there's a good chance that some will be quite a bit smaller than others. I swear, I am the most uneven quilter. I've named this the Humility Quilt.

21 comments:

Clare said...

Is it third row up and second from the left, or is that just the light? I love that spider fabric and the stripes. Spring must be in the air. Magic is in mad cat scat cat mode again.

Sunny and cold here today, but at least we can get outside again.

Joyce said...

You are right. I couldn't spot the humility block but I didn't look very hard. They are so common in my quilting that I can't see them in mine or other people's quilts any more. IT's more relaxing that way. Lol.

comicbooklady said...

I can't find it either! so it can't be that bad! Cats have a very strange work ethic, don't you think?

SandyQuilts said...

I like it. Cute kitty too. My GD#1 will be coming to Paris this summer ... it's a School trip. She's very excited.

Heidi said...

Can't find it. But now I'm curious !!
Will you tell us ?

Sassenach said...

I can appreciate a "perfect" quilt from an artistic sense. Usually, though, even they have small errors that the creator had to work with. (Well, that or go insane.)

When I work on the restoration of an old quilt, the first step involves some detailed block-by-block analysis. That's when the truth comes out -- and when the quilter's personality starts to emerge.

Sooooo....in seventy-five years when your quilts are being readied for a retrospective on millenial quilting, the little card next to this quilt will have some breathlessly academic note about how "these blocks, which the artist referred to as her 'humility blocks'serve as a poignant, humanizing counterpoint to the genius of her design while linking back to global folk mythology of deliberately inserting error into creative arts lest the gods be offended."

You wouldn't want to deprive some future graduate art student of her thesis, would you?

canquilt said...

The quilt is stunning and so colorful. BTW, your cat is a cutie as well.
Lorre

Anonymous said...

Don't think the fabric is Dutch, but Lucy will now for sure. I wonder if we háve real Dutch fabric. What we call Dutch is mostly manufactured in Germany. The only real Dutch fabric is from Vlisco, and oddly enough that's African:)
Love how your quilt turned out.

Anonymous said...

I love the last photo... how can one work with a stare-down like that?!

Kristin Shields said...

Pokey is such a cutie! I don't see it either. I do love that stripe fabric. It reminds me of some of the Kaffe Fassett stripes you can get.

We've got clear and cold too. It's been gloriously sunny, but down to 0 at night. The snow sparkles everywhere.

atet said...

No, you know I'm not one to look for humility blocs. The only one I can possibly think you might be talking about is first row second down -- but, um, nope, that one looks good to me too! I can't wait to see what you come up with for a setting for this one. 40 degrees? You're killing me here -- I need a touch of spring!

Ahava Hopps Brooke said...

I don't see a humility block either. I also like to create "perfect" quilts. It's good 'though to remind myself that some of my favorite quilts wouldn't make it in the "perfection = beauty" arena. Like some of the Gee's Bends quilts for instance. I've seen some old quilts with triangle points lopped off and think they are charming. (But I'd probably shudder if I had to lop off points in one of my quilts.) It's a funny/ironic/paradoxical area. I think quilt-show-jury-esthetics are part of the impulse. I don't think it's always a constructive force when it denies use funky ideosyncratic artitistic voices. // Love the photo of Pokey. I'll have to post a similar cat portrait on my site. They do a similar pose all the time.

Quilts And Pieces said...

It is beautiful! I love it!

Lucy said...

I LOVE to see all your layouts with these blocks!

Rhondi said...

Hi Tonya. Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog. It's always fun meeting another quilter. Lucky you living in Paris. I've been to Paris a couple of times, but it's been awhile. What a great city. I love the colors of your quilt and the aqua pottery in the hutch beside it. I will come to visit again and hope you'll do the same. Rhondi

CraftyRachel said...

Wow, I love the lightening arrangement! I didn't realize there were so many options for the pattern. I still have a lot to learn.

I don't see the humility block either!

Unknown said...

It all looks great to me. Bravo for getting so much done so quickly.

Those blue eyes on Pokey are a marvel.

jmb_craftypickle said...

I am liking that lightning set more and more...what are you talking about...Humility quilt...It looks great, I thought that you couldn't be got be the quilt police.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

I've loved all the play you are doing with your log cabin blocks....I love the log cabin block!

pokey is the sweetest!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I wonder if your heavier stripe isn't a Kaffe Fassett fabric. That is about when his first stripes came out and they were hand woven in India and were a coarser, heavier fabric.

sewprimitive karen said...

What an expression! I don't think you have any choice about giving Pokey some attention!