Repairing Old Quilts

My sketching buddy inherited a quilt made by her grandmother, a lovely double wedding ring quilt, thin and soft, much used and much loved.

                




However, apparently a mouse liked it, too, as it had a rather large, ragged hole close to the middle. Having great respect for old quilts, I offered to repair it. I replaced several patches, then added a bit of quilting. Now it's almost as good as new.

I'm thinking that I should get back to repairing my own quilts made by my grandmother. A number of years ago, I replaced a lot of the outline stitching on this Peter Pan quilt to restore the designs. 

Repairing is an activity that allows for reflexion and brings peace--a sort of meditation that connects one to past generations. It provides grounding in a world that seems topsy-turvy.

Grandma's Bootcamp: The Bardo, 4

A few last thoughts on the campers' visit to the Bardo Museum: the sophisticated portraits must be mentioned and can only be admired.

This famous mosaic of Virgil and his Muses demonstrates the idea of Antiquity that creative inspiration exists outside of oneself as a sort of separate being. A comforting thought. The artist is not then solely responsible for his or her artwork, but connects to something beyond.

Lavish attention was given to the gods...                                  













Especially to Poseidon, god of the seas.

    And this beautiful statue had to be included. 

I would like to go back and sketch in the Bardo because there are so many possibilities. 

However, it is cold and the place is unheated.

I'll go back when the weather warms up...

Grandma's Bootcamp: The Bardo, 3

Bootcamp now seems a long time ago, however, I hope showing some of the wonders in the Bardo museum will bring back memories of warm days on this cold and rainy day (well, at least we're not blanketed in snow). The mosaic still lifes drew my attention. Stunning.

These bottles are complete with shading and shadows, and note the leaf and rose borders.

The hare eating grapes may not qualify as a still life, but I'm including him anyway...note the gradated borders.



And my favourites: the grapes are perfection.















The artist even got in the reflections and highlights on the cup.



So with such inspiration, we sat down on the floor to sketch.

While GD2 (2nd Granddaughter, 7) tackled a huge carved snake, which looked deceptively simple, GD1 (12) sketched a beautiful lion-goddess statue.

Grandma managed a quick sketch and later added the pretty ticket and a commentary.

Yes, these are warm memories on a cold, wintry day.

Grandma's Boot Camp: The Bardo, 2

Campers at Grandma's Boot Camp delighted in getting away from camp for an excursion. The Bardo Museum in Tunis houses one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world--a wonder to see. 

One large hall contains mosaics of Roman houses in Tunisia, each one the size of the wall. To get such detail, the pieces of mosaic are minute.

Note the soulful look of the bull.

From the chained dog in front of his doghouse in the upper right corner to the elegant woman choosing jewellery in the bottom row, this sophisticated mosaic exudes human activity.

And of course, complex borders (to die for) frame each work.

This one is particularly interesting for the horse, and for the woman spinning with a drop spindle on the left.
For those interested, click to enlarge and read the information given by the museum about Roman houses.

The subject is dear to my heart as there was a Roman house in a field behind us. My Roman-rock plant table is proof. Recycling at its best.

And then, back in the States, my eldest granddaughter is studying Rome in school. However, she's too embarrassed to tell the teacher about what she has visited...ahhh, teenagers!

Flower Power or Sketchbook as Memory

Remember Flower Power in the late 1960s? My mom had a different take on that. She loved fine china with all its complex and flowery designs, and checked out junk and antique stores regularly in search of teacups in Spode or Lalique or Royal Albert...the list of companies in her mind was lengthy. I suspect her collection grew once all the kids went out into the world, because to amass such an extensive collection on my dad's meager teacher's salary was quite a feat. And she would use them lovingly, when friends would come around, on formal occasions, or just for her afternoon cup of tea. There were flowery, decorative stacks of them in the dining room to brighten the grey, drizzly Oregon winters.

Truth to tell, I raised my eyebrows and never quite understood. Give me a big, sturdy mug so I don't have to worry about breaking anything.

Recently, however, with the online classes at Sketchbook Skool, my thoughts have turned towards the sketchbook or art journal as a work of Memory, as a commentary on one's life to be bequeathed to loved ones eventually, to the younger generation. I tend to use my Textile Sketchbook/Art Journal in that sense, but, paper and paint never tempted me much. That may be changing. One of the assignments concerned teacups and suddenly there was a torrent of outpouring from SBS students remembering mothers and grandmothers. This seems to concern women in particular (what is it about teacups?), but the Memories were there.

This forced me to think about 18 of my mom's teacups gathering dust in my cupboard. I looked them over and realized they really are beautiful. I chose one and started a layout over two pages.
Because of the complexity of this design, I got distracted by another cup in blues that seemed just a bit simpler in design. (Hmmph! It still took me 3 weeks to finish.)

I glued a recycled watercolor painting to the corner. I like the yellowed paper and the hard lines of the geometric patchwork design that contrast to the swirly florals. Done with a Bic Crystal ballpoint pen, I had fairly good control over the floral design. Then the moment of truth came when I added the watercolor shadows.

After spending so much time on the finicky flowers, I nearly had two heart attacks when I ruined it all twice...however, if I've learned one thing at Sketchbook School, it's to keep going. And so, it all worked out in the end. And I thought often of my mom--OK, Mom, got it, teacups are useful (to paint). A series may be developing here.

Now, I find it comforting to think that maybe one day my granddaughters will sit and sip tea from their great-grandmother's teacups while looking at their grandmother's sketchbooks. They will remember... Memories of Flower Power...

Grandma's Boot Camp 2014

The Little People have headed home after another summer at Grandma's Boot Camp. 






Taking care of cats (do they really need all that attention?) was the first order of business. 







Then, there were the birthday parties. GD2 (second granddaughter, now 7) loved the fairy cake


GD1 (now a grownup 12--"What do you mean, Little People???") devoured Harry Potter's Sorting Hat (complete with magic wand).

Notice the leathery effect on the back. Man, that was a delicious cake--chocolate through and through. I get a sugar high just thinking about it! Cake credits go to my friend and fellow sketcher. 

Besides piano practice every day, the girls spent several days at the beach, and we worked on our sketchbooks, sometimes at breakfast.

GD2's breakfast sketch

GD1's breakfast sketch

We did our annual visit to the Roman city of Uthina.

Just imagine that what appears to be a hill is actually a buried city, which is s-l-o-w-l-y being excavated. We visited the water reservoirs that served the city--incredible constructions. 

And then we took out our sketchbooks and sat for awhile at the temple on the top of the hill.

GD1's sketch at Uthina

GD2's olive tree at Uthina

Back on the farm, GD2 practiced driving the tractor.

OK, I admit that it sounds like we had a lot to do, but, after a busy and stressful school year, the kids (of all ages) arrived at the farm and simply collapsed. Sometimes lazy is good and one just needs time to grow. Take the case of GD2's new tennis shoes, a subject for sketching at the beginning of summer.

GD2's tennis shoe sketch

GD1's tennis shoe sketch

On the day of their departure, I found GD2 sitting on the steps and fussing: "Grandma, my shoes are too tight." Sure enough, the new tennis shoes didn't fit anymore and we had to scramble to find a pair of sandals suitable for traveling. 




And they almost had me participating in the ensuing crying fest. But Grandma does not cry--she has a reputation to maintain. It was close, though.

Summer Elves and Fairies

The Little People have arrived and Grandma's Boot Camp is in full session.

GD2 (second granddaughter) came accompanied by several elves who come from the North Pole. There was some debate about whether they would be allowed to come to Tunisia as it is warm for them. However, GD2's mother sent a special request to Santa to get the necessary authorization. Santa knows that GD2 pays close attention to the well-being of her elf friends. When they need to cool off a bit, she puts them in the freezer. Here we see Ellie and Elfie in deep conversation. 

Charlotte resides in GD2's bedroom and generally moves around at night, changing where she sits. Unless, of course, GD2 misbehaves, then Charlotte can't move. Also, nobody can touch Charlotte or she loses her magic powers. GD2 leaves notes for the elves under her pillow.

Two other elves visit GD2 frequently and leave messages: Behavior Elf and Piano Elf. Although she can't see him, Piano Elf sits on GD2's shoulder when she practices and especially in a recital, which has allowed her to play confidently ever since he appeared on the scene.  She says she can feel him right there helping her along. Behavior Elf helped GD2 get an A in Behavior by the end of the school year. Things were a bit rough in First Grade until Behavior Elf stepped in to help. 

Behavior Elf and Piano Elf took an earlier flight to Tunis and left GD2 a note on her pillow to welcome her. It turns out that they have already made friends with the garden fairies who have been anxiously awaiting the return of GD1 and GD2 so they can fix the fairy house.

And so, my sketching buddy was inspired to create a Fairy Cake for GD2's birthday, as delicious as it was beautiful.



Such lovely detail work: Note the placement of flowers and butterflies, and the wings (non-edible). The fairy even has pointed ears.






I think my friend sprinkled some fairy dust over the cake, for it was a magical evening.