mended butterfly

We had a family gathering here over the Christmas time. 

We were careful.

Everyone was double or triple vaccinated if they were old enough

and most took rapid tests before arriving.

"Negative!" said the 12 year old instead of a greeting.

We did our best.  We stayed within our bubble.

We are OK

Nothing bad happened.

In fact, it was a glorious time. 

Now, they've left.

And I've found another quilt to mend.

 

I made this one 33 years ago.

The fabrics have faded.  Some have disintegrated.

I'm replacing the worn pieces with new cloth, cut to exact size of patch.

Slowly.  One by one.

A refreshed batt was required, so I basted a layer onto the back of the quilt

and laid a new cotton backing over that.

I've got this.

I'm doing my best. 

Look at that triangle.  Don't you think that the shape resembles a heart?

Hearts are life.  These ones are floating.

I'm floating.  

I feel optimistic.  

It's a heavy time to be alive, but fixing something with heart-triangles

is a hopeful act.   

Here's to you, next generation.  Your brave faces forward.  

Your open hearts. xo 

amulets and recipes

Sarah's first amulet with red thread protection

An amulet is a device, the purpose of which is to protect by magical means.
Amulets in the form of triangles are ubiquitous.
Their power is boosted with the addition of coins or embroidered patterns.
Triangle amulets can hang from a belt or purse or be pinned to a blouse.
They can be carried in a pocket.

Sarah's amulet embroidered with the Ukranian symbol for stamina and health, the branch of a fir tree

Triangular amulets for protection of lone travelers are made from plain fabric, crudely stitched.  (Gold or silver triangular earrings are also amulets).

quilt back hand stitched by April

There are many aspects of textiles, not just pattern that are protective, such as thread itself.

stripes and diamonds by April

The following motifs are in themselves amulets.
Star, tree of life, cross, hand, labyrinth, eye, and magic square.

triangles and nine patches by zoe

Confusion is an effective weapon against whatever the demon is.
Pockets out of alignment or false, small irregular details, complicated dense patterning,
all these serve to perplex.

hand stitched crosses by Sarah

Embroidery on edgings or seams of garments,
embroidery around pockets and over breasts are all used
to prevent disease-carrying spirits from reaching the body.

chocoolate chip cookies by Emily

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cream until fluffy 1 cup butter, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar
Add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla and continue to beat until fluffy
Fold in  2 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
Fold in 1 or 2 cup chocolate chips
Drop on ungreased cooke sheet by teaspoon and bake 350 degree oven 12 minutes or so
Slightly under-bake - when removing from oven slam the cookie sheet on counter or stove top
Dough can be refrigerated.

yellow cake by moi

Scratch Yellow Cake
pre-heat oven to 375 degree and prepare cake pan (9"square) with butter and dust of flour
Sift 2 1/4 cup cake flour with 3 tsp baking powder into mixing bowl, add 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp salt
Cut 1/2 cup soft butter into the flour, then add 2/3 cup of milk and beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer.  Scrape bowl often with rubber spatula.
Add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and 1/3 cup more milk.  Beat 2 more minutes.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

star web by April

Solar motifs of circles and stars are powerful.

hand stitched amulets by sarah, stars and each stuffed with salt

Cut two triangle shapes from cloth you have on hand.
Sew the sides together but leave a small opening so that you can add garlic, salt or a written prayer.
However, the triangle by itself is powerful enough.  It has sharp points.

The text in this post is paraphrased from
Sheila Paine's book Amulets: Sacred Charms of Power and Protection

The images of sewing and cookies were sent to me by young women who are staying home this week.

Take care of yourselves dear ones.
(the recipe for chocolate icing is in the comments)

looking back

secret garden 

In my older work,
I see triangles.
I used to put rows of triangles along the edges.

when asked : she replied

Either the triangle edging seems to protect heart-shapes
like thorns do when they line up on a rose's stem

all my life 

or the triangle edging creates an energy field
similar to how a child represents the sun.

For some reason I am looking back and thinking about the love and longing in my earlier quilts
and remembering the story that each holds.

The top quilt is a wall piece, about the size of a large watercolour (36 x 42 or so) Details here and here.  The other two are large enough to go over beds.  All are hand stitched.  The heart one details are here.  The self portrait in the bottom photo has detail here.

protection gifts

Embroidered patterns such as triangles, zigzags, hands, eyes and horns have tremendous power. The force of a pattern is strengthened by repeating it, and by adding tassels. For Eastern European countries formerly under Ottoman rule, unfinished patterns are especially powerful. They symbolize the continuity of life. The triangle's sharp corners have the power to ward off evil. In many religions including Christianity, the triangle symbolizes the trinity. Red represents the blood of life and of death and is the most powerful and exhilarating of all colours. Red threads are associated with spirit worship, marriage, and secret powers.
I gave each of our adult children one of these amulets for Christmas. For protection yes, but also for beauty. Tassels hung on wrapped cords confuse and entrap the evil eye. White beads that finish their edges are typical of Uzbek embroidery. I'm not sure, but I believe that these small hangings were used at thresholds, or on walls across from the quilts, or between the piled quilts. I hang mine in my window. So cold here today. The ice came in.

I'm grateful to Sheila Paine who writes about ilgitsh such as these in her books about world textiles. These ones were purchased from the Textile Museum of Canada.

September piecework

Woman as sacred life giver. We have solar power at the cottage and I used my sewing machine last week. The weather was amazing for September, and perhaps I should have stayed out doors, but I really enjoyed putting these damask and velvet and silk triangles together to create a new fabric.

Thesis

That the shapes used in traditional quilt patterns are "first shapes". These shapes occur in textiles around the world. They have ancient meanings and are part of what Carl Jung called the 'collective unconscious'.
Even though we might not know the meanings any more, they continually call to us and we are drawn to their pleasing forms.

repetition

An effect of certainty and security happens with repetition. In my quilts I am calmed by the process of putting one stitch after another into a repeated pattern of similar shapes.
Shown is a detail of the baby quilt I'm working on now.

Splendid isolation

Many people ask me if I feel isolated. I usually answer "yes", because Manitoulin Island is so far away from larger centers in Canada and we live very privately here. However, I don't think isolation is necessarily a bad thing for an artist. I really do love solitude. I'm reassured to read Nancy Crow's comments about being alone on page 290 of her newest book. "I like it. I love it. I love being by myself. I happen to believe that the more solitude you have, the more you're able to delve inside and find those rich levels of ability that are fresh. Otherwise you're allowing all this chattering constantly coming at you and you can never reach into that part of yourself, whatever that part is."