Colourful Research -- a Creative Diary

I Wish You a Happy Water Dragon Year!

2012-01-25T18:01:00.001+01:00

Dragons, printed on cloth after a gouache painting,
inspired by an ancient Chinese vessel

And may the dragon be a symbol for strength, beauty and spiritual growth. In Asia, it is a positive symbol, not the incarnated evil, but a natural force that arises in early spring. The Chinese celebrate the New Year in these days; the Tibetan calendar sees the 22 of February as the beginning of the Water Dragon year. In this article there are some very interesting and helpful remarks on astrology in general. See it with a huge portion of sensible and critical understanding. Most of it is what we make of it.
When I started doing needlework again a few years ago, I did so because being too much on the internet and reading each and every site on conspiracy theories wasn't doing my soul any good. True or not -- I decided not to decide, but feed my mind with issues I experienced to be positive. I worked on a cosy and colorful little world around me. The cushion is part of it.
Curing the world is hardly possible. Doing what we can without neglecting our own welfare has become my solution. Have a time of happiness and well-being!

Fight Censorship

2012-01-18T13:25:00.000+01:00

http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/12/13/how-sopa-will-hurt-the-free-web-and-wikipedia/

Off Topic once more: A Birthday Celebration in the Country

2012-01-15T12:51:00.000+01:00

Out in the country, the meadows and fields are so green, you can see we did not have a proper winter yet. We are grateful not to be driving in the ice and snow! We were heading to the village where my brother lives, to celebrate my sister-in-law's 60th birthday. We had a meal with her aged relatives, even her father was there who is going towards 90. We did some German bowling -- which is different from the American way. It was an old-fashioned inn with a bowling alley still from the 50ies or 60ies, I guess, just with an electronic outfit. This sport is different from what you may know, the bowls are smaller and don't have holes for the fingers. I took a few pictures without a flash, so the motion was visible at a quarter of a second.

My niece's dress looks interesting in the motion of picking up a bowl. In the background, you see Bente on her daddy's arm. It was the very first time I tried, and our team won. Amazing.

Later, we spent the evening in my brother's home, and my grandniece Bente had a good time discovering my ukulele. She is very affectionate to her grandad, my brother.

At 10 pm we launched a few New Year's rockets out in the fields. The neighbour whose house was 200 yards away menaced to call the police, but did not. A day of fun!

Working on a Difficult Issue

2012-01-08T19:01:00.000+01:00

Our district parlament holds an hour of commemoration every year. I have a job now: creating a picture show for this ceremony which will be held on Jan 27. It is about the victims of Nazi judiciary. There are almost no photographs of the deserters who ran away from Hitler's war, got caught and were executed. And their families were treated in a scandalous way even after 1945, because too many of the judges were still in charge after the end of the regime. We have a number of records about their death sentences and farewell letters to the families. So I thought I should arrange a still life as a background. The rest of the backgrounds are landscape pictures of the place where the executions were carried out. It is a moving job.

How Many New Years Can You Celebrate?

2011-12-31T18:40:00.001+01:00

A Happy New Year to you all!

Two of the Eight Immortals,
wishing you a long and happy
life!

A lucky charm for wealth

Pomegranate

There is a reason to celebrate New Year in most every season. Spring is the time for Asian traditions; the Chinese celebrate the second new moon after the winter solstice as their new year which will be on January 23rd, 2012. The Tibetans prefer the 3rd new moon, exept when they have a calendar shift. Cambodia chose the 14-16 of April to celebrate their beginning of the year. The Buddha statues are rinsed with clear water, signifying the purification of mind. In summer, no culture seems to see a reason for a change of years, at least I haven't heard of any.
Autumn seems to be a good time to begin something new. The harvest is in the barn, the Jewish tradition celebrates a new beginning.
Our new year might be based on an old European tradition of beginning the year with the return of the light: Winter solstice. The early Christian Bishops who saw their belief confronted with older pagan tradition decided to transfer the old holidays into Christian ritual. So they defined the return of the light as the birth of Christ, and the new year -- instead of a celebration of the Roman god Janus -- onto an in-cident one week after Christmas. Happy Circumcision of Jesus!
Resolutions? I never take resolutions on December 31. There is a test for them: Do they work at any time of the year? If not, they will certainly not work at this random time of year.

Painting and Collecting

2011-12-21T20:24:00.000+01:00

"Copper Mine", size approx. letter

Some bits of my color pencil collection

Colour pencil on black cardboard works fine and is not as dangerous as gouache when being used in the living room. You might remember: I started embroidery and quilting to have something to do while my husband watches tv in the evening. We need to be together during the few hours of day when he is at home. -- My collection of color pencils is much larger, but I am ashamed to show the whole bunch. Stash collectors... Well, I'd probably not collect things that cannot be transformed into something else.

Painted Diary, Gouache

At night, I carry on with my gouache paintings. I use a small book -- about half letter size -- to create a painted diary with comments.

The Black Waters of Loch Ness

African Dance

Merry Xmas, Mr Vassily!

Happy Boomerangs

Thinking of Christmas

2011-12-20T16:34:00.000+01:00

(Caution: Filling's hot. This posting may contain sensitive thoughts and offensive ideas)

We bought small Xmas presents this year.
And we are not going to surprise one another.

My parents-in-law are, as we called it, a "mixed couple", a catholic and a protestant. My husband was raised catholic, but his scepticism goes far beyond. My father was a protestant vicar, I am a buddhist. My husband has a strange sense of humor, recently when I saw a light flying that probably was a distant helicopter, I said: "Look -- a UFO!" -- And his reply was: "Can't be, they don't fly on Shabbat."
The common base for us to celebrate?
If it was presents, in order to escape the religious quest, we'd be stuck in the material trap. Moreover, my p-i-l were not really happy with my husband's choice of a wife. I'm their guarantee that they are not having grandchildren. Hooray. Yet, they invite me for Xmas, as they have done for years now.
They know that J wouldn't go without me.
That's love! I love my husband, he loves me AND his parents. I love them and they love me -- in a strange way. With all the basic components for a conflict, we'll have a holiday in harmony. I know we will. We always make it. I cut back my urge to debate controversies. My p-i-l stop letting me feel I was the wrong choice ("she's nice as a person, but...").
Peace on Earth! Sometimes, it is a bit of work. But it works.

I wish you all very happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate, with whom and under whatever circumstances!

This Year's Berlin Trip

2011-12-12T11:27:00.001+01:00

The train is approaching Berlin's central station

Berlin, near the central station

J and I spend a weekend in Berlin every December to celebrate our cousin's Birthday. Some parts of Berlin look really somber in this light, but as a Berlin weekend means a lot of walking and riding on suburban trains, I was rather glad that temperatures were above freezing point. In some parts, Berlin looks as if the war had ended 10 years ago, not 56.

Noon in Spandau (looks like evening, doesn't it?)

We reached the city at noon -- you wouldn't believe it if you see the Spandau picture left.
After all, we are on the same latitude as James Bay, Canada.

These old houses have double windows

"Israeru'no Miyage dessu"
I gave an angel to H, our host's wife. It was made by Yael in Israel, and H who comes from Japan was enchanted by the angel's naive charms and bright smile. So here's the guardian of a huge flat in a 1900 house in Berlin's quiet suburb Friedenau which means "Meadow of Piece". You can see H in a pic below, drinking hot wine punch.

A star on top of each tent

A Berlin Xmas Tree

And off we went to the Xmas market on "Gendarmenmarkt" ("Police Square") which is a lovely ensemble of 18th century churches and other buildings. The buildings were heavily damaged during WWII, but have been perfectly reconstructed. The entrances are guarded by "Gens dArmes" in historical costumes.

J seems to be listening to a sad story

Here, we had "Gluehwein" -- hot wine punch --, and I had an egg punch which I found pretty strong. My husband gives a funny glance, but he is not shocked, just listening to the conversation. You can imagine how noisy the crowd was.

Smoking Gun

And I caught my husband smoking a cigarillo which he does once a year (or 2 onces, maybe), but never at home. He pretends to have a bad conscience, as you see.
There was a stage on the market where young girls performed a ballet with the music of Caikovsky's "Nutcracker", it was quite enchanting, but much too crowded to get closer. So I shot this picture with a zoom in very dim light, holding my camera above people's heads. Berlin is having a large number of emigrants from Russia (mostly Jewish), so there is some culture worth mentioning establishing again.

"Nutcracker" ballet

The market was so crowded that I did not even have a chance to see the shops -- or rather: I almost panicked, honestly. I made an appointment with my friends to meet me in a near café and fled from the crowd. There was a queue of 200 yards length, people waiting to get in, so it was getting even worse.

Brunch with a lot of kids

Next morning, we had a brunch with friends and kids, also Japanese friends of H, then J and I started for another item on our agenda, modern art.

"Berlinische Galerie" -- Museum of Modern Art

We took another suburban train to visit a museum by the old-fashioned name "Berlinische Galerie". After all these walks (and Berlin stations often don't have escalators!) we were done and tired, got back to our hosts to pick our luggage, had a good-bye tea, and they saw us to the station.

Some of you have requested to publish a video of my ukulele play, but I haven't got the technical means. I'm working on it.

P.S. A technical hint. I switched off the light box for my blog which can be done under "settings" -- in case you don't like it either.

Thank You for Your Patience and a Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T16:10:00.001+01:00

This is the reason why you haven't been reading from me for such a long time. Ever since my husband and I visited the most interesting music pubs in Edinburgh, I was obsessed by the idea of playing an instrument again (I gave away my guitars more than 30 years ago). So sorry I cannot show you anything fabricious. My life goes in phases. I will let you know when fabrics are back, and I won't be bothering you with other themes. And my gratitude of today goes to my husband, too, who gave me his old school ukulele a few weeks ago (which was waiting in the attic of his parents' house) and who sponsored the other beauty on the left side of the photograph. It is a preposed Xmas gift and has a lovely sound; yet, the older one is not discarded, but has its right by its crisp sound, similar to a banjo, and quick temper. Sure I play this song and others for J every night.

Age of Paint

2011-10-25T11:29:00.007+02:00

Like some alcoholics who are periodic drunkards, I let my passion for paint run freely for the time being. The needle goes cold in these periods, but never mind, it will be picked up when the time has come. You may have wondered (if you saw the series I showed as a guest blogger on Rayna Gillman's blog) why I work mostly on black. Does this show that I'm in a critical phase of life or depressive? Well, I started painting on black when I was 3 years old and had my first paintbox. My access to black was positive. It provided the perfect background for dreams, it gave an amazig brillance to my favourite colors . The color cups in my paint box containing yellow, white and light green were the first to be empty. My mother generously provided a new color box, everytime one was up -- and they did not last long. I remember how thrilled I was when I received a larger paintbox with names of the colors for my 8th birthday! Indian yellow, raw umber, turquoise -- only apple pancakes could have pleased me more.

Painting on a black backgroud, you can make something rise ever so softly out of the dark, whereas on white it is in the limelight right away. I love the process of letting something secretly emerge from the depth of space, just like dreams and thoughts do.

Blame it to Avira -- A big hug and thanks to Rayna!

2011-10-22T15:04:00.006+02:00

Now I know why my blog got smashed -- it was too much guardiance from the anti-virus protection. I switched off the security settings, loaded my blog -- everything back to normal! -- and switched them back on. Looks good now -- hoping it is for good!

For the time being, Rayna Gillman was so kind to invite me as a guest blogger. I accepted her offer with gratitude. Please don't miss her work -- excellent prints on cloth and exiting quilts from an inspiring and warm-hearted artist.

Update. Looks like they found and repaired the mistake in the meantime.

Sorry, Blogger smashed my Blog tonight

2011-10-21T22:02:00.001+02:00

I do hope they will repair it very soon.

Handing a Quilt out to the Owner

2011-10-03T11:38:00.003+02:00

My grandniece seemed to be satisfied with the quilt, although it looks as if she is redesigning it with her blanket. She is being assisted in her check-up by her "mow", as she calls the cat ("ow" like in "how"). Fortunately, there are a few mows on the quilt. She discovered them at once.
Having no kids of my own, I never knew how rewarding it is to create for them -- as long as they are very young and not starting to be critical, ha!
I took a stroll through the autumnal garden. Of course, we took apples back. The harvest was not brilliant, due to a sudden frost in spring that damaged the cherry blossom badly. My brother (Bente's Graddad) also grows veggies like rare potato and tomato sorts.

The grapes are ripe, too. The quinces had problems. These were sorted out. The good stuff will be processed into wine and jelly.

Firewood piles: Preparation for the coming months

How to build a mobilé

2011-09-29T13:20:00.005+02:00

After Chris suggested a tutorial, I thought how to show the way it works. The metal parts are black, the threads are red. Such bows can be bought, but also be made of wire or small rattan canes. Please start with the bottom part, building it up step by step. The most important part of the job is finding the balance, and this is something I can hardly explain.

The dangling objects are pieces of stiff cardboard I cut in geometrical shapes and painted with gouache, but I guess I'd rather recommend acrylics because the surface of gouaches is quite vulnerable.

... and the edges
better get painted, too!

In the second picture you can see the very easy method of building the objects. No glue is used to keep the parts in place. It is crucial to make a precise cut, not too thin, not too wide; if you cut only once, the space is too narrow, and the pieces will warp when being shoved into one another. If the cut is too large, they will drop apart. The width of the cut and the material thickness should be the same. -- Have fun making your own mobilé!

And if you do -- I can't wait to see your results. Please let me know!

2011-09-28T14:11:00.003+02:00

Hi folks, haven't posted for a long time, due to other jobs and fun like going to the chiro to make me walk properly. Don't we all have transitions of Saturn every few years? Being less mobile, I decided to work on my mobiles again. The left one is named "Beach Houses", the right one "Automatic Abstracts". They are made of stiff paper, painted with gouache paints. I made two small videos. Beach Houses and Automatic Abstraction.

By the way: During the past days I removed a few comments which were friendly but not personal, and I did not have the impression that you are interested in the posted content. You came from some advertising sites. Please, whoever you are, I appreciate comments if they show interest, but not if my visitors are trying to collect clicks. Such comments will be removed, sorry.

2011-09-14T19:22:00.000+02:00

My Dad was a preacher in
this church for a few years

The other day I visited my old home Bergedorf which is part of Hamburg since 1937, a fact which until today hasn't been accepted by old Bergedorfians who refer to Bergedorf, every time they mention the "town".

I passed by the old church which rests on medieval foundations; what you see is from the 17th century or so. And there is this cute little railway station, opened in 1842. It is the oldest still existing station in Germany. It became quite important during the Blast of 1842 when a great deal of the homeless citizens were evacuated on this new vehicle. And a few yards away, there is the old freight-yard, built in 1906. The buildings don't have a function for traffic any more, they are living houses, and one of them, the magazine building, is an artist's studio. He is a friend of mine. I showed his work recently on my blog. He lives and works in the old building, sacrificing a lot of what we call comfort for his art. He was just painting a theatre costume for his son; my visit came as a surprise. He told me about an act of vandalism, committed against pieces of his art which are exposed outside the studio.

Artist Oliver Hertel

One of the sculptures had been beheaded, but he was able to glue it. Later, the guy came to him and confessed that he had been in a rage, due to drugs, and he was very sorry and promised Oliver to lend him a hand.

The "tree souls" stand on their pedestals or on a mirror, silently smiling. I had tea and a chat from heart to heart with my kindred spirit. I rarely see him, but I feel so close to him.

Huts and Palaces

2011-08-26T12:59:00.008+02:00

No recent postings on our favourite subject, so sorry; but I'm involved in a larger project, running around in Hamburg, collecting photographs of buildings, writing a new version of a website on building styles and history. I'm writing about the heritage of our town which was left behind after 3 catastrophes: 1. The Big Blast of 1842 which destroyed about a third of the old town*, 2. the bombing of 1943, consequence of the 3rd Reich, 3. the demolitions during "re"-building the town. Here, you can see the oldest existing storehouse on a canal, part of the "Deichstrasse".

And I visited our new "harbour city" which is being built on the old quais, no more needed for handling cargo which is done in the container harbour now. Flats here are highly desired, most flats are sold very soon, and the rent is about double what we pay in our green suburb. I saw exiting new architecture. So this is what keeps me busy at the moment.

*In May 1842, a fire broke out in a warehouse in Hamburg. As it was very warm and dry, the fire could not be stopped for a few days, killed 51 people, devastated a third of the town and left 20.000 people homeless. Heinrich Heine's uncle Salomon spent a large deal of his wealth on beneficial purposes, caring for the victims and giving donations for rebuilding the town and bestowing credits for bankrupt merchants.

Back to the Snake

2011-08-07T11:39:00.002+02:00

You remember the Reptile Quilt, don't you? I put it aside thinking about the backing. And about a batting, if any at all. Then I found this golden brown Indonesian fabric that I bought for 40$ in Berlin on a flea market. It is about 2 1/2 yards length. So I took part of it and just basted it on the reverse of the snake quilt (red thread). I chose the olive golden Turkish nylon thread. As the front has a quilting of its own, I let most of the thread run inside. A waste in some way. The pictures don't really show how nicely the golden bits shine on the surface. I follow the lines of the pattern; so it is not as boring as I was afraid it would be; have been procrastinating this job for months.

Edinburgh in the evening sun

2011-07-31T13:29:00.002+02:00

A very small (less than postcard) sized water color I painted today about the layers of my favourite town and its dimensions. Here is a little video about the levels which can be rather puzzling if you try to walk along with the 2D-infos of your map. Even Google Street View jumps from the bridge at this spot!

By the way...

2011-07-25T21:26:00.004+02:00

I do think that dogs have a sense of humor. The dog did that again and again.
You can hear my dh laughing. Here's the VIDEO.

For all those...

2011-07-23T21:10:00.000+02:00

... who are interested to read more about our trip to Scotland: Here is the beginning of pages that I will complete by and by. Some pages are added each day, if possible. The pictures may load a bit slowly, sorry. Please have tea in the meantime.

Textiles on a Journey

2011-07-16T13:30:00.010+02:00

Scotland is the country of cold winds, I realized this very soon and started feeling cold, then, when the sun came out, I got out of my jacket hastily. We were walking for hours to see all the fascinating places in Edinburgh, so we got warm again, then back into freezing shadows -- constant changes, I guess this is what they call a stimulating climate. At night I had the problem of my cover being way too warm.

This became my sleeping cover

Naturally I felt attracted by shops with wool things in their display. One of them is more a museum than a shop, it is a workshop with sales departments, the weaving mill. I found a beautiful rug, containing 70% wool, for 20 GBP, approx. 27$. The wool is mostly from Australia or Eastern Europe.
In this museum, you could see tartan weaving looms at work, have your ancestor research being made and your coat of arms embroidered if you wish...

Bone tools from
2000 years ago

Then, there is another museum in Edinburgh that I could have spent days and days in. It is the National Museum of Scotland on Chamber Street, just a few walking minutes away from the Royal Mile. It is a wonderful modern building, more built around the expositions than expositions having been put into it. It has many lovely perspectives inside, and you don't get lost because all the rooms have different shapes, so you know exactly: "now I'm in the tower part" or wherever.

A collection of scraps from
early 20th century
(something for Jude!)

In the early history part, you can see stone and bone tools for weaving and sewing (among all the other crafts). There are also things from the 19th and 20th century: Fabric printing patterns like this paisley and red "Turkish" samples; looms, wheels and very refined knitting.
I just mentioned the textile things. But there is so much more. The whole of the museum is so full of issues related to Scotland and its history. I was deeply impressed by the Pictic stone carvings and the skills of early craftsmen and -women.

Back home, I realized how much I got trained by climate and walking. I'm in the shape of my life, and I miss the clear, windy climate of Scotland. It is so much healthier than what we have here. Scotland, we'll be back some other time!

What happened to the Quilts?

2011-07-13T15:22:00.004+02:00

Well, this is a quilting and embroidery blog, gals, isn't it? So what happened? We walked through Leith near Edinburg where we had our B&B place, when I saw this:

Haven't made a single stitch, friends.

Jolly Times in Sandy Bells and Royal Oak

2011-07-13T13:26:00.005+02:00

This is a pub in Edinburgh, Scotland, where we spent many hours. Every day, there is live music at night, half 10, and on Saturday & Sunday in the afternoon. It is messy, it is dark, hot and steaming when it is a rainy day. As you may know the habit from all over GB, the pints are filled up to the edge, you pick them at the counter and offer the local spirits a sip before you can reach your seat. People who play instruments just come round to join, sometimes playing together for the first time; sometimes people who give concerts later come and just have fun with others.

They put a violin in my hands! Help! This is the
first time I ever touched such an instrument.
This was not my idea, but it felt good.

Anyone who will not spoil the session can join, they even passed the guitar over to me, sometimes the session goes a bit jazzy when Freddy has his Grapelli hour. He is well able to play the traditional violin, he just thinks it is too boring.
We listened to a man with Scottish small pipes, sorry for the dark pictures, and it is just a snippet, as an appetizer.
Here is another video from the same place, but taken by someone else. Sorry, my camera wasn't really made for taking videos.

What the Driver said

2011-07-13T11:19:00.002+02:00

What is in the black waters of Loch Ness? The driver of our bus is a very skeptical man, and from the start, he had not believed in the legend. First, he read about the Irish monk Columba who reported his sightings of "sea horses" in the year 565. Then, our driver had an opportunity to talk to an eye witness who used to go fishing to a remote and hard-to-reach loch which is almost as deep as Ness. He said he had seen such phenomena and -- as our driver said -- he was not the kind of person to lie to you; our driver looked straight into his eyes when he spoke.
Another person who was familiar with the story: A marine biologist who made sonar research. He said that there was something definitely "but we don't know what it is. Sometimes it is gone completely".
Recently, someone promised a 1 Million £ reward for evidence which means that nobody shares his knowledge any more.

Guess where we were

2011-07-13T00:06:00.010+02:00

Yes you guessed right. This is Loch Ness.

We spent most of the time in Edinburgh. This picture was taken on a day trip to the Highlands.

I will make galleries out of my photo collection, but not tonight; we just returned, it is almost midnight, and we had a flight through bad weather that rocked us a lot.

We saw most places by walking! From our B&B, we took the bus to the center of Edinburgh, then walked and walked.

No, we did not take this taxi, just one from the airport to our bed & breakfast and one on the way back today. This country was the right choice for our trip! We enjoyed every moment of it.

J: Flying to Scotland and back with me

More from the park

2011-06-22T22:24:00.017+02:00


On the wooden planks of the tea house

I told you about a park in our city, so to speak, our central park. Today I displayed another quilt on a few places.

What makes me sad is the indifference of people who drop their empty paper cups into the waterfall and carve graffiti into the teahouse beams.

Does a corner of the quilt really dip into the water? Yes -- on purpose.

In the rose garden, I took some more pictures of the baby quilt.

Quilt, roses, and cobblestones

The reverse of the above quilt

Vanity walk in the park

2011-06-21T15:35:00.005+02:00

If I just walk five minutes, I'm in a park which used to be the green of a horse racing ground. Now, there are nice houses around where the races used to take place with a vast park in the middle.

I took two quilts out to take photographs -- here are some.

To be honest: I made a knot on the reverse
to keep the quilt from being blown
into the ditch

Finished!

2011-06-20T22:14:00.000+02:00

Make ends meet

2011-06-20T12:08:00.006+02:00

The strips are sewn, and two of them are connected.

The squares are not equal, although cut with a stencil of 6x6", but the bending of the backing fabric to the front has different results, depending on the material thickness and other characteristics.

Sometimes, the corners will not meet. But the overall length of the strips is quite similar, because by using smaller and larger squares in a mix, I get strips of an average length.

Four phases -- four squares left

2011-06-17T12:21:00.005+02:00

These are the sqares No. 45, 46, 47, and 48. One base sqare 6x6", then the piecing, held down by pins; the sewing from the right side + quilting; a backing fabric; the edges are turned to the front and used as a binding.

The funny fabric top right is from Finland

I stared connecting the squares, and I'm a bit worried. The binding fabric alone must bear the burden. I wonder if this will be strong enough.

I see the light!

First row of squares, 8 are planned

Four Grandnieces and a Birthday

2011-06-13T22:27:00.006+02:00

My brother celebrated his birthday today, and his two daughters were there; the older one has 3 daughters, 2 of them playing hide-and-seek with their Granddad.

He is a passionate granddad, just as he loved having kids. He has 4 children, 3 from his first marriage, one from his second, still existing marriage.

My brother and sister-in-law own an old farmhouse near Hamburg. The younger daughter, her husband and baby Bente live here, too.

The older daughter and her family live in a village nearby.

The youngest one, Ida, is just a few weeks younger than Bente, her cousin.

Bente waves goodbye to her aunt and cousins.
She is the one for whom I'm making the quilt. Another view of the quilt.
I feel tempted to make quilts for all my grand nieces...

There is also a grand nephew Max -- not present today, I haven't met him yet; and Max is having a brother or sister in January.

Here, you see Bente making experiments in a flower bed and she ended up covered with ants. She didn't really mind.

Reinbek Castle

2011-06-10T19:19:00.005+02:00

This beautiful castle, renovated during the early Eighties, was built in the 16th century. I had to visit an office at my birthplace, so I went there -- more than 1 hour by suburban train -- and later took a walk through the park and around the castle. It was completely empty, just one young mother pushing a pram, and a gardener cutting the hedges.

As this castle was built on a former cloister site, there is a large artificial lake near it; most cloisters had a lake or a pond nearby for the fish they ate on Fridays and during the fasting period.

Today, the castle can be rented for celebrations and congresses.

Rhinos

2011-06-08T22:04:00.001+02:00

Another lino cut print for the baby quilt. On Pentecost Monday I'll show her mother how far I got. 48 squares are planned, and this one is #36.

The result for the moment

2011-06-06T08:06:00.006+02:00

Jazz and polka dots in action!

And the finished squares (+backing and binding) piled up. Until now, I have 2/3rds of the whole quilt which will be 8x6 squares of 6"x6" size. These will be arranged when the full number is reached, and connected.

Yesterday we saw a wonderful exhibition of 19th century genius painter Turner.

Jolly Apes

2011-06-02T12:04:00.001+02:00

I like to work at night, because then I can listen to jazz. There is no jazz on the radio at daytime.

Not many people favour this music; I do, and I have done so since early childhood when it was even more unusual. Kids like what their parents like.

Maybe the music while working gave this ape a jazzy grin.
Below: I tried overpainting a pale print.
I could also remove the line around the monkey body.
Should I?

Cooperation worldwide

2011-06-02T00:02:00.000+02:00

What a pleasure to use material that comes from somewhere and to see one's own material being used! This is a synergy that unites artists in a very profound way.

Isn't this a wonderful piece? My friend Yael from Israel built it around a few stenciled dragons I sent her. She is an extremely talented lady who creates wonderful bags and backpacks out of colorful fabrics. Whatever she does, it is profound and meaningful, rich and lucious.
In this case, she used her own dyed fabrics an a branch of the strawberry tree to create this unusual and dramatic wall hanging. I could hardly think of a better use for the prints. Please visit her blog and see more pictures and close-ups of this quilt.

23 Squares

2011-05-28T16:37:00.001+02:00

In the meantime, I did something that the used-or-free-fabric police wouldn't allow: I bought a piece of fabric for about 7$ a yard, it is the orange, red dotted material. I just thought a proper spoonful of orange would freshen the quilt up.

I still have almost 40 more squares to go! It is a race against time -- remember, this quilt is all hand-made, not a single machine-stitch anywhere. It is a seek-and-find game,some of the animals are hiding, so is Nemo.

Some of the animals are even harder to find, but that's part of the game.

"Baumseelen" -- "Tree Souls" by Oliver Hertel

2011-05-21T21:22:00.006+02:00

Smiling faces in a café...

A wooden lady

Today, I would like you to meet an artist who is a friend of mine and a very much cherished inspiration. His work is dedicated to "Tree Souls", sculptures of wood from trees which were broken by a storm. He has been a painter for most of his life, and when I first heard from him, he played his saxophone in the early morning hours at 3 or 4 in a park next to my and my parents' home -- way back in the Seventies. I listened to this concert with enchantment, until the police came and sent him away.

They're giggling!

Later I met him and we found out that it was him who played the saxophone at night and that he is just 2 days older than I . And he is always ahead of me as an artist; he does things that thrill me. My husband and I met another old friend of mine, we had coffee in the courtyard of Bergedorf castle, and then Oliver happened to turn up and we had a reunion after 20 years.
Here is a galery of smiling faces, roughly hewn out of the logs he split with an axe from a windfallen tree.

"Gift to the Earth" is the title
of this sculpture

This sculpture will be given back to Mother Earth tomorrow afternoon, which means that the artist will bury it in the ground in a little ceremony. You may think it is a waste, but Oliver's philosophy is not to cling to a single object, but to have confidence in the process of creation and to share it with our planet.

Another bright smile

Bergedorf Castle

The exhibition takes place in Bergedorf castle in the courtyard around which this castle was built. It will end tomorrow evening. Bergedorf is a part of Hamburg which was an independent town until 1937.

Update: I wonder if the "Gift to the Earth" ceremony did take place, because we had a pouring rain all over the place during the date. The sky seems to have objections.

Latest Squares for the Baby Quilt

2011-05-21T11:01:00.001+02:00

Lino cut "Horse & Moon", fabric from Finland, Kaffe Fassett and gifts.

"Red Rooster", lino print, given fabrics.

How to outwit myself

2011-05-19T08:51:00.010+02:00

A preview of the reverse

I'm unable to finish projects unless I finish them as I go. This time, I sew single tiles, ready with a backing, so in the end I will just connect the tiles. The reptile quilt is still waiting for its backing because during the past months, I just did not have the strength to bast a sandwich. In this case, there is not much left to do, once I have enough tiles for a quilt size. It doesn't have a batting, just 3 layers of fabric at least. The sewing method makes it rather heavy -- and hopefully sturdy enough for passing a test by a determined toddler.

Or what about a mix of top and reverse tiles?
This way, I would get a double-sided quilt.

A Dozen Tiles

2011-05-18T20:19:00.000+02:00

This is how far I got with the baby quilt.

The past is buried...

2011-05-15T18:41:00.010+02:00


It was incredibly wonderful to see the open space and a windy sky in a deeper blue than the picture can tell.

I buried the past sickness in a little funeral on this clearing.

We took a stroll in this big park with tall firs and cedars. It was cool and windy, but I rather enjoyed that.

I took this vintage cotton print from India out from the bottom of a drawer and I would love to use the elephant motif for the baby quilt. I just wouldn't like to cut this cotton into pieces -- or should I? The material I chose is from an old cushion cover, so tender that I can easily tear it to pieces.

I tried a little gouache painting.

And also a monotype which did not turn out too satisfying; although the lines have something.
I painted the red elephant with textile paint onto the stretched vintage linen. It takes some time, but would make a nice effect, don't you think? I don't like it as much as the paper version.
I guess I'll try a lino cut version, although I'm not really happy with the printing results. You can see some of them in the bottom picture.

Here are the squares I prepared before going into hospital, and one day after the surgery, I managed to do some quilting during the recovery hours!
The lower right center fabric comes from a Finnish designer; I bought it from Spoonflower.

All the other center fabrics are my own lino prints.

I just can't wait to jump into new projects. No, actually this is what I just did.

Back online

2011-05-14T16:36:00.003+02:00

I'm back! And this is a welcome from my husband who is working today and left this drawing on my keyboard.
He said he made this sketch just in a few seconds.

A Vision (Anybody working in this business?)

2011-05-09T12:08:00.003+02:00

Why don't windpower stations look like this? They should be a lot smaller than those we're building now, they could stand on every hill and catch the slightest breeze. They would not be as effective as the big ones, but who cares -- the wind is free, and this would spare us from having to wire the landscape all over -- in other words, the transportation problem would be solved.

They would be easy to build up, easy to be repaired, provide power for every village and look joyful and would not ruin the view, I believe -- this means they might be accepted by the people more than our huge devices.

Now there are Four Squares

2011-05-08T21:30:00.000+02:00

sewing the corners is still a challenge, but they look better on each new sqare. This method means that the backing is included already.

Birdie and Bear for Bente

2011-05-07T18:00:00.004+02:00

You may have seen these prints a long time ago, but then I wasn't able to integrate them into my quilting work. I hadn't learnt the korak method which now is my key to piecing.

I guess I'll abstain from the classic methods for good, I should have started earlier to learn them; until now, I haven't been successful with them. So you'll probably never see any classic patterns from me exept log cabin.

Quilting again in the bright sunshine

2011-05-06T13:52:00.004+02:00

Yesterday, I received a gift from a friend -- more scraps in brightest colors. Thank you! My pills. So I decided to let my wips be wips and start another. I have so many handprints with whimsical animals, and I've been thinking of such a quilt a lot. This time I will sew finished squares -- with backing fabric, and it will be for my grandniece Bente. I don't know yet what it will be -- if I do a baby quilt, she will not be a baby any more by the time I can give it to her. I'm thinking of a crawling mat on which she can sit in the garden oder something like it. No idea how far I'm gonna get.

WIP: Each Side Up

2011-04-30T17:22:00.003+02:00

As the title says: This painting can be turned upside down as well. May the light reach every house and beyond. More rays and more houses should be coming soon. Size: approx. letter format, gouache.

Almost feeling normal, just a little weak and having to keep a low fat diet.

Creating my hues

2011-04-29T22:24:00.002+02:00

I like to blend larger quantities of my favourite paints. This is gouache. I like them to be different from the shades that come directly from the tube.

Do you find it decadent to use antique Japanese sake bowls for my paints? I believe they inspire me.

Seen in the City

2011-04-28T17:16:00.001+02:00

There is this park right in the center of Hamburg City which is part of a green belt.

We sat in the sun, saw a greenfinch and a dragonfly from the near lake, resting in the fresh green of a larch.

The tulips are almost gone; some still reside in the shadow. A few steps away from the park, there is a street with small shops, just around the corner from where I spent a part of my childhood.

I saw this Indian rally -- was it overdyed, I wonder? -- and the iron fish on a shop, preserved by the shop owners which makes me very happy because I remember them from food purchases in my childhood.
I know this is all so off-topic. But creating will continue! It even does now, and this is wonderful, because it makes me feel alive. A small painting in progress will be shown later.

Near our home

2011-04-25T18:10:00.002+02:00

This is the same place -- looking opposite direction -- in 1974. The Architects have maintained the shape of a racing ground. The central area remained as a large lawn, lakes and shrubs.

Today, we watched four geese families taking their kids out, each with at least 6 of them. They are ever so watchful and all the time ready to defend their goslings.

Happy Easter to you all!

2011-04-23T21:01:00.001+02:00

I wish you a wonderful time with your families and friends, wherever you are, whether you celebrate or not, happiness and good health.
I'm so glad to see you and to correspond with you after a week offline! The experience of a crisis can make you sort priorities anew. Although there was no life danger (yet), I feel a strong gratitude to be integrated into social systems and mutual dependence. And for having an obligatory health insurance, haha.

First Walk after my return into Life

2011-04-22T19:12:00.000+02:00

Plans

2011-04-22T11:51:00.001+02:00

Birthday roses -- thank you, J!

'Yes, make a plan and think you're great; then make another plan. Both won't work.' (Bert Brecht)

I was offline for quite some time for personal reasons, I'm not posting them here, but will inform my friends individually.

A New Thrill

2011-04-14T09:23:00.007+02:00

This work of art is named "When I grow up I want to be Mark Rothko", or, in short: The Markobile. Pronounced like an Italian/Spanish word. A Vassilobile is being planned, possibly also a Pietobile, a Paulobile and a Kasimobile. In most cases, I don't make real what I announce; in case I don't, I'll sell the names to some mobile producer. The first one to build these things was Alexander Calder, who also invented the name (pronounced mo-bee-lay). This one is beautiful and a lot more complex than mine.
I used to do such things as a teenager. Later, I never knew how to be patient enough to balance that out. And I did not feel able to manage fumbling with small things. But quilting has given back some of my old skills. It is funny -- now that I am 62 today, I feel like going back into former stages of my life.
And this is a resting unfinished quilt.

Connected

2011-04-13T20:53:00.002+02:00

The parts are connected. I wasn't sure, because there was a different height between the parts. This method is quite flexible and forgives all kinds of tricks.

It is only two steps from New Mexican pottery to Japanese calligraphy -- what does that mean? I feel that all art is connected in a secret way, so I broke down the walls that usually keep continents apart, even in museums.

Emergency sewing

2011-04-11T08:05:00.004+02:00

Joining the strips is a game of luck. I can imagine more precise work. Quilters with systematic methods would throw up their hands in horror, I guess. Well, if a strip happens to be longer than planned -- as the one left vertical --, I just don't have the heart to cut the excess, but rather try to add an adequate piece.

Jude inspired me with tiny windows of fabric in this posting. They look so neat and tidy! Maybe I'll try to apply this method.
It is a challenge to do something you haven't mastered yet. I can do easier things, but I so love to "paint" with fabrics. I just read a word on planning: "Making plans replaces coincidence with error."

Another little mosaic of scraps.

A Sunday walk I don't have to comment much

2011-04-10T19:12:00.002+02:00

A suburban park, not far from our home.

Sunshine and joy on a roof

2011-04-09T19:58:00.001+02:00

A blue sky and cold wind. It was nice to sit in the sun, but in the shadow, my nose got cold at once. We had our winter tyres exchanged today. Crows were enjoying the sun under a label saying "for birds" -- at least, this is what they believe the golden chap is for.

Just a little glimpse of the sunshine and shadow play.

I don't have a design wall, but today I decided to occupy this window between corridor and living room for my paintings.
The one below is about wind and sun power dominating over nukes, at least this is what I hope will happen. It is color pencil and gouache on black paper.

And also this one is about windpower. I love it, but not the machines; I think they are an insult to the eye. They should be designed like this, I believe.

Japan is in the news every day.

2011-04-04T09:42:00.002+02:00

Japanese calligraphy on fabric

"A walk in town"

One of my fabric treasures is this print by Rayna Gillman. I was very happy to get this. It will be part of my museum quilt. And I started a painting again, using a piece of cardboard from a packing. A shirt or what. Very plain brown paper, stiff enough to paint on it. I'm eager to get such material, it is a lot more inspiring than clean white sheets. Of course, I will leave parts of the surface uncovered. It is simple, it is primitive. I hope it will influence my style.

It is growing

2011-03-25T10:38:00.001+01:00

Like a shell or a tree, my quilts grow slowly, starting in the middle. No finishing of a top alltogether; instead, strips are being "wrapped" around the center until the desired size is reached. In the end, there should be a backing, but that's the most difficult part – the reptile quilt is still waiting to be finished. :-(

Spring walk downtown

2011-03-22T15:28:00.001+01:00

On a spring Sunday afternoon, everyone is out for a walk in our hometown. People sit in cafés, a blanket wrapped around their hips and legs, because it is not really warm yet! It is warm in the sunshine, but an icy cold wind lingers and kept us from sitting outdoors, we walked to stay warm.
Lovely photo light! I hurried to take the picture with the evening sun on the baroque facade. It changed within seconds.

We took an elevator up to the eighth floor of a design house. There are furniture and kitchen shops on every floor, and in some parts you can see that it is an old store building.
We had a nice view over the city from the roof -- I took the photo behind tinted glass which explains the green sky.

Fiddling with the tiniest scraps

2011-03-20T12:39:00.006+01:00

Sometimes when I see pictures on quilters' blogs showing inchies, I wonder how the ladies find the patience to do this. Lately I have come to finding pleasure in the challenge of smallness, also trying to use every snippet of my treasured fabrics, knowing there is no supply, once they are used. On the other hand, it is possible to reproduce some of the patterns by ordering a reprint, but the result is not satisfying, the feel is different. Sometimes I'm ridden by regret to have discarded so many fabrics before I started quilting.
Sometimes I tell myself to be more confident in the richness and reproductive power of life. Generally. To trust the unity of spirit and to feel embedded in the flow of life instead of clinging to what I cherish for being unique...

Somber days

2011-03-15T10:30:00.006+01:00

An unusual meeting of crows, being a kind of answer to my mood and thoughts and the news I'm listening to.

Another bird, brighter and more sumptuous, came to me and received a little house.

It is meant to be a tiny tablecloth for all kinds of use.

The reverse is a Makower fabric which I think is one of the most beautiful patterns ever.

This is how far I got with my museum quilt; it is a multi-directional quilt, not really meant to be hung on the wall, but rather to be used and turned around. As I prefer quilts to be.

And here are the sketches I promised yesterday

2011-03-12T11:49:00.009+01:00

Ancient grotesque

digitally colored

Greetings from Picasso

Scary goddess


Ancient tatzelwurm

As you see, I added notes and comments; the comments are written in old German handwriting, the facts about the artefacts in Latin.

I spent a few hours in this museum, drawing in a standing position; it was rather strenuous. Have to do more training. I don't see these drawings as anything but documentary where the use of a camera, especially flashlight, is not allowed. --The colored drawing is digitally revised.
Our cousin's wife talked to her mother in Tokyo, she and Dad and sisters are all okay. They were shopping in a big department store in the city, and suddenly the chandeliers started swinging, and all the manikins fell over. They rode home in a cab, because the trains were all stopped; everything was very quiet, no signal-horns, but a spooky atmosphere, she said.

An Exhibition that fits

2011-03-11T23:31:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I spent a part of the day in our Museum for Art and Craft. There was a wonderful exhibition of small sculptures. As I was not allowed to take photographs, I made drawings of these beautiful little artwork pieces.
Will show them soon.
These are similar examples. And this. And this. They remind me a lot of the art of Brancusi and Picasso.
Drawing is a wonderful way to take the image with me when I cannot take photographs.
In Italy in 1971, I needed a permission to make drawings in museums! I purchased one at the consulate before I went back to Italy.

Treasures

2011-03-08T12:02:00.003+01:00

Inspired by the Cucuteni culture in a book about ancient goddesses, I found my museum being transformed from an ethnological into a historical one. Here is more about the connection of ancient sculptures and the female organism. The scraps on top are just perfect to create the look of aged parchment and to go with hand writing.

Korak piecing allows the use of very small scraps.

Art indoors and outdoors

2011-03-03T11:09:00.005+01:00

Children's drawings, chalk,
on the garage drive.

We live in a block of 4-floor apartement houses. A large number of kids live here, and doesn't feng shui say that it is good to be where the children play? Spring is on its way very slowly, at night the temps are a few degrees below freezing point, at day not much higher. --
A true korak, as I said, will not be quilted. But I do. Larger patches need the support of added threads. So I expand quilting on the whole surface, to be consequent.

The playground of critters

Flying Geese?

2011-03-01T12:06:00.000+01:00

There isn't much choice of patterns in the technique of korak. Diamonds, Log Cabin, Flying Geese -- that's about it. In this case, it is rather Walking People on the corridors of the ethnographic museum.

Why "Ethnographic Museum"?

2011-02-25T15:02:00.003+01:00

Also this quilt will be a semicalligraphic one. I am adding excerpts from a book which was printed in 1833. I copied some paragraphs in old German handwriting. It is named "Journey around the world" and contains short descriptions of countries and people.

I might also add some more drawings with the character of "primitive" art -- I used a textile pencil and ironed it.

A close look on Korak piecing

2011-02-23T12:13:00.007+01:00

This is my totlot. You can see the method closely.

I showed something like this before when the pins were getting on my nerves. I kept pricking myself and tried a basting. The result was much wonkier, too; I'm getting more experienced.
Basting is unnecessary; two pins on every patch will do.
I do not arrange more than 3-8 patches at a time, it is easier to handle.
The green base fabric will be covered completely.
The contrast is helpful.

I started with large-point pins, but they catch loops of the thread all the time, small-point pins work much better.
You can imagine how fast this work proceeds.
This piece can do without quilting because the stitches connect all layers.
Without a backing, all the stitches will be visible; I read that in Asia, the Korak pieces remain unbacked, showing the stitching.

Surprises from the depth of our wardrobe

2011-02-22T13:16:00.008+01:00

I started the backing for the reptile quilt with a golden frame, not thinking about what is in my stash. Going through my drawers, I found this fabric I bought on the Berlin flea market. The size is sufficient, I can even keep a part of it. I wanted a one-cloth cover, and this is close to it.

Just when I was thinking where to get base fabric from (which I need for the korak method), my husband offered me old bedcloth, enough for the rest of my life. And this is exactly what I need: Cheap and slightly worn-out cloth, no jersey, but woven cotton. The stiffness should be gone, and it should not be too good to be covered all over, not as stiff as normal quilting fabric.
It is ugly enough to be stamped or printed on and provides a basic pattern to work on with. It is stuff that has been used by someone I love -- I would find it difficult to incorporate something which comes from a person I don't know anything about; as for worn cloth, I have to trust a person to integrate material from her/him into my work.

And now, the ironing starts... yikes. And it takes a lot of discipline not to go on with my fun quilt (named Ethnographic Museum), but to finish what I started...

Upside down and all around

2011-02-21T17:51:00.006+01:00

It is a good thing to try something unusual sometimes. Colors that never used to be mine -- like brown which I find very tempting at the moment. Please ignore the turquoise greens that shine through the gaps; this is the basic fabric that allows me to do the piecing. It will be covered in the end.
I apply the korak method again. The result is a 3-layer cloth which feels a lot sturdier than a normal quilt top. And it is heavy! I wonder if the Asian koraks were used to sleep under at all.
These parts are just laid out beside one another. So this is not a final choice. In the close-up, you probably can see where there are seams and where there aren't.
You may recognize the hand of my quilting friends whose mild alms make me happy.
Jens and I do reading evenings. When he comes home, we have tea and a cake, and then I read books aloud to him until supper. Last time, it was Seuphor on modern art. Much better than tv!

Full Moon changes my mind

2011-02-18T20:55:00.000+01:00

No! This is not a reverse! It's a new top.
Still there's no reverse for the reptiles.

Pondering over fabric choice

2011-02-17T18:12:00.001+01:00

I've been rummaging my drawers for days, trying to find the right fabric for the reverse. There would also have to be an ever so light batting, just a thin layer. And I want the work to be fun and not boring, I do it all by hand, after all.
So, in order to make it fun, I decided to do a larger-piece korak for the reverse with a broad frame of the golden fabric in the picture. The work goes fast, and if I abstain from quilting it all, it will take less time than the top. I'm afraid it will be a heavy piece!

The moon is close to being full, and the color was supernatural tonight. Sorry for the blur, it is a zoom with hand-held camera.

Binding

2011-02-11T12:13:00.004+01:00

I love to sew the binding. But I will probably not do another one in satin. It is so difficult, I can see the limits of my skills.
I find it pleasant to do these small stitches. It is the same technique I use for the whole korak sewing.
I'm still thinking about a backing fabric. And I know I'll have to quilt or tie it from the reverse. Last time I did that it was on the Bauhaus quilt, and doing the backing quilting was a proof of my patience, indeed. But it has to be done!

Tibetan Astrology: "This is a day when oppression may be felt. Strife indicated. Good for important requests. Avoid secrecy and plotting. Stay away from crowds."
Any readers in Egypt?

Landing Maneuver

2011-02-09T15:15:00.004+01:00

"Spaceship Landing". Gouache painting, letter format.
Sunshine and warmer temperatures, distinctly above freezing point, even at night. I'm so relieved. It may go colder, but the sun is definitely stronger now.
Most of the time, I spend on compiling a book on modern art, a kind of "how to identify artwork" for the 20th century. I promised to do it for my husband, and it is a lot of work. I cannot publish it for copyright reasons of the artwork. Just a glimpse! It has 128 pages, on which each term like "impressionism" or "colorfield painting" is illustrated by featuring a few artists and 2 or 3 paintings by each of them. It is crowned by maps of origin and connections, a table of mutual influences.
As you see, my husband has a special liking for schemes and tables, so he compiled this one.

The Right Year for a Jump

2011-02-01T06:57:00.002+01:00

On Thursday, Asia celebrates the beginning of the Iron Hare year. It is said to be a good year, more pleasant than the past one.
According to Tibetan astrology, there will be a leap month that postpones the New Year's day on March 5. If you should be interested in astrology, have fun reading this. And looking back to predictions of the past, the year 2010, might give a glimpse on the value of Tibetan astrology. Just to mention that major misfortune was predicted for Pakistan...
Does it feel new to me when the year changes, according to Asian astrological systems? Definitely so, a lot more than January 1st. I wish you a fortunate year, a luckier year than the Iron Tiger turned out to be.
More Hares

Painting again

2011-01-24T19:30:00.003+01:00

I'm back in my little studio. Gouache, 15x10 cm. Title: Townscape. Awful light, sorry for the blur.

Update: The second show, the memorial one, will be performed on Thursday night, but the work is finished, and I can go back to my painting and needlework. Which is a recreation!

Long Silence with a reason

2011-01-23T12:40:00.005+01:00

You may have wondered why you haven't heard from me for almost two weeks. The reason was a job for our devolved assembly. It was a picture show that was to be shown during the closing session, the last one before there will be new elections in Hamburg. The assembly president will take his leave, too, and will not run for this office again. He is holding his speech after the performance of the picture show. You can see my name at the foot of the projection in the background. The persons standing on the right like reproached kids are members of the assembly that will be honored with a medal at the end of the speech. The press is there, too. The lady in black, left, is the district president, so to speak the "lord mayor" of our part of town.
The picture show with music was a surprise for everyone, so I remained silent during preparation. I took this picture from the balcony of the assembly hall.

Thank you for your kind comments...

2011-01-11T16:52:00.000+01:00

...although I've been boring you with the same issue for months. I tried to sleep under the snake quilt on top of the bird quilt, so I had three quilts on my butt -- I had to get rid of the birds very soon, they did not like the company of the reptiles at all. I had funny dreams as most every night, one was about losing weight easily, going down to sizes I was last wearing at the age of 14, but safe and sound. The only thing I did not like about it was that I was wearing grey (a colour I don't like, exept in very dark or very light shades, close to black or white). What is the conclusion? I have to do more bed quilts, so I can give away those that start fighting with my favourite ones. I haven't decided yet which of these is my favourite.
P.S. The wall paint is bright lemon yellow.

A prospect of the finished quilt

2011-01-10T16:10:00.002+01:00

Although the head (lower part of picture) part is not attached yet, this is a prospect of the quilt in the final stage. What is left to be done: striped part to be quilted, backing fabric to be chosen, probably no batting, then basting, binding and backside quilting -- one stitch per inch or 1 1/2", the yarn between the stitches will be kept inside the quilt. I have no idea what fabric the reverse will end up with. OMG, while I finish one, others do 10 of them...

Jobs

2011-01-08T12:28:00.007+01:00

This is why you haven't heard from me for a week or so: I've been busy with my Stolperstein job for the memorial hour on Jan 27. I'm preparing a kind of digital slide show for our district parlament. It is about murdered citizens, not only Jewish, but also about political resistance and a mentally disabled young man who was regarded to be a "useless life".
I put up a show for 6 people to be remembered. In 3 cases, we don't even have a photograph. Just a name in a list, in a telephone book or a letter kept by relatives. Their prosecutors wanted them to be forgotten, but reminding of them is more than a job to me.

When I have time, I work on the last stripe for the reptile quilt. Lovely gifts from the New World! Scraps from wonderful artist and cherished person Rayna. My latest inspiring treasure. Guess my future work will look different. These scraps give me looks for being put among the other stuff like a film star who finds herself riding on a suburban train.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T15:25:00.001+01:00

A very happy New Year to all of you! Thank you so much for your kind comments and support. I wish you all the very best, good health, success, love, and a creative spirit. May all your projects turn out better than you can imagine! Yes, that's possible -- haven't you experienced that you can surprise yourself with the results of your craft? Have a wonderful time.

My husband and I will stay at home, after some very frosty weeks, the snow is melting and the roads are very slippery. He is just on the point to recover from a nasty cold, but kept going to work because without him, the company would have collapsed, of course. Men! But now he's the victim of my care. And I will spoil him.

New squares for the quilt's head

2010-12-30T09:17:00.008+01:00

A dragon's tail in the larger pic... I'm running out of dragons and snake skins. There is this little chap, hand painted, and there are the iguana and other snakes who went to a party. Here, you see the squares still unquilted.
Maybe I'll do my next korak unquilted, because the double layers of the folded parts make it more sturdy than a quilt of traditional making. In this project, I like the quilted structure of the satin parts because they also have something reptilic.
I had intended to stick to the stash and not purchase new fabrics. Ha!
My wish to create according to my own ideas has tricked me. I just couldn't resist Benartex, "Palace". Would you?

Holidays and back to daily life

2010-12-26T20:48:00.002+01:00

Driving home for Christmas. We spent our holidays in my husband's hometown again. Temperatures were between -2 and -10° C/ 28 and 14° F. Jens had to scratch ice from the windscreen.

About 5 or 6" snow. Unusual for our region, where we rather have warmer temps around Christmas, and people make bets whether it will be white or green.
We celebrate the evening of Dec 24th, so we arrived for coffee, then it was time to hand over the presents, we had a nice meal, and on Saturday morning we went to see J's old friends.
We went home to Hamburg on Saturday night after coffee.

This evening, a garbage container started burning, it looked dramatic, but very soon was under control.

And I connected the latest strips to the quilt, you can see it at the foot of the quilt. And a ribbon with another magic spell is visible.

Season's Greetings

2010-12-22T00:23:00.003+01:00

Deep winter is not a time to travel more than necessary. We're just learning this lesson.
But thru this wonderful invention, the internet, I have an opportunity to wish you all a great time, joyful celebrations with those you love. We are travelling towards the rising light again. The longest night, the darkest day is over.

P.S. I found a lovely video for all those who don't mind a little Christmas.

False Korak

2010-12-19T12:43:00.006+01:00

The method I use for the reptile quilt is a kind of korak which is different from the tradition: 1. A true korak is made of doubled-up strips and squares, the squares folded diagonally, thus forming triangles. 2. A true korak will not be quilted.

Why do I abandon tradition in these two issues? (1.) Doubling up the scraps means to hide one half. Some of the fabrics I got from friends or bought long ago are too precious to be wasted. So I just fold it at the edge to create a seam, on the triangles as well. It requires only one seam, due to the method of covering the cut side with the next scrap, like laying tiles on a roof. --
Doubling the layers in smaller scraps means to stiffen the whole piece which may replace the (2.) quilting. But as I love the surface of hand quilted fabric and see this as the main purpose of quilting, I still do.

Some quilters are not so enthusiastic about the pin method. I tried basting, but it is double work since the scraps have to be held in place by pins anyway. The loop of the thread also loves to wrap around the pins. The fastest method to free it is to pull the pin out and put it back again. As always, the quilter can get used to the handling.
This is the next strip, going across the width of the quilt. Another, approximately symmetrical, will be added to the opposite side, as head and foot. This might reach the desired length already. Or some more will have to be added. Who knows? --
You're all deep in your Xmas preparations? Haha, I'm finished.

My Japanese "cousin-in-law" gave me a pin cushion. It is a kind of embroidery that is called "kogin" and comes from the Tsugaru district in Japan. Here's a book on this craft. And here are some very beautiful samples.

The next step

2010-12-14T22:49:00.003+01:00

The quilt is wide enough now, but it needs more than 1/2 yard to be long enough for a sleep quilt. I think I will add zones of strips, alternating with more squares and reptile pictures.

This is the plan, more or less.

A Magic Breakfast

2010-12-13T22:20:00.012+01:00

I recite a spell from the book "Mythic and Magic Songs of the Estonians" by Friedrich Kreutzwald, 1848. It bans the snake so it will not harm humans and also conjures healing power.
The video is shown here in a very reduced quality. You can see it on YouTube alternatively.
And here is a video of an American learning Estonian. Respect! He is doing very well.

I speak the words in the way that Estonian was spoken in exile in my childhood.
I made a mistake in the end. So you better not use the spell.

We took this video in Berlin, in the café where we had breakfast. This explains the voices and noise in the background.

And here is the -- corrected -- spell, integrated in the reptile quilt.

The excerpt from the book shows an old-fashioned spelling. Estonian was based almost entirely on oral transmission.

Our traditional Berlin Weekend

2010-12-12T21:42:00.004+01:00

My husband's cousin is almost the same age as my husband. He lives in Berlin, and the guys have started a "tradition" to visit him once a year. He is married to beautiful H from Japan.

A speedy journey to our capitol! The train rode at 125 m/h. The further east, the more snow was on the ground. This weekend was milder most of the time, the snow was melting.

We were picked up by our cousin and wife and we had lunch in a typical old Berlin pub. Then, we walked to the hotel and dropped our luggage. We had tea with our cousin and then walked to the Xmas market on the "Gendarmenmarkt", a very beautiful square in 1800 style.

It is a very famous market, you even have to pay 1,35$ to get in. There are many shops with food and drinks, and a sweet hot wine, often with a big sip of rum in it, is a very popular drink on these markets. "Gluehwein trinken" has become a kind of party.

I was very fond of a shop for shawls and scarves and especially admired the self-grown shawl of the seller who looked very oriental indeed. The shawls were quite expensive, one was there to die for, but it was 73$.

There was a little craft shop of a jeweller and I saw ceramics, candles, porcellaine, German fairy story glass ornaments for the Xmas tree -- close to kitsch -- and tea shops, spice shops, and so on.

Brushes of all kinds, very nice to look at.
It was incredibly crowded, no place to sit and rest, and the boys had one Gluehwein after another.

We moved on to a café with a tower made of scrap metal, a piece of art. It was nice to sit for a change!
Then we "travelled" through Berlin once more to reach the place where we wanted to have dinner together. We did not ride a car the whole day, but walked or took suburban trains or busses.

We had a great meal in the restaurant "Highway 66" -- very tasty and abundant. I was careful not to eat too fat and took a vegetarian noodle dish with extra jalapenos plus fresh mint tea. What a treat! One more drink in another place. I was knocked out when we reached our hotel!

Next morning, we had brunch together and then took a taxi to a remote museum for German expressionist art. There was an exhibition of Erich Heckel, a painter who had been banned by the Nazis as "entartet" -- degenerate art. He was a member of the artists' group "Die Bruecke" -- "The Bridge". A great afternoon!
Then we got on the train back to Hamburg. I had taken a strip of the reptile quilt along and did some stitching during the ride.

A glimpse of the process

2010-12-09T17:49:00.014+01:00

This is a new snakeskin patch as a whole, uncut. Until now, I showed them integrated into the quilt and covered with paint, adding a few more layers until the paint looks dense and dark. This piece is different, I wanted to keep the transparency and brightness of the colors. I made a few more reptile drawings and colored them, and there are some more Estonian spells to be cut in stripes and integrated into the quilt. The lizard isn't really cut off, it is just a portrait and ends more or less with the picture edge. The spotty background comes from ironing the cloth before it was dry which makes the steam create a pattern.
-- This is the view from the kitchen window this morning, temperatures going up and down around the freezing point. Later, there was bright sunshine.

Update of today's work:

Sketchbook

2010-12-08T17:50:00.003+01:00

Why in English? That's for you, friends!

I activated my sketchbook again after a long time. It used to be my constant companion. During the past years I have spent a lot more time at home than before when I was a single. Commuting and spending a lot of time (and money) in cafés and restaurants was a larger part of my lifestyle.
I'm not searching any more, I found a home and a partner. Happyness is indoors. Or, when we walk, there is not much time to take sketches. So there is not much there to fill my sketchbooks! Yet, today I found things to sketch.
Again I tried to reach the administration about the trees that were taken down near my home. Everything was okay, the guy said. Not to me!!

The year of the tiger

2010-12-06T12:09:00.004+01:00

Isn't this great? A backpack from Israel! With matching pouch.
Tigers are a favourite of mine because I was born in the hour of the tiger, between 3 and 5 in the morning. I had the tiger in my corporate identity when I was a full-time graphic designer.

I'm so happy to have this gem of a rucksack. It was made by Yael. Her blog is a collection of wonderful craft + wonderful visual journeys to fascinating places of ancient heritage in Israel and other places. And she is a caring and wise friend.
The year of the tiger ends on Feb 2nd 2011. But my pleasure about the backpack will not. When I will have worn it to pieces, I'll cut it up and make a tiger quilt out of it -- haha, kidding! It is so well done that I won't be able to wear it up.

True colors of my hometown

2010-12-04T17:29:00.001+01:00

The photos in my latest posting about the reptile quilt were a little too strong, too red. The quilt isn't quite so, but good photo light is rare these days. I dedicate the choice of colors to my hometown. Copper-covered roofs are common on larger buildings, and the climate with grey skies contributes to the magic effect of this color. Brick red is the other prevailing color because clay is a traditional material which was a lot easier to find in this landscape than stone -- exept diluvial granite rocks.

Here is St. Katharinen church near the harbour.
Another material found quite often is a sandstone or lime stone in a subdued yellow.
Somehow I feel at home in these colors, although I never thought they would be favourites of mine.
Why do I find them related to snakes? There is a snake called copper snake or slowworm. And maybe it is because of a bronze sculpture in our local zoo. It shows two snakes that got entangled so heavily with each other that both died. A sign of bad surveilance of animals which would probably not happen today. I used to stare at it when I was a child, oscillating between horror and enthusiasm, stroking the metal bodies.

Could my hometown be a naga place?
If these are the local spirits, they are said to provide wealth, but also to be moody.
I will not test their mood by incorporating real snake skin, although there is a little piece resting in my drawer. But something tells me not to. Did I see a twinkle?

Finished after almost two years

2010-12-03T21:11:00.002+01:00

In February 2009 I tried a hand-sewn nine-patch that did not satisfy my sense of perfection at all. The other night, J came home from a company Xmas celebration where they had had a tombola, and brought home a very boring cushion which obviously had reached the lottery via dead article department. I did not even bother to take a photo, but did this instead:

WIP

2010-11-30T19:50:00.002+01:00

It is so much fun to construct and sew the squares. The right row is not yet connected with the quilt because I find it much easier to do the quilting on a smaller piece than in connection with a large space.

Quilting and: The old Advent Wreath and the new one

2010-11-25T19:39:00.005+01:00

Didn't have much time to continue with my quilt, but did some quilting on all the parts finished up to now. I use all the threads I found, many of them have been part of my stash for decades. Some are too thick for quilting, but 6-ply DMC or Anchor embroidery yarn, split in 2-ply-threads, works very well and gives enough color variegation to play.

They say that mostly the ladies favour Christmas decoration, but in our case, it is J who likes it whereas I am without passion or adversion. We have an Advent wreath (one candle more will be lit each Advent Sunday) which consists of pine cones and small white beads. If you want to start a fire in the easiest and fastest way, I very much recommend this item. It is soaked with candle wax to the degree of danger. So today I went to get a new one and bought a wreath made of willow branches, added pine cones, attached with wire, and small balls or bulbs in 4 colors. The candles sit on stable metal plates. J was delighted!

Glass piecing

2010-11-22T10:58:00.005+01:00

The Old "Elbtunnel" in Hamburg, 1907-11, is a work of engineering which was admired a lot at the time it was built. 23 meters below the soil, it crossed the river underneath and allowed thousands of workers to walk from the town where they lived to the forges, shipyards and docks. My husband, parents-in-law and I took a walk on Sunday. The picture no.2 is older, we did not have sunny weather.

After years of renovation, the tunnel has new elevators which can even take cars down und up again on the other side. I love the early 20th century architecture and the glass mosaics around the entrance doors.