[bits and pieces for a quilt]
Bit and pieces from the last couple of weeks.
Thank you for your contributions to the haberdashery discussion. It's such a wonderful word in every context and the reason I asked is because I'd really like to use it in a book title, but have been told that it would cause problems. I'm not sure I agree and think the comments show just how much interest unusual words can generate even where there are multiple meanings. Anyway, if the creative world can accommodate Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes , 'haberdashery' can't really be that fraught with danger.
I am very unsuggestible. If someone tells me I should read The Last Runaway, it's the last thing I'll read. I might know that it has quilts and Quakers in it and is right up my street, but I won't read it until all pressure to read it is off. Which is why I read it covertly a couple of weeks ago and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. It's a fine read, and I loved the way quilts and methods of quilting are described, put together and used as metaphors.
I also read How to be a Heroine (probably because no-0ne told me I should). I'm a Jane Eyre person and simply can't stand Cathy in Wuthering Heights, so I start out on the opposite side of the Jane/Cathy heroine debate to Samantha Ellis. I enjoyed this book, but what I admired most were her readings of so many classics which were fresh, clever and perceptive. I liked the element of looking for a heroine role-model less, especially in the matter of love, and wondered why SE pursued the idea of looking for one for so long (way into her thirties) instead of learning to trust her intellect and instincts.
I taught a quilting workshop at Ray Stitch yesterday, hence the cutting out of bits and pieces of fabric on Saturday. It was a very productive and enjoyable day. There's another one coming up on Sunday 13 April. If you want to get moving with your quilts and/or want to experiment with different fabrics, do have a look at the details. I can promise a good time with fabric and machines.
[I can't write 'bits and pieces' without singing and thinking of the Dave Clark Five. ]
yes, it made the first line pop into my head too and will probably chunner away all day !
Posted by: susan hall | February 10, 2014 at 11:29
Thank you for commenting on The Last Runaway. I'll just say that several years ago I listened to the the audio book Remarkable Creatures also by Chevalier and completely loved it. This is not a suggestion for you, though. I'm merely sharing my reason for being willing to read this newer book now that you've mentioned it.
Speaking of books, someone in the states managed to acquire a new copy of Quilt Me! and for a brief time offered it on Amazon (USA) as a private seller. I leaped at ordering it and am thoroughly enjoying every page. The quilts are beautiful and interesting and the reading is quite enjoyable. This will be another big hit!
p.s. the lobsters made me laugh in a good way
Posted by: debbie | February 10, 2014 at 17:45
I was actually part of the Hyperbolic Plane Crocheting group here in Chicago. All the pieces were put together and "artfully" displayed in several places. They resembled undersea coral. The theory behind the Hyperbolic Plane was also used to describe a mathematical problem (?) that couldn't be written out but could be "shown" in this way.
Way too far over my head but it's probably a good read!!
Posted by: Elaine | February 10, 2014 at 23:45
Hi, I love your blog, is beauty, I love the colors, I love your crochet, visit my blog too,hugs from Brazil.
http://www.titacarre.com
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Posted by: Roberta Bortoluzzi | February 11, 2014 at 05:36
You're the only lady I know, other than my oldest friend from school, who has even heard of the Dave Clark Five! When I worked in Blackpool in the mid-60s they were doing a summer season at one of the Piers I think it was, and so we got used to seeing them around all the time. Happy days!
Posted by: Edwina | February 11, 2014 at 08:19
Another novel with quilting as a thread throughout is Australian novelist Kate Grenville's 'Idea of Perfection' which unexpectedly won the Orange Prize in 2001. I'm not recommending that you read it so that you might enjoy it if you covertly happen upon it. It also has a lot to say about bridge building, but I don't know if that is also one of your preoccupations
Posted by: LynS | February 11, 2014 at 11:48
Jane, I missed commenting on the first haberdashery post, but I enjoy your books and would not be put off, but rather intrigued if you used that word. I assumed for awhile that the English kept the bits and bobs of the sewing trade in the men's department because the men were the tailors. Yet, seamstress was a common occupation for women, so I would enjoy any history around the use of that word.
Pam
Posted by: pam | February 11, 2014 at 18:12
I always wondered why I never read books that were suggested to me; ... I have tried many times to read "grown-up" books that are on the lists of "Things you should read before you die, etc" ... but I am forever going back to whatever looks good to me. ... I.e: Paddington, Little House books, and Christian adventure/romance. I've been getting into travel-related books, all on my own. But have someone recommend a book to me, and somehow it ends up at the bottom of my list!
Posted by: Amanda Elaine Eldridge | February 13, 2014 at 19:25