Deceptive Day

Well, it's blue skies and bright sun outside but only 11 degrees with a cold wind - such a disappointment to have last week's warmth disappear again. Fighting a very bad head/neckache I woke up with - have tried a dog walk to loosen up and get rid of it and I've had a sensible breakfast; next comes a hot shower to ease the muscles and last of all will be a tablet as a very last resort (I hate taking any drugs if I can help it, although when I do feel it is necessary, I have no qualms about gobbling one as quickly as possible - just like putting it off in the hope I won't need it). But before I go, I'll put up a few photos.Today's quilts from the European Quilting Championships Exhibition are:This one really needs a close up of some of the details but I didn't take one for some reason. It was an impressive piece, very Japanese in feeling.
I am not one for pictorial quilts - I've just never seen the point. This was one of the quilts I walked past and dismissed, having learnt from experience that when there are thousands to look at you have to skim quickly through or you don't make it to the end and therefore miss some good ones. I was drawn, though, to the beautiful border on this and the vivid jewel colours. I wouldn't want it on my wall because it's just not my thing but I can still honestly say I really like it. Isn't it strange that we can like something very much and yet still not want it in our home?
This one I would like in my home. It is in the same colours as my Japanese taupes log cabin and would look really good on another wall. I love the balance of the design, love the spaces in it where the wall behind can show through, love the change in texture from cloth to threads, from solid to fragile, concrete to abstract. Everything about it works and it makes me feel good to look at it. Unfortunately, one of my quilting companions would fight me in the gutters for it, so it's a good thing it wasn't available!

Hitting the Past

Yesterday was my youngest daughter's 21st birthday. Unfortunately, she is in the middle of her degree dissertation so we did not go to England to celebrate as she wanted to 'keep it low profile'. Fortunately, she has a great boyfriend who organised some surprises. Her sister and boyfriend travelled up to Sheffield for the weekend and gave her a lunchtime surprise, then they all had a lovely dinner followed by a surprise party in a local bar, where a roomful of her friends were waiting. I had supplied some old photos of my daughter growing up and boyfriend had them enlarged and put into an album for her. We had sent our gift in advance and my eldest daughter delivered some champagne and flowers for us on the day. She was a very happy girl.

All this sent me in a remembering mood - while I was at work yesterday I couldn't help thinking back over those 21 years to her birth and the lovely childhood she and my other daughter had here in Bonn. The only thing missing was not seeing their grandparents (in England and Scotland) enough through those years. What was also pushing my mind back is that I was going to have coffee yesterday with an old friend I had known here when my daughters were small - she was also an expat in Bonn and had daughters the same ages, same class at school, sleepovers, parties, etc. She and her family left Bonn 13 years ago and she had not been back since. She had done a little work here for the first Oxfam charity shop in Germany and they had invited all the people on their books for a 25th anniversary celebration. I only got an emailed request to meet on the Sunday, so my thoughts were naturally focussed on our shared time here, our daughters, reinforced by my daughter's 21st.

Well, we met and hugged and got very emotional - although we had been friends, after a few years' Christmas cards with notes inside, we had lost touch. The expat world is one of constant comings and goings - life has changed very much here in Bonn since the capital moved back to Berlin and the diplomats left Bonn; the expats here now stay longer and the population is more stable because of it. Back then, however, it simply wasn't possible to stay in contact with everyone who crossed your path. It didn't matter, though - we sat and drank coffee and talked non-stop for two hours and had a wonderful, if emotional, time. Thirteen years contained many divorces, infidelities, deaths, illnesses, joys and sadnesses among the group of people we knew and we couldn't catch up on everything. What was wonderful is a very simple thing - that we are both still here, fit, healthy, active and hopefully a little wiser. We felt as though we had only seen each other the week before and both knew that if it is another 13 years before we meet again (I hope this won't be the case), that won't really matter either.

Anyway, I need to get back into the present today and get moving with my quilting before I go to work for the afternoon. Here are today's quilts from the European Quilting Championships Exhibition. Firstly, two very traditional quilts with perfect workmanship:






And as a contrast, here is another astonishing art quilt:
This one was so exciting to see. I almost walked past it but something drew me back and the more I looked the more fascinated I became. The coloured diagonals that look like sticks ARE sticks covered with fabric and they give the most subtle but effective 3D touch to the geometry of this quilt. The connection between the colour points, the effect of the diagonals all seemed to be a growing coherent wholeness that only appeared the more you looked at it. I could have been tempted to steal this by the end of the day when I had criss-crossed in front of it visiting the quilt stalls for the umpteenth time. By the time I left I felt I knew this piece and wanted it badly. I just don't think I have the ingenuity to be able to copy it, sadly.

Right, hoover, change bedding, put some laundry on, then an hour's sewing till I go to work!

Not ready for Monday...

The last few days seem to have gone very fast. I only work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and so have, effectively, a four-day weekend. Thursday I was in Holland for the quilt exhibition, Friday seemed to be totally taken up with finding out that our dog has epilepsy and getting the right medication, etc, Saturday was Rhein in Flammen and yesterday seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke (I actually worked on a quilt for hours but it never seems that long, does it?).

Anyway, I wasn't ready for Monday morning but have caught up with myself now. Later this afternoon I'm going to meet someone for coffee who I haven't seen for 13/14 years (she was another British expat in Germany who had daughters the same age as mine but they went back to the UK all those years ago). Surprisingly, she has never returned to Bonn in all that time. I wonder if we will still recognise each other?

Here are today's quilts from the European Quilting Championships Exhibition. First, a Baltimore album:
I've just bought an Ellie Sienkiewicz pattern book for blocks like these and one day in the distant future I might actually get around to doing one like this.


And this is one of the art quilts that I really liked. Art quilts are never 'okay' with me; they are either fantastic or bog-ugly and I've never yet seen one that falls in the middle. The maker of this one wrote that she was inspired by seeing the Chinese Terracotta Army and was fascinated by their armour made up of small pieces like this. There is something of Gustav Klimt also, I think, in her colours and the overall look. Very successful - I would love this on my wall even though the rest of our house is probably not 'cool' enough to match it...


And there was this charming pot plant quilt with some very inventive applique/embroidery effects. This is not normally my cup of tea but it was interesting seeing how each one had been done. I know my mother would love this one as she loves gardening. Not sure if I would want it hanging up all the time but I do think it's cute.

Off to walk the dog before meeting my long-lost friend.

Rainy/sunny Sunday - more EQC photos

Here's a very lovely sashiko quilt from the exhibition. It was hard to capture in a photo the subtle changes in colour and tone that are going on here. The quilting is gorgeous but the soft greys and sea-greens have a magically peaceful effect when you look at the whole quilt. Loved it.


I really like the above quilt from the exhibition - it is deceptively simple. I dread to think how long the colour placement of these squares took to get it looking this good. It's a beautiful quilt.

Enjoyed the fireworks last night - we had three goes on the dodgems (or bumper cars, I think they are called if you are in the US) dined on barbecue pork and 'gebrannte Mandeln' (literally, 'burnt almonds' - almonds in a burnt sugar crackle coat, very German) and beer. The fireworks were much noisier than the ones last year but not so pretty or colourful but last year's were very special, I thought.

Off to sew - more photos tomorrow. I've just had an email from a friend who I haven't seen or heard from for about 14 years - visiting Bonn at very short notice so we are meeting for lunch. I wonder if we will recognise each other?

European Quilt Championships Exhibition 2010

I went to Veldhoven (near Eindhoven) in Holland for the day on Thursday where the European Quilt Championships Exhibition was being held. I went with two friends from our quilt group (thanks for driving, Elena!) and we had a lovely time. The above photos are of a quilt that we saw right at the beginning of the exhibition and despite all the wonderful things we saw that day, brilliant designs and workmanship, this remains my favourite. I think a quilt should lift the spirits and this one made me very happy. I love the way the paler border pattern fabric echoes and shadows the darker one. It's a simple idea and they are often the best.

I took lots of photos and cannot upload them all now but will show a few each day until I'm done. Here's one that was astonishingly beautiful (my 2nd favourite), a very cleverly planned Cathedral Stars:



This quilt was just so pretty! The colour choices were very subtle and beautifully placed. I couldn't work out at first how the stars were constructed and started by thinking that the framing circles had been fussy cut from patterned fabric. Then I realised that carefully planned pieces of colour and pattern had been sewn to the frames before the windows were made - in other words, the frame circles had been pieced rather than just cut. A terrific amount of work had gone into this but it was a work of art and the maker should feel very proud.

What did I buy there? Well, I was looking for a mini-iron and bought the new Clover adaptor iron with the safety cage round the metal stem and the optional narrow iron shoe in case I want to do some quilting using lots of bias strip. I also bought a lovely book of Delft block patterns in reverse applique - very expensive but lovely - I'll take a photo tomorrow, some red and white fat quarters to add to my Nearly Insane fabrics, a sweet little embroidery pattern and some other bits and bobs, including a quilting lucky bag which was a fun idea.

There will be many thousands of people in the park today because it is Rhein in Flammen (Rhine in Flames) today. This is a May Day celebration that happens between Bonn and Koblenz - funfairs and big live music stages in the park, smaller festivities all along this stretch of the river and then this evening there will be a massive firework display carefully orchestrated to music at 11p.m. The reason it is called Rhine in Flames is because a flotilla of boats travel from Koblenz to Bonn when it gets dark and as they pass along the river huge red flares are set off on either side so that the river looks fiery red - all quite pagan, really, and exciting. We've never been interested in seeing things from the boats, so have never bought tickets but I suppose we ought to try it one year. All the smaller communities let off their fireworks but the ones in the park are the biggest and most exciting. We used to take our children into the park for an afternoon picnic and spend the time with friends waiting for the darkness to come and the fireworks to start. Now it's just the two of us we usually go in for a beer or two and soak up the atmosphere in the afternoon and then, much later, put the dog in our bedroom with the radio on loudly (he is terrified of fireworks) and we sneak back into the park just for the display. If the weather is good it is a wonderful day because it always feels like the beginning of summer.

Off to sew now for an hour or two. More exhibition photos tomorrow.

Outside Inside

Deep blue sky and warm sun, warm enough for the huge Rheinaue Park to attract people with barbecues - if they are families then they often bring a wooden trailer with all the needs for the day, food, games and equipment. Badminton nets are set up, football games started and babies shaded. There is a great sense of relief all round that we have the warm weather we think we deserve...

We began by going to the optician and choosing some new glasses for me. I still like the ones I have but the surface of them has deteriorated over the years and they look as though they need cleaning but cleaning doesn't help. I chose some of the new 'Switch-it' lenses so that I can buy different colours and styles of the interchangeable sidebars (is that what they're called?) and nose pieces. Quite an ingenious idea. Of course, the varifocal lenses were horrifically expensive but they are what I need and spaced out over the years I have had my last lot it doesn't seem that much to spend. Even after all the detailed close work I've been doing, my eye test revealed no change in the last six years. I was so pleased.

Then Stuart and I went into the park (there are no gates - our community is on the river and adjoins the park) and had a delicious lunch at one of the restaurants, sitting in the sun, gave Logan a walk round one of the lakes and then came home - simple but lovely. Here is a sample of the blossom just now:

And then Stuart did some work and I made another Nearly Insane block:


So a nice mixed day - now for a pot of tea...

Block 20

Moving forward with the Nearly Insane little bit by little bit. I need to be more careful cutting my spotted fabric in the right direction.

I was meant to by flying to England today for a couple of days to visit my parents but have been so irritated by the volcano and its consequences that I've cancelled and will fly over in two weeks instead. The flights for German Wings are seemingly going to plan today but I had spent so many days thinking 'Will I be able to go, won't I be able to go?' that I got sick of it. There were worrying comments online that short haul flights were likely to be cancelled or delayed to make way for getting people home to Britain from long haul destinations. As I was only going early Friday morning and flying back late Saturday night, it didn''t make sense for me to sit at the airport for hours - it just wouldn't have been worth me going. Luckily, my parents aren't too disappointed as my visit is now only two weeks away.

So, a suddenly free weekend - Stuart and I have found a lovely place for brunch either Saturday or Sunday, the weather is getting warmer for the weekend and I plan to sew, sew, sew... (lost a bit more weight and the sewing keeps me away from the fridge which is a Good Thing).