SassyLassy Needles the Books

Somehow a day doesn't seem complete if I haven't spent some time working with needle(s) or hook. I love to read about all kinds of handiwork too, whether it's a skill I actually possess or not. I read everything from how-to to social history. With this in mind, and because I don't get a chance to talk about these books elsewhere, I thought this might be the spot for some discussion of such books.

Please jump in with your thoughts and let your fellow group members know which books you "need" in your needlearts library, and which books make up your wish list.

This first book is a "how-to".



Simple Appliqué: Approachable Techniques, Easy Methods, Beautiful Results! by Kim Diehl
first published 2015

Ever since I was a child, I've wanted to create a quilt. Quilts in the American tradition weren't part of our house, so I must have got the idea from something like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, or Anne of Green Gables, or some such other wholesome book. Then I saw the real thing next door, made for my best friend by her grandmother. Envy!

I started collecting books on quilting in adolescence, then graduated to collecting fabric. Still, my quilting was done with two eyes and a book, rather than two hands and a machine. Then about two years ago, I decided to take the plunge. I bought a new sewing machine and took a few lessons.

All of which leads me to Simple Appliqué: Approachable Techniques, Easy Methods, Beautiful Results!, the latest in the "Simple" series by Kim Diehl. The very first chapter eliminated all that beginner's confusion about reversing templates. Using her method, there was no need to reverse. I was hooked. This book covers machine appliqué, machine appliqué with trapunto, needle-turn appliqué, wool appliqué and fusion. There's a clear and simple method for bias strip cutting, a process I had avoided heretofore out of fear.

I've spent more than a few years writing manuals and how-to information, so I always look at any written explanation with an eye for the slightest ambiguity. None were found. These directions were clear, with closeup photographs in colour, and diagrams accompanying each instruction. At the end of the book were more clear instructions for making a practice project.

This was certainly the best book I've read on the topic. I once made a simple appliqué lap quit, but had to rethink the process through again every time I've contemplated appliqué since. This book is the perfect primer for beginners like me, or a refresher for those who only use the technique occasionally. There were also the kind of tips sprinkled throughout that make so much sense once you hear them, but that you could struggle for years on your own to figure out if you didn't know any quilters. Sample: for needle turn appliqué, stitch from the appliqué out to the background rather than from the background to the appliqué to prevent bunching.

Off now to create some templates so that I can work outdoors in the beautiful weather.

My quilting is still theoretical, though I haven't collected books for it (the library has some on crazy quilts and my mom has one of the older giant reader's digest guide to quilting tomes, or something similar). The tiny art crazy quilt I made (though not using the traditional technique for them) is still languishing in a craft basket waiting for me to do some extra embroidery before I take it to my mom to help me with binding.

I think it was aulsmith who, some years back now, tried to encourage us all to review our needlework/crafting books. I did one or two. I suppose I don't "read" such books in the same way I might other kinds of books, so I don't think to do it. And a lot of times I just want to look at the pictures (which is while a pile sits next to the bed for when I'm not up for "proper" reading).

I rarely buy quilting books now, as I seem to have all I need. When I work at the NEQM's library I might pick up a couple from their "yard sale," bring them home for a few weeks to browse through, and then re-donate them. :-) Same for their yard sale magazines (6 for $1). Of course, there's the library itself.

>2 SassyLassy: Would love to see some of your work! And will enjoy whatever reviews you post!

Interestingly enough I had that book for quite some time but I am not sure where it is now. It was too complicated for me and I have never considered quilting until now but I have so many other projects going I would like to finish those before I try quilting. It does intimidate me, although you all make me feel less afraid, I admit.

Should we talk about the books we are using to do our projects right now even if they come from the library?

>5 mmignano11: It would certainly be worthwhile digging it out now that you are interested and have this group for support. As I said, I found it by far the easiest explanation of the many I have read.

>6 mmignano11: Please do talk about your library books here and on your other thread. They are every bit as good reading as the books we have in our houses.

It really is time for me to review another book. I have been reading one for a long time now. Maybe by the end of the week.

This isn't the book I mentioned in (7) above, but something completely different, which I had forgotten about when I made that earlier post.



World of Quilts: Reinterpreting Quilting Heritage from Around the Globe by Cassandra Ellis

Three weeks ago I went on a road trip and yesterday morning I finished cleaning out my car. I discovered this book tucked away in it and sat down to read it right away. It had an immediate calming effect and I was transported.

I had never heard of Cassandra Ellis, but something about her book's cover pulled me in. It was sheer simplicity, uncluttered, uncomplicated. The rest of the book lived up to this promise. While it is subtitled 'Reinterpreting Quilt Heritage from Around the Globe', and while there are quilts from many countries, the overriding theme is this simplicity. Ellis has taken quilts and reduced them to their essence, the fabric from which they are made. This is what she showcases. Often her quilts are more patchwork than complex and elaborate quilting. The fabrics are often worn, in the true spirit of old quilts. There are silks, cottons and old curtains.

There are patterns here, with well laid out instructions. However, what I liked more was her encouragement not to follow them slavishly, but rather to use them as a starting point, to take what you need and leave the rest plain. If you love large prints, there are many designs here which could showcase them. That may sound as if it contradicts the idea of simplicity, but the focus here is on just a few fabrics and colours often on a large area of background.

The book is beautifully photographed and presented, like a Kaffe Fassett book for minimalists. I did notice that the cover of the UK edition differs from that of the North American one, and looks as if the quilting increases in importance, but for a UK vibe, I think it still evokes the same feeling when you see the picture of the whole quilt.

I will be looking for more work by this artist.

_____________________



UK cover

>2 SassyLassy: That applique book looks like just the one I need. I love hand sewing (I'm a hand quilter), and I want to get better at applique. For my Double Wedding Ring quilt, I'm using the fused interfacing technique on the blocks, something I had never tried before. It's far easier and the results are much better than I ever thought I would be able to achieve.



I have a pretty large collection of quilt books, but unfortunately they're in a box in the basement due to a recent move--a buried box which will stay buried until I get the new garden planted. But here is my most recent acquisition, bought several months ago when I started making a Double Wedding Ring quilt--Egg Money Quilts: 1930's Vintage Samplers by Eleanor Burns. I started making quilts in the 1980s, quilted for about 20 years, and then I stopped quilting for about 15 years. Now that I'm at it again, I'm trying to catch up to the changes in techniques and supplies.

Eleanor Burns was someone I knew from years ago. I didn't much care for her "quilt in a day" series, because I thought they looked somewhat--well, for lack of a better word, cheap, although I'm not sure that's exactly what I mean. When I started my DWR quilt, I needed all the help I could get, and I found her rather unique technique for making the block on a YouTube video. I bought this book to fill in some of the steps that she left out in the video. By using the video and the book together, I was successfully able to use her technique for making the block, which I much preferred over the traditional way of using curved piecing.

That's a long way of saying that over the years I think Eleanor Burns has greatly improved what she has to offer quilt-making. She has some very nice patterns in this book, and I would recommend it for someone who is interested in scrap quilting.

I love making scrap quilts, and I also love the 1930s reproduction fabrics. I started collecting those fabrics back in the 1980s, so I have a huge stash of them. Collecting those 1930s reproductions morphed into an interest in quilt history, fabric history, and dating old quilts based on fabric and design.

ETA: One thing that has hugely changed in quilting over the past 15-20 years is the availability and quality of online classes. I never took quilt classes before, largely because I didn't have the time (I worked a lot of night shifts) and I hated dragging my machine somewhere to take a class. And then it was always hit or miss--you never knew what you were going to get. For anyone who enjoys online learning, I couldn't recommend more highly the online classes offered at Craftsy.com. These are professionally produced, the instructors are some of the best available, and the classes are interactive (you can ask the instructor questions, comment on what other students are doing, and post pictures of your own work). They have classes that range from the beginner to advanced. I've taken three of them, and I can't tell you how many tips I've picked up that have made my own piecing and quilting better--and happier!

>9I know that boxes in the basement syndrome all too well. I think you will find the Kim Diehl helpful. As I said above, it was straightforward and didn't involve the mental gymnastics some of the other writers favour. After all, quilting is supposed to be pleasurable, not an exercise in frustration!

I like the sound of the Eleanor Burns book and I certainly like those reproduction fabrics.

I am off tomorrow for a week at rug hooking school, but will certainly check out Craftsy.com when I get home. Right now I have two bedrooms full of piles of things to take along with me, including insanely, some linen backing and embroidery thread for my "spare time", as well as a selection of Victorian novels. I will probably return without touching any of it, except for bedtime reading. This is a school I have gone to for the past five years, and the instructors are excellent, but you are right about many of the short classes being hit or miss.

I've been following your Double Wedding Ring quilt with admiration, and the heart quilting is lovely and really sets of the design. I'm always amazed when I see someone able to do this quilt.

A "log cabin" quilt made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I stood with others in front of the this quilt and we all tried to figure out where the blocks began and ended.



Judy Martin's Log Cabin Quilt Book by Judy Martin (2007).

I have not bought a new quilt book for what seems like ages, but I saw this quilt last weekend and to my surprise it was a "log cabin" pattern. I did two log cabin quilt baby quilts (for twins) in the early 90s, the last quilts I hand quilted, as it happens. My mother and her friend made endless (and only) log cabin quilts during the 80s and early 90s, almost always in muted pinks and colonial blue, or navy. Boring,I thought. The quilts in this book are NOT my mother's log cabin quilts!

Judy Martin has put together a very thorough and well-organized book on the log cabin pattern. While she touches on traditional, she really is all about the creative interpretation of the pattern and the use of modern techniques in construction. She includes 5 pages of log cabin "setting plans" or arrangements (66 plans, total). The book includes the usual basics, choosing fabrics, working with light/dark values, organization and her method of machine piecing. Quilters of all abilities will find something in this book and she rates each pattern for "ease of understanding" with three different symbols (related to cutting, sewing and thinking) explained early in the book.

Of the sixteen patterns she features in the book, several have a simplified modern look, others have a more updated traditional look, and still others have a more complex, creative that employ the suggestion of curves. Her directions are easy to follow and thorough and include all the technical know-how you might need. She also further includes at the end of the book a useful general charts of yardage and specifications to encourage quilters to "go off on your own creative direction."

Wow--beautiful quilt.

I like Judy Martin. I bought a scrap quilt book by her years ago--Scrap Quilts by Judy Martin. It's another one of those books in boxes.

It really is hard to believe that that quilt is a log cabin. I have seen a number of patterns in magazines and catalogues recently that have been take-offs on the log cabin.

>13 dudes22: The "logs" are pieced, that's why it's difficult to see any log cabin in it, and why it was so tough to see where the blocks were!

I've even seen a few "logs" that were pieced so that it looks like there are curves, so I'm not surprised. I can see what I think might be a block in the picture. Do you know if all the blocks were the same size or did the person vary some of the blocks to make that design?

ETA: I have a book that has different shape log blocks, like triangles and such, which gives a different look too. Not that I've made anything from the book yet, but someday.

>11 avaland: Back from rug hooking. That is an amazing "log cabin". Thanks for the review with it, which I will have to look at in hopes of discovering how people do things like that quilt on the cover. If only...

>16 SassyLassy: Do you find a lot of people doing rug hooking these days? Seems I remember a resurgence in the early 80s or thereabouts (it's at the edges of my memory, so maybe it wasn't a resurgence). I had a great uncle, an electrician by trade, who both hooked and braided rugs. Whenever we visited with my parents, I'd get to see all the projects he had going.

>8 SassyLassy: That sounds like an interesting book. I may look that up the next I'm in the NE Quilt Museum's library.

>17 avaland: Rug hooking seems really big along the Eastern Seaboard of both Canada and the US, in parts of the UK, and in Australia. This past week, with the event held in Ontario, there were many people from that large province, as you would expect, but also people from across Canada, and Americans from New York, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Texas and places in between. Some of them are regulars who come every year.

Rug hooking has evolved over the years, with many media being used, with the creation of 3D objects, and with huge amounts of free expression. There are still those who hook as your great uncle would have, and I love those rugs; there is much being written about them and many are being collected privately and elsewhere. The workshop I took part in was on weathervanes. Here are some rugs designed and hooked by the instructor which come out of that early tradition. I love the way the horse and the fish appear to move. What you don't see in the picture is that the horse piece has a wavy edge, adding even more to that sense of movement: http://pamlangdondesign.com/teacher/ (scroll down below her picture).
As you can see, many also dye their own materials.

Every year Sauder Village in Ohio has a rug hooking week, like their annual quilt week: http://saudervillage.org/classes-events/special-events/rug-hooking-week. I haven't been there, but am told it is amazing.

Closer to home for many of us, is the annual Green Mountain Rug Hooking show, in Essex Junction, VT, just like the quilt show some of you will be attending. The Green Mountain Guild is considered by many to be the daddy of them all: http://www.gmrhg.org/2016-Hooked-in-the-Mountains-Rug-Show

Here is a link to the International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers. Check out the Gallery for some ideas as to what is being done.

Thanks so much for the overview. I had no idea but I should NOT have been surprised. I love the weathervanes!

I must remember the show in late October, you never know, I might show up!

I've done a little bit of rug hooking, but not much -- mostly from kits, although I did do a checkerboard style one with a logo free-hand way back when.

I'm curious. Do you like softer or stiffer canvas? Most of the kits come with such stiff canvas that it is difficult to move the hook. Of course, I feel the same way about the fabric that comes in most cross-stitch kits. Do serious rug hookers sometimes do what cross-stitchers do and toss the original canvas (and fibers) and keep only the design?

>20 thornton37814: You have me wondering if what you are doing is rug hooking with a hook like this



or a latch hook like this


where you can close the end of the hook

The latch hook pulls individual pieces of yarn or other fibre up through the canvas and then a knot is made at the canvas and as far as I know, canvas is what is used for the backing. The top of the finished work has individual ends like a pile carpet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY3z7ltdbOE

The type of rug hooking I do is done with the open (top) hook on linen or monkscloth. It used to be done on burlap, which is what I prefer, but high quality burlap is hard to find, so I now use linen. In this type of rug hooking, a long strip is pulled through many loops in succession, making a closed loop on top, like a lot of upside down letter U s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCVaRxyQ-jo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFkqnT8Czng

There are older patterns out there on burlap that has deteriorated and rug hookers do transfer these onto the backing of their choice, as old burlap will not hold up.

Do you use a frame? It provides a degree of tautness that makes it easier to push your hook through. The other possibility is that your hook is too big for the backing, not likely if you are doing latch hooking, where everything seems to work together.

All that is just fascinating! I hope you will share some photos of your work.

>21 SassyLassy: Latch hook.

I have won the internets for the day. I haven't purchased (or desired) a new book on crochet in years. I have plenty of old ones (many of them older even than I), but this one was so much fun I had to have it. This will be the very worst touchstone I've done:

Crochet One-Skein Wonders : 101 Projects From Crocheters Around the World

It looks like a great book. There are at least three hats in there that call to me (but I'll wait until October). It's organized by thread/yarn weight (which is clever), so I know that my fancy medium weight Orlon will work out perfectly on the "Peacock Hat" pattern (so called from the fanned out shape of the pattern used).

Life is good.

>23 thornton37814: Latch hook makes some lovely deep pile carpets. I think for smaller patterns you could use more flexible backing, but the stiffness might be an advantage for larger projects which get handled more in the making. One tip is to roll both types with the backing in, so as not to stretch it.

>24 Lyndatrue: It's funny how those internet hits work. Congratulations on the new book... it looks like fun. If I could crochet, I would be sorely tempted by the little creature on the cover. Thread/yarn weight organizing does make it easy when you're going through your stash looking for projects. Looking forward to hearing about the book.

It's interesting learning more about rug hooking and latch hooking. I'd always been picturing rug hooking at what latch hooking actually looks like for some reason.

Those one skein knitting and crochet books are always worthwhile!

>23 thornton37814: I was away this past week and in one of the vintage stores I was scouring, I saw some latch hook rugs and also skeins of the wool for making them. The rugs still had lovely glowing colours and it made me think of your work. The canvas was the original, but had relaxed over time, without any loss in the structural integrity.

>26 mabith: I believe in your part of the world that latch hooking is far more common. However, West Virginia does have an amazing rug hooking guru and designer of the continuous kind of hooking in Susan Feller up in Augusta, at Ruckman Mill Farm http://www.ruckmanmillfarm.com/

I think with the mix-up it's mostly that rugs and carpets usually have a cut pile, more than anything else. I was never around any rug or latch hooking growing up at all (my mom and her gang were quilters and clothing sewers, and were all back-to-the-land transplants, who were mostly raised in/around cities).

I've taken a liking to modern quilts lately. The cover of the book in >8 SassyLassy: reminds me of some of the modern quilts I've been drooling over.

Two years later - where does the time go?!

All you knitters - I need your thoughts on Starmore's thoughts below



Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore
first published 1997, new and expanded edition published 2010

Although I've had this book for at least five years, have gone through the patterns many times, and have even knitted some, until yesterday I had never read Alice Starmore's chapter on the historical background of Aran knitting, nor had I read her preface to this edition. It was a whole new take on the subject, something I had thought I knew something about -- why I've even designed some sweaters that would fall into this classification.

Aran Knitting was originally published in 1997. My edition is a newer and expanded one published by Dover in 2010. In it, Starmore reflects on her initial 1997 discussion of Aran knitting and the continued insistence by so many on ignoring the evidence that it is neither a centuries old tradition of stitch combinations, not a traditional fisher's garment. Wait a minute, where did all those stories come from? was my immediate thought.

Starmore thoughtfully and methodically lays out her arguments. She does it so well that the reader is left with little choice but to agree. Her idea that ignoring the evidence she provides is rooted in commercial interest has the ring of truth to it. She discusses some of the standard texts such as Richard Rutt's A History of Knitting, explaining where her theories differ. Then, based on her own experience with the 1992 publication of her book The Celtic Connection, she shows how that technique, "acknowledged as a completely new direction in colourwork, texture and cable knitting", has over the years become part of the lore of the "history" of knitting, comparing that development with the development of the romantic ideas around Aran knitting.

Here then are Starmore's conclusions, in her own words:

on construction and style
- The Aran sweater was developed from the traditional Scottish gansey.
- Aran women learned gansey knitting skills from a Scottish source or sources.
- The Aran sweater was not made as a fisherman's garment.
- The impetus behind the development of the Aran sweater was commercial.
- Aran "tradition" involving the Aran sweater is of recent origin, beginning only after 1946.
- Contrary to belief, the Aran sweater was not made from heavy, unscoured, naturally oily wool, spun straight from the sheep's back.

more controversially, on pattern
- Aran sweaters have no connection with ancient Celtic sources, unless it is on a purely superficial level.
- Most of the Aran patterns were born in the mind of an excellent gansey knitter.
- Commercial forces shaped the development of Aran sweater patterns, just as they shaped the method of construction

Now I have a whole new way of looking at and thinking about these designs.

I have that book but bought it for the patterns, not the history. Now you’ve piqued my interest!

Na Craga is a very nice sweater btw ... 😃

>30 SassyLassy: nice review!

>31 lauralkeet: Have you made Na Craga? It is a great looking sweater. I am contemplating St Brigid, but am concerned about stretch on the bottom, as the pattern starts right away.

>32 avaland: Thanks! Do you do any knitting, or have time for it with all that glorious quilting you do?

>33 SassyLassy: yes I made Na Craga for my husband. It was ambitious and challenging but a great project. I need to try more of her designs, they are all so nice.

Minick and Simpson Blue & White: Living with Textiles you Love
first published 2017



Perhaps I should have read the blurb about this book more carefully. However, I was so excited about a new book from Polly Minick and her sister Laurie Simpson that I ordered it right away, not even waiting for a paperback.

Minick is a rug hooker, Simpson a quilter. Neither works in the other's medium. However, together they interpret classic themes with rugs, wall hangings and quilts, each giving her own rendition of a given idea. I am a huge fan of their work. Why? I'm not sure. Their work has a strong Americana theme to it, something not evident anywhere in my home. I suspect it is the sheer simplicity of it all. Over the years they have pared down their spaces and colour palettes to the stage where everything is visible, able to be admired in its entirety. This book divides their work into Americana, Coastal and Classic sections.

I have some of their earlier books and revisit them often when looking for inspiration. This new book didn't follow their previous formats. There were photographs from earlier books, so less new excitement. There weren't any new patterns in the book, although some can be ordered. Most of all though, at times it read like a promo for their line of fabrics from Moda, a shame as both women collect older textiles, and more focus could have been put on them. These women are too talented to publish a book length ad. Still and all, the photos are lovely.

Going back to the stripped down palette, even if blue and white is not your colour combination, the information on two colour work translates easily to whatever pairing you prefer. Like their other books, I will pull this one off the shelf frequently, but unfortunately I will always feel somewhat miffed about it.

________________

edited as amazon seems to have changed the address for the cover and the original illustration disappeared.

Here is Minick's take on the Irish Chain quilt pattern with added stars, worked in rug hooking (colour quality is poor):



image from the Woolley Fox

Here is Simpson's Lemoyne Star String Quilt

>35 SassyLassy: Great review. So interesting. And thanks for the photos! I know what you mean about that kind of admiration. I have the same for Ruth McDowell's work but I've never done anything like her work.

For all you knitters out there - the first one could be used by anyone who has a snow day, not just people in the map area. It is from the Knitting Guild of Greater Buffalo found on one of my favourite rug hooking sites. Here is the knitting site

https://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuildOfGreaterBuffalo/photos/a.731941246903514/...



This next one is from that same rug hooking site - Wizard of Oz socks by Susanna Lewis 1978, photo Tristan Robin Blakeman:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155799200967007&set=a.103425392006...

Ha, I love the storm warning. I think I've seen something similar using # of books.

I'll take a pass on the footwear. Impressive, but also OMG.

Those are cute! I think I'll send the sock one to a friend who makes a lot of socks.

Ha, luckily(?) I’ve stopped knitting because I fall in that wee red spot on the NH/MA border. That would be a lot of yarn. Storm expected Tuesday....

I would have so knit those “socks” that in the early 70s!!!!! But, I was very busy covering my jeans with embroidery in those years. Oh, I see they are dated ‘78....

I think I'm stocked up for the snow we may get this week. I prepped the canvas for the latch hook rug kit. I hooked the bottom row of the project earlier, but I'll probably do another row or two this evening.

Well the weather doesn't seem to be getting any better in the Great Lakes regions, so stock up all! In January, even with good winter weather ( = no shovelling, just walk out the door), I managed to go through 8 skeins of wool for knitting. Had there been a storm, who knows?

>41 avaland: Maybe we could all bring back embroidered jeans?

Red & White Quilts: 14 Quilts with Timeless Appeal from Today's Top Designers edited by Jennifer Erbe Keltner
first published 2018

"Why", you might wonder, "if you have a blue and white book * do you need a red and white book? Can't you just substitute red for blue?"

Well, you could, but there were several reasons I "needed" this book, some realistic, others pure justification, as in I was ordering some book presents for a friend and decided I needed one too. Back to the real reasons:

- red in all its glorious variety has always inspired me and inspiration is always needed
- red and white has a crispness that eludes the coolness of blue and white
- there are real patterns in this book - I could even translate them to blue and white when I finish with red

There are fourteen designers here presenting a wide range of quilt ideas from a couple with fairly traditional references to some contemporary light and fun designs. Sizes range from 42.5 x 42.5" to a massive 88.5 x 98.5", although many designs could be adjusted to different sizes. Appliqué, paper piecing, and pieced blocks - there's not only something for everyone, but also something for that special gift idea. With good photographs and diagrams, the instructions read clearly and the templates are actual size.

Here's my favourite, for now at least:



Enough with the curves by Jen Kingwell

Off to check out my red stash.

___________

*see 35 above

I love red. I can't blame you for picking up a copy of that book.

>44 SassyLassy: I don't quilt, and am trying very hard NOT to purchase more books, especially those that I want just to admire. It was still enormously hard not to click on the link and purchase this book. I love red and white quilts.

There was an exhibit of red and white quilts 2 (?) years ago in New York and I wanted to go soooo bad, but never got there. I actually have been thinking of a red and white quilt that I want to make but probably won't get to for at least a year (or more). I have so many unfinished quilts and I just started a hand piecing one so it will have to wait.

>44 SassyLassy: So, interesting. I'm not terribly attracted to modern styles, but I like that quilt. The red has been tamed and contained there.

>48 avaland: "...tamed and contained..." That sums it up exactly - wonderful description!

It's been awhile. Still noodling away at my own projects and books, and I learned a valuable lesson this week: If you are hand quilting in a contrast colour, and are new to hand quilting, make sure your backing is in the contrast thread colour, not in its background! Why does my stitching look like this on the backing / / / / instead of this - - - - ?

Anyway, that gobsmacker called for some diversion and recovery, so looking at what else is out there:



Photo by Alistair Ferns on BBC Scotland website

__________________

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, the Grand Barachois NB church and museum hosted a special event in conjunction with the World Acadian Congress 2019 / Le Congrès Mondial Acadien 2019 in which a request was made for contributions of 200 hooked cushions to replace the old ones in the pews. More than 240 were contributed and here are the results:



A link to their facebook page with tons of individual photos is here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/coussinhooke/posts/?ref=page_internal
You may have to scroll down to start seeing the individual images.

>50 SassyLassy: The generosity of folks is always pleasant and admirable. The church is obviously loved, and that's a good thing to start the day with.

That bicycle, on the other hand, is an amazement. Not only is that an incredible amount of work, the realistic birds and other items cause one to do a second and third take.

Thanks for the lift to the day.

The variety of the cushions is amazing. What a great project. And hooked - not needlepoint.

Yes, the variety is wonderful! I particularly liked one I saw on the FB page that was a village seen though a window. There was another gorgeous one near the end of the feed....

Threads of Life: A History of the World through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter
first published 2019

This book was so much more than its title suggests. Hunter examines the ways in which sewing over the centuries has been an expression of individuality, a means of saying who we are. More than that, it documents resistance from the women prisoners held by the Japanese in Changi, to the scarves of the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, each scarf with an embroidered name. Even the embroidery of Mary Stuart was a form of resistance, worked in the long years of her captivity in a foreign country, and employing all the symbols of her status as Queen of Scotland.

Why then do we dismiss this work? Hunter suggests it is because it is done by women, decreasing the value of the work itself. She traces the evolution of embroidery as a skilled art practised by both men and women, and the subsequent division of its making between men and women. Charles Rennie Mackintosh gets high praise for his work, but as Hunter says, his style would have been far less singular without the fine draperies and banners worked by his wife Margaret MacDonald, a woman who receives all too little recognition.

Hunter also charges Isaac Singer, designer of the sewing machine, with removing sewing from a community effort, and thus social activity, to a solitary pursuit. How? Well Singer deliberately designed his machine with gold filigree ornamentation, making it into a cherished piece of furniture. Each purchaser then worked on her own in her middle class home, leaving her community behind.

There was so much more in this book: suffragette banners, the names quilt, Dutch resistance skirts. Did you know there was a registry of foundling clothes, and another at the Old Bailey of stolen quilts. How about Judy Chicago's dinner party? Much has been written about it, but how much have you read about the table linens, each setting carefully designed and worked to reflect the life of the woman it honours?

I could go on and on, but if you're someone like me, who loves to work various needle arts in a group, getting all kinds of inspiration from others, this is a compelling read. My only criticism is the lack of photos, but these would have increased costs considerably. There is, however, a list of websites where the cited works can be viewed.

Throughout the book, Hunter speaks of her own career as a community organizer and textile curator in Scotland, and of the work she has done to keep these traditions going. David Robinson, who reviewed Threads of Life for Books from Scotland, admits to having his viewpoint of such work changed from a condescending dismissal of sometimes uneven community work, to a recognition of the narrative in each individual piece, and the story of community it tells. Perhaps if others could consider such work as social history too, it would go a long way to garnering more of the respect so much of this work deserves.

That sounds like an interesting book.

Ooh, that book sounds like just my thing.

That is a very intriguing book. Thanks for the review!

Well just over a year since I was here last. No wonder the thread has gone dormant! Time for another book.



Fearless with Fabric: Fresh Quilts from Traditional Blocks by Sarah J Maxwell
first published 2020

The sub sub title of this book is "An Inspiring Guide to Making 14 Quilt Projects". I had recently been inspired by others in this group working in more solids and stronger colours, so when I saw this book in the library, I grabbed it.

Having read it, I'm glad I found it at the library rather than buying it, as it was a disappointment in many ways. That said, this was probably just a matter of taste. There were many bold and busy quilts here, and it was all quite overwhelming. The mantra seems to be "fearless". That's something I usually embrace, but again, most of these just didn't work for me. The ones that did work were the ones where Maxwell addressed the idea of negative spaces and ghosting, creating rest spots for the eye, which often allows the design elements to predominate far more than they would in a more traditional quilt patterned all over.

However, stripping away the photos of completed quilts - odd as that is usually one of the best parts about quilt books - there is lots of useful information here. Not only that, Maxwell has a well organized mind. Each quilt chapter takes a photo of a traditional pattern and switches it up for today's fabrics. Each project has four accompanying sidebars: Leap of Faith, Color Lesson, Fearless Takeaways, and Confidence Booster.

Here's one from the Leap of Faith department: "When a design element seems out of place, try either removing it completely or making it more prominent. This can often lead to a totally unique quilt that you didn't expect." I think most of us have removed those bothersome elements at some time or other, but the idea of making one more prominent is something I'll have to try in other design areas.

Where this book does excel is in the actual instructions. The templates are precise and full size, the instructions are clear and well illustrated, and even the fabric requirements are organized into tables by length, for example 5/8 yard, 1/2 yard and so on.

I'm not quite sure who the target audience is for this book, perhaps just people who collect quilt books. Quilting is very much a matter of taste, however, and while the inspiration just wasn't there for me, someone else may find it here.

____________

Sarah Maxwell is a designer for Aurifil and Marcus Fabrics

>58 SassyLassy: The first thing I thought of when I saw the black crosses in the quilt on the cover is the "Iron Cross" of Germany (earlier in Prussia). I'm not always attracted to or inspired by the quilts presented in a book, but they serve as template of sorts for my imagination to run wild with. Quilt books can often be so trendy, too; whatever is the latest pattern or technique.

Excellent review, btw.

>59 avaland: I think you may have hit on what was subliminally bothering me about that quilt - the black crosses. All I knew was that I didn't like the black.

I think the market for quilt books is so active for just the reason you mention - they allow the imagination to run wild. Like drawing up garden plans in midwinter and seeing that perfect garden in your mind, a quilt book and imagination can do that for you too.

>58 SassyLassy: I'm just intrigued enough that I will have to see if my library has that book. :)

>60 SassyLassy: Black doesn't always play well with others. Neither does bright red, as I have found out the hard way.

The quilt museum in Lowell, MA sells, in their library, donated quilt books for $1-3. They have a large library of quilt and quilt-related books. But, in the donated stuff for sale one can often find a book that is written around one technique or another. I have bought more than a few there over the years (I've also donated some).

I learned a new word today which I love:



Obviously a lot of other people out there know it, as there are lots of online images, but it was new to me.

>63 SassyLassy: it's new to me too, and absolutely perfect!

>65 avaland: Yes, a great and accurate word indeed!

Something to chase down? - Unexpected Beauty Hiding inside America's Last Fabric Factories

https://www.messynessychic.com/2016/01/13/unexpected-beauty-hiding-inside-americ...

And while we're going back in time: https://mymodernmet.com/1950s-kitchen-perfectly-preserved-nathan-chandler/ How do you find these places?

>66 SassyLassy: That was a fabulous trail of photos, thanks! My mother often shopped at mill outlets for remnants. Our bedspreads were rip cord she got from the Bates Mill in Lewiston, ME. My mother, her sister-in-law, my grandmother and her sister, and my great grandmother all worked in the Saco Lowell mills in Biddeford/Saco, Maine.

I like to visit their counterpart mills in Lowell, MA at least once a year which are a National Historic Park now. The machines are often running and they are interesting to watch (making things like kitchen linens...). I can image most of the workers were deaf in a few years.

-------
Interesting historically, but I'm not interested in going back ;-)

Well, I seem to have disappeared for a mere two years. Time to get back at it. A recent trip produced this book:



Knitted Kalevala by Jenna Kostet translated from the Finnish by Sini Kramer, Pauliina Kuunsola, and Sami Palliainen, 2023
first published as Neulottu Kalevala

Kalevala is not a knitting technique. What is it then?

The Kalevala is a collection of myths from Finland, collected and augmented in the nineteenth century by Elias Lönnrot. Like many foundational myths, it is an origin story. The Finnish version has the air goddess Ilmatar descending into the sea, where a duck roosts on her, laying its eggs. The eggs break, the pieces becoming the sun, sky, moon, earth, and clouds. Ilmatar then shapes the earth, creating passages to the sea. Earth, water, and air - all that are needed to created the universe.

What does all this have to do with knitting? Well Jenna Kostet studied ethnology and folklore in university. When lockdown started in 2020, she was reminded of the Kalevala, and decided to knit a sweater based on it, using runes and creatures from the tale. The fifty poems in it offered considerable scope. Knitted Kalevala is the result.

Kostet's original intent was to use yarns from Finland. However, she says there is "limited availability", so she has used mostly Nordic yarns. All patterns feature colourwork, in the colours of the earth, trees, sea, and sky. While many of the sweaters are yoked, the designs resemble neither Fair Isle nor Icelandic patterns. Instead, there are trees, flowers, animals, birds, or runes worked in. Each pattern has an excerpt from the poem on which it was based, and a corresponding explanation of the chosen symbols and colours.

All in all, this is definitely an interesting book. While you may not end up making a lot of the patterns, it is a good addition to any knitting library.

________________

I did buy the recommended Finnish yarn for one of the patterns. As I was winding the wool, it seemed very dense for the its diameter. If you're familiar with the Lincoln sheep breed, the yarn resembled wool spun from one of those fleeces, despite being a blend: Vuonue Petti (70% Finnish wool, 30% Tencel) 100g = 290m, size 4mm needles

>68 SassyLassy: Ooh, that looks interesting. Strangely, it doesn’t seem to have been translated to Swedish but maybe it will be. I’ll have to keep an eye out if I see it at the library.
I’m not familiar with Vounoe Pentti - the most famous Finnish yarn producer is Novita, which is sold basically everywhere.
It’s funny that you say it’s denser than you’d thought, because the top site I found selling it describes it as “a more loosely spun yarn”. Maybe Nordic yarns are denser in general?

And I started reading Kalevala when I was at university, but didn’t get very far because coursework got in the way. I should pick it up again.

>68 SassyLassy: Makes me wish I was still a knitter....

>68 SassyLassy: that looks like a really interesting book! Thanks for the thorough review. Have you made anything with the Finnish yarn yet?

>68 SassyLassy: I prefer to crochet rather than knit but the book sounds very interesting. Thanks for the review.

>69 PawsforThought: It does seem odd it hasn't been translated into Swedish yet. Laine is the publisher of the English edition, and I don't know whether or not it has distribution rights in Sweden, so that might affect the translation process. However, given the status of the Swedish language in Finland, it does seem odd.

The only Norwegian yarn I have used was from Dale of Norway. I was happy with it when working with it, and with the finished result, but it did not do well on washing. I have used Novita, but didn't know it was from Finland. It was more loosely spun, but I was making a cowl, so that worked.

>72 mnleona: If I could crochet like you do, I would probably prefer it too!

>70 avaland: Who knows, those fingers might just develop a hankering for yarn again some day?

>69 PawsforThought: >71 lauralkeet: Just got home from my trip a couple of weeks ago and was completing something else first - you know how these things can add up otherwise - so I only started this project last night. I am happy with the way it knits, and surprised to find that despite being worried about it, the yarn drapes well which is required for this piece.

It is a colourwork pattern, which I have modified only so that I knit it end to end to avoid steeks. They are the only knitting challenge I have never tried. The very idea of cutting in scares me silly!

This is a short sleeved unfastened cardigan. I thought the treatment below the ribbing was interesting. Oddly, looking at all the yarn choices in the store, I selected the ones in the photo. The problem is that the colour chart uses these same two colours, not black and white, but the charted white is actually the contrast colour and vice versa. Best not to get too complacent with the progress as I whiz along the rows only to discover I have reverted to using the same colours as the chart!



image from Laine Publishing

That’s a lovely design! I know these things take time but I can’t wait to see yours when it’s finished.

I haven’t tried steeks either. Too scary!

>73 SassyLassy: Knitting has so many beautiiful patterns.

>75 mnleona: It sure does, and as everyone knows who does any kind of handiwork, it's terrible having to pick and choose among them!

>69 PawsforThought: The Kalevala does sound interesting, but it also sounds as if you need a good translation. The English one used in the book is very stiff, dating from Victorian times, and translated in turn from the German. Kostet does reference a 2020 translation into English by Kaarina Brooks, which is the one I would choose. I imagine there are no problems finding translation into Swedish.

I meant to add that the pattern above is called 'Saari', or island. In the legend, Saari is the island home of the maiden Kylliki who is stolen away.

Kostet says the design references "trees standing on an island, with their reflections evoking a calm summer evening". Given this, green might have been a more appropriate choice, but do like this colour.

Also meant to add that the store where all this happened was just about the best wool store I have ever been in, and that's a lot of comparators! https://www.snurre.fi

This image in this link is just one wall of one room. There is so much more!

>75 mnleona: I, too, will love to see yours finished!

Nice cardigan. Just saying "hi".