something new

You've seen little peeks of this, but now I'm excited to share with you this project that is very near and dear to my crafting heart. It's a project that stemmed from my love of vintage patterns. I'm drawn to these for many reasons - the way in which it doesn't involve buying something new; the classic styles of the past that I love; and in general, I think - the connection to the past. I think a lot about the past of these little crispy-papered patterns - who might have made them before and when, who might have worn the results, and even who designed them. Which leads to all sorts of thought about clothing and gender and well, I told you I thought about them a lot. I'll spare you from going on (and on).

So from all that thinking came this series of little quilts - each inspired by a different vintage pattern, and each made entirely of vintage materials (right down to the thread). The foundation of each piece is an old quilt that was in disrepair beyond any other kind of use (seen in the photo above, on the 'back' of the quilt). Each piece - though quite different from one another-  has an embroidered dress as the central theme. I've been using the full spectrum of treasured vintage bits and bobs I have, including pieces of (unwearable) old dresses. I've worked on them slowly but steadily in the past few months - it's been one of those projects that sometimes has me bolting upright in the middle of the night with an idea. Love that.

This is the first of the quilts that I've framed. I'm not entirely convinced this is the framing solution I love, so I'm still thinking about other options (I'd love to use old and found large frames, but for all my thrifting luck, frames just don't seem to appear). These little quilts will be in a gallery show I'll be having in April of 2008, at Edith & Edna - to coincide with the release of the book. It's going to be a busy - and fun - spring!

Comments

[Sally]

It's beautiful - so many different pieces to look at. I think you're right about the frame - it's just not quite perfect - maybe a black background?

[Catherine]

The detail is amazing, I love them!

[Kelly]

Fantastic, I love them. You've captured the quilts and patters so beautifully in such a creative way. A 're-think' of the framing might be a good idea, somehow to me the frame just doesn't seem worthy of the quilt, but that is just my very humble 2 cents. -kb

[heather]

i love reading your blog. it is such a great reminder to take it all in and just enjoy where we are! your projects are beautiful and inspiring as is your creative family living.

[shannon]

This is really beautiful. I love the vintage quilt, love the fabrics, the embroidered dress. It's so sweet, really, I love it.

[Caroline]

Your quilt art is fabulous! I really love following your blog, you fill me with ideas and smiles. Best wishes to you and your family from Denmark.

[brandie]

oh i love *love* it! so freaking great...and I like that it is framed. can't wait to see the show!! xo

[Toni]

LOVE this!! So very wonderful, Amanda!
I really like the way it's framed.

[Jessica]

Just wanted to say that I've been lurking around your blog for awhile now and find it very beautiful and inspiring [and has really made me think about how I would like to raise my children, if that day should ever come]. This project is absolutely beautiful. Keep it up!

[amanda]

What an original thought. The quilts look beautiful! I can't wait to see more.

[Cindy Ericsson]

For some of my children's artwork, I used a "floating frame" idea -- regular picture glass in front, artwork under, very thin acrylic sheet in back, with a commercial frame. The only issue was making sure the staples were bent out of the way, so as to not show through the clear layers. If you used nails or framing points, this would not be an issue. You could even build up the back of the frame with simple molding to make it stand further away from the wall, for a kind of upside-down shadow box sort of thing. I think it would showcase the quilt in a lovely way.

[Kristy]

So lovely Amanda.I love the way these have turned out!
I've been looking for simple outlines to embroider recently and just got out my vintage patterns.Just another of those blog coincidences!

[abbyjane]

What an awesome idea -to have a show that coincides with the book release! I would love to be able to go (let's hope!).

I think mounting these pieces on white illustration board and then leaving a really wide border around them would be stunning.

[stuffed]

Lovely. What a great passion to have. :0)

[geek+nerd]

Oooh, I hope that I can make it up to Portland to see the show. This project is so lovely!

[kate]

How beautiful, that is so pretty and delicate.Wish you all the best for the show. I have a suggestion for the framing,if you paint the frames with a white wash that might help the quilt and frames be more harmonious.

[jimineykbc]

Hey, I was wondering if anyone here has a habit of coming up with cool business ideas out of nowhere, but never got around to attempting them.
Here are mine:
consumer generated power
household recycling plants
innovative ringtones (like [url=http://www.news.com/5208-1033_3-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=31380&messageID=312987]fart ringtones[/url] for young people)
retail approach to recycling
carbon offsets by sms

share yours if you don't mind revealing your genius. :)

[Vera]

I love embroidery mixed with patchwork !

[daystayusast]

names. I started turtle, years later. front yard stretching to it about to my parents cutting off

[jhontree]

or burnt, living I know http://www.lincolnlandinc.com and a bit of knew http://rdre1.yahoo.com

[federalstude]

were having with whatever http://alnk.org/famouslad my days I never http://alnk.org/slowuncle