Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Janet's Time Quilt


I recently had an experience where time felt like it was going the speed of light to every minute feeling like it was an hour.  I went from a stuffy nose to bronchitis to the emergency room to the IC in what felt like a very short span of time.  Once admitted to the hospital while they tried to get me stabilized every minute was agonizing.  Recuperating at home now is painfully slow and the highlight of my day is hearing the garage door go up in the afternoon meaning my husband is home.  For him there is not enough time in the day, work, errands, chores at home, taking care of me.  

My quilt has a similar story.  I bought four Garden Gang cross stitch patterns when I was pregnant.  I was on bed rest and I finished two and thought I would have lots of time when the baby came because they sleep a lot,  so I would finish the other two after he was born. Silly me. That was thirty four years ago.  I did finish them finally this last year and since I've taken up quilting I thought why not make them quilts instead of framing them.  I just could not believe that much time had passed since I finished the first two.  So time is relative to your situation.  I have to thank Judy Steward for quilting the borders for me as she is someone whose day flies by and I appreciate her taking the time.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

The Time Composite!

Greetings, fellow Material Mavens!  I will let Randy explain his composite in his own words.  As usual, it is almost as much fun to read his rationale for his arrangement as it is to study the composite!  Remember, you can "click to enlarge" to see the quilts in all their glory!

[PS from Alice I added new "explanations" for Rows Three and Four!  Hope I did okay, Randy!]

Here's what Randy (and Alice!) had to say about the arrangement:


Material Mavens:
Sorry for the delay in getting the TIME composite published on the blog. Rita and I were enjoying our almost 2 year old grandson and he was the priority so I guess my apology is only about half sincere.  It is confession “time.” 

The quilts in the other three most recent composites fell into rough row by row categories.  As much as I studied this round, I could not find a row “theme.” As Rita was looking over my shoulder she made it simple – just make it look good – and I think that fact has been accomplished.

Row one:
When the theme was announced I assumed all we would see is stitches around a clock. I even envisioned the Salvador Dali “Melted Clock” on a square. We do see very creative clocks in this row, all with special memories for the creators. 
Row two:
Jane’s special “old” time piece, then Nedra takes us to the movies [a walk back in time], then takes our clocks apart [see gears in the upper right corner] to help us think about not letting time rule our lives, then Tricia uses the tried and true reminder of time in photographs.
Row three:
Rita's and Karen's quilts seem to be good companions.  Both unusual in their own very different ways!
Row four:
I’ll call this row “The Outside Row”, trees, a strawberry  and a magnificent sunrise – all “outside the box thinking” and all kin to one another since they are represent the beauties and bounties of nature. 
Row five:
I’ll take the liberty of calling this row the “Pain and Happiness row” and you just need to read the quilters words and I’ll think you will agree. Gail’s happiness in being released from pain,  Carolyn’s 56 years of happiness, with, I’m sure only a little pain along the way, and the portrayal of Kathy’s journey needs no further explanation. 

I guess there were “themes” after all, just not as clear-cut as other rounds.  Again, thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your group. As always, is it too much of a cliché to say, “looking forward to seeing you get outside the box when you create your  “Circle.”