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Annemarie hand quilting in her kitchen.  Photo by Jim Burt

The Threads That Bind Us All
by Lilo Bowman

A tiny, picturesque village in Burgundy might seem the least likely place to find a woman who, while fine-tuning her French language skills, has also become passionate about quilting. However--as we all know--quilting has a way of finding us, no matter how distant (or circuitous) the journey. Over the years, TQS has featured many guests--including John Flynn, Pat Holly, Rami Kim, David Taylor--who pursued entirely different careers before they discovered quilting.

Shortly after leaving a recent European Patchwork Meeting, our roving reporters, Jim and Melinda Burt, were surprised to discover that the owner of the Bed & Breakfast where they were spending a few days just happened to be a "newbie" quilter!  

 

Becoming owners of a B & B in the small village of La Motte-Ternant, France, was not the the original plan as Annemarie and John Williams passed through on their way from London to Italy each year for their annual vacation. However, they soon realized that this lovely spot in the French countryside, only a day's drive from London, would suit them perfectly as the location for a family vacation home...or so they thought!  After carefully scouting the area, Annemarie and John found an 1872 merchant's home that had been occupied for the last 40 years by a spinster. If that alone doesn't make for a great opening for a romantic movie, the house--of course--was in desperate need of updating and repair. (Does Under the Tuscan Sun come to mind?) 

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La Chouette qui Chante and surrounding gardens.  Photo by Jim Burt

Not easily set back by the prospect of a little hard work, Annemarie and John hired a local project manager to oversee the renovation. The intention was to spend six months of the year in London and the rest of the year at the house in France. Trained as an interior decorator, Annemarie was in her element when it came to making the necessary curtains, bed coverings, and other textiles, while John's skills at furniture repair and refinishing meant that an unexpected find at a local flea market could be transformed easily into a beautiful and functional piece of furniture. 

Once the house was completed, the couple moved in for what was to be the intended six-month stay. But, as in any good romantic film, the house had other plans for the new owners.  Annemarie and John fell in love with the area as well as the house, and made the choice to stay on permanently. John's early retirement (due to illness) from his job as a computer engineer made the decision to spend more time with family even easier. The couple also decided that--given the number of bedrooms and a newly converted barn--they would become Bed & Breakfast proprietors. Once the heating had been updated, it was time to get going on their new "jobs," and to settle into village life. 

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The sitting room

Armed with only high school French, Annemarie and John soon discovered that they would need to brush up on their language skills. A chat with an ex-pat friend prompted Annemarie to join a local quilting club (Patchwork Club). The weekly meetings in Semur-en-Auxois offered a her a way to improve her French while learning quilting at the same time. The group of 20 members meets at the social center for several hours of chatting, sewing, and--of course-- "show and tell."  Annemarie has only been quilting for about three years, but finds that creating something beautiful and functional is very rewarding. As she says, she is definitely hooked.

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                                              Members of the Patchwork Club.  Photo by Jim Burt

You'll notice in these photos of the club that there are no sewing machines in sight...because the ladies in this group do all of their work entirely by hand!  Paper templates, thread, and bits of fabric are scattered around each person's work area. Sometimes members of the group will take a trip to the big quilt shows in Paris or Ste-Marie-aux-Mines. They also meet occasionaly with other quilting clubs from around the region.

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                                               Patchwork Club member working on their projects.  Photo by Jim Burt

Life as B & B owners mean spending many hours around the house. Often Annemarie steals snippets of time to work on a quilting project while waiting for clients to come to the dining room for breakfast or an evening meal. The kitchen offers the perfect place to get a bit of sewing done. During the warmer months, the open kitchen door allows the resident cats to stroll in, and provides a glimpse into the garden area.

Who knew that an annual vacation stopover would lead to a new life, language, and creative outlet? Annemarie's dream is to have small groups of quilters come to stay for a mini-retreat, to explore a bit of the local area, and to meet other French quilters. What group wouldn't want to spend a few days in the French countryside at a B & B owned by a fellow quilter? Where do I sign up?

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To learn more about La Chouette qui Chante, visit their website http://www.b-break.co.uk/ or click here.




 





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At the Anderson house hold there were some crazy funny and highly unusual gifts this Christmas - do you care to share?

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3349_the_hyperbolic_crochet_coral_reef_the_smithsonian_community_reef.jpgThere is a new temporary exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  Margaret and Christine Wertheim, co-founders of The Institute for Figuring, combined mathematics with crochet to create a beautiful "underwater" land full of atolls and clusters of crocheted corals.  Using yarn and other found materials their complex crocheting techniques gave shape to quite natural-looking forms.

While this is an "art" exhibit, it also encompasses a social project as noted on the Smithsonian website:

"The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is a traveling exhibition that not only displays these artworks, but also incorporates an ever-growing social project—teaching others around the world how to crochet hyperbolically and make their own reefs.  By working through this process and viewing the art, one can see the correlation between the crocheted reefs and living corals, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  The fragility of the coral reefs is echoed by their crocheted counterparts."

To learn more about the reefs and to learn what "Hyperbolic" actually means, click here.  The exhibit runs from October 16, 2010-April 24, 2011.

This video is worth the effort.  Hang in there and your mind will expand.

 

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While at the Houston International Quilt Festival we asked people to "Show Us Your Handbag!" and many of you did so proudly. There was every shape and size and every kind of textile. There wasn't a particular theme, but elephants did seem to be on parade. Most of these handbags were hand made and we were stunned by what quilters can do. Can you spot your bag?

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

 

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Therese May made this quilt in 1969.  It is 72" x 90" and is made up of cotton, machine pieced and appliqued, and then tied with yarn. It is the Therese Quilt.  The Therese Quilt uses self-portraits and photography to create the overall picture.  Each roughly-cut patch is appliqued onto the quilt.  According to The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts from C&T Publishing, this quilt shows "the early style of a university-trained fine artist who devoted her art career to making quilts which flaunt "imperfect workmanship" to emphasize spontaneity and passion rather than control and precision."  

Therese was responsible for much of the embellishment movement in quilting and helped promote the idea that anything goes.  For her, it was more about the creation of the art than the perfect workmanship. Perhaps this is something we should all keep in mind when our points aren't always perfect.

Therese1 - 90 pieces non-rotating

Therese2 - 70 pieces rotating

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3367_magic_cookie_bars.pngMerry Christmas Everyone!  Today Alex and Captain John share their tasty treats with all of TQS.  It turns out that Alex is not really a cookie baker, but not to worry, Captain John's sister makes a killer cookie and sends them on to Chez Anderson every year.  Adair thinks these are absolutely the best, what do you think?

Magic Cookie Bars - makes about a dozen.

Ingredients

Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup (6 oz pkg.) butterscotch chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions
HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with fork.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up with edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual bars.

You can substitute chocolate chips or nuts with candy coated pieces, dried cranberries, raisins, mini-marshmallows or butterscotch chips. 

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The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is currently running a fabulous exhibit of quilts.  It is Yvonne Porcella: Bold Strokes.  Curated by Deborah Corsini, the exhibit features 21 of Yvonne's quilts spanning a 25-year time period.  Included are three examples of her kimono-shaped quilts, as well as many of her graphic appliqued quilts with their interesting cartoon-like characters. You'll also see an abundance of black & white checks which adds the signature touch to many of her designs.

This video is just a taste of the exhibit which runs from November 16, 2010 through January 30, 2011 at the museum.  Do yourself a favor and go see it in person before it closes.

If you can't get to the museum, make sure you watch Episode 713: TQS Quilting Legend with Yvonne Porcella to learn much more about this fascinating textile artist.

 

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Santa got it spot on this year for John and myself - forget the shiny red car, Wii or a pony with a braided tail - Santa just dropped into our mail box our Passport with our visa signed, sealed and delivered from the Consulate of Kenya in DC - YIPEEEEEE. What is the most unusual (and appreciated) gift you have ever received?

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Our friends at Superior Threads are going to give away three packs of their wonderful product, Texture Magic, to three lucky TQS Members.  By using Texture Magic, you can add texture to your fabrics and this can open up new doors in dimension and design in your quilts.  This overview gives you an idea of what Texture Magic can do in just four simple steps.  Once you have seen the video, you know you'll want to try it.

Three Lucky Winners will have a chance to win a package of Texture Magic. Just email to Magic@TheQuiltShow.com  (copy and paste into your address bar in the TO: box-- if it's not automatic) and put "Texture Magic" in the subject line.  One entry per person. The contest ends Monday night (December 27, 2010) midnight Pacific Time.  Buy it here from Bob at Superior Threads.

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3383_90_03_36christmasdecorations_web.jpgAre you done with Holiday shopping and just kicking back?

If not, how many presents left to go?