Thursday, June 30, 2016

Modern Roots:Today's Quilts from Yesterday's Inspiration by Bill Volckening


Note the vintage quilt on the wall and the
modern interpretation on the chair
In the introduction to Modern Roots, Bill Volckening quotes Jonathan Holstein's 1973 book The Pieced Quilt: An American Design Tradition noting that antique and vintage quilts sometimes appear to be uncannily modern in design. Bill expanded on this concept in his 2014 lecture Masterpiece Quilts: Modernism in American Patchwork--or, "There's Something Modern About that Quilt."

When Jacqueline Sava reproduced a 1870s Crossroads quilt it confirmed Bill's thinking that "Old quilts were rich with information and inspiration for today's quilters."

Drawing from his extensive private collection of American quilts he selected twelve, dating from 1840 to 1970, to explore the characteristics of modernism including minimalism,importance of negative space, use of solid colors and limited palette, and geometric design.

The quilts are varied: scrappy or showing controlled color use; flamboyant or with large areas of negative space; familiar patterns with a twist and the rare and unusual.

 A simple 1840 medallion quilt has multiple borders of alternating red and white with a circular central block of appliquéd "Sprigs of Photinia." There are three Log Cabin variations. A Lone Star quilt has broken stars in the corners. Pieced blocks include Indiana Puzzle, Shadow Box, and an unusual New York Beauty variation. Radiating Fans create a secondary pattern. Airplane blocks with sashing is representational. Stacked Bars is scrappy and primitive.

There is a full page color photograph of each quilt with its source, date, and materials and an article addressing the quilt's design and background.

The detailed instructions include a material list, cutting and construction directions, and color illustrations showing the steps of construction. Smaller versions of the full size quilts are offered as are photographs of newly made quilts based on the instructions.

Volckening has replicated the original construction methods for the quilts. Several patterns are good for those with some piecing experience, but some are better for those with advanced skills.

Volkening is an award-winning photographer, quiltmaker, and blogger. The Volckening Collection of quilts include impressive examples from all time periods and styles.

Learn more about Crossroads to Bachelor Hall by reading Volckening's article to learn more about this quilt at http://www.academia.edu/24535757/Cross_Roads_to_Bachelors_Hall
and on his blog at
http://willywonkyquilts.blogspot.com/2011/06/mystery-pattern-clue.html

I received a free book from C&T Publications in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

http://www.ctpub.com/modern-roots-todays-quilts-from-yesterdays-inspiration/

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Shakespeare Retold: Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

The Hogarth Press, founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf in 1917, launched the Hogarth Shakespeare project last year. Acclaimed and best selling contemporary novelists are retelling the Bard's stories for modern audiences.

Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl is based on The Taming of the Shrew. The play has been adapted into movies and the Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate and is the inspiration behind 10 Things I Hate About You.

Vinegar Girl introduces us to the quirky Battista family. Kate is a college drop out working as a teacher's assistant and running the house for her eccentric scientist father and younger vacuous sister Bunny.

Kate's father has a problem. His valued assistant Pyotr Shcherbakov's O-1 visa is ending. Kate's dad has hatched a plan to match Kate and Pyotr, if not for love at least for a marriage of convenience. After all, at twenty-nine Kate has no other suitors. Kate is beautiful, but as her employer puts it, she is lacking tact, restraint, and diplomacy. Her directness delights her preschool charges, but gets her in trouble with their parents.

Pyotr is no charmer himself. He is attractive, but for all his research ability he is unwittingly disorganized and is oblivious about appearances. Pyotr seems cheerful, but he is lonely and homesick and his life is 'meager.'

Tyler's story is funny and her characters interesting. It is a wild ride to the altar, with stolen lab mice and fist fights. The book is light and fluffy, a nice beach read. The misogyny of the original story is gone. Tyler has given us a happy ending where two misfits allow each other space to be themselves.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Vinegar Girl
by Anne Tyler
Hogarth/Crown Publishing
publication date June 21, 2016
$25 hard cover
ISBN: 9780804141260

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Quilts Inspired by the National Parks

I was so excited about the concept of Inspired by the National Parks. The quilt on the cover was a big selling point for someone who loves landscape quilts.

To celebrate the anniversary of our 59 National Parks, Donna Marcinkowski DeSoto brought together quilters to create 177 original art quilts depicting the landscape, flora, and fauna of each park. Accompanying articles by park rangers and park personnel brings to life the people who preserve and protect our cherished shared lands.


Throughout the book the author quotes John Muir, the "Father of the National Parks." Known as the founder of the Sierra Club, Muir was a true devotee of nature as a source of spiritual revitalization. Through his writings, he educated America about our natural wonders and called for their preservation.


DeSoto gave the quilt artists a choice of park and category and size restrictions of 20 x 44 or 44 x 20 for landscape quilts and 20 x 20 for the flora and fauna quilts. The artists could not use commercial patterns, so each quilt is an original design by that artist. An artist statement accompanies each photographed quilt.


The quilts are wonderfully varied. With amazing use of fabric and construction there are realistic quilts, interpretive visions, humorous depictions, flowers and animals in natural settings or portrayed apart.

The parks are identified by location, date of establishment, a brief description of high points, and a link to the National Park Service website for the park.


Including statements from park rangers was brilliant. We learn first hand about the park, what the people who work there love most about the park, and the park's attractions for tourists. The joy and love of work shines through the statements.

This is a beautiful book whose appeal reaches beyond quilters, a celebration of our precious natural heritage. 

Resources are offered at the end of the book, including links to the Junior Ranger Program, volunteer programs, Artist-in-Residence Program and donating to the NPS.

DeSoto's previous book was Inspired by the Beatles: An Art Quilt Challenge published by Schiffer Publications.

All illustrating photographs are from Schiffer Publication.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.


Inspired by the National Parks: Their Landscapes and Wildlife in Fabric Perspectives
by Donna Marcinkowski DeSoto
Schiffer Publications
$34.99 hardcover
ISBN: 9780764351198

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Bird of Friendship Appliqué Pattern

Here is a sweet block from Blue Ribbon Patterns p-130, published in 1974 by Tower Press.


Bird of Friendship Quilt

This quilt is a original idea of Lauraine Smith. Since so many of you ladies are interested in friendship quilts, I'm sure this pattern will make a unique and different quilt and a fine keepsake.

This quilt takes 14 blocks, each block measuring 12 inches square, plus a seven inch border at the top and sides and a 14 inch border at the bottom.

Materials needed are: yellow for the blocks, blue for the birds, white for the envelopes, and pink for the border.

Baste and stitch bird and envelope on each of the yellow squares. Use a ball point pen to mark features, seams, etc. of it you wish they may be embroidered.  Make patterns from drawings and allow for seams.

Lauraine M. Smith, 21 Withee Avenue, Madison, Maine 04950

Researching Lauraine M. Smith on ancestry.com shows she was born in 1915 and died April 9, 2000. I found her pattern also appeared in the July, 1968 Stitch/Sew magazine  I did not discover anything more about her.


Sunday, June 19, 2016

My Last Continent by Midge Raymond: Antarctic Romance and Adventure

"Midge Raymond's phenomenal novel takes us on a voyage deep into the wonders of the Antarctic and the mysteries of the human heart...packed with emotional intelligence and high stakes--a harrowing, searching novel of love and loss in one of the most remote places on earth, a land of harsh beauty where even the smallest missteps have tragic consequences." from the publisher

It was World Penguin Day when I started reading  My Last Continent by Midge Raymond. I had not realized how perfectly timed my choice was. Raymond's novel is a love story, the love between star crossed lovers and their mutual love of penguins and the Antarctic.
from the author's blog

Deb and Keller are penguin researchers whose love affair flourishes only during their brief weeks together in Antarctica. Their off-season work is on opposite sides of the county, Driven by their need to make a difference and to save the penguins, both are willing to risk everything, even their lives and each other.

Shadows of Antarctic explorers are seen everywhere, foreshadowing the novel's climax.The ghosts of lonely deaths haunt the desolate landscape. Robert Falcon Scott's hut stands undisturbed. "I may be some time," said Capt. Oates as he left the tent shared with his imperiled Scott expedition explorers. He never returned. Deb's lover in passing, Dennis, likewise wandered off to his lonely death after being left behind by his tour boat.

The solitude of the icy desert, the isolation, soothes Deb. Part of Deb wants and needs solitude. Part of her fears dying alone. The memory of an emperor penguin who died alone haunts her. Female emperors leave their eggs under the male's care while she takes off to fatten up for nursing the chick. The males huddle together during the long months of darkness until nearly starved. Human males aren't programmed like the emperors. Before meeting Keller Deb had been alone, for what male was going to wait at home while she took off every year?

"Great God! This is an awful place," Robert Scott wrote in his journal. Tragedy comes into Deb's life and for the first time she realizes the depth of despair that prompted Scott's desperate cry. Keller's ship has hit an iceberg and is sinking and Deb is compelled to search for her beloved mate in the thrilling climax of the novel.

Antarctica is more than the backdrop for the novel, it is a living character. A hundred years ago the explorers vied to be the 'first'; today tourists tick it off  as the last of continent visited. The environmental destruction and pollution that comes with tourism, overfishing, and climate change all endanger the penguins. Raymond manages to educate readers through the characters and the action.

I loved this book. It is so original in concept and the writing is beautiful.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

My Last Continent
by Midge Raymond
Scribner
Publication Date June 21, 2016
$26.00
ISBN:9781501124709


Thursday, June 16, 2016

The Power of Words: Fobbit by David Abrams

For some time I have followed David Abram's blog The Quivering Pen and now I follow him on Twitter. The Other Joseph and American Copper were books I won from his weekly giveaway.  When I saw his book Fobbit in the local bookstore, one lone copy sitting on the shelf, I knew it meant for me; it was time I read Abram's book. Being bogged down with reviews and book club readings it sat on my TBR shelf a few weeks until Memorial Day. It seemed the right time, and setting aside the other four books I was reading, I started Fobbit.

Back at Adrian College, in my sophomore year, I signed up for a 400 level English class on Modern Literature. That year the course focused on Black Humor. I had no idea what that meant.

Our reading list included Henderson the Rain King by Bellow, Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, Barth's The Floating Opera and Sot Weed Factor, and Heller's Catch-22. These books knocked my socks off. I had never read anything like them before. And reading Fobbit I realized it had been a long time since I had read Black Humor.
Fobbit ’fä-b t, noun. Definition: A U.S. soldier stationed at a Forward Operating Base who avoids combat by remaining at the base, esp. during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2011). Pejorative.
The novel is inspired by Abrams' career in the army as a Fobbit working at a Forward Operating Base during the Iraq war. Like his character Staff Sgt. Chance Gooding, Jr. Abrams worked in PR, spinning the news from Iraq to conform to the changing goals of the military.

The characters are Dickensian, full of absurd characteristics; Lt. Col. Harkleroad is prone to nosebleeds under stress, Lt. Col. Vic Duret zones out into daydreams of his wife's breast, and Capt. Abe Shrinkle, who nearly wets his pants under attack, makes up tales of his heroism in his letters to his mother. I laughed out loud. Abrams can be very funny. (His character's names are, too.)

The power of words informs the book. Starting with Gooding, whose job in public affairs involves turning "the bomb attacks, the sniper kills, the sucking chest wounds, and the dismemberments into something palatable--ideally, something patriotic--that the American public could stomach as they browsed the morning newspaper with their toast and eggs." Abrams goes on to clarify, "Good's weapons were words, his sentences missiles."

There are scenes of horrible violence that show the absurdity of war. Harkleroad has the worst judgment and creates one PR problem after another. Including shooting an strangely behaving Iraqi only to find the deceased was mentally ill and blowing up a military vehicle rather than leaving it for the enemy to find, setting off a fire that leaves another Iraqi civilian dead.

Gooding's job is to write up the PR report, twisting the raw truth into military approved pablum.
He has mastered KIA press releases. The problem is getting the higher-ups to approve them.
Meantime, the news media reports eye witness accounts.

Gooding turns out a PR, his superior Harkleroad puts a spin on it. Gooding rewrites the PR. Harkleroad gets a stress nosebleed and suggests punching it up "with a few adjectives here and there," suggesting "they responded with lightning-like speed and efficiency" to play up the Iraqi forces' role. Gooding rewrites the PR. Harkleroad finally hits the "send" button. By then the news is so old that the Associated Press return message is "Stale News." On CNN an eyewitness is already telling the world what happened. "Where the heck did they get that information," Harkleroad moans. "They were there, sir," Gooding replies.

A catastrophe occurs; thousands of Iraqi pilgrims are crowding around a mosque when someone shouts, "he's got a bomb." Panic ensues. In the chaos of fleeing humanity, a bridge breaks and topples hundreds into the water. More people die in the incident than had died the entire previous month. "It was the shout that killed, the words that had devastated more than any shrapnel or flames could ever do."

What we say is never objective, we all have something to sell. Everything is slanted. The military reports, the news, television, advertising. Words are, always have been weapons, tools that when well used can lead thinking, prompt responses, create need or inspire rejection.

At the end of the novel Gooding has reached the limit, realizing "no matter how many words we put on pieces of paper, it's all useless in the end because those press releases just wind up as some editor's paper basketball arcing through the air into a wastebasket in a newsroom somewhere in South Dakota."

The novel is black comedy, considering the horror of war and the challenges of military life through the lens of satire--because we really don't want to hear about it straight.

Fobbit
by David Abrams
Grove Atlantic/Black Cat
$15 paperback
ISBN:978-0-8021-2032-8


Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Works in Process--Books to Come

I have the corner appliqué to finish on these new 1857 Album blocks from Sentimental Stitches. I will do the embroidery on all of the blocks when the blocks are all finished. I am so enjoying these blocks.


Since making my William Shakespeare portrait I want to make more poet portrait quilts. Next up is Edgar Allan Poe. He was quite a craftsman as a writer. You can read how he wrote The Raven in his Philosophy of Composition here.

I want to drape a 'purple curtain' over the quilt because of the beautiful lines in the Raven: "And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain/Thrilled me-- filled me, with fantastic terror never felt before."


Little Hazel by Esther Alui is sadly being neglected. I failed at machine piecing this block and started hand sewing it. I dislike hand sewing (although I like hand appliqué--go figure) and this is as far as I have gotten...a quarter of a block.
I finally started hand quilting my Austen Family Album by Barbara Brackman, finished a year ago. I expect it will take me a year of quilting to finish!

Quilt Books news:

I will be reviewing Suzie Parron's Following the Barn Quilt Trail from Ohio U Press! They are sending me the book. Perfect timing since last month Suzi was at my quilt guild and I took her workshop.

I have Bill Volckening's new book Modern Roots--Today's Quilts from Yesterday's Inspiration from C&T Publications to review. Bill has an amazing quilt collection. You can see his quilts shared on his blog Wonkyworld.

And the Schiffer Publication's books Inspired By The National Parks and Hmong Story Cloths are on my NetGally shelf.


Also, my review of Thomas Knauer's The Quilt Design Coloring Book will come out in August.

Fiction & Nonfiction

I was happy when St. Martin's Press reached out to offer me Lisa Scottoline's new book Damaged. Apparently they liked my review of Corrupted shared on Amazon. Having lived in Philly for 15 years my hubby and I appreciate Scottoline's books for the setting and enjoy her characters and stories.
I am currently reading Mad Enchantment about Monet and his water lily series and the novel Lucky Boy through NetGalley, and from Blogging for Books The Apache War.



Scheduled reviews to come include the Antarctic love story My Last Continent by Midge Raymond; David Abram's Iraqi war novel Fobbit; the Taming of the Shrew re-imagined in the Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler; Larry Tye's new biography of Bobby Kennedy; an exploration of race in Absalom's Daughters by Suzanne Feldman;  Angels of Detroit by Christopher Hebert; Rae Meadow's Dust Bowl novel I Will Send Rain; the time spanning Mr. Eternity by Aaron Thier; first published in 1864 The Female Detective; The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (soon to be a movie); The Illustrated Book of Sayings from around the world; and Tara Clancy's memoir The Clancys of Queens.

My NetGalley shelf also holds Victoria:The Queen by Julia Baird; Candace Millard's Hero of the Empire about Churchill during the Boer War; Alice Hoffman's Faithful; The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City by Margaret Creighton about Buffalo, NY during the 1901 Pan American Exhibition; and The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinbourough called "A beautiful book, honestly told" by Neil Gaiman.

Whew!