New Book

"Would you tell me, please,
which way I ought to go from here?"
said Alice.

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,"
said the Cat.

"I don't much care where,"
said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go,"
said the Cat. -Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland 1865

Here's the latest book I bought off amazon. I found it really inspiring. I have always been a fan of fiber arts and taught myself how to do some basic sewing. I don't know if i do it right but I think it works in the end. Quilts are timeless and precious. People have made quilts for a long time and some are still around today. It is a piece of history and each one tells it's own story. I've made a few quilts on my life. They never came out as pieces of art but just standard block quilts. I experimented with photo transfers when i made a quilt for my mom with pictures from the family. I also worked on machine quilting for the first time in the Alternative Materials class. It's a free motion needle where you have control to move the fabric around. I've never done it before and didn't have anyone to show me so it came out okay on the front but the back was a mess. I could not get the tension set right. It's something i would like to further experiment with someday.


While browsing on amazon one day I came across this book CONNECTING QUILTS, ART & TEXTILES by M. Joan Lintault.

<-- Uncoiling Snakes
Hand dyed, screen painted cotton, appliqué, hand painted, quilted, sewing machine lace, beads.
81.5 x 81.5 in, 207 x 207 cm 1999

Lintault is a renowned fiber artist whos work has been exhibited in places like the American Crafts Museum and the Smithsonian. Her quilts push the boundaries of the traditional. She uses techniques like hand dying, screen printing, painting, applique, machine quilting, embroidery, etc to make her quilts unique. The book is not a "how to" but it's more about her inspriation and thoughts behind each quilt. Most of the quilts are about nature and gardens. Chinese paper stencils, roman wall paintings, japanese prints and screens, medieval manuscripts, portrait paintings, and ceramics are just a few of her inspirations. She keeps in mind the colors, negative and positive space, and meaning behind each piece. The book has beautiful images of each quilt and also includes Lintault's photographs that were used to get ideas.

There are qoutes in the beginning of each chapter that i found interesting:

Alice thought to herself,
"I don't see how he can ever finish if he doesn't begin,"
-Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland 1865