1. I spoke to my mother on the phone today, and wonder of wonders. the valentine I mailed on Monday arrived. Not only that, she loved it. Apparently the combination of red satin and lace is just what she thinks a valentine should be. So hooray for me, and hooray for the USPS!
2, At guild tonight, a member showed fabric she had bought on a trip to the Bahamas. She had stumbled across a local guild's show, and naturally jumped at the chance to visit. She said, "My husband started to laugh. He said, "I feel like I'm in South Bend.' The quilts and everything else at the show were exactly like what you see here." I don't know about you, but I think that's depressing.
3. ( Not totally unrelated to #2) Today, I picked up a copy of a book called One Hundred Japanese Quilts, the catalog of a show I saw in the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2004. Believe me, these quilts DO NOT look like what you'd see in South Bend. I am endlessly amazed by the individuality, the invention, the intricacy of these quilts. When I first bought it, I studied it for hours. I haven't looked at it for a while, and it's a pleasure to rediscover it, and to know that it hasn't lost its wonder.
So what's the connection between these two points? When what is seen at quilt shops and shows looks so much the same, whether in Indiana or the Bahamas, it's wonderful to know that there are individual visions out there. They're in the Japanese quilts, and in some of the quilts I saw at guild tonight, and in what I see on-line. Hooray for that individuality, too!
Glad your Valentine made it to your Mom on time!
ReplyDeleteNot to be depressed over, Kay! The Bahamas is kind of weird, industry-wise. The Bahamas is just a stone's throw from Florida, and I'll bet a lot of their fabric comes to them through here. It's not a huge country, so you can't compare it to the fabric industry you'd find in some of the other larger, more developed countries in the world. Which is why people go there to escape from the rat race so often!!! Not to mention, escape from the cold!
Thank goodness for variety and imagination. I feel similarly when I go to guild shows. I appreciate the efforts but long for something a little different. We are lucky to have such access as we do on the Internet-keeps the spirits up!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beena. You've made a good point about the Bahamas. Perhaps I was too hard on them.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese quilts (and quilters) never fail to knock my socks off.
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