Scrapbooks, Part One

If you’ve been a frequent reader here, you’ve likely noticed my fascination with bits and pieces – scraps.  Not just scraps of fabric, but scraps gleaned from research projects, bits from the lives of others (my auction addiction) and so on.                        

               

I have a great appreciation for antique scrapbooks from the late 1800s and early 1900s, having had the opportunity to view some stellar examples in a couple of libraries where I used to work.  I have not really jumped into the contemporary scrapbooking trend, though I do have a couple of sketchbooks in which I keep clippings from assorted sources for creative inspiration.  Assembling a scrapbook of this nature is a great way to have a steady source of ideas in one place.  The creative-type scrapbook is also a way to condense piles of magazines.  Pull out the articles you want, (making sure to note the title and date), get rid of the rest.  Don’t be afraid to add anything else that inspires you: advertising graphics, literary or music quotes, names of artists to study, whatever strikes your fancy!

Earlier this year, I acquired a box lot of paper ephemera that was definitely the remains of a disassembled late 1800s scrapbook.  At that time, “chromolithography, die cutting and embossing unleashed a flood of cheap, brightly colored scrap [commercially printed paper],” made specifically for the scrapbooking hobby then.  (John Fleischman, “The Labyrinthine World of the Scrapbook King,” Smithsonian Magazine, Feb. 1992.)

Personally, I think that the 1800s printed scrap papers are much better in quality and innovation than the scrapbook papers churned out today.  That said, most of the 1800s scrapbooks that I have come across at the antiques shops and markets are just page after page of litho pictures, nothing else.  Rare is the one that has a clear theme and/or includes text of any sort. 

I picked up these small volumes at an outdoor market this year. 

They consist entirely of newspaper and magazine articles on a single subject.  The dealer had a large boxful of them.  I selected volumes titled Color, Wool, Textiles, Vegetables and Fruit.  Sadly, most of the articles lack a source and date, but from the few dates that I found in them, the books were assembled between 1920 and 1957.  They are a fascinating insight into the midcentury decades, and I love the idea of keeping personal groups of related articles.

These little scrapbooks raise many unanswerable questions though.  Did the individual who made them intend for them to say something about that person after they passed on, or were they solely intended for their maker’s lifetime?

Later on, I will profile two tremendous collectors of ephemera: Joseph Cornell and Theodore Langstroth.

Pillowcase binding

Not a very exciting topic, but I've had several requests to post instructions for pillowcase binding.  I'm not a fan of the traditional bias strip edge bindings for quilts.  The pillowcase technique suits my style now.  Here's what you do:

1. Cut batting and backing fabric same size as quilt top.  Partially quilt the top and batting together, just enough to hold the two layers together.
2. Place backing fabric onto the top/batting layer, right sides together.  Sew 1/4" around the edges, leaving 1/3 of one side open.
3. Trim corners and excess batting from edges.  Turn right side out, iron.
4. Stitch or fuse the opening, quilt as desired.

There, that is the quick version!  For this collage, I am creating a three layer quilt base that the actual collage will be attached to at some point.  Here is the base in progress, with the collage to the right of the sewing machine, showing that it is clearly not being included yet in the construction.

I have to quilt the base layer again, and then decide if I want to attach the collage now, or do some more work on it.  I need to think about this for a bit.

Yes, that is a vintage Singer 201.  I LOVE that machine, a sturdy workhorse!  I am one of those people who names their sewing machines, this is Grace.  I found her at an estate auction, and I can prove that I am the second owner of this machine.  Grace was the first name of the machine's first owner.  I never knew Grace, but she took great care of her sewing machine, and I am honored to be the next owner of her treasured Singer.

Backsides

Progress on the collage has not been made yet, I do not have backing fabric yet!  I have found the lost quilt that I mentioned last time.  The search for that one has taken much of my time that was supposed to be spent sewing.  Now I can move forward.

I'm still debating how to put together the purple collage.  I continue to be somewhat mystified at quilt shows by the multitudes of viewers who have to see the backs of many of the quilts.  Yes, I get it that even stitches and so forth are an important part of good craftsmanship.  However, for an art quilt that is hung on a wall, should the back matter so much?  No one, no one, at an art gallery or museum asks to see the back of a watercolor or oil painting.  If anyone did, they'd be escorted out of the place.

It is important for my hand stitching not to come undone - I always end up with lots of knots on the backs of my quilts.  

I don't want the embellishing to fall off!  There is only so much I can add before I have to quilt, and some of my embellishing cannot not sewn over.  I have to add things after quilting.  

This (above) is the back of a small quilt collage that was completely embellished before I pillowcase bound it and quilted it with just four lines of decorative machine stitching (horizontal and vertical axis), and added a scant few decorative stitch flowers here and there.  The thread ends are hidden,  it is still technically a quilt, but not likely to be acceptable in quilt show judging.  The machine didn't like having to deco stitch over some of my embellishing, more points off for uneven stitches!

On this one, I did all my stitching through all three layers.  Since there is so much happening, the awkward knots and undersides of the hand stitching do not seem all that bad... the batik print helps to distract from the ends as well.  However, would this pass muster in a quilt show?  I wonder how much the back matters to the average non-quilter (potential) buyer of my work.

I am leaning towards options of finishing my collages that would disqualify them as quilts, but would result in a better looking back.  I'm not much for entering quilt shows anyway. 

Getting Sidetracked

Despite what it appears, I have added a few pieces to the collage.  I had intentions to add more in time for this post, but I realized that I have to quilt this thing at some point.  Right now, it is only a top layer, with no batting or backing.

image copyright RPS, please do not repost

The stitching of the three layers to make my collages (technically) into quilts is a struggle for me.  I don't want the quilting to dominate the design and I tend to neglect this crucial step until I have embellished to the point were there is very little chance of me stuffing the mess under the presser foot of the sewing machine.  Not to mention at that point, adding quilting would flatten the fabrics, ribbons, etc. that I attach to come up off of the collage surface.  This piece will be be an experiment in minimal quilting in the currently open areas of purple base fabric, then back to the embellishing.

So, my next plan for this post was to dive into instructions for pillowcase binding, as requested from several customers of mine.  I have not found a piece of backing fabric to suit me, despite tearing through the fabric storage room not only in search of backing, but also on a quest to locate another half finished collage quilt that I want to finish soon.  It has been one of those weeks.  Time for a trip to the local quilt shop...

Quilt National Catalog Binge

Thirteen Quilt National catalogs, and that's not all that are out there!  In my still ongoing study of the Quilt National catalogs, I have noticed an expected increase in the innovation and creativity expressed in the entries.  I realize that it is useless for me to really discuss the QN shows here, as I cannot illustrate my points with images from the shows.

One thing I will discuss is a bit of a revelation happening within myself.  I am realizing that there are a surprising number of quilts through the thirteen catalogs that I cannot explain why they should be considered good art.  Now wait, I am not questioning the jurors or artists, I am questioning myself.  What is it that four other people see that I am not seeing? (The four people being the artist and the jurors.)  This struggle of mine is not exclusive to the QN catalogs.  I'm having the same trouble with nearly all of the the artwork illustrated in two books by the same author/artist on becoming a more creative painter.  I have the same feelings about nearly all of the contemporary artwork that museums and galleries think is fabulous.

I am often missing what the artist explains in the statement for the particular piece in the QN catalogs.  It does not matter if I look at the quilt first, then read the statement, or vice versa.

As I said in the last post, we do not have to like everything, but why am I sour about so much?  How many of you out there consistently find yourself indifferent or worse towards the majority of works in an art quilt show?  I find much that I consider innovative and amazingly creative, but so few quilts that I want to look at for more than a minute or so.

Sometimes, it is incredibly difficult to sufficiently explain why we like or love something.  This will be something I will be paying attention to more, to the point of adding to my journal the things I see in artwork that rocks my world.

Books and Pieces

I’m taking a bit of a break on the purple collage… at least a break from it here.  I am continuing to add to it; it will return on this blog in a week.  Thanksgiving is here, and I am using the days off from work to sew and ponder some ideas for the near future.  Here is another collage in the works, a 7X10” little thing, for the 2017 SAQA Trunk Show.

 image and design copyright RPS, 2016.  Please do not repost.

It is loaded with many bits and pieces, but using a limited color palette. 

Another item on my agenda for the next few days is perusing the stack of past Quilt National catalogs that I have loaned from the SEO libraries.  There are eight of the catalogs on my dining room table now, plus the five catalogs that I own.  I am planning on going through them in chronological order, beginning with the earliest.  I want to make some notes on the evolution of the show, and how art quilting itself has changed over the years.  Look for my initial thoughts here on Tuesday. 

On my initial skimming of the earlier QN catalogs, I noticed a number of quilts that were made from many random scraps, resulting in an overwhelming visual overload – there seemed to be a trend to use as many different commercial prints in one quilt as possible.  Unfortunately, I cannot illustrate any of them here.  I’m wondering if the perceived trend came from the rapid growth of the commercial printed fabric industry that was happening at the time.  It appears that quilters were wildly playing with these new “toys” (print fabric lines), without much regard to good design.  Of course, this is just my opinion… I do love the more is more approach to collage, but with some limits (like my little collage above… with three basic colors).

I always could end up feeling differently about these quilts that right now for, are too much, visually.  Maybe next week, maybe in two years, maybe never!  We all have different creative visions, and we don’t have to like everything we see.  However, when you see something you love, celebrate it!

Cold Autumn Day, Sunny Summer Flower

Tuesday evening wears on, and the words for a blog post are not forming in my brain.  All I have today is a beautiful picture.

A stunning lotus flower, taken at a nearby lake this past summer.  The part of the lake that sits near the main road is a shallow area, and the lotus plants have taken over in the shallows, creating a floating field.  Enjoy!