Baltimore Sonnets

Making a book for textile historians has been very exciting. When I begin a project I usually review the history of the textiles and their conditions.  I ask a few questions such as: Will these fabric stand the test of time?  Do I have to cut around designs?  Do I have enough "archival" textile to make a whole page or do I have to collage the remnants with other materials?    For this book, all of the fabrics are in perfect condition, which allows me to design interesting prints.  I should be finished in a week and look forward to posting.   *Coronavirus Disease 2019: Update in Maryland- 8/26/2020 105,486 confirmed cases  3,717 deaths   6,061 recovered Update in New York State - 8/26/2020 431340 confirmed cases  32,921 deaths    74,791 recovered Total in United States: 5,820,113 confirmed cases, 179,657 deaths Total Worldwide: 24,032,128 confirmed cases, 822,480 deaths * All numbers are taken from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus...

Patterns and Designs My last post showed a variation of the log cabin quilt pattern.  A pattern that I grew up using and have come to love.  When I first saw the beautiful variety of fabric scraps, with their vast range of vibrant golds, glittering silvers and muted plaids, I thought the log cabin pattern would work well.  However, by the time I created the third page I realized the log cabin pattern wasn't the best choice for these fabrics.  I didn't like the way the fabrics "read."   Another quilt design I used as a child was the string pattern.  It is great for combining disparate fabric textures, styles, and colors.   It involves cutting every fabric into 1" to 2" strips and then sewing these strips together to create a square.  After making four squares, I combine them to form a diamond shape.  The beautiful metallic and gold fabrics mixed with the plaids create a very pleasing design.   *Coronavirus Disease 2019: Update in Mar...

Textile Books are Sumptuous When I began making books using wedding dresses, a community group donated several wedding gowns to me.  I was so touched and grateful for their donation that I promised to make a book using one of the dresses.    The women in the group are textile historians so I wanted to make a spectacular book for them.  One that was resplendent and sumptuous.  One that when they opened it, they would say aaah and oooh.  They are also expert tailors, so I wanted to make sure that all of my seams and edges were perfect.  The more I thought about how beautiful and technically perfect the book had to be, the longer I waited.   During the pandemic, the second hand stores where I shop were closed so my husband ordered a few fabric scrap packs from FabScrap .  FabScrap is a company in NYC that recycles unused textiles from top designers such as Marc Jacobs, J. Crew, and Badgley Mischka.   When I received the box o...

 Signs of the Times During COVID-19 Today I went to my favorite printmaking shop to make films for my silkscreens.  I looked online before I left my house to see what time the store opened.  According to the online information, the store opened at 10am.   When I arrived, I saw this gigantic orange and yellow sign: Spirit Halloween.  I thought that maybe my print shop was working on a seasonal project - something related to Halloween.  As I approached the front door, which was locked, I realized that the print shop had closed.   A costume place had moved in.            I decided to walk around the neighborhood and found several shops had gone out of business.  What was a little jarring about these closed stores was there was no information about their closures on the Internet.  Technology had not caught up with their disappearances. I'm not exactly sure when they went out of business.  The last time I wa...

Sonnet VI It was such a joy embroidering this cover.  I liked the idea of hiding my name in the stitches. Hope everyone is well and safe. *Coronavirus Disease 2019: Update in Maryland- 8/13/2020 98,160 confirmed cases  3,620 deaths   5,962 recovered Update in New York State - 8/13/2020 423,440 confirmed cases  32,805 deaths    73,907 recovered Total in United States: 5,242,184 confirmed cases, 166,971 deaths Total Worldwide: 20,739,537 confirmed cases, 751,910 deaths * All numbers are taken from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

The Kindness of Artists Yesterday, after the tropical storm swept across the East Coast, there was a calm.  The sun came out around 4pm and I opened my front door to take a look outside.  To my surprise there was a package from artist Sophie Leigh Fisher. Sophie sent me a signed copy of her beautifully illustrated book about her grandmother.  What a wonderful tribute to her grandmother! Her gifts were the calm and sunshine after a terrible storm. *Coronavirus Disease 2019: Update in Maryland- 8/5/2020 92,426 confirmed cases  3,536 deaths   5,749 recovered Update in New York State - 8/5/2020 418,225 confirmed cases  32,754 deaths    73,410 recovered Total in United States: 4,818,328 confirmed cases, 158,174 deaths Total Worldwide: 18,727,700 confirmed cases, 706,044 deaths * All numbers are taken from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center