Denim Logcabin Patchwork

As you know I like making patchwork. One of my favourite designs is the logcabin design which has been used for hundreds of years in different formats, apparently log cabin patterns are to be found on the tiled floors of some ancient Egyptian buildings. 

I build up the patchwork by working square 'blocks' that are joined together. Above the strips of light and dark denim are randomly placed. Not happy with the design, I made alternate light and dark blocks below.

This arrangement didn't make me happy either!

So I next divided each block into light and dark.

This was better, but wasn't symmetrical enough to my eye, so I worked out where I'd gone wrong and finally found the right block formation to create the design below.....

I used a flat fell seam on my overlocker to sew the strips together, once a seam is stitched you gently pull the fabric strips apart and magically the seam flattens out on both sides of the fabric. This is very exciting for me, because it means that I do not have to back this type of work, great news for anyone who has slept under one of my very heavyweight quilts! 

Right side of patchwork.

 A

Reverse side of patchwork.

Up Pompeii! (and Herculaneum)

We were very fortunate to attend a special evening hosted by the fabulous folk of Brunswick at The British Museum. On show until September is an exhibition called 'Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum' It is a fascinating insight into life of Roman society, captured at the time of the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. 

I've been to The British Museum a few times and I must say that I have found visiting big shows there a bit of a trial because of the crowds. But this visit was very different, on our arrival we were warmly welcomed by the lovely Frank, a charming gentleman who is the king of hospitality. On learning our excitement of seeing the exhibition, Frank like a magician disappeared for a few moments, on his return he quietly announced that we could go into the exhibition before the other guests! 

Well, I know how the Queen must feel when she gets first dibs at The Chelsea Flower Show or gets her own evening at Harrods! The experience was amazing, not only were we the first visitors, we were also able to call on the knowledge of the volunteers placed around the exhibition. These guys brimming with information were somehow able to judge when we were ready to ask a question or when we looked puzzled or inquisitive, making the experience even more enjoyable.

As I walked around the exhibition a song kept popping into my head against all my attempts to push it out. The tune 'Up Pompeii' was the theme tune from a comedy full of double entendres, innuendos and risque gags. Created in the 1970's Frankie Howerd plays the starring role of a slave named Lurcio living in pre-eruption Pompeii. 

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper

I-unpicked-some-denim-jean-waistbands-with-my-nifty-little-quick-un-pick.

Yes, I know the words do not all begin with the same letter! But hey, I enjoyed stringing them together! Sorry Miss Squires (My secondary school English teacher).

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Up North and Down South

A few weeks ago we visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park,  We usually visit James Turrell's 'Deer Shelter' first, you can see the exterior of the building hiding between the trees in the photograph here.

And below, is the entrance. 

 Once inside you are drawn into the inner chamber

 It's a very quiet and peaceful space. 

Look up, in the ceiling is a window to the sky...

beautiful and mesmerising.

The artist Yinka Shonibare MBE has work on show throughout the YSP both outdoors and in the indoor spaces and galleries, a huge body of work covering the complex world of race, culture and the worlds where they meet. As often is the case photography was not allowed. I took a photo of the above piece though, a very deceptive piece of 'African' cloth  which is actually made of fibre glass!

The day we were at the YSP was also the press day for the opening of 'Seizure' an exhibition of a building housed within its own building. We donned on our plastic booties and went into the transformed apartment made surreal by way of copper sulphate. Thousands of crystals coat every surface, begging to be touched!

. . . . . . . . . . . 

 The next day we travelled to Kent to see an exhibition of drawings by the sculptor Barbara Hepworth. She and her husband Ben Nicholson became friends with the surgeon who operated on one of their triplets. The surgeon who was also creative invited Barbara back to sit in during operations.

The drawings are a fascinating record of her time spent in the operating theatre. Her mark making helps us to see the concentration needed during procedures, the eyes and the hands of the medical staff being the focus of each picture.