\nThis week though, in a few tentative forays, my thoughts have been directed downstairs.<\/em><\/p>\n
I still have to sign off on the rewritten, re-compiled Salvage\/Selvedge talk that I will\u00a0 present soon at OZQUILT’s\u00a0 Art Quilt Australia conference. It is edit down time – to take out some visuals and words to make it smaller\/more succinct.
\nI’m still a bit concerned as I do want to be very specific when I talk and fear that without my usual “off-the-cuff conversation backed by visuals” style it may be stilted….though I still have another week to reorganise if necessary.<\/p>\n
Back to downstairs.<\/em>….. this week my task is to make a small piece for the silent auction held during the OZQUILT gala dinner. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n These pieces are based on the childhood verse that was \u2018given\u2019 to me by my maternal grandmother and reiterated by my mother. It is a tradition that I have, in turn, passed on to my children. Anyway, that was merely an introduction to my next task, done in a few stages with thinking time in between.<\/p>\n I sliced some grey linen and stitched folds of red linen in between, sandwiched, ‘quilt\/stitched’ and bagged it out to bind.<\/p>\n
\nI’m usually very tentative in starting new work – I assume that this is quite normal for many of us – though I suppose I am not generally gung-ho about much in life?…considered is much more my style.
\nI could offer up something made previously but I want to make a fresh piece. Interestingly, rather than go forward with the swan study right now, I am looking backward to a series titled “Can you keep a secret” of which I made five pieces over the course of a few years.<\/p>\n![\"can](\"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/can-you-keep-a-secret2.jpg\")
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\nThe verse, similar to \u2019round and round the garden ran the teddy bear\u2019 was also accompanied by the same hand-holding, the same intense suspense and the same delicious wriggling and giggling. I\u2019ve met few who know this version, perhaps it was a very localised little \u2018song\u2019\u2026..\u201dCan you keep a secret, I don\u2019t suppose you can, you mustn\u2019t laugh, you mustn\u2019t cry but do the best you can\u201d.
\nI spent two weeks in December 2011 drawing, brainstorming, working out formats, colour stories and fabric selections. There are plenty of recorded ideas still to act upon…<\/p>\n<\/a>In clearing out some drawing supplies – to move some down south –\u00a0 I lined up some gloss black A4 card next to the sewing machine. I have stitched on card before and quite like the effect. So my first downstairs task was to stitch freehand and simply blurt out the chant.
\nI had five pieces of card. I stitched the chant five times. I loved doing it.
\nI love the effect and of course, as usual, my love of multiples, repeat block, quilt-making aesthetic encourages me to do more….perhaps one day…<\/p>\n