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I’ve been quilting and quilting on my Blushing Triangles 3 quilt. It measures approximately 41″ square, and it is heavily machine stitched. I started the quilting on this in April, and it’s been slow going. Here’s a close up of a section of the quilt.

A big help for my eyes while working on this project is the neatest gadget which is now attached to my sewing machine. It’s a light – called the “Bendable Bright Light” that was one of my best finds while at the Houston Quilt Festival. It attaches to the machine and points a white beam of light directly where it is needed. My aging eyes is in love with this light. It makes a huge difference.

At $50, it isn’t inexpensive; however, I find it worth every penny. I have no affiliation with this company, just a very happy user. You can find more information about it at the Bendable Bright Light page.

I was flipping through the TV channels and Rachael Ray was on. There was a woman showing gift wrapping using a type of “Mottainai Furoshiki,” which is a symbol of the Japanese culture to reduce waste. Furoshiki is “a Japanese traditional wrapping cloth which is used repeatedly in a stylish way.” “Mottainai” means “it’s a shame for something to go to waste without having made use of its potential in full.” Together, they are folding and wrapping ideas to use with a scarf for wrapping presents (instead of using paper or plastic). Some of them are really nifty, like warpping two books into what looks like a purse of sorts to hold the books. The technique is further explained as putting “an accent on taking care of things and avoiding wastes.”

To get directions, you follow a bunch of links on her site to eventually get to the Ministry of the Environment site. To save you time, here is the site with the directions.

At times I wrap gifts for friends in fabric that I painted, and this will be such a cool way to do it.

While in Houston this fall, I had a delicious breakfast with Jean Ann Wright, the new editor of the National Quilting Association’s quarterly publication, The Quilting Quarterly. She said, “I hope it’s okay, but we’re going to use your quilt (Squared Illusions 6) on our next cover.” It certainly is okay! Here’s the cover. It’s the Winter 2007 issue which will be out sometime in January (probably should be the Winter 2008 issue <g>). I’m thrilled with it. Learn more about the National Quilting Association here.

I received a call from Deborah Corsini, the curator of the renowned San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles in San Jose, California. She offered me the opportunity to exhibit my quilts. I am absolutely stunned by the offer and immediately agreed. The show will be called “Advanced Geometry” and will coincide with a larger show on digital Jacquard textiles. It will run from April 1st through early June. I will post more information when I have it.

As a result of this opportunity, I decided to photograph all of the quilts I have rolled up in storage in my workroom closet. It was quite a trip down memory lane with some of the quilts being 20 years old. It’s amazing to think that much time has gone by. While the quilts are in excellent condition, with most being rolled on poles, taking them out made me realize that I need to create some kind of archival storage system for storing my work. After doing some research, I bought archival tissue paper and textile storage boxes.

I purchased from:

Light Impressions Corp.
PO Box 22708
Rochester, New York 14692-2708
Tel: 800-828-6216
They have a wide selection of archival, conservation, and framing supplies.

Here are some of the other useful links that I found:

The Kent State University Museum offers these five guidelines:

• Handle with care
• Absolutely no wearing
• No washing
• Store in a stable environment
• Do not expose to light

The Textile Museum, in Washington DC, offers a PDF directory of educational programs in textile history, conservation, museum studies, textile science, textile and apparel design, and fiber arts.

To download the 23 page PDF, click here. Scroll down to Library Resources, and click the Education Directory link. While some of the links are outdated, you can search on the link name to find the updated link.

Their Care & Storage page that covers: The Guidelines for the Care of Textiles.

“… Textiles that are displayed in both homes and public buildings are subject to deterioration by many environmental factors – such as light, temperature and relative humidity, dust and dirt, insects, and improper storage or display. Thus the critical factors in maintaining your textile collection are control of environmental conditions, proper display techniques, and proper storage. …”

The page includes sections on environmental control, general care and cleaning, storage, proper display techniques, framing textiles, when to consult a conservator, and suppliers of archival materials.

Conservation/Preservation Information for the General Public (COOL) offers a large range of links to a variety of museum, library, and archive professionals. They note: “Some of these sites are vendors of products and services and the information offered is intermixed with commercial content. Mention of a resource here does not in any way indicate endorsement of any product or service, nor does it emply endorsement of the valididy of the technical information itself.”

The site includes an extensive range of links in the following categories:

• Commercial Services
• Disaster planning and response
• Finding People, especially Finding A Conservator
• Mold
• Online Conservation/Preservation Serials
• Pest Management
• Suppliers

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artist Works (AIC) – Caring for Your Treasures

The International Quilt Study Center & Museum has a section on Questions on Quilt Care, Conserving Precious Textiles.

Conservators of Fine Fabrics specializes in cleaning, mounting, and repairing valuable and precious fine fabrics.