monkey hands

Morphing Beast; Teaching: Third H.S. Quilt Finished

This little beastie started out with an odd kind of menacing face that never seemed right (see the before face here). A small scrap of fabric and a new face later, this little beast now seems more friendly, even a bit curious. With an ode to Jude Hill's "Beasts" class, and now the Spirit Diaries Course, online, more info here at Spirit Cloth. Check out "Classes".

Tomorrow, after living and working in Beijing for two years, I return to teaching--part time, not full time anymore-- at Keene State College. With temperatures in the teens during the day and the single or negative numbers at night, it's going to be a rude start for an 8am course. Nevertheless, it will be good to be back on campus with colleagues and students, and I'll still have time for fiber and textile work/play.

These generous folks:  

made most the blocks or longarm quilted this great quilt, now on its way to a happy recipient!

Here's to the generous world-wide community of quilters, including longarmer Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry! Three quilts are totally finished, two more are quilted and waiting to be bound, one more is pieced to send off for quilting, and the blocks pressed for the seventh and final quilt, soon to be squared, cut, and stitched together.  

Diary Cloth, More From Mongolia

As part of my ongoing stitching in Jude Hill's online class at Spirit Cloth, I had planned to make wings (a large flying beastie-bird?) for my connected hand-foot creation. As I stitched late at night in Ulaanbaatar, the handfoot (I had surgery on both this year, so they are embedded with personal significance) morphed into a sailboat and that just felt right. Also, I was happy to discover that I had taken my little treasure pack of moons made by Glennis Dolce aka the talented, creative Shibori Girl , here with me back to Beijing, so I've added this sweet linen gem to the mix. The "whale" (see a couple posts ago) lost out for now, but probably not forever.  Maybe too literal at the moment?

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A few more pictures from my visit north to work with the women at Mongolian Quilters: 

These two tables are basically standard 30" by 72" tables, and during the day six women work at each table while others work on the floor, on a small side table, at a square ironing table, and even in the shop if necessary. I hope to help with some fundraising for expansion next year. 

I went to the center straight from Ghengis Kahn airport with my suitcase full of bird-making materials as well as an electric sewing machine and converter to donate, some rotary cutters, and fabric.  Taking a test drive--trying out various stitches and tension as I show how to work the "controls." This is a hard-working basic machine that will be put to good use.

Back from Mongolia

I'm back in Beijing after another good trip to Ulaanbaatar. I brought a sewing machine and converter, taught a bird-making workshop, and worked on the new website with the organization's founder and current director, Selenge Tserendash. More info and pictures forthcoming! 

The center workspace is too small, and women have to work in day on, day off shifts.

Sometimes small and not-so-small children accompany their mothers or grandmothers.

 

Packing for Mongolia

click for larger image

     While Hurrican Sandy is pummeling the U.S. east coast, I am preparing to return to Ulaanbaator for another visit, this time to work on the website (published in process--Mongolian Quilts ), offer a bird-making workshop, and bring supplies.

     I have family members up and down the coastal area, including two children in NYC, one just a block from the evacuation border in Brooklyn, as well as my 90 year old mother-in-law. I also have a son in southern New Hampshire,  my husband and I both have brothers and their families in the affected areas (Wash. D.C., Virginia, North Carolina), so I will be watching from afar, and hoping for the best for everyone.

     Side note: The walking boot is "just in case," and the Japanese masks are the best I've found for filtering soot and heavy metal pollution.

More Dolls and Mongolia

             

Mongolian dolls made by quilting group members--great Ghenghis Khan inspired faces!

Selenge, her daughter and mother in the quilt shop; they were great hosts and fine company. I'm eager to return.

A new doll gets hair

                                Partially restored Summer Palace in Ulaanbaatar, "Big Sky" country!

Selenge picked me up from the airport in her Prius (just like the one I drive at home except for the language).  I'm working with her to set up a website for the project.  www.mongolianquilts.org 

Mongolian Quilt Center

This is the facade of the small shop and workshop where I spent some lovely days teaching skilled quilters how to make two types of small dolls from mostly upcycled materials (photos of inside the shop coming soon).

Doll-makers in action! Clothes will be made from silk scraps donated by a supportive local tailor. The quilts and quilted items--pillow-covers, bags, wall-hangings--are also made from donated materials.

Delight as dolls gain personality and "come to life"  with hair, eyes, nose, mouth! 

view from room in Ulaanbaatar

another view from room

Itinerant Doll-Maker

I've made dolls with people in the U.S., in India, in China, and now, in Mongolia. It seems to me that people are drawn to dolls and doll-making because dolls are made in our own human image. Creating a doll in a mixed-language group helps create a common language -- two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two arms, and so on.  We are so much more alike than we are different. 

                            These are just a few of the talented quilters I worked with in Ulaanbaatar. 

I brought this doll, upcycled from a sock and scraps of fabric, as a model for one of the dolls I'd be teaching the group to make. It was met with sighs of, "Oh, how Chinese!" and "That is a Chinese doll."  Yes, that makes sense, as she was made by me in China with Chinese materials.

                                                                       Newly made Mongolian dolls! 

 

Doll prototype, Boro patching

I'm using rough unbleached muslin to make some dolls for an upcoming summer teaching project in Mongolia (provided I'm crutch-free and walking well by August). I was going  to make a Mongolian doll in traditional dress last night, but somehow I ended up with home-on-the-prairie or little miss shetl here.  The thing that matters most now is getting the doll pattern down so I can make a papper patten and PDF instructions. So I'm just having fun. The traditional Mongolian costumes will be fun to create, too. I'll take another trip to the Beijing Women's and Children's Museum to look at their great displays of traditional dress as part of the process. 

 
 Tie shoes and wacky socks under that prim dress:  

What kind of face?  I often stumble here.  I should probably make the face before I stitch the doll so I could mess-up and re-do, but it seems the doll's personality doesn't appear to me until s/he's stitched and stuffed. So...simple stitched lines for eyes and mouth?  Embroidered eyes and mouth? Drawn (this is scariest for me) face? No face?  Old dolls often had no eyes/mouth, but it seems to me that's saying something about seeing, smelling, and speaking--as in being heard or something, yes? 

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I'm still working on my boro-inspired apron, but I took a break to patch my pjs. Before taking the boro class, I might have found a black scrap and made an unobtrusive fix with black thread,* but this time I decided I want my work to be visible. It makes me smile.

* or I might well have tossed them--my favorite pj pants--into the giveaway bag.  I'm changing my ways.

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Today marks 16 weeks post-break, and 12 weeks post-op (bone graft/plate/screws) for my poor old left foot.  I'm off to see the surgeon this afternoon.  The last x-ray was six weeks ago and showed "no sign of healing" (i.e. bone graft filling in gap). I'm hoping today brings better news!

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Our air quality continues to be quite bad. The days are gray and hazy--it's like looking through a steam/dirt filled sky. The sun is not visible, and the light stays dim, as if in a heavy rain, all day.

Hanoi: Teaching, the Old Quarter, Vietnamese Embroidery

I stayed in Hanoi's Old Quarter when I taught at the Foreign Trade University last month. 

Views from my room at Hoabinh Palace Hotel, a modest, well-located hotel in the heart of the Old Quarter.

Hoan Kiem Lake is less than two short blocks from Hoabinh Palace. It's a beautiful, quiet place to walk or read, as well as a gathering spot for couples and groups of all ages.

One of the High Quality classes I taught at FTU. This picture was taken on my last day at the school. The class presented me with a lovely traditional Vietnamese hand embroidered landscape (pictures below). They are a motivated, gracious group of intelligent young scholars. The course is taught by a skilled, personable professor.  It was a rich, rewarding experience, and I hope to return to teach there again next semester.