quiltersmuse.com Blog

Ever since I was a small child, I have loved stories and owned many books. One of those is an over-sized book called, The Fairy Tale Book: A Selection of Twenty-eight Traditional Stories from the French, German, Danish, Russian and Japanese BY Hans Christian Andersen, The Brothers Grimm, Madame d’Aulnoy, Madame Leprince de Beaumont, Madame La Comtesse de Segur, and Charles Perrault. It was published by Simon and Schuster, New York, copyrighted in 1958.

Most of all, I was always intrigued by the illustrations in this book. From time to time, my mother would read me a story. Many of the tales you would recognize today: “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Many others you probably never heard like “Urashima and the Turtle,” “Dawn, the Golden Haired,” and “Silvershod.”

I still like the international flavor this book for children presents. A few years ago, hoping that I might someday have grandchildren, I purchased a more recent edition of the book (1999). The photo on the cover still looks very beautiful, if not more so, with today’s inks. One commonality between people is that we like to make up stories, don’t we? I am so happy to have this book for when my two grandchildren are a little older and are ready to patiently hear them, or even read them for themselves, when they visit.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Facebook, an interactive social network online, is more than what it might appear to be, at first glance. People connect there, in meaningful ways. It is on Facebook that I first became aware of a landscape quilt artist named Valerie Hearder. One can see Valerie’s beautiful work on her website. She travels the world to teach, as well she should, being so talented, and she has written several books. Her first one is already out of print. Valerie currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada and has been quilting since 1972.

When I saw some intriguing folk art textiles from South Africa, on Facebook, I had to know more. I contacted Valerie and in so doing, was able to purchase a small, embroidered piece to help support the “Grandmother to Grandmother” Campaign. You see, due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in that country, the parents of children are dying, and grandmothers are left to care for not only their own grandchildren, but sometimes the children of neighbors. It is a dire situation. Valerie’s video on her Facebook page explains what is happening. The grandmothers are impoverished and sometimes very ill, but struggling to care for up to 20 children, in some cases.

This scan shows the design area only of a 10 1/2 x 11 embroidered textile on a black background. The black borders (not shown) extend about an inch (unevenly) all around. As you can see, the colors are vibrant. The word “Rose” is present, but whether or not that is the name of the artist remains to be seen. Very few different types of stitches were employed in this work that relies heavily on chain stitch. It is a pleasure to think that the purchase of this work may help to feed some children.

She reports that Canadian grandmothers have responded well to this textile initiative to help. She can barely fill the demand there, let alone supply these wonderful embroideries to all who would like to help. Fifteen per cent of sales goes to the Stephen Lewis Foundation that (presumably) filters financial resources back to the South African communities.

If you want to purchase one of these pieces from Valerie, keep in mind that her prices are listed in Canadian currency. You can adjust Paypal payments to pay the seller, in any other currency. If you “Google” Valerie’s name, you will see that she runs a yahoo group about Landscape Quilts. She is one busy lady, and I am so happy to have made her acquaintance, online.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

After coming across some of Jan Brett’s books for children in one of our favorite bookstores in Lebanon, New Hampshire, I signed up for her monthly newsletter. Sometimes, she offers “how to draw” videos that are just great for children (and kids at heart). I really liked her video about how to draw a horse. One of her favorite characters to draw for children’s books is “Hedgie.” In fact, when she sent through a “Hedgie Leprechaun Coloring Page,” this month, I promptly ran out to K-Mart and bought a new box of crayons with 96 colors! Wow! I colored the page, laminated it, and mailed it to my grandson, along with a page for him to color (his Dad says, when he is a bit older).

On the list of books Jan has written, I count at least 34 different titles, and I know she is hard at work, writing and illustrating more delightful tales!

Jan has just started a blog and anyone can sign up! She says, “I hope that it will be a place where book lovers can meet and share information.” ~ http://janbrettsblog.com/

To give you a sample, particularly because her March 9 edition relates to her collecting cotton fabrics in African upon which to base future drawings, here is what she said:

March Hedge a gram

Happy March!

Hi, this is Jan Brett, letting you know what’s happening in my life as a children’s book illustrator and writer. If you have ever traveled to a foreign country, you may recognize the feelings I experienced after a trip to Africa. I did miss drawing and painting every day, which makes me feel like my true self. What made the trip valuable, was that I was filled with new images of landscapes, animals, birds and African people with traditional clothes and manners that impressed me in a way that makes me want to draw them. I am filled with a motivational excitement that makes me want to bring the images to life on paper.

In the traditional village I visited in Namibia, Otjongombe, I admired the long dresses, shawls and turbans the woman wore, especially since they were created from beautiful fabric. Most of the women made their own dresses and kept to a certain style that has been worn for generations. I bought many samples of cotton printed fabric to use when creating the clothes for the mapigni (rock hyrax in English) that will be characters in my book. I brought colored markers with me, so I could experiment with just how I could transform the tradition dress of the stately Namibian woman to the mapigni who I will dress just like them, but who are a bit chubby and short limbed.

My husband and I went to a school where I met the children of the village. They performed a program of song and dance which we greatly admired. We had some time to chat with the children who liked practicing their English with us. Their birth language is either Herero or Himba. They were interested in how old I was, so I told them that I was 59. I left some of my books for their library, since they all could read English and a beautifully illustrated science book about extreme animals that I bought especially for them, as well as President Obama lapel pins since the President’s father was from Africa. Everyone we met in Africa is elated by our country’s choice of President Obama.

During our two week trip to Africa we went for our second time to Namibia and our first time to Tanzania. Spending time in the bush or wilderness area learning about African birds, mammals, and reptiles is my idea of an energizing, inspiring, awesome time. Our African guides, Martin Benadie, who is South African and specializes in birds, Uanee Karuuombe, a Himba guide who introduced us to the Herero people, and Peter, our guide in Tanzania, brought events and encounters into focus and shared their knowledge. For example, Martin could walk into a stand of acacia trees listen carefully, and then point out eight different birds. Sometimes he would hear a bird call and then would imitate it with a whistle, and the bird would come out to investigate. Often he spotted birds unknown to the local guide.

In Namibia, Uanee helped me understand about the pride the Herero have of their beautiful cattle. Peter, whose family have lived on the Serengeti plains for generations, looked at a herd of zebra (properly known as a dazzle of zebra), and saw that they were intently staring at a fixed point not far off. He drove us in his Land Rover slowly that way, and soon we saw the elegant cheetah the zebras were looking at but who had been hidden from our sight. Excited as I am by all the new African ideas, I am still finishing my Easter egg book, correcting, polishing, and adding to the year’s work. It will take all my self control not to start work on The Three Little Mapigni!

Happy creating, reading and especially drawing.

Your friend,

Jan Brett

Well, I just want to let you know about this extraordinary artist!