On Tuesday the 19th of April 2016, I celebrated the launch of my new book, Take an Element – Seeing the Possibilities.
The book was available at the Nantes Pour l’Amour di Fil exhibition from the 20th-23rd April 2016.
An excerpt “Hare Raising”
Do you ever start a quilt for someone and then find right at the end that is just not right, plain wrong even, for the intended recipient?
Hare Raising is exactly that. I started it for our fourth little grandchild. I don’t think I was consciously thinking anything at all about the personality of this baby. I think I just wanted to make a quilt with elements I loved: hares and flowers and stars and even a dove of peace! Serene and soothing. And palest shell- pink.
For someone with three sons, one stepson and three grandsons I use an enormous amount of pink in my quilts!
It was very clear that this baby, dear little Jack Lloyd , was not someone likely to sleep under hares and doves.
With half an eye open and not a day old I almost expected him to sit up and make it clear that the pink was not an option. It makes me smile whenever I look at this quilt and no matter how inappropriate it was at the time, this quilt will be Jack’s to own as a keepsake of his birth.
There are a lot of hares and birds in the quilts I make. And I am quite particular about them. I want the chosen fabric to suggest movement or personality and I don’t ever want them to be cute caricatures.
Taken An Element – Seeing the Possibilities
© Margaret Sampson 2016