Authors Maro Vanezis |
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As any quilter will tell you everybody needs a quilt of their own. So with the arrival of these three sweeties it was time to make some new quilts for them to cuddle and enjoy for many years to come !
We're getting into the Christmas spirit and have made a forest! 
 
These trees have been donated.
Special little people come into all of our lives. When milestones are reached it is nice to make them something special and unique. This weekend for a christening instead of giving the usual envelope with a card I decided to create a cushion. Cushions I think, have a greater life span than baby quilts and fit into various bedroom / play area settings. They don't always end up with less piecing however. This specific cushion ended up with 75 pieces to fit its 45 cm insert ! - Maro
Finally posting this now to try and keep the momentum and inspiration going for the 100 or so Primary Art Teachers who have just completed their first hand-sewn patchwork and quilting seminar and workshop with Patchaouri... After the teachers who had taken part in our seminar in March (see previous blog- May 2017) we had a week to put together the pieces that we received from various schools islandwide. It was a massive challenge that took us 47 hours in total on top of a normal work load and daily necessities of family life .The challenges were many but, we were pleased that we managed to fit all the pieces together. The couple of blank spaces that were unavoidable allowed other children to participate in embellishing and completing the making of this quilt at it's first showing. On 24 May at the National Gallery in Nicosia "The Paphos 2017 Quilt" as we named it, was exhibited for the first time : The quilt then went on tour finally reaching its destination at the Paphos Ethnographical Museum / Museum of Cultural Heritage on June 17, where, another event was held for children to participate in : We hope that this is only the beginning of what our children in Cyprus can create with fabrics.   Look at what some soldiers were up to during the the last century wars in Crimea , India, South Africa, Prussia, Austria and France. Patchwork and Quilting !!!! Quilts were made for all sorts of reasons by soldiers using uniform fabric. Some were made for therapeutic reasons , others just to stay out of trouble and others just to be creative . These were mostly in Intarsia style, a technique that differs from most of the Quilts we see today. Quilts of wool without batting or backing, tiny pieces (many under and inch ),top stitching and embroidery on seams, pieces sewn together on the edges without seam allowances were seen throughout most of the exhibits. I can go on and on but for now enjoy a selection of these antique beauties. - Nonie Click for larger picture. War and Pieced ( Annette Gero collection of military quilts) at the American Folk Art Museum,NY.
 
One Wednesday in March Patchaouri held a seminar/workshop on the basics of Patchwork and Quilting at the University of Cyprus. The Primary School Art Teachers Union, inspired by a children's book decided, to create a quilt depicting the culture of Cyprus and donate it to the town of Paphos. For those reading this who do not live in Cyprus, Paphos is the cultural capital of Europe for 2017 and is hosting a variety of events and exhibitions (local and international) throughout the year. We squeezed a group of enthusiastic teachers into the art room of the university and after a short talk on the history and different styles and techniques of patchwork and quilting we taught them how to hand sew their own basic 9 patch block. Ideas were discussed and samples shown as to how children could embellish and attach different media and materials to a nine patch block for the larger project the school teachers were about to assign their pupils. The Paphos 2017 quilt, as we have named it, will be shown for the first time on Wednesday (24th May) at the National Gallery in Nicosia at 5pm. The primary teachers will be holding workshops for any primary children interested in adding their touch to the quilt as advertised.  What a lot of fun I had making this quilt. I hope little Valeria enjoys it as much as I did ! - Nonie.
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