A few months ago I received two quilts made by Andrea Balosky, aka Nyima Lhamo. The quilts were from her "Transitions" book, and one was the quilt on the cover. One of her long lost quilt buddies had the quilts in storage, and wanted to find them a home where they would be fully appreciated. She found me, and offered them to me last summer. Not long after receiving the quilts, she sent me a package full of ephemera. There were letters from Andrea.
The two friends had corresponded about quilts, and specifically the two quilts I bought, but these were memories from back in the day when the quilts were first made and featured in the book. I was still living in New Jersey when all these things were happening. There are pictures, quilt show ribbons, labels, fabric swatches, even a miniature nine-patch block. It's really quite remarkable!
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| Nyima, if you're reading this, please tell us about this itty bitty block |
Talk about providence..... you have it in spades.... amazing.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely great fun and remarkable treasures! Andrea/Nyima knows you are not only a quilt collector, a quilt, and ephemera magnet, but one with heart who treasures and values above cost, the things that find their way to his heart and to his home! Lovely and wonderful gifts!!
ReplyDeleteMmmm, yes, Iʻm reading this. Long ago, i.e. in the days when people actually wrote letters, among my fellow quilters, I had the appellation "Nine-patch Queen", primarily because I loved this block. To me it was easy, versatile and rhythmic, synchronized, yet numerically uneven. In high contrast the block appears in balance, but I think subconsciously the brain knows otherwise, and this small conflict makes the basic 9-patch curiously more stimulating, despite its apparent simplicity.
ReplyDeleteI have NO CLUE why I made this itsy-bitsy sample. Maybe just to see how small this block could be made, without paper-piecing and other precision methods of miniature quilt making. Maybe it was the consequence of cabin fever — long winters and deep snow.
For all the times I've looked at a quilt and wanted to know what the quilter was thinking...for these you have part of the answer to that question! They are in the right place...
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful addition to the quilts!
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