quiltology...

I’m back in the blogging saddle again! So sorry for the delay but I’ve been seriously distracted by the pageantry and competitive gusto of the summer Olympics. I knew that if I didn’t write this tonight—I’d get distracted again this week with the gyrations of the upcoming democratic convention. You gotta love television—it gives us a front row seat on history—and folks there’s lots of that being written in the next few weeks.

Did you see the fireworks over the bird’s nest? All I can say is—WOW!

Beijing —Beijing—how I love Beijing. It really is a fascinating place and I’m happy to see it again as it played out as a backdrop to some really amazing athletes. I visited Beijing back in 1995 and it inspired one of my all time favorite quilts. I’ve got to admit, the quilting fabrics leave much to be desired, but that’s okay. Sure they’ve got lots of absolutely beautiful silks—but the cottons are manufactured for the world market so they’re not available in country. But no worries—fabric of any kind is always inspiring—especially in a place so steeped in art, architectural ornamentation and cultural symbolism.

A trip through the Forbidden City—also known as the Imperial Palace—is as inspiring as it is unforgettable. (Note to self—add The Last Emperor to the Netflix queue!) This amazing palace is really a city within a city—like the Vatican—but almost twice the size. It’s located in the center of Beijing across from Tiananmen Square and covers 180 acres.

Okay, enough with the factoids—here’s the thing I remember—the significance of numbers in the Chinese culture. The number 9 is considered to be especially lucky. So there are 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City! And if you walk up and down any of the many staircases in the palace—you guessed it—9 steps each!

I made the fan blocks for this quilt the summer after I visited China. But it was three years before I came up with the setting design, hanging the blocks up on the design wall, moving them around, taking them down, considering and reconsidering. Finally, the dragon’s tail setting came to be—and I knew that it was just perfect—but not just because it was a Chinese symbol in and of itself—but because of what it symbolized numerically. If you look closely, you’ll see that that this quilt is structured with 6 blocks across by six rows down. That’s 36 blocks. And 3 + 6 = 9! Now, how’s that for symbolic symmetry!