10 February 2008

Two Inches Wide

In a letter to her nephew Edward, who apparently sent his aunt some of his writings, Jane Austen wrote : "What should I do with your strong, manly, spirited sketches, full of variety and glow? How could I possibly join them on to the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labour ?"
Now, readers of this blog might remember that I love Jane Austen. Readers of this blog might also remember, that I'm not alone in that passion. Quiltbook author Linda Franz has made two books of diamond patterns, all named with quotes from Jane Austen.
And I have made one fullsize quilt with those diamonds.

I didn't use all of the diamonds I made, and this past week, I was given a book. Richard Jenkyns : "A fine brush on Ivory" (reviews here and here) and was reminded of the quote ... the full quote, that is.

And now, dear reader, you are asking yourself : what does that have to do with anything ? Well ... back when I was first making Quilted Diamonds, I not only made "big ones", (i.e. diamonds with a finished side of 4"), I also made some in half-size. These half-size Quilted Diamonds are "(two inches wide)". SO, with that book prodding me, I dug out the leftover blocks from my big diamond quilt, and the tiny ones. A selection of the "biggies" and all of the tiny ones are now up on my designwall :

... and they will, I'm sure, in the fullness of time, become a small quilt. At least the mock-up looks good, and I have plenty of fabrics left from the big one, to make it.

SO, will I throw aside everything and start making this top ?
I don't think so. Right now, I procrastinate on cutting the strips that will log-cabin the 2" diamonds, and while I procrastinate, I quilt on Allsorts :-)

6 comments:

antique quilter said...

this will be such a beautiful small quilt.
Oh you need to make it!
what memories this quilt will hold as well.
Can't wait to see the top and then quilted...
go for it!
Kathie

Shelina said...

This is beautiful - I love the layout and the idea! Your all sorts continues to look wonderful as well.

Anonymous said...

well tilde, you've done it again. you've come up with another hidden treasure trove of blocks waiting to come to life. this proves the best things in life often come in small packages. can't wait to see the finished quilt.

Jeanne said...

Tilde, that's going to be another beautiful quilt. I look forward to seeing it.

Wenche said...

You have been tagged. Please visit my blog for further information.

I just love how this diamond quilt looks like right now. Did you actually plan it or did it just happen? :)

JoAnne said...

Tilde - just wanted to say thank you so much for my prize! It was in today's mail and I love it. I make baby quilts for a local charity hospital and I see both of these prints finding their way into a donation quilt. That is, unless my 5 & 6 yr old dgs's see the fabric first!
Loved the diamond layout on your design wall. I have the first diamond book and have made a few blocks so I'm inspired to get back to them after seeing yours.
JoAnne in Keller, TX