It Only Takes Two

One thing I had on my wish list for Christmas and that Anne kindly gifted me was the wonderful book from Infinite Variety, the spectacular quilt exhibition of red and white quilts from the collection of Mrs. Rose that the American Folk Art Museum presented at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City in 2011. What a gift!

I had no idea how big the book is - 350 pages of pure, unadulterated inspiration. It's amazing to see how the patterns stand the test of time.

Besides being a testament to the creative energies of the hundreds of quilters whose creations are profiled it is an equally strong editorial on the power of two. Just two colours of fabrics were all that was needed to create this spectacular and infinite variety.

Many, many happy hours have been spent poring through the pages (and maybe drooling a little bit) already, playing a game to see if I could make only ONE, which one would it be. I think I've narrowed it down to 20, maybe to 30...

What is it about cutting and connecting tiny pieces of fabric that fascinates us and keeps so many of us across the world eager to pick up a needle and thread and find new ways to create our own interpretations?

The exhibition was an 80th birthday gift to Mrs. Rose from her obviously devoted husband. Eighty is still a ways off for me, but I still don't think I would be anywhere close to having over 600 quilts that I could share with the world by then - probably a huge relief as it lets the Official Cookie Tester off the hook for bankrolling it!

Not seeing this exhibition is one of my regrets in life - and I don't have many - but I was thrilled to read that the museum has kept as much of the  furniture and hanging devices as possible in storage so that it could be re-created elsewhere. As they note in the book, 'a tantalizing possibility'! I live in hope that it happens in my lifetime....M