Sochi Patchwork

Have you been watching the Sochi Olympic Games? (Go, Canada!)

 

Have you noticed these?
 

 

Image Source: Roustem Adagamov

 

I am smitten with the patchwork of Sochi, and determined to figure out how to create my own!  I've been scouring the Internet to get the best images so I can figure how to do it.

 

So far, I have come up with the following images:

 

 

Source as above

 

 

 Image Source: http://sochi2014.bosco.ru/en/

And pinned a bunch more (you can follow me on pinterest under Terri Fisher)

From one of Bosco's (the designer) websites http://sochi2014.bosco.ru/en/

"The Olympic patchwork quilt, developed by Bosco’s creative department and given to the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, will be the official Look of Russia’s first Winter Games.

Our goal was to represent a diverse range of emotions and feelings, connecting concepts like Motherland, Family, Culture, Time, Olympism, Peace, Nobility, Friends, Memory, Honour, Dreams, Beauty, Freedom, Pride, Warmth, Happiness, Greatness, Reliability, Victory, Creativity, Hospitality, Creation, Future, Russia, Planet Earth.

Every region in the world is proud of its unique origins, and it is no different in Russia. That is why there are so many different local traditions, songs and crafts that highlight the individuality of their creators, each valuable in its own right. Bosco had a wealth of choices to represent Russia’s rich diversity, but in the end we settled on something familiar, warm and welcoming: the patchwork quilt.

In the concept design, every patch was infused with the history and personality of traditional crafts from each of Russia’s 89 regions: in a single tapestry we combined Uftyuzhskaya painting and Vologda lace, Gzhel and Zhostovo painting, Kubachi patterns and the flowers of Pavlo Posad shawls, Mezenskaya painting and Khokhloma, Yakutsk patterns, fabrics of Ivanovo and other distinctive Russian patterns. That is how we arrived at a modern, distinctive and unmistakeably Russian Look of the Games."

I also found this explanation of why diamond shapes were chosen:

The Russian Diamond

The Games Vision consists of nine core elements, or values, brought together under the heading «The Russian Diamond»:

• Excellence
• Efficiency
• Integration
• Hospitality
• Unity
• Uniqueness
• Respect
• Legacy
• Harmony

Just don't get me started on how well the Russian government has represented those values.

Now I'm off to figure out how I am going to make this!

Scrappy Saturday

Day 1 of the Olympics and Canada already has one of each medal!  Go, Canada! 

While I was watching the women's moguls, I started clearing out some of the scrap buckets.  Each time I came across pink, I made a Boxy Star.

 

I actually made some practice ones last night, these go so fast.  Four of the large ones together make an 12" block:

 

 

Excuse the bottom right one - it's upside down!  I also re-calculated the design to make use of 2" strips, I couldn't waste those!

 

Of course, this is another Bonnie Hunter pattern - she has scads of them on her website for free.

 

Cutting my scraps into The Scrap User System meant I also generated strings.  Since I'm working with pink this month for So Scrappy's Rainbow Challenge, instead of adding my pink strings to the bulging bag, I made string blocks that will eventually become another Bonnie Hunter quilt, Zuckerwatte from her book, String Fling.

 

 

I just can't seem to get enough of her patterns.

 

I'll probably make baby quilts with these blocks, it seems there's an awful lot of babies being born this year, including a set of twins to friends of my daughters in June.

 

This is a long weekend in BC.  Last year, we got a new statutory holiday called "Family Day".  I'll probably spend it sewing since we might get snow or freezing rain.  Today the front moved in from the south quite dramatically.

 

 

Linking up to So Scrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge - see what everyone else is doing with their scraps.

Evolution of a crafty room - Part One

It all started with a dream of my very own space to create and an idea from the internet: 

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2009/05/anyone-who-sews-will-love-this-ironing.html

After almost 10 years of kids moving in and out, there was light at the end of the tunnel.  My daughter, her husband and baby had been living with me for close to 2 years as he went through the immigration process (he is from New Zealand) and saved to purchase a home. With townhouse prices hovering near the quarter-million dollar mark, it was the only way for them to get into a home of their own and we were getting along great!  Finally, they were able to purchase right around the corner from me, almost next door to my other daughter - lucky me, both my girls live within a 2-minute walk.  They moved out on February 4, 2010 and I made a run to IKEA the following weekend!

My little man helped me build it (he is 17-months in this picture and loves tools!):

Please ignore the '90s - style sponge painting - that's why this is titled an evolution!

I bought Insul-brite batting and a pink-striped pillow ticking to make the cover.  I stapled the batting to the underside of the top (2 layers thick) and then realized the drawers wouldn't open and close properly - I couldn't face pulling all those staples so I haven't redone it as of yet.  I made the cover with a casing and just like my grandma's ironing board, I threaded it with kitchen string and pulled it tight.  I find it gives me a much better fit than elastic; call me funny that way!

So now I have a 17" x 6-ft long ironing table, complete with drawers and shelves.  This is how it looks today.  Cutting mat on one end, 3 projects piled on the other and a great ironing surface!

That is all I got done the first month.  I just had to go take this in, since it was taking place in my backyard:

This is as close as we could get to the 2010 Olympic cauldron without a 3-hour wait.

View of Robson St. looking towards the dome of BC Place Stadium. I've never seen so many people in one place.

The Vancouver Library - I proud to say my daughter designed the layout of the fifth floor!

Thousands of Inuksuks were built impromptly by visitors on the rock-lined shore of False Creek.  It was an amazing sight!