Storytelling

I'm not posting much quilting or embroidery lately but it's getting done, slowly. Meanwhile, here are a couple of fabulous websites, one which I just discovered and another I've been following for awhile. Both use photography to tell their stories.

Amber Reunion : Irene's parents were immigrants from Lithuania. She tells their story, and hers, and other relatives', through old family photos. The posts are charming in their simplicity. It's a warm and touching insight into the lives of  post World War II immigrants. I believe Irene lives in Wisconsin.

Chasing Light is Doug Kim's photography blog. I love street photography. If I had the means to do so, I'd travel the world and stalk people on the streets.

How does my love of photography, particularly candid or unstaged, improvisational photography, related to my love of quilting and embroidery? I discovered why, I think, this week.

I have been working on a quilt for a friend that is very structured. Pieces have to fit, things have to be symmetrical, or it will look "funny." It was inspired by a quilt I saw on the webs. It has been a struggle and honestly, while it has been satisfying and fun when it all worked, it's also been frustrating as hell. I only wanted to get back to the crazy quilt blocks and embroidery which is not so restrictive --improvisational, candid, and unstaged as it were -- and tell my story.

So there it is - quilting tells a story, especially (I think) the kind that I've been doing lately which is (if I may flatter myself) the art quilts for the AAQI and the crazy quilt blocks for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project. It's freewheeling and forgiving. And much like photography - for me at least - in that it tells a story I want to tell and pass along. Much like Irene's family snapshots tell the story of her family. And Doug Kim's photographs get you to look and observe and tell your own story.

Enjoy the blogs. Sometimes the internet is a wonderful thing.