Grave Rubbing Art Quilts Mostly Stitched While Traveling

(Above: Cats Leave Pawprints on our Hearts. Grave Rubbing Quilt Series. 12 3/4" x 15 1/2". Crayon on fabric rubbing from Pet's Rest, a pet cemetery in Colma, CA on the back of a Decision Portrait Series piece that didn't work out....recycled! Vintage buttons and doily. Hand stitching. This is the only one in the series with any "color"; it seemed appropriate. Click on image to enlarge.)

I always take embroidery to stitch while traveling. Here are three of the five pieces that I took with me to Austria recently. All the hand quilting was done on the plane, train, or whenever I took steal a few moments. Once I returned home I finished each one with free motion machine embroidery to accent the letters, vintage buttons (on most), and a buttonhole stitched edge. The reverse includes more pieces of vintage household linens. I'll have the other two finished soon.


(Above: Detail of Cats Leave Pawprints on Our Hearts. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Cats Leave Pawprints on Our Hearts. Reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Here Rests the Body, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 17" x 13". Crayon on fabric grave rubbing done in Birmingham, UK. Vintage doily. Hand stitching. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Here Rests the Body, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Here Rests the Body, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. Reverse. Click on image to enlarge. I'm really enjoying the backs of these pieces almost as much as the fronts!)


(Above: Young, Strong, Beautiful, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 14" x 12 1/4". Crayon on fabric grave rubbing done in Birmingham, UK collaged with vintage handkerchief and Victorian era black lace. Buttons purchased while in Austria. Hand stitched. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Young, Strong, Beautiful, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Young, Strong, Beautiful, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

Workshop with Sara Lechner

(Above: The workshop! Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

Okay....I admit it....there's no earthly way to due Sara Lechner's studio and artwork any justice in a single blog post. Simply put....AWESOME! The workshop was so much fun. The inspiration was immeasurable. Being there with my Swedish embroidery friends made the experience even more special.

I learned more about myself and my work than anything else....which is significant. Time will tell how and where the influences will seep out in my future stitching.

I took loads of photos, each one capturing something unique. Selecting which ones to post here was difficult....but, if interested, I created a video with almost all the images I kept. It's just under five minutes of heavenly "eye candy" set to appropriately Austrian (Mozart) music. Please it enjoy it HERE!

Trip: Part Three, Shopping, Eating, and my stitching

(Above: Our group waiting to sample the new wines from Wachau along the Danube River.)

There's no possible way for me to write a single blog post about Sara Lechner's workshop. The studio is utterly overwhelming with creativity, beauty, and embroidery. It would have been very easy to spend all available time stitching....but we didn't. So, this blog post covers my work (not Sara's!), my purchases, and the times we weren't involved with needle and thread.


We were frequently involved with food and wine! The drive to this quaint location passed the Melk Abbey and various lovely views of the blue Danube. The photo above includes the wheat wreathe indicating "new wine" available. It was delicious.

(Above: Our group walking through the farm's parking area to the textile center.)

We also shopped. Near Sara Lechner's is an incredible textile center. It seems to be some sort of overstock location for all things textile and craft. It was located in the middle of a big farm....with tractors, fields of crops, animals, and the smell of fertilizer in the air. Once inside, however, it was a total feast for the eyes and the prices were rock bottom.

The stock is forever changing and meant to be moved, frequently at give-away prices.

Most things weren't tagged....one just asked and then couldn't believe the answer was so little.

Often I get overwhelmed by such opportunities and selection; I leave having purchased nothing. Fortunately, there were buttons....something I can't resist. They were generally sold by the entire container. I had to have some!

To purchase, one just brought up the item and asked the price. Above are several people "negotiating" for fabric, buttons, and trim at the busy check-out counter. There's six locations in Austria...and a website (German): www.textile-mueller.at.)

We all came away very, very happy with big bags!

Above are my purchases. The place didn't have thread...at least not at this moment....except for a few balls of perle cotton hidden in a box...under a pile of trim....on a neglected shelf. It was SO MUCH FUN! The photo includes the keys I got in the Vienna flea market.

The photo above are the things I bought in Český Krumlov. All these photos can be "clicked on" for closer inspection....to really see the beauty in these vintage, glass buttons!


(Above: Austrian Tome. 10 1/2" x 9". Embellished ground, stitched and further embellished to embed the stitches into the surface. Click on image to enlarge.)

Now....these are the pieces I created in the embellishing workshop with Sara Lechner. Sara has three different machines: Babylock's seven needle model, Babylock's twelve needle model, and Jamone's Xpression. She likes them all for various reasons. I own the Babylock Twelve needle embellisher. Basically, I know how to use the machine; I've made many pieces. Yet, nothing can compare to watching an expert like Sara use the wools and fibers to create her masterpieces. I learned a lot.

Above: Autumn Whimsy. Embellished ground with a printed organza. Hand stitching to bring out the flower and spiral pattern on the organza and for added decoration. 10" x 8 1/2". Click on image to enlarge.



Above: This piece is unfinished. I don't know when I'll complete the hand work....but it serves as an example of manipulating the embellished surfaces into more three-dimensional shapes. This is something I'd never considered and enjoyed immensely. We also made "bowls" of wool but I forgot to photograph mine (although it is sitting, half flatten to the left of the "doll" below)!

The three dimensional lesson extended into doll making. I've never made a doll. This one isn't finished and never will be! I like all the embellished pieces I created....just not the doll. It was very interesting to learn how despite the Internet and email correspondence, there are still assumptions about different cultures and people. Evidently, there are many magazines published in the USA that deal with quilting and doll making....enough to suggest that all fiber enthusiasts in America know how to do these things! I, however, don't quilt traditionally (no piecing at all!) and don't even know anyone who makes dolls! I really enjoyed the attempt to create such a piece. Never would I have taken the time to try this except while in a workshop situation. It was "good for me". I'll have fun using the material for something else!

This last photo is of Annica sitting in an arbor a few feet outside Sara's studio door. Stitching in Austria was obviously WONDERFUL!

Trip: Part Two and a Half ! SIGNS!

I love interesting, creative signs....and ones that make me laugh. I guess the United States is full of them, but I don't seem to pay attention. Maybe, while traveling, the signs just seem more artistic, more amusing, and BETTER.....like these!

The sign above is the only one I took while in England. I had to snap a photo; I was a pedestrian at the time. The others were all taken in Český Krumlov.

A hot place for food....

....a historic inn with meals...

...an interesting way to advertise digital photography...

...a place to sleep...

...two signs for ice cream...

...just try pronouncing ZMRZLINA....Sara Lechner can do it!....

...a toy shop...

...a gallery of fine art glass...

...the antique shop where I bought the vintage glass buttons...

...and a few that only gave the street address....I think it was a fancy restaurant!

Trip: Part Two, The Czech Republic

(Above: Český Krumlov. Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

Although I grew up spending almost every summer of my youth in a small town outside Salzburg, Austria and traveled to many European cities during those years, I'd never been to Czechoslovakia. I've never been to the Czech Republic as an adult either. So, one of the highlights of my recent trip was a day in Český Krumlov. We were up before 6:30 AM. Sara Lechner drove....the five Swedish embroiderers and me. It was a true delight.

The city is old......a UNESCO World Heritage Site...with over 300 protected medieval buildings. The architecture is a mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque.

The town is dominated by a grand castle complex complete with a bell tower...

residential rooms...

...several interior courtyards with 16th c. murals...

...a royal theater and an outdoor stage with a massive rotating tier of seats for the spectators...

...floral gardens...

...with sculptures and fountains and a lily pond...

....subterranean areas (might have been a dungeon but is now an art exhibition area), and a moat with live bears.

Of course, I took the complete tour....climbed all the steps....read all the signs...etc. It was great! I love these sorts of tours and the guide spoke absolutely excellent English....loudly enough that even I could hear every word.

The views were also spectacular.

The weather was perfect. Money was easily exchanged, very pretty, and simple to spend.....and I'm really not much of a "shopper".

Although I resisted everything in the (above) Koh-i-Noor store (Yes....my beloved rapidographs for French matting come from this Czech art supplier!), I couldn't resist the perle cotton threads in the (below) local embroidery shop. (By the way, Sara Lechner purchases much of her thread here....the ones she dyes all sorts of beautiful, variegated colors for hand-stitching.)

There were plenty of shops in which to spend time and money....some even sold interesting textile arts....

...or fine art (several nice galleries)....

...puppets! (Marionettes seemed to be following me on this trip! What's up with this and dolls?) I, however, handed over almost all my Korun on vintage buttons from an antique shop....the beautiful, black glass kind....which I can't resist. (Images in a coming post!)

Deliveries in all these quaint shops has got to be a major nightmare. The streets are cobblestone and narrow. Pedestrians are everywhere. Somehow, this truck got through...

....without damaging the painted facades of the ancient buildings.

I love architecture, especially the ornate surfaces of mural paintings, frescoes, and faux stone or marble surfaces. Český Krumlov is almost too beautiful to describe.


Some of the painting accentuated the windows with elaborate decoration.

Some of the painting emulates a fortification....making a structure imposing and weighty.

Some of the painting told the history of the place.

Some of the painting simply made otherwise flat surfaces look varied, interesting, and as if made from some other material.

It wasn't just the walls that were beautiful....the window treatments were also creative!

Wrought iron artwork hid otherwise first floor security measures....

...while advertising the business inside....

...or providing the time of day...

....or suggesting a pastime....

....or a good way to recycle!

Even the older windows were magnificent....with the patina of age and lace and ornamentation.

I also went the 15th c. built St. Vitus Church. It was beautiful and included some interesting graves. (I'm always on the lookout for new epitaphs and inspirational images!)

Even the "little details" were beautiful...and everywhere....like ancient hinges....

....and doorknobs (NO! I didn't position the pinecone for this picture! It was there!

Even the manhole covers were pretty!

Český Krumlov was most definitely a great place to visit. I'd love to go back....it's easy to find on the Internet....and I think the people living there are quite aware of the outside world's interest!

There are plenty of nice places to relax.

By the end of the day, our group reassembled on the banks of the meandering river for some local beer (also a Czech specialty) and good food. (PS....I couldn't get my "signs" into this blog post so will be creating one just for them!)