The Golden Goose

This quilt is part of my money series, dealing with different ways of getting and handling money. The golden goose is a fable about finding a special goose which lays eggs of gold, thereby making you a fortune by selling the gold. But if you get greedy, overworking the poor goose, it dies and then you’ve killed your golden goose and get no more money. So it is about good handling of your resources, not flogging a thing to death, killing a great idea, over exploiting something. it is also about spotting a great idea, or niche in the market, and turning this into a good little business.

Do you have a great idea or skill which you can use to turn into a nice little earner, even if only part-time? Why not give it a go and see if it becomes your golden goose. I have done that with my quilting. I started by making just one quilt which I saw demonstrated at a textile fair I was attending for quite another reason. It took two years, while I was still working as a lawyer. And when finished, it astonished me, and I said Yes! This is it! I am going to give up my other main activities and do this full-time. No I don’t get much gold from it, but it is gold in a different way because people seem to like my work, it means something to them. I’ve sold a lot and most importantly, this creative outlet is energising and fulfilling more than I ever expected.

So I recommend trying to find your own golden goose!

My quilt above uses a pattern known as flying geese, going round and round in different directions, round the central four blocks of gold fabric, representing the golden eggs. it is a sunshiny bright cheerful quilt, bought by a friend of mine who loves yellow.

The Money Laundry

This quilt above, called The Money Laundry, is part of a series of quilts on the theme of money, which I did for a show in a London West End gallery.

The design is meant to give the effect of money going round and round in a washing machine. If you zoom in, you can see pieces of gold and silver and notes in the smaller squares. It was meant as a light-hearted look at how money is sometimes dealt with.

However, as I sat at the gallery stewarding my show for hours, I realised that all the quilts I had done on the theme of money were relevant to me in some way, and how I handle money…..

No, so far as I am aware, I haven’t laundered any money, but maybe there are some aspects of how I handle money which I am not too proud of, and would like the memory to be blurred, or laundered, from my own memory as much as other people’s. Remember, everything that is done or said in secret, will be shouted from the rooftops one day. I can think of times when I have wasted money, or shopped too much, or handled it irresponsibly or selfishly….. Oh dear….

Undeterred by such guilty thoughts, a nice man bought this quilt to go in his flat nearby. He was something of a collector of wall hangings, and was delighted with the colours and humourous title.

Happy Birthday!

It’s my birthday today, so Happy Birthday to me! Just went out for cake and coffee and the waitress gave me the cake free for my birthday! So I am feeling thankful and fortunate for everything, including that. Small gestures can make a big difference.

I thought my quilt called “Treasure Trove” was appropriate for today, in my series of quilts on the theme of money. These seven quilts deal with different aspects of getting and handling money. This one is meant to represent a huge lucky windfall, such as finding a huge chest full of buried treasure. I have made it using blocks of sparkling stars in different jewel colours. It’s a very cheerful quilt. In real life, these sorts of windfalls don’t often happen. But there are some: a redundancy package, a promotion, scratch card win, unexpected legacy, unexpected refund, a big saving made on something, etc., etc. Even a free cake with your coffee…..

Last time’s quilt dealt with the culture of greed represented in my quilt called “Bankers’ Bonuses”; this time, in “Treasure Trove” the money comes to one by luck or good fortune.

Of course, as Christians, we have a huge treasure trove in God himself, and all his blessings and gifts to us. Luck has got nothing to do with it, windfalls are a gift from God. These blessings, gifts and treasure from God go largely untouched, un-opened and unrecognised, sadly. Why do we not spot them more? Use them more? Appreciate them more?

Today, I feel, is a good occasion for me to say thank you and make a mental list of all the ones I can think of…… Starting from before I was born even. Yes, we should celebrate all these wonderful gifts, blessings and treasures. Mental note, put the champagne in the fridge for later. (Actually it is only sparkling wine, but who minds eh! It’s all good.)

The White Stone

Continuing my series of the seven gifts given by God to the faithful, described in the early chapters of the Book of Revelation, we come to a favourite, the white stone. The Bible text says: “To him who overcomes, I will give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.”(Rev2:17).

Above is my quilt wall hanging of the white stone, which I decided was best portrayed as a diamond. If you look into the heart of a diamond, you do see some white, but also flashes of bright colours and multiple reflections. The quilt was very difficult to make, as the outside pieced triangles were big enough to manage to sew together, but as I got towards the centre, the pieces got smaller and smaller and very fiddly, especially as I was using a variety of different white fabrics, some of them shiny and some stretchy, or overlaid with organza, so very difficult to sew together neatly…..

Around the outside are machine-embroidered cyrillic letters, some of it mirror writing, which says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, who was and is, and is to come.” I was surprised to find that my sewing machine offered a Cyrillic alphabet, and mirror writing, so I thought it would make an effective quilted border.

I submitted this work to the V&A Museum in London as part of a competition where you had to make a work inspired by an item in their collections, so I chose one of their large diamonds in their jewellery gallery. I was astonished and thrilled when my work was accepted, and shown in an exhibition with other winners at the V&A. I made sure to get all my friends go and see it, especially those who had been a bit snooty about me taking up quilting as a second career, in later life….. I keep this work as a special piece now, can’t bear to sell it. So it is the only unsold one left of my “Rev Sev”(Revelation Seven) series.

But back to the text. Whereas crowns and thrones are a bit distant and grand feeling, being given a stone with your special name on it by Jesus feels a very intimate and special gift. It says to me, “you are unique, special, prized and valued by Me,” which is the most amazing and wonderful feeling for one who has always felt a bit rubbish, not worth anything. And the special new name on it will be revealing! God knows me only too well, so I wonder what it will be. “Much afraid” maybe, or “Forever putting your foot in it”! A bit like the nickname given to the apostles James and John: “the sons of thunder”, because apparently they had quite a temper….. All part of the diversity of us human beings, and all valued as such, creating variety, an interesting social mix, not a boring bland samey lot. Worth remembering that, next time someone is annoying you at church, or doesn’t seem to fit in.

Anyway, I hope and pray I persevere to the end, and “overcome”, to receive this precious gift from God. Something akin to a big hug!

The Crown of Life and the Sapphire Throne.

I thought I would continue with my series of quilts on the seven gifts given by God to the churches mentioned in the first few chapters of the Book of Revelation, –what my family refer to as my “Rev Sev Series”……

Above left is my “Crown of Life” and right is my “Sapphire Throne”. Jesus says “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you the Crown of Life.”(Rev 2:10). Crowns don’t feature much in 21st Century life, but they come in a lot in the Book of Revelation. I think our nearest phrase is that some work is someone’s “crowning glory”. We do all want recognition for our endeavours in some way, so maybe getting a crown that is somehow full of life will be wonderful. It is difficult to imagine, and I have depicted it as very colourful.

The sapphire throne comes from the text: “To him that overcometh, I will grant to sit with me on my throne.” (Rev 3:21). Elsewhere in Revelation it says there is a rainbow around the throne, and in Ezekiel the throne of God is described as being like sapphire, with a rainbow all around (Ezekiel 1:26-28). So, in my depiction of the heavenly throne I have used mainly colours from the darker side of the rainbow. I guess sitting on a throne is another way of expressing that you’ve “made it”…. Like being on the top of the podium at an Olympic event. I am glad I wouldn’t be alone on the throne though, a bit scarey…..

The Morning Star

This is one of my favourite quilts, which I have made twice, for friends of mine. One of them wanted an artwork to go opposite their bed to help them feel positive when they woke up in the mornings. It is one of my Seven Gifts or Revelation series, mentioned in my earlier blogpost about Angels. Seven gifts are offered to the Christians in the seven churches mentioned in the first few chapters of the Book or Revelation, as a reward for remaining faithful right to the end. Also, at the end of the book, in Chapter 22 verse 16, Jesus says “I am the bright and morning star.”

The bright star breaks through the darkness of the night, which is already getting to the pale grey of early dawn. It could also depict the Resurrection, which also happened in the early hours. Not being an early morning person myself, I fear sometimes I may end up missing the whole thing! The only times I see the dawn is if I havent got to bed yet, or am still trying to get off to sleep, so not usually feeling at my best….. Hope I have captured the light and the moment OK, despite that.