Greek

Greek Letters Quilt Patterns | Whims And Fancies

I got the name of this quilt, To Hellenikon or Greekness, from Herodotus. The shared sense of identity among the ancient Greeks as described by him is perhaps the reason behind the everlasting legacy of the Greek civilization. Its presence permeates almost everything I encounter from literature to science. I got the idea of making a Greek alphabet quilt a couple of years ago. Shortly after that I found myself designing these Greek letter quilt patterns like an addict and very soon I was finished. Then we purchased a house, moved 400 miles and experienced a few unsavory events. I had to shelve this quilt for a while, but earlier this year it was time to start working on it again.

Greek Alphabet Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Purchase Greek Alphabet Pattern

I love to visit old, tranquil abbey ruins. The colours of this quilt were drawn from the colours of Monks’ habits. The khaki and brown seemed like perfect symbols for something old and hard-wearing. I used the same set of fabrics for the letters, the shashing and the borders. Only the binding is done with a different brown fabric.

As for the layout, I finally decided to mimic a page from an exercise book used by someone who is learning how to write . That in turn dictated the horizontal quilting with cream coloured thread. I tried a different design on the border but it looked too busy compared to the simple design of the rest of the quilt. At the end I framed the “page” by quilting rectangles around the border with variegated thread. I love quilting with variegated threads. Now my idea of this quilt is finally a reality and ready for us to use!

Since many have asked, I have the set available in my shop. Thank you so much!!

I have a few more index card drawings to share this week –

Icad 2015 - Ice Cream | Whims And Fancies

Ice Cream On A Hot Summer’s Day

Icad 2015 - Shel Silverstein | Whims And Fancies

I express myself best in writing. Pen and ink took the centre stage on this one, alongside my favourite poem by Shel Silverstein.

Icad 2015 - Broken Clock | Whims And Fancies

An Exploding Clock with its pieces floating away into nothingness

Icad 2015 - A Windy Autumn Day | Whims And Fancies

Even though wind has hijacked many of my umbrellas, I love a blustery autumn day.

Icad 2015 - Man Men | Whims And Fancies

My version of Mad Men – unplugged and mad with ideas!

Icad 2015 - On The Road In The Morning | Whims And Fancies

I love to drive during pre-dawn hours. A sense of independence engulfs me.

Icad 2015 - Self Portrait In The Forest | Whims And Fancies

Self-portrait – walking into the unknown most of the time

I played with different ideas on these but “movement” seems to have found its way into almost all of them. Thank you for following me on the journeys of The Greekness quilt and the index card drawing projects. Your encouraging words have been very motivating.

Happy Crafting,
-Soma

Leave a comment

Purchase Greek Alphabet Pattern

To Hellenikon or Greekness – Herodotus used this to describe the shared sense of identity among ancient Greeks. You can’t look at the history of every principle of study and not appreciate the enormity of the Greek civilization. This Greekness is still very pervasive in a lot of the literature I read, studies I do.

It was only natural that I would want to make a quilt with all the Greek letters. I drew all 24 of the Greek letter quilt patterns a couple of years ago, but didn’t get to sew them until now. This is one of my current large projects.

Greek Alphabet Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

These letters are 5″ x 10″. Right after I finished the first two letters, I decided to forgo the sashing. Instead, I wanted to add the same background fabric on each side of the blocks and make them 10″ x 10″. There was one problem, a big one. I only had enough background fabric to make the letters. I bought more, but they are not of the same dye lot. The only thing left to do was to remake the blocks. So, I have two sets of alpha and beta. I think I will make matching pillows with the extra blocks.

Cat In A Box | Whims And Fancies

Thinking about the size of the Greek civilization reminded me of this photo of my ginormous Maine Coon kitty who likes to stuff himself in the smallest box he can put himself in.

My Orange Maine Coon Boy | Whims And Fancies

In contrast, this is his full size, mostly stretched out. I am sure those of you with cats know exactly what I am talking about.

I will leave you with that!
-Soma

To Hellenikon And Drawing Cards

The Greekness