Clarice Cliff, Davy Jones and me

Art deco fans - read and weep...

Meet Clarice Cliff

- one of the most innovative and exciting
designers the Art Deco era produced!

Her iconic 'Bizarre' ware was a big hit, and the manufacturer,
 stunned by its success, pretty much gave her
 carte blanche to design what she wanted.

Bizarre ware is still very collectable, but its affordable

price tag is a thing of the past!

In the 1950s, Grandma had a clear-out and my mum found
 herself with two full sets, an 'Autumn' design dinner service,
and a lovely 'Jonquil' tea set with iconic rectangular side plates

very cute 'Jonquil' cup -
would make a pretty applique design

I loved it - so colourful and fun! - but my mum was not so fond.

When we rented a beach bungalow for a few years, she was
quick to ship it to the seaside for use on the beach.

Here we are on the roof of our beach bungalow.
I'm top right, with my cousin in his very cute knitted bathing suit.
When it got wet it stretched really badly

January 1953

A massive storm surge hit the East Coast and Holland  -

many people died and much of the coast was devastated.

We only caught the edge, but it was still pretty scary.

The waves hitting the sea wall were huge and the wind
lifted me off my feet, so my dad tied me to a lamppost
with his belt while he took photos from the cliff top.
 I survived, and he kept hold of his trousers,

but, sadly, the photos have gone ...

A day or two later, we went to see the damage.

The beach bungalow was a wreck - doors ripped off,

windows gone, knee deep in sand and seaweed,
and everything we'd left there, including the Clarice Cliff,

had been swept out to sea.

So, if there's not much 'Jonquil' about, it's because

 most of it is at the bottom of the North sea.

I wonder if Davy Jones is down there
eating crab sandwiches off a plate

 like this - or has he sold it all on Sea-bay?

Well, that was a little deco detour -
now back to the quilting... 

Art Deco - so inspiring!

Remember Saturday matinees at the Odeon?

Or am I the only one who admits to being that old?

Few of us had a TV, so matinees were a real treat.
 Queueing at the door, the rush for the best seats,
Pearl & Dean adverts, ice cream, cartoons -
it was all very exciting...

And getting chucked out when my cousin dropped

stink bombs in the gents was quite exciting too.

It seemed a very long walk from this very
screen to the exit, herded along by an angry usherette...

Toilets on right, out of shot.
Wonder if the air has cleared yet?

Odeon design must have been burned on my brain
 at that time, because the name that immediately sprang
to mind when I designed this quilt was

'ODEON'

Art Deco or what!

These colours and shapes show up in art deco

architecture, lighting, upholstery, glass, pottery

- so many different things.

Look at these fabulous tiles from

the Regent Theatre in Mudgee, New South Wales

photographed by Michelle of Barnhouse Antiques

And this art deco wall light from Coventry Technical College,

taken by Pete Zabulis is just so evocative of the era

Inspiration everywhere!

Coming next - a Clarice Cliff story

that will make you art deco fans weep...

Something old, something new...

New grandson = new quilt

Been seeking inspiration for a few weeks now...

When Hector was born, the family dogs

 seemed just the thing to feature on his quilt,

 but what to do for Meyer...?

Was at a loss until a dig through the

 family archive produced this little gem...

I've always loved this delightful drawing,

created many years ago by Meyer's daddy.

It was the perfect centre for the quilt -

but I needed three more figures

to complete the family group 

To clone or not to clone...?

Decided not to clone.

Decided to try doing more drawings in the same style -

which turned out to be harder than it sounds.

Drawing kid-style is difficult when you're an adult -

we can't help making things too perfect.

Fancy having a go yourself?  Then try this -

If you're a Righty, get a massive felt tip,

hold it in your LEFT hand and just go with the flow on a B-I-G sheet of paper.

It feels odd, but adds lots of naivety to a drawing...

so here are a couple more.

Using Electric Quilt software I created basic

 borders and a large central panel.

Then the drawings were scanned, imported into

the programme, and traced using the mouse.

It took a while as I haven't used the drawing programme

for months and it's amazing how soon we forget...
If you're finding EQ hard to get your head round,
hang in there and experiment - it's worth it.

Here's the result.

It's a work in progress, but I quite like it so far.

Now comes the interesting bit -

chasing up the right fabrics at Patchwork Chicks ,

plus a detour to the Alma for lunch of course.

I can think of a few people who'd be up for that...