Chocolate Museum, Köln

It's so exciting to see that, even in the middle of what is for many a very full month, we're finding time to blog about our new theme. OK, it doesn't hurt that the theme is chocolate!

I spent a few hours on Saturday at the chocolate museum in Köln, Germany. I took lots of pictures and notes to blog about. Instead of posting it all in two places, I decided it might just be easier if readers came over to my personal blog to read it.



So, in deference to the historical nature of my post, make yourself a hot chocolate and come on over here to dip your toes in the pool of chocolate knowledge out there.

:-)

My Progress Too

After reading Helen's progress, I thought I'd share mine. After our first quilt, you know, the one where I had a sudden idea early on and then pondered if I had spent enough time researching, sketching, and developing? Well the exact same thing has happened to me again. As happened last time, I didn't think of the idea immediately after learning our theme word. But I didn't spend countless hours in thought and research either. One day, it hit me...deja vu? So the day it hit me, I got out my sketchpad and drew out my idea. I've been looking at my idea off an on as it hangs on my design wall. So far I still like it and I hope I can do it justice when it comes time to create it. Oh......and I'm sooooo glad we have extra time to get this one done.

Progress so far

This blog has gone pretty quiet so let me tell you where I have got up to so far. Basically I have been thinking up ideas, doodling in my 12 x 12 journal then going off them!

So first I was haunted by the line 'Life is like a box of chocolates' from Forest Gump. Deciding early on that I could be inspired by chocolate without making a brown quilt, I got to a grid, probably very colourful with bonded shapes in the grid the shapes of Milk Tray chocolates. Only instead of the identifying squiggles of chocolate would be 'life' symbols. Mmmm, maybe still a goe-er.

But then began to research chocolate and considered a portrayal of Questzalcoatl, the Aztec God who brought chocolate to earth from the heavens. Maybe a muli-media version. That is made partly with chocolate wrappers....

Or - this as I watched a TV commerical about hair dyes named after chocolate flavours - how about Turkish Delight - all minarets and veils and well, collaged Turkish things. An fully formed vision of that came immediately to mind, but it was never going to fit into a 12 x 12 format and in any event was beyond my capabilties at the moment so back to the doodling book....

So, how about chocolate dipped things. A whole quilt made of chocolate dipped orange segments. More doodling, then.... POW!... another idea, a really fun idea, a more lateral thinking, word related idea......which is secret for now becuase it is my current favourite. Let me just say, it involves the pillow book of Sei Shongagon and more blue than chocolate brown.....

Chocolate fabric

I decided that the researching (and tasting) stage was over, and that it was time to start with something more fibre related.
This is some chocolate fabric that I dyed a few days ago... The next step will probably be silkscreening.
In the meantime, I'll keep on eating small pieces of dark chocolate from time to time, don't worry for me.

Brenda and Diane in California

No, it's not the most flattering picture of either of us, but it IS proof that Brenda and I (and our husbands and my daughter) got to spend a lovely evening together last night! Brenda and David are in the US visiting family and friends for Christmas, and we are lucky that they have various friends in our area as well as a brew pub David particularly likes. (I steered Brenda toward my local fabric store, just a block away from the brewery, and I hear she managed to find a few pieces to take away with her...)

We enjoyed dinner and wine and lots of conversation. The subject of quilts came up, of course. We could have talked for ages and ages, I suspect.

It was lovely.

And to all of you 12x12 buddies: you have an open invitation to dinner (and accomodations if you don't mind family and animals) if you make your way to Sonoma County!

Research in San Francisco

I've been doing some serious theme research whilst vacationing in San Francisco. In addition to stocking up on some See's Candies (Nuts and Chews are my favourite), I found some yummy chocolate stout at Rogue's Brewhouse and chocolates galore at Ghiaradelli Square: