1950s Fashion Print

Last fall,  I bought V&A Pattern: The Fifties. This gem, while quite small,  is full of beautiful images. I like it a lot, particularly because I'm so fond of Lucienne Day's work and there are quite a few images of her textile designs in there.

I must have bought that first book at Amazon.com, because they recommended this newly released book 1950s Fashion Print to me.  When this book first arrived and I flipped through it, I was a little disappointed as many of the images do nothing for me:

But, some of the images are just lovely:

And of course, Lucienne Day has a good showing:

Unlike V&A Pattern: The Fifties, which contains minimal text, 1950s Fashion Print is at least as much about the text as the images.  As such, it wasn't until I sat down to read the book that I realized the true worth of this book.

"Interest lay in the plant skeleton rather than the bloom, seed heads rather than the blossom, and leafless trees rather than foliage"  (Fogg, 2011, p. 8).  

Yes, yes, yes!  I've been slowly making my way through the book, really enjoying myself.  I have found it really useful to have the internet at hand while reading because Fogg often makes reference to different designers, artists, and such without providing representative images of their work.  I'm sure this is in order to keep the cost of the book down, but it is useful to have a picture of the Skylon  available when Fogg is going on about its pervasive influence.  Google Images to the rescue!

Anyway, if you are able to buy or borrow this book, I'd recommend it...inspiration awaits!

Frank Lloyd Wright Fabric Designs

When we started the bee the first thing I looked for were FLW designs. I must be the worst Google searcher because I totally missed any fabric that he might have designed. Then, at the Art Gallery of Alberta I found these cards.

Stunning, gorgeous, and elegant.

Suddenly I want. Especially that bottom right one. That could be a quilt so easily. It's just two blocks!

A little Mid Mod inspiration

See my blog for a short, slightly whiny post and a few photos from my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Curves

It is my month for the bee. And boy have I struggled with this. Too. Much. Influence.

Idea #1 Charlie Harper quilt. I picked up a Charlie Harper colouring book and debated sending out images to ask for blocks based on them. But a) that seemed too prescriptive for you and b) I would have ended up with blocks that seemed to beg (in my head) for a straight set with sashing and that is so not me.

Idea #2 Imitation of a Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass pieced. This was actually Hubby's idea. While I love Frank Lloyd Wright this idea again seemed too prescriptive for my liking.

Idea #3 Because I love the mid century clocks and chairs so much I thought an Ingrid Press inspired layout could be quite interesting, despite my aversion to straight sets and sashing. This idea was okay, but it didn't feel original enough for me, especially when it comes to bees.

Are you sensing a theme? Original and challenging. Bold and graphic. Colour and no straight sets.

Soooo..... This is what I've come up with. In the end I went back to two of my first mid century modern loves – atomic barkcloth and curves. Seriously, I couldn’t get curves out of my head.

But it is really hard to ask people to simply be inspired by curves. For me, it is the curve in so much of the furniture, like the Saarinen Tulip table, an Eames chair (pick any one), or the Noguchi coffee table. It is the organic shapes of Alexander Calder mobiles and sculptures or Alvin Lustig graphics. It is the George Nelson clocks. It is the fun styling in atomic designs and even things like the Jetsons’ set.

Half of you have been sent fabric to produce a curved block. If you have a fat quarter of a light background, then this is you. There doesn’t have to be curves in the piecing, just that the final block has an organic, curved shape. As for what the block itself looks like, well be inspired in your own way by my inspirations.

The other half of you were sent an alternate package of fabric for a different block. If you’ve got a teal/turquoise fat quarter, then this is you. If you could finish your blocks with right angles that would be great, so please, square it off.

I hope (and fear) that this is a challenge to all of us. But it is such a great group or artists that I have no doubt something amazing will happen.

more 1950s textiles

I want to marry the gray one.  And the other looks ripe for translation into a quilt.

 Pop over to this page on AnotherDesignBlog. to see more and/or get the book!

mid-century textiles

I just wanted to point out this blog post from Saidos da Concha in case anyone missed it.  Lots of images of mid-century textiles.

 I love the pillow on the far right.

Also, I found the book Robin and Lucienne Day: Pioneers in Modern Design at the local library (on of the commenters here recommended it). It has a lot of textile designs, too.

this is the one that most clearly suggests a quilt pattern to me:

Patchwork with the black motifs embroidered or silk screened on? That would be tight, no?

Can't Decide

I'm having a hard time deciding between the many ideas I've got for this project. I thought I was on track, but then I picked up this book.  The girls and I have been earmarking projects. It has also introduced me to a few new-to-me designers that I now want to research. 

It really is a great book for fun craft ideas. And I adore the details on different techniques, tools, and designers.

mid mod inspiration

You may be asking yourself what the heck a post office in backwoods North Carolina has to do with our fabulous new quilt bee (I'm so darn excited!!!). It's a good question, and it has to do with inspiration. See, I think I do have some understanding of the mid-century modern design aesthetic, but I've been looking for inspiration (already planning for my month, of course!) and I'm having trouble finding the exact right source. There's a lot out there in terms of mid-century modern architecture (see said post office; inspired mini quilt to follow!) and furniture, and I'm actually kind of interested to think about how that might translate to quilts. But I'm not finding textile-related things. Anyone else?

Children's TV

It may seem odd to list this as an inspiration, but I am always struck by how design can make it's way to something like kids' programming. Check out Sid the Science Kid's kitchen (love the
Nelson Swag Leg Desk in the corner).

And look at his bedroom! That wallpaper, the rug, and even a modern quilt on the bed. No wonder I'm so happy my kid loves to watch the show!

Now collecting members...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my mid mod faves to say YES!

Cool You-Tube video I recently came across talking about mid-century design.

(It's a school project, she misprounonces Eames, but very interesting, no?)