My grandmother probably never thought of herself as mathematician, yet she had an understanding of rotational, translational and reflective symmetry. Fiber arts, especially as practiced by women, was seriously neglected in the cannons of artistic works until the 1970s. The feminist movement brought attention to the culture of women’s lives and their contributions as craftspersons and artists. Many women created quilts and other fabric art in hardship by gathering and sewing together little pieces of cloth, sometimes transforming even rags into art for their home.
I have no familiarity with mathematical subjects of plane and spacial symmetries, but I do know that nothing makes a room look more cozy than a quilt on a bed.
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Comments on: "Celebrating Symmetry in Needlework" (12)
Thanks for the memories as well as the pictures. It has been a long time since I’ve seen these.
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It’ always a joy for me, too, to revisit these photographs.
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I envy anyone who can do handiwork such as your grandmother. The cat is delightful to look at at the end of the quilt.
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Kitty wandered into the photograph just at the right time . . . does add to the coziness factor. : ) Your comment made me think about what that process was of learning needlework skills. I suspect that older generations taught the younger girls, who grew up learning the steps, a wonderful way to connect. Thx for commenting.
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My mother was a professional seamstress and it was mathematical indeed. During the olden days, it was part of Home Economics. It’s unfortunate that this is hardly taught.
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The good news: the gender gap in math is decreasing. We only have to look at women’s sewing skills from the past to know that women could always do math!
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Gorgeous work and I love the colors in the quilt – bright but peaceful. 🙂
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Visited your quilt at https://newenglandgardenandthread.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/weekly-photo-challenge-achievement/, very nice, like the design of the buttons.
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Quilters sure are creative, talented bunch. Talk about patterns …. whew!
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And from what I can tell on the web, quilts are like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike.
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