The TRYING IS GOOD Quilt

DAY 11 – Josie’s gym fiance

helenzaltzman — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:15:12 +0000

This is a depiction of a fellow with whom Josie is obsessed. He goes to her local gym wearing clothes from the Soviet Union in the 60s, then touches his toes for half an hour. Furthermore his sweat-bands are made not of towelling but torn strips of bandage.

Obviously I have never seen him myself, but in my head he looks like Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride which is apparently quite accurate.

DAY 10 – cathedral

helenzaltzman — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:08:42 +0000

there’ll be a whole lot more stonework and religiousness going onto this patch, I tell you. At the moment, there is just a bit of religiousness poking out the door.

Week 2 results

helenzaltzman — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:38:38 +0000

Here’s the quilt after nine shows. Rotate your head 90 degrees west and squint a bit and maybe you’ll get an impression…

DAY 9 – Buddhist monks

helenzaltzman — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:29:11 +0000

I didn’t have time to finish these fellows, which is why they have pins rather than faces. That is NOT intentional.

They are a pair of Buddhist monks as seen by Josie from the window of the no.78 bus: one of them has a camcorder and the other is pranking about. You can’t see from this photo, but he is flipping a V sign, Churchill-style.

DAY 8 – romantic graffiti

helenzaltzman — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:18:55 +0000

This is a bit of graffiti on a motorway flyover in Essex, and manages to be the most romantic graffiti Josie has ever seen (apparently people tagging railway sidings with ‘Soulja’ doesn’t cut it any more for her. WTF?):

The writing’s rather lumpy because I made a poor thread choice. Live and learn, eh? I do hope I can make it look altogether better before the quilt is finished.

DAY 7 – Balloon race

helenzaltzman — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:02:03 +0000

Tonight’s applique was a bit of Josie’s childhood made out of felt:

It’s the Great Orpington Balloon Race! Or at least, the Orpington Balloon Race. Down there in the corner is the young Josie Long, watching her racing balloon soar into the sky, headed for pastures unknown. Or for the sharp branches of a tree fifty feet away. We will Never Know.

DAY 6 – Fairground

helenzaltzman — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:05:20 +0000

Tonight’s patch contains All the Fun of the Fair in highly condensed applique form:

There’ll be some more Fun of the Fair embroidered onto this before the quilt is done, to reflect Josie’s childlike joy at being all shook up and then winning a highly flammable toy.

And who’s that inside the tent?

Why, it’s a fortune teller, ready to prey on the vulnerable!

DAY 5 – snails

helenzaltzman — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:17:26 +0000

So, it’s a new week, and a somewhat laid-back patch to start it off:

Snails in the rain, innit!

Here they are again in all their woolly detail:

Not sure why those guys chose to come out the right way round, but there’s probably some witchery in it.

Week 1 results

helenzaltzman — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:09:01 +0000

So here is how the quilt is looking at the end of the first week:

Just tilt your head to one side and you’ll get it. (I give up trying to work out this pesky upload problem!)

DAY 4 – Josie’s stomach

helenzaltzman — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:03:18 +0000

It’s the end of the first week of Trying is Good at the Soho Theatre, and here’s the fourth patch (this one will ruin a very fine joke, so if you’ve not seen Josie’s show then GO AWAY).

Again, I don’t know why the hell these photos are uploading 90 degrees askew! However it’s a terrible photo anyway; really I shouldn’t be allowed a camera phone, or indeed anything more sophisticated than an Etchasketch.

Anyway, this patch represents Josie’s stomach, painted up like the sea to flatter it. In the middle you might just about be able to discern a button, ie her BELLY BUTTON. That, comrades, is an official applique pun!