Welsh Quilt collector Jen Jones is Opening A Center for Welsh Quilts in West Wales this July PLUS Updates on Former Topics

  The Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre will open in The Town Hall, Lampeter, West Wales  on July 28th 2009.

 1.Town Hall from High street (before restoration)

 

Jen Jones, the famous collector of old quilts made in Wales, is opening a center for the study and display of Welsh quilts!! (Be sure to hover your cursor over the photos on the link above to see more of gorgeous Jen's quilts.)

The first exhibition will feature quilts entirely from The Jen Jones Collection and will be representative of the entire spectrum of Welsh quilting.

The Old Courtroom on the first floor makes a fantastic exhibition space. The gallery entrance on the ground floor

2. A pink satin cotton quilt made in Cardiganshire in 1933. The central medallions surrounded by various patterns with fans predominant. Jen Jones Collection 

will house an exciting new shop featuring superb copies of some of Jen's famous geometric flannel quilts. These are being made by a women's group working through a convent in Ethiopia. The other Courtroom provides a wonderful place for classes and talks.

  3. Detail of a tailor's sample Welsh quilt with red stitching Made by Davies Brothers of  Llanelli, 1875-80 Jen Jones Collection

 

4. Lovely early Victorian Patchwork from Cilgerran Cardiganshire.

Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre
Phone 0044(0)1570 480 610
email quilts@jen-jones.com
web site www.jen-jones.com

Photograph captions, photos courtesy of Jen Jones

Updates about the Story Challenge and Ghost Hunt Tour

Ghost Quilt Show on Hold & Creative Writing Challenge Reminder

Thank you to everyone who wrote me behind-the-scenes and in comments on the blog. I loved hearing your thoughts about ghosts and spirits in textiles and homes, and talking about your personal experiences. But alas, no photos came in for our show and tell.

In reptrospect this may be in part due to Sat. landing on a holiday weekend. I told you I have been super busy and it didn't occure to me until a few people said they would be away for Easter. May you all have a blessed Sunday.

As a result, I won't be holding a phone or webcast talk on Sat. ,prior to my first ghost hunt, but I talked some freinds into going, so we'll have a blast.

Do you want to hear about it? Do you want to schedule another ghost quilt show& tell? I could share my experience and have a show and tell if you have photos to share.

Let's open it up to any textiles or sewing or needlework that have a spirit attached, or so it seems possible to you. Let me know by commenting below or emailing.

TO COMMENT- click on the word comment below the blog post. If there is a number infront of it, taht tells how many people have commented. I would prefer if all the comments showed up on the post itslef, and I have set it that way in the settings section, but it doesn't work out. I love your comments and read every one.
Do you like a Sat. time or prefer a weekday evening?

The Writing Challenge- If you are writing a creative fictional women's story for the writing challenge, we love you!! I have received some wonderful stories. Thank you so much for joining in and sharing the words from your heart and mind. The deadline is April 20th about 12 days from today.

If you haven't tried to write a work of fiction, you are missing a joyful inner experience. let your imagination go, be in a place and time, with people you would love to be with, quilting, sewing, knitting, growing food, writing poems, whatever makes your heart sing. Do it in 1000 words or less and you have a chance to be published and interviewed on my WOQ with the others finalists. We'll have a great time!

Take the chance of risking your creativity, challenge yourself. Make a quilt inspired by your story, design it to reflect the feeling in your woman's story. Send in the photo and I'll blog it. No, I don't expect that this would be before the deadline, whenever is good.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!


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Ghost Quilts Online Show & Tell April 11, Saturday 10 AM Pacific Time & Project Runway's New Home

Ok I am going to share a secret with you, my subscribers- whom I hope know me well enough by now to understand my fascination and not get caught up in judgements. It's not for everyone I understand, but then neither is eating meat or hand quilting. I like to, really like to, read, watch and hear stories about ghosts and haunted places. I am big fan of Sci Fi channel's Ghost Hunters.

A couple of weeks ago, Grant and his partner Jason, the founders of TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society in Warwick RI) investigated Slater Mills to see if the ghosts and other supernatural reportings were genuine. Sure enough, some of the mill buildings are haunted! It was a great show. For example, they connected with a small child who was able to answer their test questions (about the room and description of the people in it) by making their small device light up, 1 for no, 2 for yes, or vice versa. If you haven't seen the show, at least go to their website and watch videos. Their equipment and techniques have changed over the years and it is fascinating. Ghosts, spirits, do exist.

This photo of the inside of Slater Mill was taken during an investigation by the Little Rhodies Paranormal Society.

I am going on my first ghost hunt a week from today, April 11, 2009. I am such a scaredy cat. I picked a day-time tour of haunted places in the town next to mine, which was built in the late 19th century. Sure, they have night tours, have for years. They have planned hunts at local adobes and ranches known to be haunted in order to record events they could track, but I'll start here in the light of day, thank you very much.

In light of this exciting event I am offering a Ghost Quilt online and on the phone Show & Tell. and guess what - BOO- you're it! or, your quilt is it. In honor of all the spirits connected to the quilts in our collections, new, old, those we have made, those we have received, this is your chance to bring them into the open and share their picture and story with others. In a hurry- scroll down to final paragraphs for specifics.

I am totally serious. I will take your photo on a first come first serve basis. One per each person. Send them to me right away and plan to be on line and on your phone both on Sat., the 11th, at 10 AM Pacific, noon Central and 1PM Eastern time. I am trying out a new interactive Webcast system , GoToWebinar. Those who show their quilts will be asked to talk about their quilt's ghost. Then afterward, I'll go off to join the ghost hunters in downtown Ventura with known ghost hunter and historian, Richard Senate. Check out his newsletter and podcasts He's been around a long time. He's written books together with his psychic wife, such as the true story of Lizzie Borden , and so much more. She has helped with criminal cases the police are confused by and they investigate private homes for spirits too.

Speaking of Lizzie Borden, Ghost Hunters the TV program investigated Lizzie Borden's house where the murders took place. See what you're missing :) The photo at the top of this article was taken during their investigation.

So, what constitutes a Ghost quilt? That's up to you. You know who you are. Have fun with it. You can make it up, or think you've made it up if it makes you feel any better telling us about the weird things that happen around this quilt or that happen when you sleep under it, or someone else sleeps under it.... The quilt you made and felt someone was looking over your shoulder the whole time, but wasn't visible. Or maybe there are ghosts on your quilts in the fabric and your story is about that. Whatever you want to share will be fun for the rest of us to see AND it gives me the chance to try out this webinar. Kristen Miller's haunted house quilt seen in the picture here is on the Stolen quilt site. It disappeared in March 2006. if you've seen it, her email is on the website.

***This will be free. There will be no recording afterward. It won't be free again after this trial version, so send in your photo, give me a glimpse of your story, and I'll let you know if "you're in or you're out." (a la Heidi Klume style in Project Runway, now will be on Lifetime TV instead of Bravo TV, starting this summer I read) but all of you can come watch. If no one sends in pics, there will be no show. Subscribe right now to receive the emails with the link and phone number to call on Sat. The subscribe opt-in is listed on the left of this post where you see SUBSCRIBE in big letters. Subscribe for emails,not RSS feed because you can easily miss that. I AM NOT GOING TO PUT THE PHONE NUMBER AND LINK ON THE BLOG but for long enough to send it to you. YOU MUST SUBSCRIBE TO EMAILS TO GET info FOR THIS EVENT. Remember, there won't be a recording or Webcast to view later using this technology.

****If I get a lot of entries, we can view and talk for longer than an hour, to 1.5 hrs. You can come and go, but you have to be there when your quilt is shown to tell your story. SO, when I email you to tell THAT YOU ARE IN, I WILL GIVE A NUMBER AND IT WILL CORRESPOND TO WHEN YOUR TURN WILL COME AND OU CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY. SIZE YOUR PHOTOS BEFORE SENDING THEM. RESIZE THE ACTUAL VIEW SIZE TO 25% AND and SAVE IT ON YOUR END BEFORE SENDING IT TO ME. YOU MUST RESIZE TO THE 25% WHEN VIEWING THE PHOTO IN THE ACTUAL VIEW SIZE MODE ON YOUR END, THEN SAVE IT, OTHERWISE IT ISN'T SAVED TO THAT SIZE LIKE YOU THINK IT IS. I CAN ALWAYS ENLARGE IT IF NEEDED.

I hope we get some photos, 1 quilt person please, but if you should have 2 ghost quilts, let me know and if we have space I'll let you know to send that picture too. 2 photos per quilt, and send the second one if it adds value to the ghost story, otherwise please don't.

Any questions, contact me, but I am extremely busy these days, :) so please check to see if the answer is explained above already; I can't promise I'll take the time to answer if it is, I'll hopefully be busy uploading your photos into the webinar :)

Let's have fun ghost quilt hunting together next weekend!!

Kim

PS. I also follow ghostguide on twitter who is Melissa Van Rossum. She writes informative articles and books and does readings. I bought her book "All You've Ever Known." Aspects of her work remind me of the CBS drama's character Melinda as the Ghost Whisperer.

PSS. Spread the word... and you thought Boxes Under the Bed had it all wrapped up?