I have always gravitated towards groups of Super-Nerds who are well versed on a particular subject, and not afraid to completely immerse themselves in a specific genre. We do it as quilters, of course. Fat Quarter jokes come with the territory. I also like Star Trek nerds, Photoshop nerds, Monty Python nerds, and Opera nerds. There is something about being with a group of people who tell the ‘nerdiest’ subject-specific jokes, knowing that not everyone will get the punch line.
I am on a trip with a bunch of opera nerds at the moment. The leader of the group has been described as an ‘opera super-guru’ which is quite true. He can stand up and speak on a specific composer or opera topic, off the top of his head for an hour straight without hesitation. You’ve got to respect those super-nerdy chops. Simon translates librettos of operas from Italian, German, French, Czech, Russian and Hungarian and converts them into English subtitles to be shown on screens in theatres during performances, so that the audience can understand what is being sung, and the story-line behind the performance. His wife is Japanese so we also had a conversation about traditional shibori and indigo dyeing techniques.
Today we learned that Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ was written to match the voices of the singers who were available to sing in the first performance. Mozart’s sister-in-law had lost her lower registers but still could sing the highest notes as a coloratura soprano – so the crazy Queen of the Night ‘rage aria’ was written for her limited range. And singers for the rest of eternity will have to struggle with the parts that were written for a specific performer at the time. Mozart was thinking short term, but his music has lasted for over 200 years. Kind of like quilts that end up being antique family heirlooms. The maker thinks she is making a quilt for a wedding, or other ‘current event’, but it ends up having a life of its own and out-living the maker and the recipient. We can only hope that our quilts will go on telling our stories, long after we’ve left our stashes behind.
sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul
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Travel/Quilt Calendar:
August 18-24 – Bear Camp – Homer Alaska
Sept 28-30 – AQSG Seminar – Louisville, KY
