playing games

Thanks to Beverly I’m playing games again!

What a wonderful theme with endless possibilities! Boardgames, computergames, children’s games, mind (brain)games, sports. I worked through our stash of boardgames looking for ideas. I remembered all the games we played in the streets, when I was a little girl. The games I played with my big sister and little brother during childhood. I remembered all the lovely New Year’s Eve’s when my grandparents invited all the grandchildren to play bankboard. My grandmother used to make a table filled with prizes for the winners. My grandfather bought some indoor confetti bombs to make the fun even bigger.

I’m chewing on the games theme a lot and finally made some sketches to clear my head a bit. I’ve always been a lover of the simple plain (anthroposophical) wooden games for little children. I’ve been looking for a typical Dutch game, but these days not many things are typically Dutch anymore.

And sometimes a solution is just around the corner, but you need to ‘see’ it!
For 6 weeks now I’m frequently visiting the eye specialist, due to an eye contition, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the waiting room. They have put up a table with special toys and games for children with poor eyesight. Those games are made to stimulate the other sensory organs. Some little children will even have to deal with getting blind in the future.
Having a little nephew with poor eyesight (he’s also physically and mentally disabled), I have been pondering on this subject for some time. When we visit him we always like to bring him a little gift and we need to go to special stores to find him something.

When I was waiting at the eye specialist again this week, I’ve been giving these toys and games some thought for my games quilt. It’s certainly challenging to explore how to translate a special needs game into a 16" square quilt. I will have to work with different textures and maybe even braille. Maybe, I found my subject...!

Happy weekend!

Nicolette