99 x 148cm long
The third in a series of quilts about absence and longing, made during the pandemic.
April – August 2021
Materials: Denim quilt top, recycled duvet cover backing, recycled curtain lining for batting, embroidered with old crochet yarn.
Techniques: Embroidery, hand quilting, hand bound.
As part of a series of quilts about hugs, this quilt has jumped the queue of ideas. The third #QuiltOfHugs to be made, this quilt came out of a conversation with my account-a-bil-abuddy, Sam Boot @threads_of_my_life.
We were talking about imposter syndrome, and the fear of making (#SewingMalarkey). To address that head-on, I decided to make this quilt with the intention of putting it up for sale. I can't quite handle the words "and sell it", but it's one step closer!
After completing the quilt, I've decided to keep it. Am I avoiding the issue? I'm not sure!
Original concept
Quilt top: denim, plus one fancy embroidered hug (something similar to #Hug2) with vintage crochet yarn in peach or cream.
Batting: recycled thermal curtain lining (used in Hug2, really nice).
Quilt back: amazing vintage '80s floral curtain.
Quilting: running stitch mirroring the hug shape, energetic lines rippling outwards, navy/purple probably (to show up on the reverse)... or cream/peach to show up on the top, hmm tbc.
Binding: self-binding, wrapping the floral fabric around to the front.
I'm using paper templates of my arms, to create a denim hug. The title in my head at the moment is "May I hug you?". I started work on this quilt over the weekend that England came out of its 3rd lockdown. We can now meet up with up to 6 people or 2 households, distanced, outside only.... but absolutely no hugging anyone outside your bubble. I am thinking ahead, to an unknown future time, when such restrictions are lifted. What will the psychological barriers to hugs be like then. Will we seek permission? May I? May I hug you?
In the past two years, I have gone from a (generic, let's not be specific here!) corporate experience where hugs, and physical contact was normal, often unwanted, usually without request. Then #MeToo became a global phenomenon, and awareness of unwanted contact was openly discussed. To a time when, now, particularly for those living alone, many people have had no physical contact with another human for one year now. And sometime in the future, when physical, friendly contact may resume? How will that interaction work? Will we hug everyone and anyone we can? How cautious will we be? How polite? May I hug you?
18th April: embroidery top finished. Started to hand quilt.
10th & 11th June 2021: shown, unfinished as part of "Quilts In The Garden".
July 2021: I’ve almost finished this quilt. The complex double lines of hand quilting are complete, the quilt is bound; I just need to embroider the label, and devise a simple hanging method. So much has changed in the time I have been stitching this, yet so much remains the same. The covid numbers are literally higher than ever before, yet vaccine rollout is going well; uncertainty is high. Will the vaccine escape? Should we meet in real life? Wear a mask? What if we met outside? May I touch your arm? Do I wish to be hugged, here, now, by you? May I hug you?
The quilting starts simply – quilted lines of running stitch mirror the embroidered arms; there is “space in their togetherness”. As the stitched lines ripple outwards, they become more complex. Sometimes they align, sometimes oppose – like all relationships they change, adapt, move apart, come together, co-operate, act independently.
December 2021: the quilt is now in Phoenix Arizona, ahead of QuiltCon22. As a backup, I recorded this Quilt Story.
February 2022: not a QuiltCon winner, but hey! Received some lovely remarks on Instagram, saved under Story Highlights (they are much kinder than the judges!)
Heidi Parkes "love these giant stitches, and this delicate embroidery"
QuiltCon Judging remarks, "very organic quilting designs, especially to interpret the arms - interpretation of the arms with an embroidery stitch adds to the message - more care needed with edge-finish execution."
My notes from the event,
Ignore the judges, its not what we are here for!
Think about binding colour and contrast in photos vs the pale neutral fabric used at quilt shows.
The quilt is on its way back to me now, somewhere!
Exhibitions
Submitted to Bath Open Art Prize 2021 (not accepted)
Submitted to QuiltCon 2022, quilt number #4960 - ACCEPTED! February 16 - 20 2022, Phoenix, Arizona
Submitted video to Quilt Alliance StoryShare / Go Tell It!
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