While most of my works are machine quilted, I also love to hand quilt. When I first started quilt making all of my works were hand quilted. However, once my twins were born, I realized I needed to learn how to machine quilt. Hand quilting was just too time consuming. So for over a decade I only machine quilted. But as my children grew older, I began hand quilting a few select pieces again. There is something so soothing about a needle and thread rhythmically gliding through the layers of cloth and batting, creating a texture on a once smooth surface. Here is my latest finished hand quilted work. This composition was pieced in 2008, but I did not quilt it until recently.
“Field & Forest #2” 2008/2021, 28.5” w x 25” h
commercial cottons, cotton batting, machine pieced and hand quilted
If you look closely you will see many different colors in the quilting. When I lived in New Zealand a small shop decided to stop selling quilting thread and sold their remaining stock for a song. I bought one of every color!
“Field & Forest” 2008/2021 detail A
“Field & Forest” 2008/2021 detail B
And for additional inspiration for my fellow needle workers, I would like to share with you a piece by Marie Watt, a Native American who currently has a show, “Each/Other”, with Cannupa Hanska Luger at the Denver Art Museum. This piece was approximately 20 feet long. I found the beauty of the hand stitching on such a large scale breathtaking.
Marie Watt
“Companion Species (Canopy)” 2016
Reclaimed wool blankets, thread and embroidery floss
Loan from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
Marie Watt “Companion Species (Canopy) detail A
Marie Watt “Companion Species (Canopy) detail B
Marie Watt “Companion Species (Canopy) detail C
“Each/Other” at the Denver Art Museum has several pieces that are textiles or include textiles. I highly recommend it. And in closing I will share a quote from the exhibition. As our world becomes increasingly divided, I think it is vital that we remember how we are all connected.
