Why I quilt and #quiltconreject

Why do we quilt?

Why cut up fabric and sew it back together? Why do we do elaborate things with fabric when we could just sew together simple squares and the final product would be just as warm?

Quilting is a meditation for me, a meditation about creation. It is something I devote time and energy to because the craft makes me feel good.

I was reading Uppercase Magazine (January 2015, Issue 24), editor Janine Vangool interviewed Denyse Schmidt. In this interview Schmidt discussed why she started quilting, "The tangible record of time and effort I held in my lap, versus the ephemeral nature of what I produced day to day was a revelation."

That is it.

Sometimes a quilt is not designed or pieced, it is built block by block. I feel a little like a mason building a brick wall. It is not improv, per se, I used rulers and traditional blocks with precise point. It was a journey, I did not know what the finished project would look like until the end.

I chose traditional blocks to reference our heritage as quilters. I am so proud of my quilting fore bearers and I like to think they stitched up beautiful designs both for the practical and aesthetic reasons. Just like me, beauty was created for beauties sake. The quilting is done by both machine and hand. It felt important to make this personal quilt even more personal by adding handwork.

It also felt important to take my time. Quick quilts and easy patterns have their place (I personally love them!). A quilt that takes time is special, it means something when you stop and contemplate your work. We don't have to do this. If I needed a blanket, I could sew some squares together (something I have done and loved), but devoting oneself to a project gives it more meaning. It is almost like I stitched part of myself into this quilt.

I put my name on the front of this quilt. It felt so permanent and personal. It is also a statement on the art and craft of quilting. Quilting is an art that generations of women have perfected and loved, it is also an art that has often been ignored and under valued (I am sorry men, not trying to leave you out, but quilting has been long considered women's work and has been undervalued in the way that tasks considered "feminine" often are). Stories of finding intricately pieced antique quilts with no name or date are so common. On a quilt that is all about the maker and the process of making should include placing the person on the front with the design.

This quilt was rejected from Quilt Con 2016.

I am not going to lie and tell you I was not disappointed. I poured my heart and soul into the construction of this quilt. It was a passion project that took me weeks and months to complete. I do not, however, make my quilts for showing. I made this quilt because I had something to say, I needed to make this quilt.

I know that many fantastic quilts were accepted and rejected from the show at Quilt Con and I try not to derive self worth from a jury decision. Sure, it still stings. I am writing this here in case you were rejected from a show. I think it is okay to admit to being bummed. We want to be cheerful cheerleaders for our buddies who are showing quilts and the craft that we love! You didn't submit a quilt unless you loved it and believed in it. It is hard to hear a "no".

The good news is, this quilt lives in my house and I still love it. I am happy with my concept and design and I would not change a thing.

Quilt Stats:

Name: Why I Quilt 

Size: 65" x 70"

Pattern: my own, many traditional blocks included...

Fabric: Many stash fabrics, mostly from the scrap bins (as an aside, how do these bins never look smaller!)

Quilting: Straight lines by machine with Aurifil and hand quilting using Finca thread and some Aurifil Floss. 

Finished: August 2015

Bacon's First Quilt Show

Sorry if this is a bit late and you are super sick of Quilt Con posts. But I wanted to include some thoughts on having quilts in the show. 

I had two quilts in the show at Quilt Con. This was the first time I had shown my work in any serious way (not that I don’t love bloggers’ quilt festival, but it is not juried and it is more of a celebration than critical experience).

I didn’t win anything, but I am not disappointed. I honestly feel like seeing my quilts in the show was a great prize. I have also not gotten my feedback from the judges yet, so I don’t know how they did. I am not sure I will share the feedback on this blog. I doubt the judges will be harder on me than I am on myself, so I am not too concerned with what the judges think.

I just wanted to use this space to ruminate on how showing my quilts made me feel.

When I first saw my quilts on the show floor, I got really excited. I made that! It is hanging from the wall! There is a label with my name on it!  It looks like Art! Then I started looking around and comparing my quilt with its neighbors. Is it as good as the other ones? Can they tell that my quilting isn’t even? Do they see the cat hair?

I do not make show quilts. I started these quilts with the intention that they would be mine.  I designed them because I had to. It is hard to explain, but sometimes quilting for me is like reading a really good book. I just can’t put it down until I see the end. I need to know!

I made these quilts with the idea that I would control their narrative. Most quilters do that; we make quilts for people, for charity, for our homes and beds. We quilt because we want to. We know that they will be loved. In a sense, we control who sees our work and where they go. When my quilts got into the show and while they were hanging, I lost control of the narrative. People, anyone who wanted to pay to get onto the show floor, could think anything they wanted about my work. This is not necessarily bad; it just is totally outside my experience as a first time quilt entrant. Strangers could not only judge my craft, they could interpret my work however they wanted.  They could be inspired, disgusted, bored, etc.

I am generally not concerned by the thoughts of others and I don’t think I mind losing control of my quilts for the weekend. I am definitely not fishing for compliments or writing this to be self-deprecating.

I just found it to be a completely disconcerting experience to stand on the show floor and watch people experience my work. These are people who don’t know me. They don’t read this blog. They don’t know I have a neurotic cat and love blue. They don’t know I collect cat fabric and need to sew like I need to breathe. They have no idea what my other work looks like. They are just experiencing this quilt, this collection of cotton fibers that three months ago I was curled up under, as a piece of art. For that moment, it belonged to them.

My quilts arrived at home yesterday. Soon they will be back on my couch. I think I will take off the hanging sleeves that I had to attach by hand. They will both go back on the couch to be cuddled and snuggled under as I always intended.

I also think I will probably enter more quilt shows.

One thing that I know, I will continue to make more quilts. I have to.

Thanks for reading friends. Next post we will be back to our regularly scheduled nonsense.

Hello Quilt Con! My name is Stitching and Bacon

I often like to start a blog post by stating where I am located while I am typing these words. Usually it is some tiny little town in a generic hotel room for work and sometimes I am at my desk at home in North Carolina.

Today, I am in a plane over the earth on my way to Austin, Texas. I am going to QUILT CON! 

Pause for a second, can I say that again? I am going to Quilt Con. I can hardly believe it. This is such a huge treat for me. It has been planned for months and it is finally here.  It feels like Christmas, Hannukah, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Easter, and my birthday all rolled into one.

Okay, now that I am sort of over that. Are you going to Quilt Con? Can we meet? I am going to have buttons to trade or just give you.

I am going to start this epic blog post by telling you the ways you can find me at Quilt Con.

Firstly, I am taking two classes. Victoria Findley Wolf’s Modern String of Florid Blooms and Yoshiko Jinzenji’s Sheer Fabrics—Silhouette Pillow. I am also volunteering on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday as a classroom assistant and in the lecture hall.

I have two quilts in the show. Please visit them!

You may remember Fade to Black. I love this quilt. More information about this quilt here.

The quilt you may not have seen is Paint Chip.  This quilt deserves its own blog post so I am going to keep this brief here. Rainbows make me happy and this quilt makes me so happy… This quilt feels like it brings its own sunshine.

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I am going to be honest about this, I was nervous to share these quilts and tell you I have quilts in the show. There was so much chatter on the Internet about getting into the show and or not getting into the show. I don’t want to seem like I am too modest or brag too much. It is a hard line to tow sometimes.

Okay, off this subject. Talking about these things is hard for me.

I thought I would give you some fun facts about myself! I love lists!

1. Despite my blog name and adorable pig. I am allergic to mammal meat. So, I can’t eat bacon. It is an allergy from ticks, the moral of this story is that bug spray is good and I miss bacon.

2. For my day job, I am an archaeologist. This is not unrelated to fact one.  I travel a ton for work.

3. I grew up in the Portland, Oregon, which is where my parents still live. I moved to Colorado when I was 18 to go to college. I met my husband in college and then I followed him to North Carolina. Until I did that, I swore I would never move for a man. I have never ever regretted my decision to 

move.

4. I am addicted to Pilates and Barre. I try to go to at least 4 classes a week when I am home.

5. My house is under 900 square feet and we have 12 quilts in our living room.

6.  I love to cook. My husband and I cook dinner together almost every night.

7. My favorite colors are blue, pink, and I love everything with cats on it. I am also super into kitsch.

I hope we get to meet at Quilt Con if you are going. If not, I promise to recap as much as I can. You should follow me on instagram (@stitchingandbacon) for the play-by-play.

Love you all friends! I hope you are having a great week!