It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on a quilt and it was such a pleasure to finish Turtle Quilt today. ( I’ll ship it out to it’s new owner tomorrow) Lenore sat, scratching, right at my feet while I was tacking it. I didn’t let her into the studio until the quilt was off the floor or she would have laid down right on top of it. I listened to 2 broadcasts of the radio show On Being (Sylvia Boorstein and Kevin Kling) on my ipad and at lunch was spouting off about Buddhism and Storytelling.
When I was almost done with the quilt I got the feeling that I needed to do something different with the signature. I never signed my first quilts, then eventually I stitched my initials. But today I knew I wanted to stitch the name of the quilt, my full name and the date. I wasn’t thinking about it, and I didn’t debate it in my mind when the idea came to me, seemingly out of the blue.
As I stitched my name I thought how strange it was that I had stitched so many words yet this was the first time I stitched my name. It felt good. The words come out slowly when I’m stitching them, each individual letter deliberate. I spell the words out in my head, M…A…R…I…A… and it felt as if I were writing my name for the first time. This quilt has a name, I thought, and I made it and I want everyone who sees it to know. This was such a different thing for me to do, I even used thread that showed up against the fabric so it was easy to see. But there it was, also the most natural thing in the world for me to do. I gave my quilt voice, I thought, my voice.
when you begin and end a word or name/number, do you backstitch, or do you pull a thread through and tie a knot? I’m trying to get a sense of how large your letters are – but can’t.
quilt historians recommend that you also put on the “label” WHERE you live (or where you created it) — so many quilts found in trunks and attics have NO labels, and we can only guess – or give up on knowing the quilt’s “story”
The threads get pulled through automatically on my machine. The letters are about 1 inch.
Beautiful and empowering. I love that you are now signing your name! I look forward to hopefully owning one of your signed pieces in the future. All your creations tell a story it is only right that they be signed by the author/artist.
FUN PRINTS! Takes me back in time! Where did you get the name for the quilt? You do great work!
It was the colors Sheryl. And I think I had the tortoise and hare on my mind. Like a stained glass turtle shell.
It’s been so interesting to watch your growth, Maria. I’m not talking about your skill at creating. I believe that has been there all along. Your sense of self and the confidence to claim your art is different than when I first began reading your blog. I think it’s wonderful to see a woman in her prime blossom the way you have. (And it gives me hope for myself!)
Oh hope what a wonderful thing to be able to give each other Dianne!
Our Name is so unigue, so much like our fingerprint in a world that seems to care mostly for conformity. It takes courage to write our own name in such a way that it passes to future generations. I love the way your name looks in machine stitching, Maria Wulf. Annie
I think I’m already used to it Annie, thanks