From the trimmings of my larger quilts I have many long narrow pieces of cotton batting that I have been trying to use: a challenge. I cut one to six feet in April, knowing I wanted to explore what that 6-foot physical distance was as we eye that judgment every time we leave the house.
I started painting and piecing; I was interested in layering over a pattern I had marbled and didn't care for, and I used the Jacquard textile paint to paint over it and scratch into it. Then I punched a stencil and laid out a grid of dots, knowing I would use a sashiko pattern, but not yet sure which one. It ended up being a "paving stone" pattern: perfect to suggest a sidewalk, I thought.
Although I had written a poem earlier in the month, it turned out to be not quite right, so I revised it for the quilt. It reads two ways, prompting interaction. We see two people facing one another, one at each end of the quilt and reading part of the poem from a distance. They then walk and meet one another in the center. They continue on their way. When they get to the other end they turn and face each other again. And read the other half from a distance, completing the poem and the dance.
I started painting and piecing; I was interested in layering over a pattern I had marbled and didn't care for, and I used the Jacquard textile paint to paint over it and scratch into it. Then I punched a stencil and laid out a grid of dots, knowing I would use a sashiko pattern, but not yet sure which one. It ended up being a "paving stone" pattern: perfect to suggest a sidewalk, I thought.
Although I had written a poem earlier in the month, it turned out to be not quite right, so I revised it for the quilt. It reads two ways, prompting interaction. We see two people facing one another, one at each end of the quilt and reading part of the poem from a distance. They then walk and meet one another in the center. They continue on their way. When they get to the other end they turn and face each other again. And read the other half from a distance, completing the poem and the dance.
waiting
divided
working
for the
day we
meet
in the
center
waving
from
windows
working
to claim
& calm
our
center
The binding uses my "treat" of Cosmo yarn-dyed cotton twist strips that I bought from Kimonomomo.
And some reclaimed denim jeans for the street feel, too.
It measures just shy of 6 feet long by just over one foot wide.
A scroll, really.
I sort of imagine it as a welcome mat, down my front walkway.
Stay safe! Be well. And stay as close as you can.
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