The title of this post originally belonged to a television show in the early 1960s. It was a comedic, if not satirical, look at the previous week’s events. This essay is a summary that is neither comedic nor satiricial, but just a look at the past week. I feel that my view of the quilt world has changed considerably. I was elated to see that the Massachusetts’ quilt documentation committee published its long awaited book. I have only just begun to savor the history and the quilts within its pages.
During the last few days, I have also seen quilts that insinuate sexuality, violence, politics, religion, and collective memory into the medium of quilting. I have to say that although my original preference was traditional quilts and quilting, I am interested in this relatively new use of quilts to express emotion. I am not interested in quilts for their intended “shock” value. When I look at an art quilt, I want to see something redeeming about it, and most especially, I don’t want to have to look at a title or an artist’s statement to explain what it “means.” To my way of thinking, a quilt should be able to stand on its own merit, technique-wise, and otherwise.
My eyes have been opened, in that I did not realize that so many quilts are being made to depict tragic events, like lynchings, nuclear holocausts, and executions. I applaud the quilters’ endurance to follow through and finish such quilts, mainly because I couldn’t and wouldn’t do the same. I wonder why we have to drag these images that are unpleasant into what most of us think is a happy pastime: quilting. Then, I stop and realize that quilters are not making these quilts. The makers are artists who are using fabric as their medium. It may sound like I am splitting hairs, but if you think about it, you will agree.
The good news is that no matter what type of quilts you make, there is room for everyone. Those who are interested in only the prurient will find an audience of like-minded people.
Personally, I believe that this coming week, I will make the time to continue hand-quilting a quilt I started ages ago. Even though it takes me forever, I still like to quilt by hand. I don’t know when I started this particular quilt. Composed of various blocks that I reproduced from antique quilts, or that I made especially to illustrate some of my articles in The Quilter magazine, I love the colors, a mix of blues, browns, and orange, and the mix of techniques. Maybe I am “an old lady quilter,” after all.
I am not shocked at the new focus on controversial quilts, but at the same time, I just ask myself, “Why are these being made?” One answer, and I am sure that there are many answers, is that collectively, as a free society, perhaps we need to remember the transgressions against humans, in the past, in the hope that they will not happen again.
After a week of considering such matters, I am ready to move on to other more pleasant topics. For example, I am looking forward to the Machine Quilter’s Expo in April. I am eagerly watching and waiting for the first “Glory of the Snow” flowers to appear, the first flowers every spring season. I am anticipating the Daffodils in our yard. They spread every year and are grand! I can’t wait until it’s time to store away the winter coats and boots and wear lighter clothing. Oh, yes, there is much to accomplish, and more roads to travel to see quilt shows and quilt friends. I have missed seeing flowers this winter and I long for summer.
Every day is a new beginning. I hope that you have a good week and seize each moment (that will never come again). Be happy! Make a quilt that will make you smile when you see it. Quilts can be food for thought, but also they can be enjoyed simply for aesthetic reasons, even for just the patterns that hand stitching can make. A stick in the mud, the kind of art quilts I’ve seen in the last week will have to continue to be made by other hands. Like any art, they will reap different emotions from each person who views them. I wish everyone well. If we all liked the same things, it would be a dull world.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
