Sometimes I will start working and find that I need to stop and rethink.
So was the case with this double wedding ring rescue. After laundering and dying this vintage quilt, I tried to cut out the useable sections and create a patchwork of sorts. However, as I worked, I realized how fragile the remaining cloth really was. I love the red wool inserts and the mark-making stitches, but the strata is just not durable enough for a permanent artwork. One thought I had was to reuse the quilts (there are two in equal states of disrepair) as “marriage bundles”, or maybe seal with paint or wax to create a rigid surface for bookmaking. Someone suggested an organza overlay, which I thought was an interesting idea, and I thought of maybe putting the damaged quilt between two other pieces of cloth as a mostly hidden element that would be stitched through but remain part of the structure, possibly with small cutouts revealed. Something will happen, in its own time.
Book List: Lots of new titles. Absolution, by Alice McDermott; Charis in the World of Wonders, by Mary Youmans; The Winter Soldier, by Daniel Mason; All you Have to Do is Call, by Keri Maher (all as print books) and Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan, Cold Earth, by Anne Cleeves, Trust, by Hernan Diaz; and After Annie, by Anna Quindlen (as audio books).
For anyone in the Philadelphia area, At First Blush (detail, top center) is included in Art Quilt Elements at the Wayne Art Center. This is the first time I have had my work in this biennial exhibition and I am very honored to be among the selected artists.
