Monday, December 1, 2014

An Ode To The Past - QuiltCon Entry 2015

My entry for QuiltCon 2015. 


I decided to submit this at the last minute to live up to the spirit in which it was made.

First the story behind it. I worked for an investment bank in New York before recently moving to Seattle and this illustration adorned the wall of my office for the 10 years I worked there

It is a Bauhaus illustration by Wilburn Bonnell III (Circa 1971) with a quotation by James Agee. The Ad is from the series 'Great Ideas of Western Man' by Container Corporation of America. 

The writing on it:
In every child who is born, 
under no matter what circumstances,
and no matter what parents,
the potentiality of the human race
is born again;
and in him, too, once more, and each of us,
our terrific responsibility towards human life;
towards the utmost idea of goodness,
of the horror of error,
and of God


I saw it every time I walked into office and it was the only constant in the ups and downs of my career and the fast changing corporate climate. It did not mean much to me initially but its bold and masculine appearance was a constant reminder to me that corporate America did not favor the weak or the timid. I had to navigate my way through just like the fellow next to me. Through the years it served me well. So as a tribute to all the life lessons I learnt there I decided to turn the illustration into a quilt.

In order to make this quilt I needed five varying shades of gray fabric. At the peril of sounding like an ad for Kona solids, it really was my only choice. Found the perfect five shades of gray. The quilt top came together relatively easily. Very simplistic. I did not want to take away from the bold blocks so decided to quilt each block with a self colored thread to further enhance the texture. Each colored section is quilted in a square spiral. This was a laborious process on a domestic sewing machine, but worth it, I think.


I did not want to add a visible border to the quilt and was wondering what to do when I saw Victoria Gertenbach's tutorial on facing a quilt. Just what I needed. Frankly I had not heard of the term 'facing a quilt' till I read her tutorial. Newbie!!! Love the crisp edges.



For the back I used Quilter's Linen in black and a newspaper print I picked up at my LQS. It has notable events from history printed in the form of news items. Love the fabric, must find more. You can see the facing and the quilting more clearly in this picture.


I agonized about submitting it as a QuiltCon entry. Self doubt began to sink in: It was not good enough, other quilts were much better. It would definitely get rejected. I wouldn't tell anyone I submitted an entry this way no one will know it got rejected.......and then I stopped myself. This is not what the illustration meant to me. For all its worth one thing that corporate America has taught me well is to take rejection and criticism like a champ and move on! 

So there in the spirit of the idea behind the quilt here is my QuiltCon entry.




Linking up to: Fabric Tuesday, WIP Wednesday, TGIFF, Crazy Mom Quilts

22 comments:

  1. What a great story! I love that you entered it. Someone had recommended that I enter a quilt that I made earlier this year. I went through that same thought process. I didn't enter it, but not for those reasons. It was a special quilt that I made for my hisbsnd, and I would be heartbroken if something happened to it. Your quilt is beautiful! Good luck!

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  2. Ummm....that should say husband, not hisbsnd.

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  3. I love it! And the quilting is amazing. I hope it does get chosen so others can hear the story behind it, too. Probably a bit of a culture change to your new city where the mayor pardons tofurkey on Thanksgiving!

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  4. I admire everything about this quilt, the bold modern design, the story behind it, the quilting, the way you finished it (must check that out) and your bravery in entering it to Quiltcon (so worthy). I so love your work

    Hillary

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  5. oh it's awesome! I'm so glad you made it and glad that you entered it! Love what your quilting did to the simple design!

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  6. I think this is really beautiful and give high fives for submitting it!

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  7. Ohh, I LOVED seeing this quilt in person before it was done, and I'm so glad you've finished it in time for QuiltCon! Thanks for telling the story behind it.

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  8. I saw your photo on IG and knew I had to check in and see the real deal. This quilt speaks to me. The colours, the design, the quilting. I love how you've faced the quilt as a deliberate design element. The display with the three pant hangars...we've all done that. This is sublime Rachel. My fingers are crossed for you to get to show your quilt at QuiltCon. Thanks for sharing the quilt and its story with us.( Annoriginal265 on IG )

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  9. It is fantastic. Congrats for entering it in Quiltcon. It's the experience that counts and what you learn from it. Also, whether you get in or not you will always have this wonderful quilt!!

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  10. This is fantastic! I love the colour blocking and the concentric quilting is super cool!

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  11. Thank you so much for telling us the inspiration behind this quilt! I was drawn to the quilting, which is amazing, so I have no doubt your entry will fit right in with the others. You should be proud of your work! But more so for creating something with so much meaning. :)

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  12. That quilting! Wow. That must have taken soooo long.

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  13. that looks great! I agree with Kat, that quilting would have taken forever!

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  14. I love it. Fabulous quilt! I am glad you shared your story and the meaning of the quilt - I really enjoy knowing where quilters inspiration comes from and how it translates in their work xx.

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  15. I love it!! The story is great, and it's so cool you made a quilt with that as its inspiration. The quilting is fantastic. I love that you put so much thought into the quilting. I'm sure it took hours but it is so worth it. Congrats on your finish and good luck on your entry!

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  16. Your quilt is really eyecatching and then I saw the quilting, awesome. When I see this quilt among the QuiltCon entries I'll be able to say,"I know the story behind that quilt."

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  17. Thank you for sharing! I love hearing & learning the stories behind quilts. And your quilt is just gorgeous.

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  18. Like your quilts in the past, this is awesome and the quilting is phenomenal.

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  19. This is gorgeous! Good luck with the entry~

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  20. Great story and congrats!

    My hubby used to be a banker. It's nice to have him home every night, and for dinner no less!

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  21. It's stunning and will be so great to see it at QCon in austin, congrats!!! What fab design & workmanship, R! Funny how it's the simple things we see each day that inspire us.

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  22. I love this quilt! It's everything s modern quilt should be! Congrats on making it into Quiltcon!

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