Hi Bev,
Yesterday I thought this quilt was “finished” and I posted the “final” photo. But the quilt was missing something and it bugged me all day. It needed some free-motion quilting, so I bought some invisible thread today at the fabric store and headed home to finish the job.
When I got done, the girls and I chased the setting sun to a patch of sidewalk across the street for a quick photo in fading natural light.
So, now, I think I’m finally finished. Really.
Cheers,
Jen
Hi Bev.
It’s been too long since my last art quilt and it feels really good to finally finish this one. At first I struggled to decide what to protest. There are so many injustices and and conflicts in the world that it was difficult to choose one. In the end, I went with one of my biggest concerns: war.
Obviously, I decided to protest with a sense of humor, substituting “aprons” for “love” in the old “Make love, not war” protest.
Intellectually, I understand the reasons why wars are waged and support the Americans fighting overseas right now even thought I don’t agree with the circumstances under which the war started. I just don’t believe war is the best, most logical way to settle disputes. So, I decided to suggest one protest alternative that I haven’t heard before.
I know wars won’t end with peaceful craft sessions anytime soon, but wouldn’t it be great?
To make this quilt, I sketched out the design, then made my applique using a paper piecing method. To give the quilt some dimension, I decided to stuff the bust of the the woman’s T-shirt and make her apron hang off the quilt like a real apron.
I scrapped the first shirt I started embroidering because I changed my mind on the text. Before I settled on the war protest theme, I started stitching “Save the aprons” on the shirt. When I changed my mind, I had to cut a new shirt and start over. I’m glad I did.
So there you have it. Now it’s time to move on to our next project.
Cheers,
Jennifer
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