Throughout my life, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about what exactly makes a home. Is it the place? Is it the actual occupied space? Or is it about the people you reside with? What about the community? How do your belongings make a home? As a college educated anthropologist, I understand that the question of home is complicated and very specific to cultural norms. And also as someone who has moved a lot and created many different homes (in a yurt, an RV, Victorian house, studio apartments, etc.), I recognize that the concept of home is fluid.
During a recent cleaning spurt, I had a lightbulb moment — what makes our current house our home is that it is filled with mostly handmade items. A large portion of our possessions were handcrafted and are one of a kind including: furniture, rugs, paintings, photographs, origami art, wall art, paper flowers, pottery, and yes, quilts. Some of the makers we know and love, like a pair of my Great-Aunt Kay’s paintings that anchor our dining room, while many others are unknown, like my most favorite lunch bowl (with a handle!) I bought at a thrift store for a dollar, and can only decipher Park City, UT from the maker’s markings. For two people who love to make, a lot of what we have was made by our hands. There is a lot of sentimentality attached to my stuff because it is handmade and cannot be replicated.
In one of my recent reads, “The Dictionary of Lost Words” by Pip Williams, there is a quote from a character about why she does needlepoint: “I like to keep me [sic] hands busy. And it proves I exist.” She goes on to elaborate: “Me [sic] needlework will always be here. I see this and I feel…well I don’t know the word. Like I’ll always be here.” Holy guacamole, yes! When I make something, my intent is not to leave my mark upon the world, but of course, that is what you are doing, leaving a part of yourself behind. Everyone who creates knows that there is an energy infusion between the maker and the object. This is why forty-five years later, the afghan my Great-Grandma Johnson made me still feels like a giant hug.
The Brand New Colony quilt is another “just because” quilt for a dearest friend of mine, who also happens to be an incredible artist. The quilt design is made entirely from rail fence, aka split rail or cedar rail, blocks. It is a very popular pattern and depending upon the layout, you can create a lot of different visual images with the lines. For this quilt, I wanted a very organic, improvisational vibe in the design so in order to achieve that, I cut the strips individually (with scissors) as I created each block. A traditional split rail quilt is made from long, equal strips of fabrics pieced together creating uniformity. (And also a very quick design.) I veered away from that method and made one block at a time, line by line. By slowing down the quilt design to a very intentional pace, I achieved the organic vibe I envisioned.
This quilt is made out of linen and linen scraps, pieced on my Grandma’s 1974 Bernina Record sewing machine, underneath a couple of screenprints made by the quilt recipient. The green and turquoise scraps, leftovers from a reversible bucket hat I made, were my starting colors, with the other fabrics (rose pink, grey, navy) chosen because they pair well and create a soothing palette. The color combination also reminds me of Sunday newspaper comics. The backing is an incredible vintage floral fabric a friend gifted me and it is sublimely perfect for this quilt. This is my first all linen quilt and the block piecing required a bit more finesse due to the looser weave versus traditional cotton. However, I absolutely love how soft and textural the linen is, especially with the addition of all the hand quilting. The hand quilted design is essentially perpendicular lines across each block. In honor of the wonky pieced lines, the quilted lines are also done freehand one at a time. As I stitched away on my couch, I glanced up at a weaving the same friend made. Yeah, I made something for her, while also surrounded by art she made for me. Art begets art!
Please let me detour briefly to comment on how hard it is to get a good quilt picture. Amazing quilt pictures abound on websites and social media, and yet I would venture that for every perfect pic, there are dozens more with glare, unexpected wind gusts and strained quilt holders. I swear that every time I try to take a quilt pic, there is a gust of wind that just needs to blow at that moment. It is comical. Speaking of home, here is a critter who has decided to make our backyard his primary home, Frankie the stray cat. Frankie is the ultimate quilt photo thwarter, as you can see in the above outtakes captured by my husband. Frankie really is the cutest free cat one could ask for, so his antics are tolerated.
Brand New Colony the quilt is named after The Postal Service song of the same name. The Postal Service, dubbed a “pop supergroup” by Wikipedia, was made up of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie fame), Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and the producer Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel) that had one super influential album back in 2003. The story goes that due to touring conflicts, the music was sent between the musicians via mail, thus the band name. And here’s a fun fact thanks to the internet, the actual USPS sent the band a cease and desist order for trademark infringement! When the EP of the song “Such Great Heights” was issued, I basically wore out the 2 track disc. When the full length album Give Up came out, I, like many Gen-X music nerds, was obsessed. What are all these beep/boop noises with awesome lyrics sung by famous indie rockers? (The sounds are modeled after vintage video games, of which I know absolutely nothing about.) But the album was unlike anything I heard before, and actually, since. The song “Brand New Colony” is my favorite because it describes being there in unique and endearing ways for someone you love. How awesome to articulate love with lyrics such as “I’ll be the fire escape that’s bolted to the ancient brick, where you will sit and contemplate your day” or “I’ll be the platform shoes, undo what heredity’s done to you”. The reason the quilt is named after this song is because of a visit to the quilt owner’s home where I saw earlier quilts I made her sons being utilized as hot wheels race tracks (true #quiltsinthewild there!) while this song played on the stereo. That moment was a perfect montage of what I love in the world.
Like all makers, there is such pleasure in knowing that something I made provides comfort, purpose and joy in the world. Comfort is important and handmade items provide that necessity because they are made with care and craft. By surrounding myself with items that are not just “things”, I’ve been able to make wherever I live a home, which then provides me with the emotional and physical security I need. Home is where the art is.
Musical inspiration: Give Up by The Postal Service.
Quiltunes 