Me & My 404 Blues

This quilt was originally designed for a show called "A PALETTE OF PRISMS" in Cazenovia, NY. The design limitation set by the show was to work in 12 shades of one color. The color I chose for my hand dyed fabric was blue #404 from Pro Chemical and Dye Co. A silk-screen was made from a photograph of me sitting at my sewing machine, working on one of my three- dimensional "tuck" quilts. The dark blue "weed cloth" fabric began as dark blue hand dyed fabric. The dark blue fabric was laid on the floor of my garage, and willow leaves from a tree in my front yard were laid on top of it. A fine mist of chlorine bleach was sprayed over the fabric from several feet above the garage floor. As the chlorine bleach settled on the fabric between the willow leaves, the dark blue dye discharged almost immediately, leaving the shadow of the leaves. The fabric was dried, and washed repeatedly to remove the chlorine bleach. In this quilt I experimented with combining modules of three-dimensional tucks and two dimensional patchwork. The overall design is based on a traditional eight pointed star. By enlarging the star, and then further dividing the spaces with the star, the design became a complex medallion.


Larger image of quilt backThe traditional quilt blocks on the back of this quilt are my tribute to the creativity of the many anonymous quilt artists of the past. I chose the "Ohio Star" block because the making of this quilt coincided with the opening of QUILT NATIONAL '87 in Ohio. This was the first Quilt National in which my work was included, and the quilt I am working on in the photo silk-screen in this quilt was the quilt that was actually exhibited in that show.