Journal Quilt for Houston

For the past several years, Quilts, Inc., who run the huge Quilt Festival in Houston every year, have had a journal quilt exhibit. They have asked artisans to make up an 8.5 x 11" quilt page as though from a journal. Participants were asked to do a page a month. You could try new techniques, play with color, whatever. This year, the idea changed slightly. Rather than send in several pages, make one larger page that was equivalent in size to four pages. Dimensions were 17 x 22. So, I decided to join in on the fun this year. The top portion of the journal page, which I have entitled, "Spiral Out", is based on an old engraving and shows an alchemist/philosopher breaking through the cosmos. Last night was Halloween/Samhain. Tonight and today are when the veils between the worlds are thinnest and perhaps breaking through is easiest now? The bottom portion is pieced with my favorite fabric. Tool has a song called Lateralus. Part of the lyrics: "Following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been, we'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been. Spiral out, keep going." (BTW, Tool is terrific in concert - we saw them this summer!!) So combining all these elements and mindful of my sister, brother, and friend who have all passed in the past two years, this journal quilt was conceived and created. Nearly all the work was done by hand. The only element not done by hand was the piecing of the spiral fabric in the block in the bottom portion. All embroidery and quilting is by hand.