Overview
Quilt exhibited in the "Block of the Month Club Round 3" exhibition at the National Quilt Museum from 4/13/22 - 7/5/22. 13% international acceptance rate (11/85).
Initially, this quilt was an excuse to use up a large stash of Asian-inspired fabrics that had been growing steadily over the years. Instead, this quilt became a little piece of joy and sanity every month, something to distract me from my Ph.D. studies, the global pandemic, my mother's cancer diagnosis, and the general chaos that was 2021. I looked forward to each block and spent weeks ideating how to modify the designs to fit my vision. I learned new skills, such as appliqué and curved piecing, challenged my relationship with color, and (occasionally) let go of my over-planning tendencies to embrace improv quilting. Through this process, I enjoyed expanding my domestic machine quilting skills. The quilt-as-you-go method allowed me to focus intently on each block and attempt new techniques in a manageable setting. This is especially evident in the whole cloth block representing the façade of the National Quilt Museum, the block of which I am most proud. Although, quilting each block with metallic gold thread presented its own set of challenges! The final composition balances out the light and dark elements of the quilt, giving each block space to shine. It was such a joy to share my quilting journey and watch the creative evolution of the Block of the Month community throughout 2021.
Initially, this quilt was an excuse to use up a large stash of Asian-inspired fabrics that had been growing steadily over the years. Instead, this quilt became a little piece of joy and sanity every month, something to distract me from my Ph.D. studies, the global pandemic, my mother's cancer diagnosis, and the general chaos that was 2021. I looked forward to each block and spent weeks ideating how to modify the designs to fit my vision. I learned new skills, such as appliqué and curved piecing, challenged my relationship with color, and (occasionally) let go of my over-planning tendencies to embrace improv quilting. Through this process, I enjoyed expanding my domestic machine quilting skills. The quilt-as-you-go method allowed me to focus intently on each block and attempt new techniques in a manageable setting. This is especially evident in the whole cloth block representing the façade of the National Quilt Museum, the block of which I am most proud. Although, quilting each block with metallic gold thread presented its own set of challenges! The final composition balances out the light and dark elements of the quilt, giving each block space to shine. It was such a joy to share my quilting journey and watch the creative evolution of the Block of the Month community throughout 2021.