Martha…

So, now that QuiltCon is here I finally get to share this quilt. It’s already been out on the social media places, but I wanted to reserve this spot for a bit more than the snappy snap…

thomas-knauer-sews-in-defense

Martha is actually the first quilt for my book; in fact it was the only quilt I had in mind when I pitched the book, and in many ways exemplifies what the book is all about. Oh, and in reality its title is In Defense of Handmade, and it is a healthy 88″ square. I can’t talk too much about that at the moment, but I do want to share a couple of things here:

First off, I just wanted to share the brief statement that goes with the quilt for QuiltCon (a very truncated version of the mini essay that is in the book):

In defense of Handmade is a large-scale reproduction of the UPC code for a mass-produced Martha Stewart quilt sold at Macy’s. Using the UPC code of a mass-produced quilt as a starting point, this quilt takes the point of sale as a point of inspiration. The ubiquitous bar code becomes a place for color and play, for injecting individuality and personality in lieu of the homogeneity of the factory-made. The rigid perfection of the bar code stripes gives way to the subtle variation of the handicraft, reflecting the texture of a lived life rather than a simple purchase.

Secondly, Lisa Sipes is freakin’ amazing. Not only is the quilting gorgeous, please not that it never goes over a millimeter of the prints. Yep, that’s an insane quantity of tying off. Some of those white strips in the barcode are just a half-inch. Yep, crazy-ass awesome. It took Lisa two weeks to do this quilt, but every small decision is just exactly right. I love her skills and her eye, but more than anything I love my quilt-wife’s brain. She just thinks about the quilting in such truly insightful ways. I am a lucky, lucky man.

thomas-knauer-sews-in-defense-detail

So, in brief, that is Martha, one of the many insane quilts Lisa and I have done together thus far and will continue to do. Lucky for me she has done/is doing all of the quilts for my book. Can’t wait for Martha to come out in the book along with the rest of the quilt.

Oh crap, the book!!! Manuscript due in 21 days!!!

Yay quilts!!!

-t

This entry was posted in general and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

35 Responses to Martha…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *