Signature quilting

Brought to North America from England with the first settlers here, signature quilts typically consisted of blank cotton squares framed in a patterned border. The squares were left blank so that they could be signed by people in the community, either in ink or embroidery. The purpose of these projects was sometimes to raise money for a worthy cause, the opportunity to have one's signature being sold for a small fee. Other times it was made as a way of recording memories for future generations.

I was deeply inspired by an image I discovered, of a signature quit made in 1880, in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. What really caught my eye were the detailed ink drawings of animals among some of the signatures. In one square, two lovely owls cuddle on a tree branch, and below is written "a comfortable couple", along with their names. Another square holds only a detailed sketch of a black fly. So I have decided to build my own version of the signature quilt, using embroidery. I have begun to work on the animals, and decided to depict only animals I would see here where I live. So far I've done a porcupine, a raccoon and two mice. They all have names, as though the animals have signed the quilt, as contributing members of their community. It's going to take me a while, at 85 by 105 inches, but it will be an ongoing, unrushed project.

In other news, I've been working a lot lately, and I'll be working a lot in the near future...which is good, but a bit hard to get used to since I had been barely working for the last while! I'm feeling a little uncreative, a little "blah". I'm usually pretty good at not sitting around too much, not watching much tv. Lately that's all I feel like doing. I lay on the couch and think about how much we need a painting for above the couch and how I should get on that...but I just don't have the energy :-s I've never been good at adjusting to new routines, or not having a routine.

Have a happy Monday,