100 Memories

100 Memories - apx 43x43"

I have been working on this quilt for about 6 months now. It started with choosing 100 photos from about 10-15 years of my (almost) daily photos. I edited each one so that there would be a strong diagonal  line, then got them printed individually so I could play with the design at full size, rather than on the computer. After about a million variations (I actually asked my statistic-minded son how many possible variations there were, and he said "way too many!!") I finally decided on the order of things.

Then it was back to the computer to place them all into one file to be printed on fabric. After receiving the fabric with the custom printing, I studied it for a  long time to decide which areas should be enhanced or muted with stitching. I also used tulle over some area to form a more cohesive design.

It was important to me to base the design on a traditional quilt pattern, so I could bridge the technology of today (photo and printing) with the tradition of "women's work". I like how I accomplished several squares and patterns depending on how you look at the quilt.

My statement about this quilt is as follows and is my feeling about aging and our lifetime of memories:

Memories become abstract, sharpen, transform, are lost, or are revisited. As we age they meld into a singular lifetime. This is a Memory Quilt of 100 people, places, and things that have made me what I am today as they become the mosaic of my adult life. Some are recognizable to others, some only have meaning to me, and some are lost even to me

The collage of images is taken from my archive of almost daily photos taken over many years. Chosen for strong compositional lines and a stronger memory, they have been arranged to reflect a traditional quilt block in recognition of my journey from traditional to more non-traditional quilting. The images were then enhanced or obscured by stitching and placement, much like our memories are enhanced or obscured over time.

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