Many Moons To Bloom

We are all on a journey in this life seeking different things at various stages of our lives. Just when life starts to feel comfortable it seems an event or circumstance can change in an instant sending us in a completely new direction. These opportunities can give us a fresh perspective to try a new adventure. Just four years ago I was in unfamiliar territory with my children on their way as adults and the passing of my dad. I had plenty of time to pursue my interest in the art of making. With my sister's encouragement I joined her local quilt guild and at the first meeting signed up to learn how to make a sampler quilt. This led to the opportunity to join Bits, Art Quilters, a subgroup of the guild with 25 wonderfully talented encouraging women.

When I attended the first meeting in August of 2018 I could have never guessed that a year later I would have my Saguaro Cactus Totem quilt on display at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah! 

The Bits, Art Quilters guild offered this challenge in 2018:  Create a quilt (some or all must be three layers and quilted) that wraps around a tube.  Any materials, techniques, methods may be used. The totems would be 4- 6 foot tall wrapped around a cardboard carpet tube or cardboard concrete form on a wooden base. The idea was to reflect our life journey in some way.

This was quite a big challenge as a new quilter but I was excited with many ideas of what I could create within these guidelines. I took a few months of reflecting on my life and exploring some different ideas for the project. As I attended the monthly meetings I was amazed that each person had a different approach to the challenge. Watching their creative process was enlightening and sparked my creativity. One day as I was looking at a picture of a Saguaro cactus from my visit to Tucson Arizona I realized this was IT! I suddenly had a vision of how to create my totem and headed to the fabric store to get the fabric and supplies to get started.

I will share with you the details of creating the cactus.

This saguaro cactus started with Pellon Peltex fused between two layers of cotton fabric. I measured out the spacing and marked it with chalk lines the entire 6 feet of the fabric. I used Superior King Tut variegated thread to decoratively stitch lines through the three layers to create the accordion folds. It was a challenge to sew the lines through the layers with my very basic sewing machine.

I pressed the accordion folds into the flat fabric to create the shape of the cactus. To add dimension I applied layers of fabric dye with a brush to give the effect of shadows.

I wired hemp cord and pom poms through the fabric sandwich to fashion the spines growing from the areoles .

Next I attached the large rectangle of folded fabric onto the cardboard form with a staple gun, painting the staples green to blend into the background.

The flowers were cut from pearl cardstock wrapped around fabric covered cardboard. The stamens in the center are made from jewelry cording, topped with glass seed beads glued in place using tweezers. The flower buds and base of the flowers are hand dyed fabric filled with stuffing.

In September 2019 the group of five totems were featured in the corner gallery in the museum for a month as a trial run to see how it was received by the visitors during the Fall AQS quilt show in Paducah.

I had the opportunity to visit during that time and was asked to give an impromptu gallery talk about my cactus to about 40 visitors that day. I don’t remember what I said, I just spoke from my heart to relate my passion for creating. It was an incredible Top Ten day in my life!

The response was great and the plans began to have all of the Bits, Art Quilters totems featured at the museum. We are all too familiar with the changes in plans over the past two years. But finally on July 22, 2022 The National Quilt Museum in Paducah opened the Personal Stories in Fiber Totems in the main gallery. You will have the opportunity to see the display until October 4, 2022. The pictures alone cannot reveal the details and creativity of each of the totems. I invite you to come visit this enchanted forest and experience this extraordinary display in person.