I had the best time last night. I drove from my house in Natick, Massachusetts to Falmouth, Mass, which is on Cape Cod (1.25-1.5 hours away). My reason for going there was to give a lecture about how I made a small quilt a week for seven years, how I used a lot of recycled objects and unusual materials in these quilts, and how it turned into a journal. My book The Uncommon Quilter was about this project. It was especially sweet being in Falmouth to talk about it, since I spent two very intense weeks writing it in Falmouth four years ago.
When I give a lecture, it's usually to a quilt guild, and I never know how it will be received. Everyone is always very nice, but if they are a group of traditional quilters, it may be interesting and funny, but not necessarily inspiring.
Last night was a very good match. I had a feeling during their business meeting, when the were discussing different upcoming workshops, and when they had show-and-tell. One member showed a piece she made by painting on canvas, cutting it up and reassembling it, and stitching it. It was beautiful and could easily be hung in an art gallery or museum.
When it was my turn, I explained why and how I got started making a quilt a week, and then I showed slides (very low tech) of many of the individual quilts, small groups of them, and a shot of a year of them together, to show the depth of the project. My stories about the individual quilts are some times sad, but usually funny. I love when questions are asked about why or how I did something, and I really love making people laugh.
After my lecture, members got to look at some actual weekly quilts , as well as four of my 12 x 12 x 12 Series which are mounted on canvas. Many many many women told me they were very inspired to try new techniques and materials, and we had some really nice conversations. Fun night!
