Twelve by Twelve

Dandelion Theme: Where does all the yellow go?

My quilt started with the title that was little more than a mental wail of desperation. I was stuck in the city wondering where all the yellow went. As I prowled the centre of Leeds, the answer to the question became apparent - the only yellow in city centres is in warning signs of all descriptions. What is the point of a dandelion? Maybe it is nature's warning flower. Warning! Life is short and fades.

See my blog post on this quilt here

Chocolate Theme: Unsuitable Things

Memories from a high school biology lab are the unlikely inspiration for this quilt for my teacher's favourite phrase was "as useless as a chocolate teapot".

See my blog post for all the ins and outs of the story of this quilt.

Community Theme: District Six

District Six was a vibrant, multi-ethnic community in Cape Town that was cleared during the apartheid era. Over 60,000 occupants were forced to move to the 'homelands' where there was little or no infrastructure or employment or else ended up in desolate 'townships' in the Cape Flats. The area was destined for redevelopment but in fact was never built on again. For more background information, see my blog post.

Water Theme: Swimming Pool Reflections

I decided to go with my impressions of the reflections on the moving surface of the water. As with the other quilts in this challenge I decided to use techniques I had either never done before or only done once and hadn't done to my satisfaction before. For more detail read my blog post

Illumination Theme: Blackpool Rocks!

My inspiration was 'The Illuminations' of Blackpool. The rainbow wand reminds me of Blackpool tower. The background has nine cross sections of Blackpool Rock but, instead of the usual words, I have added some grim Blackpool statistics. The idea is that the glitz of the lights cannot completely cover the grit of reality underneath. For the complete story, and videos!, see my blog post.

Shelter

This log cabin quilt, using the courtroom steps variation, acts as a physical shelter over the holocaust image underneath which is revealed by 'doors' quilted with barbed wire. The top, printed with statements of human rights from various international treaties represents the law as a shelter from persecution. The usual definition of the quilt as three layers is challenged as the completed traditional quilt is but one of three layers of the whole art piece. Read more here

Mathematics Theme: Change

The maths in an election is quite simple but produces the possibilty for complex changes. This quilt was made around the time of the Obama election victory.Those 'voting papers' beads represent the 'ones' from binary code, the small change pennies denote the zeroes. On each layer I allowed the grids to be a little uneven - change is never easy to co-ordinate. The blue and red strips can be woven to create a changing display on the quilt top, reminiscent of the changing electoral maps. My blog post sets out more background and construction details

Mathematics Theme: Change (Alternate View)

Chairs: What if you couldn't get out of yours?

With this quilt, I am asking you to consider - if you feel able to bear it - what you would feel if you could not get out of your chair. Not because I feel you should have a 'position' on assisted suicide, (or because I want to make you miserable) but because it does us all good to be more observant of and grateful for the movements we can do and take for granted. For more detail see my blog post.

Window Theme: Window to the Soul

Many complaints about Muslim women wearing the veil focus on the 'hiding' of the face. Ironically there is an old English Proverb The eyes are the window to the soul which is not dissimilar to the Biblical phrase The eyes are the light of the body. Is it not possible that by stripping away the (often incorrect) assumptions we make and the prejudices activated on seeing clothing choices, jewellery styles, body shape or art, and focusing on the eyes only, we come to the truest way of assessing personality? More details can be found here.

Identity Theme: What is the telephone code for Kabul?

This quilt is about law, travel and textile art - three activities which form a large part of my self-identity. It features photocopied pages from my private journal rolled up and encased in an outer shell of my public identity documents. These beads are distributed between segments of strips taken from a street map of the area I live in. Woven around the beads is a fabric strip printed with phone codes for significant places and people in my life. My blog post sets out more background details.

Together in Division

I am very interested in people who are passionate about things, including those who practice orthodox or fundamental forms of religion. I am fascinated how their beliefs affect every aspect of their life. In this quilt, the black 'sides' represent Israel and Palestine. The red represents both passion and the bloodshed that passion has caused on both sides. The embroidered and foiled Dome of the Mount and Western Wall unites the 'sides' and straddles the division. My blog post sets out more background and construction details.

12N 12W

Entering 12 Degrees North and 12 Degrees West into Google Earth will take you to a dense area of foliage in the hinterlands of Guinea in West Africa, one of the countries plundered for the slave trade. By the close of the 18th century 40% of the world's, and 80% of Britain's Atlantic slave activity was accounted for by slave ships that voyaged from Liverpool docks. Even today there are streets around the city whose names stand as testimony to this nefarious history. My blog post sets out more background details.

Pink Colorplay: Aids is not just a Pink issue

When I googled "Africa pink", I found a fabulous bamileke headdress. I combined this African inspiration source with the initial musings I had with the association of pink with gay issues and the AIDS epidemic, particularly in the 1980's. Of course, AIDS is no longer a gay only issue ( if indeed it ever was). My blog post sets out more commentary and construction details.

BlueWhiteBlack Colourplay: Stolen?

When I was in Australia and since my return I have been reading a lot about Aboriginal art and considering where I felt it appropriate to draw the line between inspiration and appropriation which are two very different things. This piece was inspired by the artist Kitty Kantilla. My blog post sets out more commentary and construction details.

Kilauea Colourplay: In Memoriam

As I started to work on this challenge, I learned that the 24 year old son of a dear friend of mine had committed suicide having struggled with depression and anxiety. I decided this quilt would be my tribute to him. I had clever-clever ideas ... but this quilt did not want to be like that. Nothing worked. It was a sad mess. My blog post sets out more commentary and construction details.

PurpleYellow Colourplay: Purple Rain Protest

There was a Purple Rain Protest in the apartheid years in South Africa. During the Cape Town protest, the Police turned a water cannon filled with purple dye on the protesters to mark them out for easy arrest later. One of the protestors climbed on the canon and turned it away from the people and sprayed the dye all over the city centre buildings turning them purple. My blog post gives more details and shows other pieces I made for this challenge.

Lorikeet Colourplay

With recent events, perhaps it is not suprising that my quilt turned out to be a last minute one about moving house. And with all quilting items in inaccessible boxes, apart from one carton of lorikeet themed cloth and thread separately packed, I had to be a little inventve with my embellishments. My blog post sets out more commentary and construction details.

Rusty Colourplay: Spaza Shop

All I could think about was the jumble of South African Township shacks - often rusty, almost always painted brightly and decorated with whatever is to hand. A spaza shop is a South African shop run from the home of someone living in one of the townships. My blog post sets out more commentary and construction details.

Eggplant Colourplay: Protected?

I was inspired by amulets and how they were worn on shirts to protect the wearers from harm whilst hunting. This got me thinking about the plight of those in Africa today who need protection from various forms of pestilence. There may be less reliance on battered bits of tin to protect and more on International Treaties, although one might debate whether this offers any greater protection. My blog post sets out more commentary and construction details.