Overgrown Quilt

Overgrown. Repurposed clothing and pre-loved textiles, natural dyes, recycled cotton yarn, various thread. 2023.  28" x 29"

This quilt is improv-pieced by machine in a patchwork of cotton, silk and linen, naturally-dyed, bundle-dyed, and eco-printed with plants, flowers, and vegetable scraps.  It is inspired by wild nature and botanical growth, plants coming up through cracks in concrete, or an overgrown meadow of wildflowers.  

The quilt top shows freeform hand-stitching, embroidery, and couching of recycled yarn, juxtaposing layers of texture and organic shapes with geometric patchwork.  The quilt top was dipped in tea to create a visual patina, aging the bottom half.  It was then hand-quilted with threads in various weights and colors in a flowing, criss-crossing pattern.  The raw edges are left open, but bound with a blanket-stitch to allow the batting and threads to peek out, as if the piece is barely contained like a garden finding the space to continue growing despite its fence.