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How can you archive history through quilting?

For my Genius Hour Project, I want to explore how history - cultural, social, political and personal are archived through quilting.  To explore this question, each week I will look at what historical  moments are archived in real quilts.  

I have a number of quilts that have been handed down through family, or made their way to me through gift or thrift.   You may be thinking that I am a quilt hoarder, or that my house looks like your Grandma's (if it does, then your Grandmother has great taste!).  But I just love colour and the versatility of these everyday objects!  

Quilts can be washed easily, used for picnics, as LEGO mats, or to protect a white couch from sticky children fingers (the struggle is real, my friends).  The thing I love most about quilts, however, is that if you look closely at a quilt, it holds a memory in every stitch, piece of fabric, or stain.  Sometimes we don't know what the whole history is, or the story behind a quilt, but you can tell a lot about a quilt by looking at the details. 

Each week I will research more about quilts and how they are made by looking at a quilt’s Background, Pattern, Stitching, Edge of Quilt condition, and any other interesting details I discover.

I will then use these research investigations to inform my own journey into quilting, and attempt to archive my own narrative by putting my sewing skills to the test. 

I see my own quilt piece as an archive of me at 32 - Woman, Wife, Mother, Designer, Creator.  Every stitch and decision will be a record of myself at that moment in time - my current knowledge of how to quilt, the materials I can source in a pandemic lockdown, the late nights I spend trying to piece fabric together, and every tug or struggle between my quilt and little sewing machine.  These days my own self identity is often conflated with my identity as a mother, so in an effort to fully embody that, the final product will be a gift to my eldest daughter.

Follow along with me as I document my journey, and hopefully end up with a quilt at the end of this exploration!  For progress on my 'personal quilt archive', head to my 'Product Page', and if you need more background information, check out my 'Glossary'.