A Quilt For Baby Earth

A Quilt For Baby Earth    2022    handkerchief linen, small amounts of velvet and cotton, silk and cotton red threads, the backing is a linen damask table cloth, dyed with cochineal.  48 x 46.5 inches (122 x 118 cm) 

Hand embroidered with the poem, Planet Earth by Canadian poet PK Page.

Hand quilted.

Part of the Inside Out exhibition, Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener Ontario, 2023 

Part of the Stardust exhibition, Gore Bay museum in Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, 2023.

It has to be loved the way a laundress loves her linens,

the way she moves her hands, caressing the fine muslins, 

knowing their warp and woof,

like a lover coaxing, or a mother praising,

It has to be loved as if it were embroidered 

with flowers and birds and two joined hearts upon it.

                        P.K. Page   (complete poem on website)

"Planet Earth" by PK Page (1993) is used with permission from the Estate of PK Page.

A Quilt for Baby Earth is available through the Perivale gallery, 2025 season.  

red thread hearts

 red thread hearts 2019, a two sided piece (detail side b above)

red thread hearts side a
sixteen women's handkerchiefs, damask table cloth, cotton and silk threads
hand stitched, 76" x 76" or 193 x 193 cm

the women's handkerchiefs are edged with red thread and then appliqued to 20" of damask
the damask squares are then hand sewn together, each sam is hemmed

The central whirl is made with a running stitch and appears the same on both sides of the fabric

 red thread hearts side b, reverse applique, red cotton thread couched with silk thread

circular motifs made with red thread are protection symbols for the mother in  many world cultures