I finally finished up my Treaded Quilts! My procrastination almost got the best of me, but I hunkered down and finished them both. I entered both Maxie and Minnie Treaded quilts, well before the deadline, for QuiltCon24. My expectations are pretty low because it’s good for me to be real with myself so I don’t get ‘rejection depression’.
QuiltCon is a large yearly Modern Quilt Show. I’ve entered almost every year since they began and have had only one quilt accepted. It’s a great show – a real art show with fabric. It’s a pretty big deal to have a quilt accepted… so fingers crossed, but still no expectations!
Here are my two finished treaded quilts:
I made Maxie first for the Maximalist Exhibition. The quilt pattern itself is big and loud! I used super saturated fabrics, both prints and solids, to create my take on a maximalist quilt: Maxie.
After finishing that bright, busy quilt top, I decided to make another one in a minimalist fashion: Minnie! In this colorway, the actual quilt pattern is much more apparent. I used scrap fabrics for this quilt which directed my choices in colors and layout. It was very challenging for me to work the colors so they blended well.
About The Pattern Name
When I design, I design in monotones – black, white, shades of grey. Because the quilt pattern looked like tire tracks to me, I named it: Treaded.
There are many times I feel a bit ‘run over’… both physically and emotionally. I’m sure many people can relate to that right now with so many things in the world just teetering on a knife’s edge. I keep myself as busy as possible to keep from thinking about things that I cannot control.
Quilting has always been a form of therapeutic self-care for me. Each quilt tends to be a reflection of my progress on this emotional journey that is life. Maxie was made while my daughter was having health issues while traveling alone in Japan. It was very soothing to me to work with the bright colors – kept my spirits up until I knew she was home and safe. It really shows how scattered and helpless I was feeling.
When I made Minnie, I was going through a long ‘down time’. I think this one really shows my internal fight to stay out of a deep depressive funk. It took a very long time to find the right color combinations, and I had to work hard to let myself enjoy the process. I only used scraps which made it much more challenging. Those type of challenges tend to make my quilt work much more beautiful and unique too.
I’m really happy with how both of these quilts turned out… each for different reasons. Now to get back to my TAFcomps project!