Sewing With Nancy

I've read and heard many definitions of modern quilting. Rarely can I remember the explanation. When talking today earlier with "Nancy's Corner" guest I heard him say, "A modern quilt has little to do with style rather it speaks to the issues of the day." I could relate, and I knew I had the right person to interview. Please welcome Thomas Knauer author of the book, Modern Quilt Perspectives who joins us from England via Skype. Thomas, thanks for being on Sewing With Nancy. Thanks for having me, Nancy. It's a treat to learn about your perspective on quilting and how you look at quilts. We're just going to start right off by looking at a quilt that is a modern version of the Log Cabin. In this quilt, "Cinder Blocks" I wanted to update that metaphor of working, as the home as the basis for a quilt. I chose cinder blocks as the foundation material for most homes we live in. I wanted to use that as a place to then still play with color but update that notion of where do we live? And quilt as a metaphor for our homes. Instead of the red center of that log cabin you have playful colors interacting. It's joyful. Thank you. I love playing with four, five, six of the same color in the same quilt or tones of a color. I hope it lets quilts pop. It does. And speaking of pop the next quilt our viewers will be seeing is a quilt you call "Ampersand." Ampersand is the symbol for the word 'and' and it was designed for my children. It's a place where we tell stories. The ampersand is composed of 225 different novelty prints. Fun. We start telling a story and if the story lags we point at a different print whether it be monkeys or a spaceship and the story takes off from there. I also love then when I come into a room by myself and I see that on the bed it's just this big, existential 'and' staring at me asking me what I'm going to do next. I'm inspired by that one. I can just see talking to my grandchildren with a quilt like that. I'm sure many of us will follow suit with you. Speaking of children, you like to make baby quilts. I have made baby quilts for my children almost everyone I know who has a kid gets a baby quilt from me. This one was specifically made in response to our second child. We wanted a second child but after my daughter was born I was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder and I didn't want to pass that on or risk passing that on. So we used a donor. This quilt is based on mitosis the two cells coming together splitting to four, eight, 16, 32. It's a very blunt mathematical pattern. But as it all happens and comes together it becomes a riot of color which is, again, a metaphor for our son who is a riot. Well, if he's as spontaneous and as fun as this quilt I can see why-- You told me he was playing in the sunshine today in England romping through the garden. He is wild. There's a quilt that has a deeper meaning. It's a wall hanging. Please explain that to our viewers. "Excess" comes from a section in the book about social commentary in quilts. This one is composed of 1,600 blocks the same block. Each one represents one of the 1,600 people who are killed in domestic violence incidents every year in America. Four out of five are women one out of five are men. That's represented through color in the quilt. The amazing quilter I work with, Lisa -- she and I decided to quilt this with text from the Violence Against Women Act that was being held up in the senate at the time we were making this quilt over extending the act's protections to people in same sex marriages or same sex relationships. Then even the shape of the quilt-- It is 13-1/2' long. It is too long for any normal wall to contain which is, again, another metaphor for the excess that each one of those deaths is. Well, it's beautiful, but unfortunately the message that it portrays really speaks to my heart, and to many. Thomas, you are an amazing quilter. Thank you. And an amazing designer. I would like to invite you to come back some other time. I would love to and find a way to come out in person. That would be even better. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. And thanks to you for watching. This is part of our two-part series on "All Occasion Fabric Wraps." Mary Mulari, my guest, showed great design. You have lots to go home and sew. Go to nancyzieman.com to find out more information. You can re-watch the show and out more about Thomas. Thanks for joining me. Bye for now.