March Journal Quilt

Close Up of Journal Quilt
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

For the March journal quilt, I chose to create my own fabric for the base using the lyrics from two songs: “Fix You” by Coldplay and “May You Stay Forever Young” by Bob Dylan.

These two songs were sung by a group called Young@Heart on a movie that I watched on PBS in early March. Both songs brought me to tears. To see the songs, here are the links:

Fix You by Young@Heart
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_n0zvoHlVk&NR=1

Forever Young by Young@Heart
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4kqfYsOe4M

I think what resonated so much with these songs – particularly the first one (Fix You) is that underneath trying to be happy and “putting on a good face” for everyone, I have been struggling with depression and some rather significant life-changing events that affect my core being and soul.

The second song, particularly as I read the lyrics more closely, are the wishes and hopes that I have for my daughters. These are the things that I hope their lives have and the spirit in which they live their lives – now and when they are adults.

So, after watching the movie and being moved by both of these songs (and almost 3 weeks later still thinking about the movie and its message), I felt like these song lyrics really needed to be reflected somehow in my journal quilt.

I printed the lyrics on cotton fabric through an ink-jet printer. The color I chose is green – it’s one of my favorite colors. It also symbolizes growth and new life.

Certainly dealing with all the issues associated with caregiving are making me grow and learn more – both about myself and for those I am helping in different capacities.

This month also marked the melting of all the snow and ice (thus, I left the fabric white rather than painting it), and tiny blades of green grass are peeking through the ground (the color of the ink/words).

The images on top of the quilt are:
- The sun – finally the sun is shining more and feels much warmer than it has for many months. The fabric sun is pieced onto the quilt – there are 3 different colors of fabric used, and 5 different colors of embroidery floss.

- A robin – although there have been robins that wintered over in different parts of the Twin Cities, I did not see any here at the farm all winter. The first one I spotted here arrived in the middle of March.

- Three Flowers – the tiger lilies are starting to emerge from the soil and the yarrow by the apple tree is up. I included 3 flowers to represent my daughters and me, and to remind me of some of the fun things we’ve done this month (like see Diavolo at the Ordway, going to the Russian Museum with my parents, and the goat farm and feeding the baby goats).

- Grass – blades of bright green grass are starting to push through the dirt and replace the dull, brown grass leftover from the fall.

More about the quilt-making process is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesbyann/4505136824/in/photostream/