11. Forget Me Not

I've sometimes said to friends that I lack the "ambition" gene (this is easier on my psyche than saying I lack sufficient talent to take the world by storm), but now I can see that my breezy comment isn't exactly true. It seems to me that back about 17 or 18 years ago, Lynne and I really did have some ambitions--and some were fulfilled. One highlight of the time during which we worked together was the quilt pictured here, "Forget Me Not." We set out to continue our "windows" series, looking at the natural world through our own personal lenses. The leaf-like background came from an inspiration I'd had in response to a marbleized book cover print that I'd seen. This background pattern that Lynne and I devised included just two template pieces--not that I hadn't tried to make it far more complicated. This was one of those times when I caved, in deference to Lynne's lack of enthusiasm for the version in my head that contained a minimum of 13 templates. We rummaged through countless decorator fabrics, searching for those that would make perfect rocks or flower blossoms or foliage. Many a hideous print entered our fabric collections just because it contained one good leafy line or stony texture. Though there was constant "give-and-take" between us about which fabrics and colors would go where, we didn't struggle through this quilt. As I recall, it seemed effortless, proceeding from the most rudimentary sketch--a few composition lines on a plain sheet of paper--to finished quilt, from hand appliqué to machine piecing to hand quilting. Both of us loved this quilt: we loved the making of it, and we loved the rewards it brought us.

Like most of the quilts we were making during this time, "Forget Me Not" wasn't as amusing as some of my earlier efforts. But it was a learning experience, even so. We thought we were learning that our quilts were becoming more awesome and that we were becoming artists. There was evidence for this, or at least positive reinforcement for our notions. When we traveled along with this quilt to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, we were completely taken by surprise and elation when at the awards ceremony, "Forget Me Not" was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Art Quilt division. Shortly afterwards, it won a First Place at another show at the Salisbury Mansion in Worcester. Yes, we were delighted. But we felt we had earned our place, and we were working our way towards greater glories.

Sure, one judge in yet another show sent back a negative comment about our composition in this quilt--which we neither agreed with nor entirely understood. But I, at least, was blissfully unaware that there would be any limit to what I (or we) could achieve, as long as I were willing to work very hard at it. One thing I've always known about my own quilts is that I have to make many in order that a few might be good, and I was willing to make as many as I needed to. I had confidence that I would continue to improve. In quilting I really hadn't had any setbacks, and neither had Lynne. That was about to change.