Sacred Threads

 "Sacred Threads is an exhibition of quilts exploring themes of joy, inspiration, spirituality, healing, grief and peace/brotherhood. This biennial exhibition was established to provide a safe venue for quilters who see their work as a connection to the sacred and/or as an expression of their spiritual journey."

This biennial exhibit has most recently been held in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC but has now moved to Indianapolis due to a change in leadership.  Sue has had quilts juried into this show several times and her 2022 quilt is part of the traveling exhibit from that show.  Due to the change in location, the next exhibit will be in 2025, but the traveling exhibit will debut this fall at the Houston International Quilt Festival and will travel for 3 years.  Sue found out recently that her submission titled "Insight" was accepted to the traveling exhibit.  How exciting!  

This quilt tells the personal story of her healing journey through an autoimmune disorder that has affected her eyes.  It has caused chronic inflammation, severe photophobia and scar tissue and resulted in numerous eyelid surgeries to prevent eyelashes from scratching corneas.  Visual acuity has also suffered, but through it all, she has continued to make quilts and pursue creative endeavors whenever possible, which is as much a part of the healing process as the medical treatments.  

The raw edge strips represent the rawness of emotions, and the screen prints are from photos at various stages over the last 2 years.  The story is written with Fabrico fabric markers.  Hand stitching over the words on darker backgrounds helps with legibility.  Cross stitch embroidery was used in areas where the strips didn't overlap enough.

After 2 years things finally seem to be on a good path and getting back to "normal" seems more possible. Making this quilt was very much part of the therapy on the road to healing.