Justice Everywhere

Meet “Justice Everywhere”. She spells out the famous Dr. Martin Luther King quote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” using the Braille alphabet. This was my entry for the two-color challenge at QuiltCon 2019. It did not get selected for QuiltCon but it still remains my favorite quilt to date. I stare at it amazed that I designed and made something like this and, at the same time, finding ways to change or make it better.

The idea for a statement quilt came to me after I saw a Thomas Knauer exhibit at the Houston Quilt Festival in 2017. I had seen a plate in Braille at a museum, and found a certain visual rhythm and intrigue in Braille.

This quote by Dr. Martin Luther King has been one of my favorites for years. It is a constant reminder that, while we have come a long way in making the world a more just place, we are not done till there is justice everywhere and for everyone.

I picked hot pink and black to honor the countless courageous that have come out and talked about their harrowing experiences of sexual assault and sexual harassment as part of the #metoo movement. They have faced skepticism and hostility for coming out with their stories. I hope that the voices of these courageous #metoo women make the world a safe and just and better place for our daughters and granddaughters.

The pink pieces are 1.5″ squares finished. 0.5″ black strip between squares in a letter and 1″ black strips between letters in a word. I did Trapunto-style quilting to give extra body to the pink squares. I used two layers of a puffy wool batting and quilted around the outline of each square, and then cut out the batting from all but the pink squares. Then I quilted the entire quilt as usual using a black polyester batting.

I used the channel lock on my Grace Continuum frame to quilt closely spaced straight lines. When the lines hit a pink square, I quilted around the square and continued the straight line. When I got bored, I offset the lines by an inch or two to create small “ripples” in the pattern.
Black backgrounds are notoriously hard to photograph. This quilt looks so rich and dynamic in person that the pictures. I found it so hard to get the nuances of color and texture with the black background. Any tips on photographing black is truly appreciated.

Fabric:
Kona Cotton jet black
Kona cotton pomegranate
Batting:
100% wool – Hobbs Tuscany for Trapunto
100% polyester Quilters Dream in black
Back:
Kona cotton pomegranate
Thread for quilting:
Superior threads So Fine 50 wt in black

Linking all my favorite linky parties:
Can I get a whoop whoop!
TGIFF at alyciaquilts
Off the wall Friday