At Heidi Parkes’ scrap quilt workshop, hosted by the Central Virginia Modern Quilt Guild last year, I had a discussion with Lindsey Neal about the fuck quilts at QuiltCon. She believes people are using it to grab jurors’ attention and perhaps it’s time to move on. I had a fat quarter of fuck fabric I made from “what the fuck” block prints I created thanks to Ana Conceicao’s stamping workshop.
Stamping fuck over and over is quite the release. I promised Lindsey I would use the Fuck fabric in my scrap quilt. After I got home, I started adding black scraps. A U and C emerged so I added a K.
It’s interesting that I’ve censored myself with a large black rectangle where the F should be. I feel shame because “good girls” don’t swear. That’s why I used Baptist fans to quilt over the “bad words.” This quilt represents my struggle to be respectable and not give a fuck at the same time.
This is the third in my Unmentionables series. This quilt embraces tampons. I asked guild members to share their “code names” for their periods. Mine was Miss Murphy. The other names were shared by Candy Parker, Ann Prince, Maria Radecki, and Meagan Buch along with Donna Blalock’s encouragement for advocating for women’s health issues. I have tried to interject some humor into this discussion, but I recognize that periods can be unpredictable and painful.
This is the second in a series of quilts, The Unmentionables. My mother always called our underwear “unmentionables.” Do you see the unmentionables?
In March 2022 while scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw a post and thought, “that’s a great minimal quilt.” I clicked on it and soon realized it was an ad for Pact underwear, called High-Rise Hipsters. I shared this funny story with my guild mates on our Instagram chat. They said, “You need to make that into a quilt.”
The conversation then explored the idea of actual underwear used in a quilt or a bra made out of a quilt- maybe a bralette.
I said, “I’d love a quilt bralette.”
A guild mate said, “quiltkinis lol“
Another suggested, “Psychic outlaw makes quilted corsets.”
Another said, “You are my weirdest friends. And I say that with awe and admiration.”
Another friend said, “Seriously you must make this.” I agreed.
Another quilter suggested, “I can see a quilt series of womenswear under garment shapes.”
I responded, “Like bras garters pantyhose sports bras, and — depends.”
She said, “And those old sanitary napkin straps. What were they called?” That was before my time. She said, “Lucky you. They were awful.”
Eventually I wrote, “It’s something I’ve never given much thought to. This series could be life changing. Long live granny panties!!!!“
They insisted I had to make this quilt and make a series of quilts, exploring our relationship with unmentionables and other female issues such as periods and birth control.
I began sketching in my Procreate app. I immediately made the Double D sketch.
I made the High-Rise Hipsters quilt first though. I exhibited it as part of our guild’s exhibit at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in 2023.
High Rise Hipsters
So, I ask you to imagine what your unmentionables might look like.
If you want to see Double D, it will be on display at QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh in the Negative Space category.
Wanda's Life Sampler 