Friday, March 07, 2025

making quilts


 Crown of Thorns 1972.  first quilt by Judy Martin
 re-purposed clothing and curtain fabric, hand pieced and hand quilted, 
(no longer exists)


I made my first quilt when I was twenty, and my second one when I was 24.  I've never gone to therapy like my children do.  I've made quilts instead.

self portrait, 1985
hand painted cotton, re-purposed maternity clothing, hand quilted 42 x 42 inches 

When I started having babies,  quilt making fit into my day better than any other art form.

Judy (31 years) with her two older children in 1982 

I live in Northern Ontario.  I've lived here all my life.  

The quilts I made during my 30’s and 40’s are shocking in their lack of skill.  I gave the baby quilts (learning samples) away to new parents who accepted them graciously.  

spider web baby quilt, 1983
polyester-cotton blends, machine pieced, hand quilted
this photo from 1999 when the baby was 16.  She was using it as a car blanket.

What's going on with them?  I look at the photos in this post and I could say so much about each one, but it would only be interesting for me.

They are soft objects that came together from materials I could touch, were real.

They also came from some kind of fantasy of what I hoped and dreamed and could not name.   


Skipping, 1988   fabric paint, cotton fabrics, machine pieced, hand quilted 

Quilts are slow to make.

There are a lot of repetitive tasks involved that put a person into a meditative state. 

And as I was making them, not only did I feel comforted, I also felt that here was the place I could say things that were not "normal".

About the photos in this blog post.  I spent all day yesterday writing and deleting text, but the images here have been stable.  I wanted to write about how I learned to quilt with no mentor.  

I studied fine art and received a fine art degree from Lakehead University while the kids were still little, but quilts were not part of the curriculum.    Quilts are not part of the fine art world.

Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow, 1995
hand painted clotton, overdyed cotton, machine pieced, hand quilted,
grocery list embroidered on reverse side

And the quilting world was very rigid at the time.  There were quilt police with rules and points and 12 stitches per inch.   My quilts were accepted into juried shows but they rarely won awards.  They were not understood in the quilt world. 

The quilts I made when I was actively mothering were related to my daily life as a mother and also to the fantasy I had about what quilts could be.  Even when they were finished, I maintained that fantasy and loved my own work.  I believe that making them saved my life.

We moved from Kenora to Manitoulin when the kids were 6, 8, 13, and 15 years old.  They went to school and I taught classical piano in a church basement.  

protection blanket  2005.  Chemical dyes on rayon embellished with sequins and ribbon,
machine pieced, hand quilted


In 2005, we had an empty nest.   I began this blog in 2006. 

I kept making my quilts.  I didn't know what I was doing in so many words, but I kept doing it.  

When I gathered up the few here I looked at them more critically.  They don't speak for me the way they used to but they remain evidence that I was here.     

prayer cloth: hope  2024    natural dyes on cotton, hand pieced, hand quilted with red thread 

This is a much edited post.  Thank you for continuing to read it.  

Psychic:  derived from the unconscious rather than the conscious.

Therapy:  care and attention

Making quilts:  still saving my life.

11 comments:

Nancy said...

Judy~ I always love reading of your journey with quilting and seeing the useful beauty you've created. I'm ever so grateful that you started this blog and share your work here. Thank you.

Stephanie said...

Thank you for sharing from your heart, Judy. You have been an inspiration and encouragement to me in so many ways.

Robin said...

You said; "These quilt are not what I thought they were."
They are so much more than you thought they were. They are a piece of your life and a statement of the times. I wish I could have read all the words you deleted.

Mo Crow said...

your prayer cloth : hope is so full of your compassionate heart (((Judy))) you bring so much peace and tender love into all your work, such an inspiration

SMP said...

i am forever grateful i found you years ago.

you have always inspired me and given me permission to examine my own life and creative adventures.

there is an element of soft acceptance and forgiveness for the reality of real living.

you are always authentic.

Judy Martin said...

Thanks for commenting Nancy x

Judy Martin said...

Sometimes I feel foolish, but I keep writing and making quilts. Thanks for letting me know that you read my blog. X

Judy Martin said...

I have to do a severe edit for most of the blog posts, not just this one. Thanks for commenting xxx

Judy Martin said...

Thank you Mo! So generous all the time x

Judy Martin said...

Serena. Thank you for letting me know that you read my writing. I try to be as authentic as I can be. This blog is my journal. Good wishes to you xo

Anonymous said...

For someone just sinking into textile art after finding it late in life, I’m appreciating these reflections on getting started and on being true to yourself!