Quilter in Distress: Pat Hemsley
Rescuer: Patricia Dow
Untitled • 20"
x 15"
Pat: "I got the idea for the quilt at a quilting retreat
five years ago. It was larger and the title was "Roast Goose and Cold Fish." I
never finished the quilt and the fish was never applied.
I never finished it because it was unable to fulfill my vision. It needs more
color and some embellishments, but I don't know how to do it."
Patricia: "The quilt I received had a white background of
pieced fabrics overlaid by a goose shape appliquéd of various red fabrics. The
piece suggested a winter snow scene, and only lacked a binding to be a finished
piece. As a resident of the Big Island state of Hawaii, I relate a goose shape
to Nene, our native goose. The visual movement in a group of red fabrics
suggests flowing molten lava. The present active lava flow from Kilauea Volcano
has been flowing for almost 20 years. Molten lava regularly breaks out in
areas of cooled black lava and flows seaward. The UFO which I completed now
represents active molten lava flowing across a black field of cooled lava. I
intentionally retained much of the original goose shape."