Surprise! Surprise!

I was truly surprised late yesterday when I returned to the Bayberry Quilt show to discover not one, but two, Viewers' Choice ribbons on my art quilts.  (They are in different size categories.) Truly I had hoped for one on the embroidered and embellished circles. But I felt the poets amid selvages was not "pretty" enough to be a favorite.  I'm delighted it was.

Honestly, in both cases, the ribbons are for the "idea" more than the quilting.  I am a hobby quilter and, occasionally attempt an art quilt, but I have never, and never will, attempt a heirloom quality quilt. This is a "hobby" -- a word that doesn't do justice to the passion I feel about quilting in general. I love what can be done with textile, with color and pattern and design.  But it's not part of my self-definition, it's almost always pure pleasure.  A sensual delight in the fabrics themselves.  If I can make a statement, as the poets quilt does, that makes the writer in me very happy.  I wonder if anyone who saw this quilt will read at least a little poetry because of it.  I think, not likely.

PS: The poet surrounded by bright orange is Wislawa Szymborska, a favorite of mine, too little known in America. She was a Polish and won the Nobel prize in 1996 (I think); her poetry has wry humor, political consciousness and warmth. I try to introduce her to as many poetry reading people as I can.  She died in 2013.