Fall Equinox

September 22, 2022

The Sun has gone down on the Fall Equinox. The change has been noticeable for weeks now. The angle of the Sun during our morning and evening commutes has been brutal, blinding. But it makes for a lengthy “golden hour” if you have the time to stop and notice it. The quality of this time is all around:

warm days, cool nights - changes in wind and humidity
transition - clarity

some plants are going to seed (like the foxtail? grass, below left), some have long since died back (echinacea, below center), and some are just now blooming (goldenrod, below right).

Like the Spring Equinox on the other side of the Wheel, this is a brief moment of balance on the fulcrum of time between the light/masculine half of the year and the dark/feminine half. I feel myself wanting to ‘trim away the fat’ on all aspects of my life. I’m tired of the excesses of Summer. I want to get rid of anything I don’t need.

I had a hard time figuring this design out. I wanted it to relate to the Spring Equinox quilt. Remember the teeth on that one? The March Lion and Lamb energy? This is also a time of change. There’s a ‘shiftiness’ about it, but it’s a little softer. Instead of ‘teeth,’ this one has ‘flying geese’ - a traditional quilt pattern.

I kept with the traditional influence. Referencing two old quilts in my own collection, I decided to try more pictorial stitching. Both of these old quilts are from the 1920s or 30s. One was made by my great grandmother, and one was a wedding present to my parents. Both have large blocks of patterns made only of stitches.

I have to admit that I feel a little resistance to the traditional aesthetics in the finished work, even though those ‘traditional’ elements are borrowed from old quilts that I adore.  (Can I even admit that I don’t ‘like’ it??) I think there is some baggage from the dominant culture that dismisses or turns its nose up at homespun/craft/kitsch. It’s a weird feeling - like I want to distance myself from this ugly thing I made, but I dote on it in private… I don’t know, y’all! I’m putting it out here for you anyway!