O! beware…

“O! beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.” –
Othello, Act III, scene 3, William Shakespeare

This 36″ x 36″ quilt was created as part of the “Going Green” Presidents’ Challenge for the 2023 Brooklyn Quilts! show. The only parameters of the challenge were that each quilt measure 36″ x 36″ and feature the color green. I decided to take my inspiration from Iago’s quote about jealousy being a green-eyed monster.

In this era of social media, I am constantly struggling with the balance of finding inspiration from my fellow creators with being insanely jealous of their various successes. I wanted my embodiment of envy to be both beautiful and slightly scary. We’re often drawn by others’ charisma, but our attraction can go to a dark place so easily.

I used a single piece of Cherrywood fabric and a high loft batting that were quilted together with various colors of polyester threads. I used the thread painting technique to create the monster’s eyeball and then free-motion quilted the rest.

BMQ YouTube Series – Ep. 28: Virtual Trunk Show #17

This quilt was made for the Brooklyn Quilters Guild’s third outdoor quilt show that took place in October 2021. The theme of the show was “Come Together,” inspired by the Beatles song. I call this quilt Convergence. It is by far the most quilting I’ve ever done on a quilt, so I’m sure glad it was only 36″ by 36″! Watch the video to find out more details about how this quilt “came together.”