Quilting Arts Podcast hosts Vivika Hansen DeNegre and Susan Brubaker Knapp recently interviewed me about modern art, antique quilts, social justice, and more! Listen to Episode 27.
Say Their Names quilt
I made this quilt in May of 2020, as the pandemic forced many of us to isolate and the death of George Floyd caused outrage, especially in Houston, where I live and where he grew up. As some 60,000 marched in downtown Houston, I did the only thing I knew to do… make a quilt about this moment. “Say Their Names” is an original design with a hand-drawn font. The symbols around the outside circle are meant to be crosses. This quilt has been exhibited around the U.S. with other Social Justice Sewing Academy quilts. It was juried into the Quiltcon 2022 show. The quilt is now part of the permanent collection of the International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Quiltcon Lecture Builds Empathy
Sara Trail and I hosted a new lecture for the Quiltcon 2022 audience in Phoenix, Arizona. We placed the work of the Social Justice Sewing Academy in the broader context of the social justice movement today, and we highlighted three SJSA outreach programs, including the SJSA Remembrance Project. We were joined on stage by a very special guest, Addie Kitchen, the grandmother of Steven Taylor who was killed by police inside a California Walmart.
An Epic Wedding Quilt
By Teresa Duryea Wong & Ronald J. Stockwell. 2023. 110 x 110 inches. Original design. This quilt was a collaboration between my son-in-law, Ronald, and myself. It was made to hang at the Houston reception celebrating Elizabeth & Ronald’s marriage — a Chinese banquet. The Chinese symbol is Double Happiness. Ronald designed the birds. The bottom is woven strips and hand tied. Free motion quilting over top half.
Japanese Indigo
By Teresa Duryea Wong. 2019. 85 x 85 inches. Pieced from my collection of antique and vintage Japanese cotton fabric. Hand quilted. Some of the fabric pieces in this quilt are about a century old, others are vintage. All of it was collected during my annual trips to Japan. These fabrics are Katazome, Kasuri, Yukata, wovens, and more. The only new fabric is the off-white, which is a mixed washi and cotton blend.
Quilt Coat
My quilt coat gets rave reviews and some weird looks when I wear it! I made this in late 2021. The patchwork design is inspired by a quilt made by Japanese artist Yoshiko Jinzenji. I took her idea and changed it up a bit to fit the coat. The pattern for the jacket is by Megan Nielsen Patterns. I pieced and quilted the sections for each pattern part first (on a longarm), then stitched them together. I wore this at Quiltcon Austin 2022 and felt like a fashion model with so many wonderful comments!
