Round 3 of the Stash Fabrics Design Star Challenge is on, and I picked a relatively personal subject this time. Beth at Stash Fabrics gave us the prompt of “Man Quilt.” What immediately came to mind was plaid, navy, forest green, taupe and brown. Totally legitimate choices, but not my style. She went on to explain, “Curate a bundle for the man in your life – brother, father, husband.” I don’t get overly personal here at 3rd Story Workshop, but when the prompt asks you to think about a significant person in your life, it gets personal!

My husband is not one to have strong likes or dislikes. He’s not loud. He’s quiet and unassuming. But one thing that he is very passionate about is… Hamilton, An American Musical. He knows all of the words — all 20,520 of them. He has a Hamilton quote for every situation. He has listened to it every second he is in the car without the kids for the last two-and-a-half years (explicit lyrics!). We had the privilege of going to see it this past summer at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. It was a mind-blowing experience — as a friend described, “Exactly what art should be.” The costumes, the emotions, the innovation, the limits that were pushed in terms of casting, convention, staging and choreography… It was so much more than I could have imagined having listened to the soundtrack.

This bundle is inspired by the themes, songs and characters of the story. Some of the elements include writing with a quill and ink, New York City, graffiti, cobbletones, The Schuyler Sisters, battles, guns and ships, and It’s Quiet Uptown. I would make a quilt for him with these fabrics in a heartbeat.

Here’s the “set list” (L to R, top to bottom):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSOWSQuD8VV/?taken-by=3rdstoryworkshop

I really wanted to make the colour palette have personal significance as well. Our home is fairly neutral, above is a shot of our bedroom which was featured in The Coast’s 2017 Homes Halifax publication. Black, white, texture, wood. I searched for fabrics that could interpret the themes in a colour palette that would suit our home. The Stash Fabrics “Design Wall” tool is very useful in helping you visualize a bundle together, but weights them all equally in dimension. I would probably use the brighter colours in smaller quantities in proportion to the black and white.

My work is intentionally separate from most other parts of my life. Through this exercise, I was able to connect my quilting to my husband, who is outside this quilting world.