Catch 22

Hi there!

Today, as I'm off school due to a viral infection, I thought that I would put a bit more on this blog. I've chosen one of my 'darker' pieces today - Catch 22. I did this as an entry for the Quilting Arts calendar competition 2008 - so was making it is 2007. I really quite like it, although I suppose it looks fairly freaky. Here it is to show you what I mean:

if you've never read Catch 22, I suggest that you do so - I've read it many times - it was a set text for A Level English. I shall now explain the quilt to you. The face is a yellowish shade, that is always just short of being jaundice. One of the yes is a black eye, and this ties in with the feathers in the cap. One of the officers was obsessed with black eyes and feathers in his cap - everything was either good for him or not. The red pennants are for another officer who was obsessed with marching, and desired to win them at the Sunday parade every week. The foot is the one from the Monty Python cartoons - I consider Catch 22 and Monty Python to be alike in the zany-ness. The toes, and the gums are painted purple - because that was the cure for all ills in the camp - to paint toes and gums with gentian violet solution. One of the characters wanted apple cheeks - so my quilt has apple cheeks. There are reels of Egyptian cotton, as Milo Minderbinder was buying and selling Egyptian cotton - the cotton is from the King Tut collection. The m&m packet (image printed on treated cotton) signifies m&m enterprises (Milo Minderbinder again). The letter with all the words blanked out shows the letters that Yossarian censored while he was in hospital. The mouth is dark inside, because of a description of someone in the hospital - the description goes: "The colonel was gorgeous. He had a cavernous mouth, cavernous cheeks, cavernous, sad, mildewed eyes." It was the best way to show the cavernous mouth. One of the officers who sorted out rooms for the soldiers on leave - and he lost an eye by someone throwing flowers during a parade. The cat is sleeping on someone's face - Huple's cat sleeps on Hungry Joe's face. There is a sack of potatoes with the 'Dove' soap in there, for the time the squadron was poisoned when cakes of soap were mashed in to the potatoes. The flies are there in the eyes for the flies in Appleby's eyes, which Appleby can't see, because he's got flies in his eyes. How can you see the flies in your eyes, if you've got flies in your eyes??

The eyes are wobbly ones and on zany spirals, because that is the effect Catch 22 has on your head! Finally, the 'person' cut in half is Kid Sampson, who was cut in half by McWatt - who decided to fly low - as usual.

All of the items in the quilt are my lasting memories of that book. It didn't get any where with the challenge - and I suppose it is not so surprising as it is rather gruesome. However, it was conceived and made at a time when I was suffering with depression - quite severely.

Why did I stick with it, and why have I shown it to you? All the quilts are a part of me, and this one used many new techniques - Angelina film, printing on fabric, using Heat 'n' Bond to create moulded flowers, and fabric painting. I did quite enjoy making it, and I think it shows some of the lighter side of the book, the grim nature of it, and the zany-ness of it too! Not bad, for a quilt 24 inches square.