Dear Reader,
A log cabin quilt block begins with a central square. Traditionally,
a red centre represented the hearth of the home, with other strips of fabric—the logs—built around it.
Starting from this simple concept, a log cabin quilt can be as unique as the person making it. Infinite variations of fabric, tonal value and proportion make the log cabin design an expressive and enduring pattern, even over a century and a half after it first became popular.
This issue’s cover artist, Whitney Crispell, set out to rediscover her creative self with a self-imposed challenge to make a mini quilt every week for a year. Old-fashioned blocks, contemporary designs and textural explorations inspired these small, quilted sketches.
When I look at her log cabin composition, I see the central yellow square as the “self” from which everything else is anchored. Over time and through experience, we build ourselves up and grow outward. Our values emanate from our centre and are sewn into being.
Although we’re looking inward in this issue, it is not selfish to nourish one’s creativity. Compassion, generosity and care for ourselves is necessary so that we may also extend it to others.
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issue 69 open call notifications
I will be emailing everyone this week about the status of recent open calls for submission re: The Creative Self and Texture themes. Please be patient.
TRANSIT EPHEMERA for Finley
❤️ It's my son Finley's birthday next month, and I have an idea for a present: it's old-fashioned and experiential, and I think it could be surprising and fun!
Among Finley's many interests is train and public transit ephemera (train timetables, transit stubs, bus tickets and passes, postcards, rail maps... that sort of thing). He has the start of a collection, mostly local items he's found—an exciting find was a transit stub from Warsaw that we found on the ground while walking in a park here in Calgary. If you're a transit rider and have an old bus pass, transfer ticket or other such contemporary or vintage ephemera from your town or travels, would you like to send it to him?
He would enjoy receiving mail containing these curious paper items—especially since transit tickets and subway cards are becoming obsolete, replaced by codes on our digital devices.
Finley c/o
UPPERCASE publishing inc
1052 Memorial Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 3E2
UPPERCASE SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions & Renewals: Use the code keepgoing for $10 (Canadian dollars) off a subscription or renewal. Start with issue #67 (stencils, black and white, contrasts) or issue #68 (illustration, the elements of creativity, and taking a stand against AI.)
quilted reprint
The Quilted reprint is in production and should be ready to mail in March. Preorders outside of North America are not available at this time. Once the reprint is ready, overseas customers will be able to purchase Quilted directly from UPPERCASE, and later from our UK distributor and stockists.