The stitch pattern for Self-Portrait is a topographic map of my own body. Its topography was determined by chalking quarter-inch elevations following an even beam of light projected by a laser leveler while I lay underneath the fabric.

Contrasting associations of the quilt like comfort and protection against ideas of exposure and vulnerability, the red square references bloodstains on nuptial sheets exhibited in several traditional cultures to prove a bride’s virginity, as well as a girl’s first menstrual period and the accompanying acute sense of the body.

The stitch pattern in Meet and Separate is a topographical map of a couple holding each other as in sleep. The colors refer to separate sides of the bed, determining two halves that both contrast and overlap. Where two colors meet, I calculated the combined value in a computer diagram and tried to match those values when hand-dyeing the fabric.