Five garments, a placemat, mixed fabrics, archival pen, and cotton thread

Hand appliquéd, hand embroidered, and hand quilted

2023

62 x 62”

A Diary Quilt like this is interesting in contrast to a memoir or autobiographical work of art, because a diary is a place to make plans, reflect, and has the potential to hold secrets. My pink plastic childhood diary used a padlock, and here I use abstraction in the same way. As I neared my 40th birthday in December, I decided to mark the moment by making this quilt.

There are 40 bits of applique and 60 embroideries in the bottom left corner. Selecting the word 'warmth' for 2023 led to incorporating pink sweaters. The title hints at aging, and also references grapes and raisins (on food scales in the quilt) as I became a Noom nerd. A long thin line contemplates moving boxes, which accidentally became a 5-sided box... reminding me that I tend to over-stress about moving. Regardless, I changed course and by the time this quilt was completed, I’d swapped my word of the year to 'streamlining' for ‘23 and ‘24. This was quilted in the summer, during my time as Artist in Residence at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI in connection with my exhibition, Heidi Parkes: Reuse, Reflection, and Storytelling in Cloth.

Exhibitions:

At Home, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI (2026)

Duck to Water, Florida CraftArt, St Petersburg, FL (2025)

Heidi Parkes: Soft Magic, Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, Cedarburg, WI (2025)

QuiltCon presented by the Modern Quilt Guild, Raleigh, NC (2024)

Milwaukee Magazine included this quilt in an article about my work!

*Shipping may take up to 2 weeks

*Shipping within the United States is included in the purchase price. To make an international purchase, contact Heidi at HeidiParkesArt@gmail.com