QUilt of Life, 2026

My goal with this quilt was to celebrate biodiversity while challenging myself to use the "good" fabric.

As I was putting the quilt together, it reminded me of something Gibbs Kuguru said when I interviewed them for a feature in my textbook, Biology for Life-- "Once we destroy the quilted mosaic of nature, repairing the diversity of the animal kingdom becomes an unrealistic proposition." (Chapter 16, p. 489)

There are at least two of each kind of block, one in cooler colors and the other in warmer colors to represent the importance of balance in nature. The quilt also features dozens of fussy cut plants and animals, in addition to all the color signifying biodiversity in all its forms (populations, species, habitats, genetics). The background fabric is called sketchy and looks like notebook sketches of animals--a nod to the early biologists (naturalists) and the importance of art in both the history and practice of science.