2026 Fence Show Challenge
Open to all members of the Brooklyn Quilters Guild
May 9, 2026
The 2026 Fence Show Theme:
”I Want You To Know”
A celebration of declaration, vulnerability, and the need to be seen and understood.
What is quilting for?
Confession? Declaration? Record? Invitation? Action?
What do you most need someone/anyone to know?
When were you most desperate for someone to understand you?
Ideas for quilts:
Text-based quilts
Echo quilting
Layering
memory/story quilts
Subtext (symbolism)
Song-inspired
Context:
The podcast: 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s (The 2000s) “How to Save a Life” - The Fray
This podcast is a deep-dive music documentary series where Rob Harvilla picks one song per episode (starting with the ’90s and later the early 2000s) to explore its cultural impact, backstory, and personal meaning. In this episode, he reflects on the tearjerker megahit How to Save a Life, made famous by an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and examines why the phrase “I want you to know” appears everywhere in music as a plea to be understood.
Here’s a resonating quote:
“The subtext of every song ever is ‘I want you to know.’ The subtext of anything anyone says to anyone is ‘I want you to know.’ That’s literally what talking is for.” - Rob Harvilla
Some songs that contain the line “I want you to know” to get you thinking…
Pixies – “Debaser”
Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know”
Radiohead – “Knives Out”
Third Eye Blind – “Jumper”
Goo Goo Dolls – “Iris”
The Smiths – “Asleep”
Taylor Swift - “Mirrorball”
Members interested in joining the Fence Show team, please email Kara Reilly, reilly.kara@gmail.com