Challenge Quilt
I love a good challenge quilt, where I’m given a theme, a fat quarter, a word or something similar and am challenged to come up with a quilt. I belong to a group of very creative individuals and we call ourselves The Endeavourers. Each quarter throughout the year, we have a theme and create a quilt, then have a reveal party on our blog. It’s always inspiring to see what my fellow creatives make.
The theme for the first quarter of 2020 was “scene from a book”. Since I love to read, I figured this would be a cinch. I came up with an idea right away, then realized I had thought of a passage from a book not a scene. Hmm. I had to rethink a bit.
Louise Penny is my favorite author. She has written a mystery series which takes place in the idyllic little hamlet of Three Pines nestled away in the forest country of Quebec. The cast of characters who inhabit Three Pines each have their own unique style and personality, and they become like family as you read the series.
I chose to use Still Life, the first book in the series. There is a scene between Myrna and Clara on the evening of a dinner party at Peter and Clara’s home. Myrna is just arriving with a flower arrangement in tow, which she is dragging behind her through the door. On close inspection, Clara sees oak branches, maple branches, bulrushes, an apple branch (with apples attached). She peers a bit closer, and asks “is that a kielbasa”?
The kielbasa sealed the deal for me. How could I not have some fun piecing a floral arrangement with a kielbasa? I couldn’t get a good picture, but I padded the kielbasa just a bit, for fun.
Clara looks a bit closer and finds yet another surprise, a book of poetry by Auden. I used a left over pair of strips for the book, with the intent of camouflaging it a bit once I added some herbs around it. However, I ran out of time and the herbs didn’t get done. I printed “Auden” on the batiks with Crayola fabric markers.
In the series, Clara and Peter are artists. Peter is all about minute detail and precision. Clara, on the other hand, is abstract and in the moment. It is not uncommon for her to have paint in her hair, on her face, and clothing. Myrna is the librarian of the little town and a bit of a free spirit herself. I purposely made this arrangement rough and a bit awkward, because that’s how I envision it. If I had given myself more time, I would’ve have added much more to it, and made it more difficult to see the items.
I used raw edge applique, cutting the items out with a scissors, tracing a few of the leaves, then just freehanding the rest. I placed the leaves here and there, without trying to be too symmetrical. The fabrics are all from my stash of batik scraps. If you look closely (but not too close!), you’ll see I even tried a little meandering in the background. (Those of you who have heard me fret about free motion know this is a big deal. Haha!)
And that, my friends, is the story of the Challenge Quilt. If you are looking for a good book series, with delightful characters in a place where we’d all like to live, I highly recommend this series by Louise Penny.
Before I go, I just want to remind you that today is the last day of the Creating a Quilted Legacy Blog Hop, honoring Paula, who passed away earlier this year. There are so many lovely charity quilts being made in her honor, and there are prizes for you. You can read my post and see the schedule here.
Enjoy your weekend, friends!
Wendy
I Like Thursdays #32
22 Comments
Velda at the Freckled Fox Quiltery
What a great way to stay connected to quilting buddies. I love your spring flowers/kielbasa arrangement.
marissthequilter
Lovely quilt with a good story behind it
kattails
I’m up early today…getting ready to go babysit 2 of my grandbabies….this post gave me what will surely be the best laugh of the day. Now every time I see a kielbasa I’ll think of your lovely quilt! I’ll have to check out the Louise Penny mysteries. I’m always looking for the next good, light read. Thanks…have a wonderful and blessed day!
katyquilts
Oh, Wendy! This is brilliant! I love it so much! Now I want to read the book!
Nancy Bekedam
LOL! What a funny story! And great carry through in your quilt, Wendy! So that’s a sausage, not a cattail?!! That background quilting is pretty intense and really sets off the “bouquet”!
My Sewful Retirement
Wendy, your challenge quilt is beautiful — I loved reading your story and the seeing it come alive in the quilt! Great job and your quilting is amazing ♥
Riceford Streams
Your writing was so fun to read and I’m so impressed with your quilting. You go, Girl! I hope you enjoy your quilt because it turned out beautifully with just the right amount of whimsy.
Vicki in MN
You have such a great imagination to be able to do this! And I am proud of you for trying to stipple, I can’t see a thing wrong with it.
Lynn White
Great quilt. We are big Louise Penny fans – really enjoyed being present for a live interview with her at a writer’s festival a couple of years ago. Wonderful creative interpretation.
Kathleen Mccormick
I love this! Sounds like a delightful series and what a fun basket of odd things to receive. Congrats on the stippling…any bit helps. I have been behind on blogs…hoping to catch up today and tomorrow!
Diann Bottrell
That is a great response to your Challenge for this quarter, Wendy! When you shared the peek st it the other day, I wouldn’t have guessed, but now I see all those great details. Having become friends with all those unique characters from Three Pines, I can picture exactly who and what you’re talking about! Just finishing up A Better Man.
catpatches
Very sweet quilt, and I love the story behind it. I went to look at your group, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to join. You must be keeping your numbers small.
rl2b2017
Hi Wendy! You did a marvelous job on the piece, and an excellent job leading us through your scene. That is a hard concept to put into fabric, if you ask me. Painting a scene from a book in fabric on a quilt . . . I wouldn’t have been successful, I suspect. The addition of Auden is just fab!! Great job – I have read some of Louise Penny’s books – I think you should send her a picture of your piece. She would be tickled to death to see it!! Seriously. ~smile~ Roseanne
Kate Swallows
You definitely nailed the challenge quilt. Sounds like a fun book series.
Rochelle Summers
It is a beautiful quilt and I have to say that I love the Inspector Gamache series! I’ve read the books and listened to the audios and she can’t write a new one fast enough to satisfy my insatiable quest for more. Great job on the free-motion quilting.
Gail
You did a great job with your challenge!!! And now you have a beautiful quilt to look at! I have written Louise Penny’s name on my book list: Thank you for the recommendation!
lapaylor
my husband likes L. Penny too and we saw her at the library of congress book festival one year. Great work!
Louise Hornor
DH just arrived home from the grocery store with kielbasa, which we rarely buy. Too funny to see one quilted!! Great little piece, perfect for the Endeavourers theme 🙂
thedarlingdogwood
That sounds like a great challenge and I love your basket of tree branches & kielbasa! So funny!
quiltedblooms
Oh Wendy, what a great interpretation of the scene. And, I had mistaken the kielbasa for a cattail. Such a fun story of the making!
Patricia Ludwiczak
Love your challenge quilt, and for one of my favorite books! Great job.
Janine @ Rainbow Hare
This is a wonderful quilt and I really enjoyed hearing more of the story. I will look out for those books and, maybe, I’ll even be a bit more adventurous with flower arranging… 😀