The challenge for Art Quilts Around the World this period was Favorite Book. Yikes! I love this challenge but, oh my gosh, my brain traveled in so many directions. The most difficult part was not breaking copyright laws. I so wanted to do an image from Harry Potter. I'll explain more about that later but I couldn't figure out how to do it justice without using an actual image.
I started thinking about all the books in my life that really stood out and the why behind my enjoyment. What I realized is the books I shared with others, read to, talked about, laughed and cried
over and yes even argued about who got to read it first were my favorites.
over and yes even argued about who got to read it first were my favorites.
The first stand out for me is Dr Suess as read by my dad. He had the most amazing character voices and I loved hearing him read. My mom was always reading and throwing out lines from different books. Our home had many reading opportunities. So I started with a photo of my parents.
The next photo I used is the library in my home town. The children's library was a magical place for me. There was a comfy couch in front of a huge stone fireplace. It just called to you to curl up in a corner of the couch with one of your favorite books. Helen Stevens was the librarian at the time and she was so sweet. As I got older she would challenge me and gave me a list of books to look for that she thought I would like reading. (She probably gave the same list to many others, but it sure made me feel special). It was a very bittersweet day when I had to go upstairs to the 'adult' section.
The third photo is my sister Judy (she is holding me in the photo). She was a little like a second mom to me and I remember her taking me to the library. She encouraged me in my love of reading. Thanks Judy!
The next photo is my husband Lloyd. We discovered a shared love of Science Fiction stories. This is where the arguing over who got to read a book first began.
The last two photos are my husband reading with our son and myself reading to our daughter. We always read at night before they went to sleep. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. Re-reading old favorites through fresh eyes is so fun. Harry Potter was I think one of the first books we all discussed together. What was going to happen next, what did you think of this character, how long before the next book were all dinner time topics. My husband and I actually argued over who got to read to the kids and who would have to catch up for the next night. We ended up all four listening together for parts of the early books.
Since it was all about books I went with a book shape and used a facing instead of binding for this quilt in order to create the actual book shape. The photos are printed on extravorganza (it's third on the page) which I placed over muslin. I wanted it to have the look of an old book so I went with black and white photos. I pieced the book from the pattern I created. Quilted with hearts to show the book love. I learned how to do a facing like this from Vicki Pignatelli. I went into more detail on the creation of this quilt on the Art Quilts Around the World blog. Click the link to read more and see the other fabulous quilts created for this challenge. If you click the photo of my quilt it takes you to the post I wrote describing my process.
Have a creative day
Janet
1 comment:
What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing the experiences you have had with books! I could really relate to your description of those who influenced you through the years which you are now carrying down with your own children!
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