One of my best friends works for the Washington State University Extension in Kitsap County helping small farmers, teaching preservation classes and encouraging everyone to eat local. Currently they are working on their first conference to teach and encourage the farming community. Shannon has been begging me to create art for the conference for months. With the holidays and a long to-do list I didn't have a chance until last week.
The big question was how I could represent farming in Kitsap. My first thought was the mountains. We are surrounded by both the Olympic and Cascade ranges. Mount Jupiter is the the view out my windows (whenever it's not hidden by clouds) and of course sunsets are absolutely beautiful set against them. The Puget Sound and Hood Canal also surround us, but I instead decided to focus on green fields. I used rows of bright circles to represent the many small farms dotted around the county. The composition was still missing something, so I added the wonky barn. The finished quilt is approximately 22"x19".
After I was almost finished with the quilt, another person in the office decided that she wanted something more realistic for the conference. Oh well. I decided instead to give the quilt to my friend for the birthday at the end of the month. I was creating the quilt for her anyways. Now she can hang it above her desk and I will know someone truly appreciates it.
9 comments:
This is gorgeous, love the colors and the abstract way you have represented the farms. The person who suggested something more realistic must not have seen your piece, but you have a very lucky friend who gets to hang this above her desk!
I think the quilt is fabulous. I love the color palette. I'm glad it's now owned by someone who will love it!
Thank you. The woman in charge saw a progress photo before I stitched everything down. That was when she mentioned that she wanted something realistic, not conceptual. I was a touch hurt at first and my passive agressive side wanted to make something was a depressed farmer plagued by slugs and blight, but thankfully those feelings passed quickly. This has been a lesson in developing a thicker skin and thankfully the people who really matter to me loved the piece.
Nikki, I had to chuckle at your gut reaction of the blighted farm. The quilt is beautiful and fun!
I laugh at the thought also. Early in our marriage, my husband and I dreamed of having a farm--until the dream became a reality. We finally bought a house with acreage just before our youngest was born. We got chickens and milk goats and put in a huge garden. The romance wore off rather quickly. We made it about two years with the animals. The goats did what goats do best and kept escaping. The chickens started eating thier eggs and the garden. We battled mountain beavers. So, all the animals moved over to my friend Shannon's farm. We still try the garden but have low expectations. I learned that I prefer the ideal, joyful farm in my head to the realities of farming any day!
Oh my goodness Nikki!! I haven't stopped in for a while, and WOW! I can only imagine Shannon will just be blown away! I do believe this may be one of my favorites yet!...as always, you've outdone yourself! Miss you my friend! Love, Cindy
Love the colors!
Going through this post, its my sincere feeling that you own the precise knoeledge of what are you talking about.I really want to applaud you for zeal for the work you own that has helped you stand today at this stage.Genuinely,there has not been even once that I have gone through your blog and went without getting some good knowledge.Keep it up.And yes i have bookmarked your site nikkiwheeler.blogspot.com .
I think this piece is wonderful and a great use of bull's eye blocks!
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