New Artistic Adventures

Recently I joined a new (2023) local Book to Quilt club (Yes, I quilt. No, not many people know). The group is called Stories to Stitches (S2S). We read four books a year over three month periods. The first month we read and discuss the book. The second month, we participate in a group activity together, and on the third month we reveal a quilt that we made inspired by the book. 

The first book we read together was The Blue Doorknob: The Artistic Life of Cornelia Hart Farrer, by Rita Branham Rodriquez. Cornelia is one of the founders of the Boise Art Museum and Boise's annual Art in the Park. She was also a painter. Rita tells Corneilia's story and includes many of her artworks in the book (especially in the book's second edition). This novel really brings to life the establishment and growth of Boise's arts community. 

The rest of this blog is the narrative I provided with my work that was requested by the club and by the venues where we exhibit our work.

Quilt Description

With the book's color guidance, I chose fabrics, seams, and stitch styles to depict the ebb and flow of Cornelia’s childhood joys; her career preparations and toils; her travelling adventures and celebrations w/family and friends; finding loves and marriage; her contributions to the Boise Art Museum and Art in the Park; and the harshness and abruptness of her life's tragedies and losses. These elements, vertically placed to honor her devotion to Chinese history and culture, resulted in my piece, Cornelia's Life Landscape. 

Details For Readers of the Book/Quilt Lovers

I made the following choices to roughly follow each of the chapters of ed. 2. I did include The Mode fire (not in ed. 2) in my landscape. I did not include anything from chpts 5 or 7. I blended chpts 26, 27, 28 as “time at home/garden” represented in strip 24. I went through the book multiple times and have pages of notes. While it may look like just a strip quilt, it was painfully overthought.  

Strip 1:	Chinese Red and Celadon Green – Mr. Fong’s store, box shaped quilting
Strip 2:	Red/Green/Purple – Chinese New Year’s parade, walking foot (WF) mirror of the fabric’s streamers
Strip 3:	Pink/Blue – Cornelia & Heber (shared birthdays), twin needle FMQ fun bubbles/circles
Strip 4:	Black w/Dark Blue – Heber’s passing, WF single straight (flat)-line stitch
Strip 5:	Pink/Yellow – Flowers at Dilkoosha, FMQ loopy florally stitching
Strip 6:	Multicolor – Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, FMQ outlined “paint” spots
Strip 7:	Prussian (?) Blue – The Blue Doorknob Studio, multi. WF straight-line stitches (routine of work life)
Strip 8:	Black w/Dark Pink – Elizabeth’s passing, WF single straight line
Strip 9:	Predominantly Pink – (non) Engagement cake/party, FMQ loopy stitching
Strip 10:	Blue/Yellow – Gump’s work outfit, WF multiple straight-line stitch (routine of work)
Strip 11:	Black w/Dark Blue – Papa Irving’s passing, WF single straight-line stitch
Strip 12:	Sky Blue/Gorgeous Green – Overseas travels and the green umbrella, FMQ double needle waves
Strip 13:	Black Forest Green – Cornelia meets Beinhard, FMQ loopy fun stitching
Strip 14:	Orange/Red/Yellow – Dilkoosha fire, FMQ thread painted flames
Strip 15:	Navy Blue/White ­– The Mode work uniform, tight, WF straight-line stitching (routine of work)
Strip 16:	Black Forest Green, Earthy Green/Brown – Beinhard reunion/Boise Art Museum ground breaking/Beinhard leaving, FMQ loopy fun lines that minimize in exuberance as Beinhard leaves
Strip 17:	Blue/Beechnut Brown & Pink/White – Vern meeting Cornelia/dating, double needle FMQ
Strip 18:	Navy(ish) Blue and Off White – Vern/Cornelia marriage, FMQ bows (tying the “knot”)
Strip 19:	Rich Greens/Water Blue – First Art in the Park, WF single meandering stitch line (Boise River)
Strip 20:	Black w/Blue & Black w/Pink – Bill & Kanina’s passings, WF double needle straight stitch
Strip 21:	Lilac w/Black – Mama Francis’ passing, WF a few straight lines
Strip 22:	Yellow/Orange – The Mode Fire, FMQ thread painted flames
Strip 23:	Black w/Blue – Beinhard passes, WF straight lines
Strip 24:	Forest Green/Burgundy – Life at home/garden Franklin Street, FMQ big soft loops/curves
Strip 25:	Black w/Blue – Vern passes, a couple WF straight lines
Strip 26:	Black – Cornelia’s final years and passing, less animated/less steady, multi FMQ line stitching.

New Skills

Curved seams, free motion quilt (FMQ) anything other than a straight-ish line, double needle FMQ (be advised--less movement is possible), using modern facing and triangle corners to finish and hang the quilt.