I am a bit of a word geek, so when I happened across the word "bustraphedon" in a book, I kept thinking what fun it would be to create a quilt with that word as the theme. I had a plan in mind for this theme. My finished quilt is nothing like that plan. In the end, I went with a literal approach, using the early 17th century Greek definition "as an ox turns in plowing".
I decided to play a bit with flying geese units to create movement indicating the back and forth of the oxen and farmer plowing the field. The farmer and oxen is a freehand sketch using an online silhouette as a guide. I fused the farmer and oxen to the quilt top and straight stitched around the outline to secure it.
For the quilting, I went with straight lines for the sky, which I think helps with the movement idea. I was a little reluctant to quilt the lines over the farmer and oxen, but it seems to work just fine.
When quilting the ground, I followed the curves of the improv piecing using a variegated brown thread, which blends in with the lighter brown and is more visible on the dark brown, adding yet more movement for the eye to follow.
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I managed to make the entire quilt with fabrics from my stash. I was a bit puzzled about the color for the farmer and oxen, but I think the gray fabric works okay.
This challenge theme was more difficult than I anticipated. I'm curious to see what the rest of you have come up with!
Wendy
I rarely find Wendy that my final piece for a theme bears any relation to my original plan, so you are not alone :) All of the elements of your lovely, little quilt are just perfect for this quarter's theme, you knocked it out of the park!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I enjoy the process of making the challenge quilts; it's always fun to see where it leads!
DeleteI love it! I like the contrast of the geometric flying geese and the gentle curves of the soil, and the way that the subtle silhouette of the farmer and oxen ties them together.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was not entirely happy with the intensity of the blues in the flying geese, but that was what I had in my stash, so I went with it.
DeleteI think this quilt is wonderful - not only does it illustrate the theme but it does it in such a beautiful and striking way. I think your silhouette farmer and oxen are perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Catherine. I was a bit stressed over that silhouette, but it worked out pretty well.
DeleteGreat interpretation, Wendy! I love this!
ReplyDeleteFrom Barbara. I don’t know why I show up as “anonymous” sometimes.
DeleteThanks! I have no idea on the anonymous thing either. I've been gone all day, so I'm off to read the other posts!
DeleteI love this quilt. I really like the way you've included the ploughing and the sense of direction and the composition is beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteWendy, somehow I missed this post, and I'd actually been waiting for your reveal! I really like your interpretation of the theme. Bustraphedon is a completely new term to me - I have to keep going back and re-reading it! The flying geese in the sky, the farmer and his oxen, and the curved piecing in the field all work together in such a neat way. Great finish!
ReplyDelete