I found this little quilt of the Rainbow Fish in the sewing room today. I made it years ago when the boys were small. I remember that making it was pretty much just an excuse to use all those metallic sliver threads when they first came out.
We enjoyed reading the book Rainbow Fish when the boys were little. When I first read it, I liked the sharing message of the book when the proud Rainbow Fish shares his scales and and becomes an accepted part of the group. But now, over 10 years later, I have read it to P and don't like it quite as much. I think it is interesting that what I notice in the book has changed. Now, I notice the behavior of the other fish more than that of the Rainbow Fish. The other fish seem greedy. I don't like that they seem to want to all be the same and are bullying about it.
The book does have lovely pictures and it was fun to create a quilted version of the fish.
I don't really like this quilt as much as I did ten years ago either. It is stiff from all of the fusible web and stitching. The machine applique stitching seems heavy and messy. I have learned that I really do like hand stitching; I really enjoy hand applique and like the look of the fabric meeting fabric. Still, this project is part of my needlework past. Making this quilt did, in some way, help define the quilter/artist that I am now. I guess that is one reason that I keep this quilt even though it has never been displayed.
It is natural that our tastes change. Otherwise, we would all still have that big hair of the 80s. Or Dorothy Hamill hair. Or whatever the defining "do" of our youth.
I'll be adding this to the Children's Literature in Needlework pool on flickr. If you have made a needlework project inspired by a children's book, please add it to the pool.
