Friday, June 8, 2018

The Quilt of Pi

Ever since I got into quilting, finding time to read has been difficult.  When I am not working or running errands, I am mostly sewing and by the time I get to bed, I can barely keep my eyes open.  Therefore the discovery of audiobooks has been an absolute joy.  I can listen while I sew!!!

It is a finish

My last audiobook was "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.  It is a fantastic book and I loved every word of it. Here is my favorite quote from the book.

"Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims."

Oh, I wish I could convey how much I love these words.
Whereas we too often focus on our differences and let those difference divide us, this one sentence in a funny, simple, and heart-warming way says that we are all the same in our capacity for love, devotion and surrender to God.

These words make me want to go hug the world and everyone in it.  So, I made a quilt.

Fabric Scraps (from the free table at the guild meeting)
They say that one man's meat is another man's poison. Fabrics scraps abandoned by one quilter are a goldmine for me. Thanks to the free table at the guild meetings.

These turquoise and red scraps (left at the free table) beckoned to me. I added some fabric from my own stash and tried to construct 5" squares and 5" by 2.5" rectangles from the scraps.

Piecing into 5" squares

I used this pattern from Elizabeth Hartmann to make a baby quilt. The dark teal/aqua solid came from my stash.

Finished at 41" by 43"

...and back

The backing is so adorable.  Recently acquired this piece from a friend who is destashing. The wavy lines made for a fast and easy quilting.

Winnie the Pooh as a Fire Chief
Turquoise & Red
Striped Binding is my favorite
The red and white striped binding works beautifully with both the front and the back.


Did I forget the label?
Can you see it?


Do you see it now?

There it is :-)

Love this shot!
And then Paul began to read the post from behind my shoulder.

Paul: Does the book "Life of Pi" have anything to do with this quilt?
Me: Dunno. Maybe Pi could have used a quilt to comfort him.
Paul: Maybe.
Me: Maybe the turquoise blue of the quilt represents the ocean, the pink and the red represent the life (life of Pi and also Richard Parker's) and the cream could represent the boat that carried them both for almost seven months.
Paul: I know that you can quilt, but boy can you spin a yarn!
Me: You can call me a Quilter or a Spinner of Yarn. But I am calling this the Quilt of Pi.

Quilt of Pi

Paul: But what do these words - hairless Christians, bearded Hindus, and hat wearing Muslims - have anything to do with this quilt?
Me: Don't you agree that the overarching themes of the book are survival and belief in God?
Paul: I agree.
Me: So you see my point.
Paul: I don't.
Me: Well, Pi could neither see Jesus or Allah. Yet, he was a believer.
Paul: I still don't get the connection to the quilt.
Me: Well, do you like the quilt?
Paul: It is nice.
Me: Did you like the book - Life of Pi?
Paul: I only saw the movie. 
Me: That is why you don't get it. Aren't you getting late for your game?
Paul: Oh yes. Gotta go.

That was how that discussion ended. But our discussion has just begun. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, as always.  I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

39 comments:

  1. What a cute quilt you have created from cast-offs and stash fabric! Well done.

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  2. Beautiful finish! Love the quote too. We are more the same than we are different.

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  3. Beautiful little quilt, Preeti! I love the colors and the design.
    I also saw the movie, but I see themes and ideals in everything--the price of teaching English for 28 years and reading goodness knows how many books. Anyway, I see your connection and love your quote, though I had to read it several times to really grasp it.

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  4. I am glad to hear you found a way to combine your too passions. Fun quilt! Especially like the stripped red binding. Reminds me of candy :)

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  5. Beautiful quilt incorporating scraps and stash! Love the colours and that striped binding!

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  6. You were a lucky duck to have scored this free fabric for the start of your cute quilt. What's not to love about an aqua quilt and then throw in some red and you have a definite win!

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  7. Excellent!! My husband loves audio books - in his car and in his workshop. Bonus: The quote you shared today is a real keeper. Thank you.

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  8. Love your new quilt finish and your quotes.

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  9. I've watched the movie several times -obviously loved the story. And, I love your quilt. mary

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  10. Audio books rock! Do you get them through your library? Love this quilt, Preeti, and how your quilts always have a story. Nice colors.

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  11. I love listening to books when I sew too! I haven't read Life of Pi but did see the movie. I loved it. The quote you included in this post is beautiful. Really wonderful - as is the quilt you made. Aqua and red are such a nice combination.

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  12. Audio books...love them and the quote you shared. Sitting here with new grandson in my lap...he's ooohhing and cooing over the pics of your quilt, so nice and a lovely way to share!

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  13. Well, you were really creative with that cute little quilt! I love the striped binding, and I saw that cute little label right away!

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  14. Hi Pretti! It has been ages since I've seen a post from you - and I get your emails. Has it been ages or have I missed emails? I'm going to check. Anyway, this new quilt is beautiful - I especially LOVE the striped binding. But even more, I LOVE the quote you shared. It reminds me that we all are a full circle of mankind - no broken spots over such thing as religion. Haven't we as a whole not learned one single from all the hate throughout history? Stepping down from that box now, but tolerance is certainly a dish everyone can enjoy. Happy Saturday! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  15. This is such a pretty quilt Preeti! I couldn't agree more about scraps...you were lucky to have scooped them up! I use to read a lot back in the day, but life and quilting make that nearly impossible these days. I was able to read two books while on vacation though! Audio books might be the way to go!

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  16. Cute little quilt Pretti. Love the colors and the stripped binding. I am just courious about the movie and audio book that inspired you. And that is just a perfect quote.

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  17. I love red and aqua together, and this quilt is wonderful! I love that you were inspired by a book to make this. I remembered this quilt pattern after reading your post and realized that I once made this one, too - I really like how yours turned out!

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  18. I not only love the quilt - I love, admire, and have adhered to these words of equality for my lifetime. I have tried to convey by word and deed to my family and friends for decades to treat others with the same respect each of us expects to be given. I hope all my efforts have not been lost in the translation. Glad to know I am not alone in this belief.
    Thank you for sharing such wonderful insight and your love pf quilting! Namaste.

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  19. Just love the colours and the quilting on this. And I must write a blog on the last quilt I finished, also with that red and white stripe - such a winner!

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  20. Oh, Preeti -- Life of Pi was one of the last books I read aloud to my sons as a bedtime story! (Yes, up until last summer, I read bedtime stories to teenagers). Devastatingly beautiful, soul-wrenching literary masterpiece. Your latest quilt is darling, your binding selection is the absolute perfect choice from the entire universe of fabrics, and I love your little Preeti tag. :-)

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  21. I love your sweet quilt and how you used up your scraps.

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  22. It's a great quilt. I love what you do with scraps..and I love the quilt. I read the book ages ago and I didn't remember the passage but it is a wonderful one.

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  23. I so enjoyed reading your post and never once thought what the Life of Pi had to do with your quilt! I just figured you were inspired to make it by the book! Your photos are so pretty - and the quilt is lovely! It's amazing how you took fabric from many sources and made something beautiful!

    By the way, I love audio books as well! Our local library makes free audiobooks, ebooks and magazines available on the app: RB Digital. I've read that other libraries are doing the same! Yea! Free works for me!

    Happy sewing and reading!

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  24. Haven't seen the movie. Loved and own the book. Those words are just awesome and I remember thinking man, that's good. I'd just change God to a Supreme Being or Universal Consciousness. or Goddess. HA!
    Love the soft colours, great pattern!

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  25. What a neat quilt. Love the color combination.

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  26. Connections: from a beautiful quilt to theology. First, I do LOVE the colors. They seem so soothing and remind me of being on water.I will have to read the book, which has been sitting on my shelf. And I did like the movie. And now connections to lives of quilters. Thank you for sharing.

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  27. Great color combination for your beautiful quilt. The teal strips just make the quilt pop.

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  28. “Trash” to treasure. No wait, fabric is never trash. Just giftable bits. I love how you made everything work together with the turquoise/aqua/red theme (swoon). I can see that I need to read Life of Pi. I didn’t see the movie, so I haven’t been spoiled for the book. I haven’t tried audio books. I like to read in bed—but it takes forever to get through a book that way.

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  29. Great finish. The colours work so well together.

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  30. This is so adorable. Perhaps I need to rethink my "no saving scraps" moto.

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  31. Really a beautiful baby quilt, I love this pattern! We seem to have finished our quilts the same time. My last finish was also a month ago! Way to go!

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  32. The quilt is charming, as is the philosophy. I read the book before quilting took over my spare time, likely after eating a delicious meal sent across the street by my amazing hindu neighbours. If we're not all the same, it's because we fall short of being the best we're meant to be. So, today it's time for me to do a good turn.

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  33. So glad you've found a way to enjoy both stories and quilting! Here's to many years of double enjoyment! Love both the quilt and the story you were listening to:-)

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    Replies
    1. Kim,
      You are the one who told me about the app that lets you borrow audiobooks from your library!!! I owe my double enjoyment (of so many things) to you.
      Hugs,
      Preeti.

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  34. Ooh, it's so pretty! It turned out great! I think it should be the quilt of pie because it looks like peach pie and mint tea. Yum! :)

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  35. Life of Pi. A book my husband keeps nagging me to read, and my daughter. I thought it might be a little too existentialist for me. I love a good murder! Not a gory murder, but a little gentle whodunnit. I find this last month I have been reading more and quilting less. Maybe audio books are the way to go for me too.

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  36. I keep loving how you keep your machine quilting simple and it just makes the finished quilt work! I like the idea of a free table, but I'm sort of glad I'm not in a guild when I hear such a thing, because it might lead to even more unfinished projects :-). I have this rule when buying fabrics that "coupons don't count", which is becoming a bit dangerous ... Today I was home with a virus and in between naps I started some "works in progress" pages on my blog. It was surprising how many projects I have going on ... but it's nice to have an overview. My blog isn't read by anyone but the occasional passer-by, but it's very dear to me, because it's like a dairy. The stroy is about what I make, but it also takes me back to different periods in my life when I look back at old posts.

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  37. So much eye candy, Preeti! Sorry I haven't been around much. It's amazing how much time babysitting requires. Love all of it, your quilt most of all.

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