Wouldn’t it be nice?

It is a good thing to have inspiration all around you. I belong to a group of quilters that focuses on improvisational and art quilts. I cannot say enough about the friendships and skills I have gained by being a part of this group. Some months after our meetings I pinch myself because I cannot believe they keep letting me in the door. These women are of such high caliber and always sharing their craft. We like to keep things fun so we often host challenges. The recent challenge was to make 2 identical quilt blocks: 1 is kept and finished by the maker, the other randomly drawn and completed by someone else. You can literally do anything with your blocks, it just has to be finished.

The block that I received was this sweet little white block with two lines forming a T. I knew immediately that the white would make great dyed pieces so I deconstructed the block (a fancy way of saying I took the seam ripper to it) and tossed the pieces into three different dye pots with berries, turmeric and avocado pits. I then had to contend with the two lines. As I rotated them around, the idea of adding another line and making a peace symbol came to mind. I, for one, can use a little more peace in this world.

I started to think about what peace means to me and suddenly began to reminisce about my childhood and how idyllic it was. The neighborhood I grew up in had the best community; our gang of kiddos could always be found together riding bikes, at the pool, jumping on our trampoline and just playing. I look back at my childhood without technology and I am so thankful that we all got to be present without distractions. We thought a boom box was revolutionary and the height of cool. And a boom box with two tape players was positively mind blowing! One of the many ways we amused ourselves was choreographing dances to music and the Beach Boys were one of our faves. What kind of dances, you ask? It was an amazing combination of jazz and ballet with a good dose of tap to keep things lively. We loved to perform these masterpieces in garages across the neighborhood – all the better for the acoustics of tap shoes on concrete. Also, there was the added drama of lifting the garage door up and down to stoke the audience’s intrigue.

I think that the reason the Beach Boys were something we kids enjoyed is because they sounded fun and didn’t have the seriousness of the other artists that were being played in our various homes like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. I mean, can you imagine tap/ballet/jazz dance moves to “Blowin’ in the Wind”? Nope, neither can I so the Beach Boys it is! And the notion of a beach itself was like a dream to all of us growing up in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains 1,140 miles (thank you, Google) from an actual beach. The Beach Boys became the soundtrack for our adventures in backyards and garages across the square mile.

It had been over 30 years since I actually listened to the Beach Boys and so I decided to give it another go and make this artsy peace quilt at the same time. I’ve always been a fan of “Pet Sounds” and was surprised to learn later in life that a) this album is revered as one of rock’s best and most influential and b) that many Beach Boys fans really detest this album. It is dramatically less preppy, more introspective and angsty compared to earlier hits. It is obvious to the adult listener of this album that there were other influences starting to creep in to the band such as heavier emotions, inebriants and the matching band outfits a thing of the past. I listened to “Pet Sounds” three times in a row while I was making this quilt and then I moved on to cuts of “Good Vibrations” and “Surfin’ USA”. The songs “Wouldn’t it be nice?” and “God only knows” stand out among them all. And when I was done with this quilt, I was done listening to the Beach Boys too. It was a nice foray but enough for now. And no, I wasn’t inspired to break out the tap shoes although I have an amazing concrete floor in the living room…

I wanted to finish this piece with something extra bright. Aha, tie dye! Surprisingly I have never gotten all that into tie dye but I really see the appeal. To make this I used some pfd cotton, all of the rubber bands in the house and dropped it in a vat of simmered turmeric dye for a day. I really love the color it brought out — it is very sunny. For the quilting, I wanted the lines to radiate outward from the center because peace, like love, starts within and radiates out to the world. For the lines I used a shiny blue embroidery thread that I hoped would be sparkly but wasn’t quite flashy enough. To add more shine to the piece, I will add a smattering of beads because, why not? Oh and the back is like psychedelic (original) Peeps candies, just perfect!

This was a fun challenge and I’m really pleased with how the quilt turned out. There was one minor hiccup in that I accidentally sprayed the dyed pieces with a starch solution instead of water and it created a splatter effect. Let’s just call this a lesson learned. I can’t wait to see the shock on my friend’s face when she sees what I did to her sweet original block. Maybe this little square can help spread some extra peace in this world. Peace, wouldn’t it be nice?

Albums listened to: Beach Boys “Pet Sounds”, “Good Vibrations” and “Surfin’ USA”.