“Ms. Green, aka Rachel Carson, used information from the library to knife the lie that DDT does not kill people and wildlife”.
Our guild challenge comes from the game Clue. We each got an envelope with three items: the victim, the room and the weapon. My cards were Mr. Green, the Library and the Knife. Our quilt was to have each of the cards named in the title of our quilt. My victim fought back! I took several other liberties with the format…
I looked at my cards and considered what might inspire me to spend 100 hours making a quilt. I’ve been rereading Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring. Carson is a personal heroine for me. She wrote this amazing book about the dangers of dominating nature and other books about the joys of connecting with nature. She did original research and definitely spent hours in multiple libraries. Her book has changed the world. And, she wrote it as she was dying from breast cancer!
My title became “Ms. Green, aka Rachel Carson, used information from the library to knife the lie that DDT does not kill people and wildlife”.
The lower diagonal of the quilt contains her book cover, and quotes I penned from the book or about the book. The pale background portrays a spring of subdued energy. The upper half has birds, nests, insects and lush growth that she envisioned returning.
The knife deletes the use of DDT. As a child growing up in Miami Springs. Florida, I remember the trucks driving through our neighborhood on the edge of the Everglades spraying DDT for mosquito control. I have wondered if my own breast cancer was linked to those early exposures. The powerful chemical was banned in the US in 1972 for any widespread agricultural use.
Pieced on my vintage Featherweight and quilted on my 1981 Bernina 930. Size 40” x 40”. Challenges help us “spread our wings” and have fun doing it!
US government publication from 1947 reads the small print at the bottom. I was born in 1945, did my mother see this? Did yours?
This is outstanding, Paula!
What a great chance, with the challenge, for reminding us of Rachel Carson’s work!
The colors used and the execution of your idea are excellent! Very effective!
It wasn’t until I read your story that I fully appreciated the deeper meaning in your quilt—something I strive for also, though my stories tend to be very personal. I ran behind the fog machines in New Orleans in the early ’50’—I worry too. I like your web site!
What a terrific and inspired idea!! Let’s play CLUE with Rachel! I wonder if Rachel’s mother, Maria Carson, made quilts??