Quilts, like angels, seem to hide everywhere. I found one recently while “reading” the shelves in my local library and what a treasure it is.
Like many Americans, my palette was geared to simple foods as a child but maturity drew me to love the Mediterranean and French cuisines. But who knew that one book could contain details of both Provencal cuisine and quilts (and quilt patterns and instructions). On a hot day in August, wandering down the two beloved paths of quilts and food was a delight. The lavish pictures of both made the journey even more enjoyable.
The book by Marie-Christine Flocard and Cosabeth Parriaud with photos by Jean-Michel Andre is entitled Provence Quilts and Cuisine. Both authors are well known in quilt circles and both have lived and published in America and France. They give expert details on how to produce each quilt, how to paint fabric, how to transfer photos, as well as how to cook the foods of that special region of Provence.
The quilts themselves are exquisite. What the authors have done is to extract the architectural images, colors, and native flora of Southern France for the design of the quilts. For example, the fig leaf quilt featured on the front cover uses the nine-block pattern with painted leaves of varying greens and dark figs appliquéd onto it. Just to see the shading of each leaf with different saturation of hues is worth the book itself. Another quilt uses the arches pattern of the Roman aqueducts to form the Double Wedding Ring design in the brilliant yellows and reds of a busy farmhouse kitchen.
The photos themselves become possible quilts with the multi-hued rounded tiles of the roofs in Avignon and the grey stones of building block houses climbing the distant hills. Another quilt provides splendid memories of the Provence itself through the photo transfer blocks.
After all this wandering in foreign lands, my imagination turned to thoughts of food and – magically – they appeared under French names but the pictures spoke my language. Cake aux Olives is an olive-ham-cheese-peppers bread tempted me to copy out the recipe. Ratatouille with fresh vegetables or Tomates Provencales translated easily into mouth-watering dishes. A Clatoutis aux Apricots looked like golden nuggets swimming in a baked cake on top – delicious.
Please understand. I don’t quilt. I cook and I write but I don’t quilt. However, the patterns in the back of the book are so simple I am almost tempted, for one, very special reason – as a volunteer at Pearl S. Buck International, I know that her favorite fruit was the peach. On her birthday in June, we serve peaches in every form we can find. Next year, we will celebrate her 121th birthday in a big way in late June with a Fiber Arts Festival with international exhibitors, juried crafters, renowned speakers, and peaches. I mention this because the book has a wonderfully simple design for peaches, rather like the fig leaf design. Very simple, almost compelling…almost…No, no, I am a writer, not a quilter!
Anne K. Kaler aka Quilt Hunter
