Her quilt tells a story, literally

Joan Musick sometimes gets asked one of those “which came first, the chicken or the egg” questions.

Did she create her king-size story quilt first or the book that uses her creative quilt blocks as the illustrations?

Actually, she has done it both ways. Sometimes the story comes first, and then she makes a quilt. Sometimes it’s the quilt that inspires the story.

Either way, the Colorado Springs woman has found a unique way to combine her love of quilting with her love of storytelling into published children’s books and accompanying applique patterns for the grandmothers who want to gift them.

It all started when a neighbor was having gardening trouble. The tops of the woman’s flowers were disappearing and she thought maybe it was the handiwork of a former boyfriend. After examining the flowers, Musick told her, “You have a bunny problem.”

And thus did Musick’s imagination run wild. She created a “meet in the middle” book. Halfway through the book, you flip it over and read from the opposite end. You get the gardener’s tale on one side, the bunny’s on the other.

She wanted to illustrate the book, but knew she wasn’t adept enough to pull off traditional drawings or paintings.

Musick, who admits she has never met a piece of fabric she didn’t love, decided to “paint” her pictures with needle and thread.

She worked on a quilt to illustrate the story. As she worked, the appliqués took on a life of their own, and she had to change the story to fit some of the scenes she had sewed. The project took her four months.

Another obstacle was finding a pulisher. But through a series of coincidences she met Jackie Haag, owner of Mother’s House Publishing, who loved the idea.

That first book, “The Missing Flower Tops and The Midnight Snack,” is now published. She also sells a packet that contains patterns for the main appliqué pieces shown in the book.

“I started doing that because I got quite a few requests,” she said.

Over the years she has worked in civil service and as a medical transcriber, and has won numerous first-place awards in quilting contests, including the Colorado State Fair competition several times.

But she now devotes her time to quilting and writing. “And of course my family,” she laughs.

She is married to Dennis Musick, a computer science engineer, and they have two adult sons.

These days she works in her home studio surrounded by several felines. Fabric is piled in bins and a large wall of cabinets store her notions.

She is almost finished with a second book, and others are in the planning stages.

A review in Colorado Threads calls her first effort a delightful book that will illicit “read it again” from kids. It also makes note of the “wonderful color illustrations that provide close-ups of the quilting and appliqués. The love of floral fabric and country scenery is evident in every block.”

Who wouldn’t want to create more of the same?

—

Contact Carol McGraw: 636-0371 Twitter @mcgrawatgazette Facebook Carol McGraw