I made a pean block quilt this weekend.
Marc, my husband, has long been a member of a history club called the Society for Creative Anachronism . or as it’s more commonly called, the SCA. The SCA, which has been around for over 50 years recreates the best parts of middle ages. Everyone is of gentle birth and there are no plagues, famines or other nasty things. Marc’s long been after me to recreate parts or all of his heraldry in quilting. Well this weekend I finally got there by making a pean quilt block.
Part of his heraldry is a pean. A pean is a a yellow (gold) design on a black background that represents the tail of the stoat, part of the weasel family. Another word for pens is ermine spots. The pean however specifically is gold/yellow ermine spots on a black background.
My first take at this was this:
Excuse the crappy picture please. While I really like this version of the pean, I’d prefer thqt the spots dont touch main. However, that wasn’t the issue with this one rather it was matching points and the getting odd angles at the bottom of the pean be smooth where blocks joined together. I finally got it too look okay but I’m not sure I could recreate it without losing it totally . This took me hours. I’d love to get the skill to to recreate this but I’m just not there right now and realistically I don’t have the concentration or time to devote to it right now.
Today Marc sketched out another pean block that avoided all odd angles and stuck with half square triangles. This one I was able to sew together much more accurately and much quicker.
While I don’t like the bottom part of it as much works quite nicely and Marc likes it. I’ve made this one and plan to make some more with different yellow/gold materials – enough to make Marc a lap quilt. But first I need to get more black and gold material and some new needles for the sewing machine.
That first design is a real challenge. Marc (or you) solved the issue of the round pieces touching the center piece. Interesting group he belongs to. Hope you can get the supplies you need to keep working on this top.
The second one does look much easier than the first. All those angles! Good job! Thanks for linking to MCM!
I wouldn’t be able to choose which block I liked best, they both look fantastic. Looking forward to seeing where this block leads. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
I like his club’s version of the middle ages! Looking forward to seeing more of this interesting project. Thanks for sharing at the Chameleon’s Colour & Inspiration Party.
How interesting! I love history. I know Marc will love the quilt you’re making him. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss! Be sure to drop by tomorrow to link up this week.