#30 Pole Bending

#30: Pole Bending
Finished: 7/29/12
Techniques: Needle-turn appliqué, decorative machine stitches
Size: 34 1/2" x 11"

Description: This week I learned about Pole Bending. My cousin* Robbin was competing in the National Little Britches Rodeo this past week in Pueblo, and I got to meet up with her and her family on Wednesday. Robbin's event is Pole Bending, which I knew very little about.  Six poles, evenly spaced, are set up in the arena. From the starting gate you run your horse to the end and then weave in and out of the poles down and then back again, and then finish by racing back to the starting gate as fast as you can. All without touching or knocking over the poles.

I had this horse fabric in my stash and added a black border on top and bottom. In Pole Bending, only one horse rides at a time, of course, but that would have been boring for a mini-quilt. I like how the geometric diamond design of the print lends to the idea that this is happening in an arena. For the poles I used a decorative machine stitch on solid green fabric which coordinated with the print, then cut out the pole shapes and hand appliquéd them on using the needle-turn appliqué technique. This was the first time I'd ever use needle-turn appliqué and I think I did it badly. I wanted the poles to be straight, but as you can see, they are very crooked. I had basted them on to the background, and I had applied interfacing, but apparently it wasn't enough to hold them perfectly in place. So my poles bend, which wasn't what I intended, but perhaps is appropriate for a mini-quilt called "Pole Bending".

I didn't have enough of the horse fabric for the backing of the mini-quilt, but I did have some cowgirl boot fabric. Here's a sample.

This was a simple quilt to put together; the most time-consuming part was the hand appliqué.


* Just a side note here about cousins, if anyone is interested. Robbin is actually my first cousin, once removed. Her mother Kathy is my first cousin because Kathy's dad and my mom are brother and sister. If I had any children, they and Robbin would be second cousins. I know this because I have many, many cousins on that side of the family. But we all just refer to each other as "cousin," wouldn't you?

Congratulations, Robbin, on making the nationals! I dedicate this mini-quilt to you.