Fall Scalloping
Last month I used a tree and leaves for my ancestry so I struggled with a new idea for fall. As I usually do when I'm stuck, I ask a family member for suggestions on the theme word. My daughter's first reaction was we always go scalloping in the fall. On Nantucket Family Scalloping opens on October 1st.
Scalloping on Nantucket is a treasured tradition for families but also the commercial fisherman. These are the sweetest and tiniest bay scallops. The bay scalloping industry is dying everywhere. Nantucket has put a huge investment into saving and keeping the industry. This past year the investment has been paying off. The amount of scallops that are being harvested and seed that is in the harbor has increased. We have reason to be hopeful for the continuation of the bay scallop in Nantucket Habor.
Now to my journal quilt. I find it difficult to portray people and especially faces in my work. The first weekend in December our friend Nick and his family came to Nantucket for the Christmas Stroll. (so technically not fall). I had mentioned to Nick that Nantucketers very often go scalloping on Thanksgiving morning to have a scallop dish for Thanksgiving. It was the first weekend in December and Nick said lets go! He put on our wet suit and went out to Jackson Point. My quilt is from a picture of Nick coming in with a basket of scallops. Even after a hot shower he was cold for a long time! We enjoyed a delicious scallop dinner that night.
I printed the photograph on fabric, free motion stitched the grasses, created the basket from wire and filled with real tiny scallops shells that I have collected over the years. The scallops rake was made from tulle, metal and a dowel. It is 10"wide x 13"high
