Did you know that September is National Sewing Month?! It is! To support that, a group of designers and sewists have gotten together to showcase projects of a tropical/ocean theme (you know, board....surfboard....get it?!).
I'm bringing you an old favorite of mine, The Great Flood (which actually feels pretty timely - here in the south, we've been inundated with rain for the past few days!).
This pattern is part of a series I did a few years ago for AQS, all based on Aboriginal folk tales. Do you recognize the block I used? Yup! It's the Snail's Trail block, which has ALWAYS reminded me of ocean waves - so it was perfect for this project!
What is the tale of the great flood, you ask? Here you go:
The Great Flood
Long ago, in the Dreamtime, Australia was plagued by a terrible drought. Rivers and streams dried up, trees would not grow, and many died of thirst. Finally, the animals of the land traveled across the continent to find the source of the problem. They discovered an enormous frog had swallowed up every last ounce of water.
The animals talked and talked over how they could get the water. Eventually, they determined they needed to make the frog laugh to release the water. The Kookaburra was given the honor of starting first. He sat in a tree and stared the frog down. Slowly, the Kookaburra began to laugh. At first, it was just a low drum in his belly then it grew and grew into a howl of merriment. But the frog did not laugh.
Since the Kookaburra failed, the Frill-lizard was charged with the task. He puffed out the frill around his throat and danced up and down, looking like a fool. Still, the frog did not laugh.
Next, a native companion strolled up the frog and began to do a ceremonial dance. She spun and turned about wildly, acting out all kinds of different things. But for all her hard work, the frog didn’t laugh.
At this point, the animals were completely frustrated. As they argued over what to do next many started to fight one another. Then the eel came forward wishing for an opportunity to make the frog laugh. Many thought he couldn’t do it, but without any other options, they let him go forth before the frog.
The eel began to wiggle in front of the frog. He went slowly at first then got faster and faster. He went from looking like a snake slithering across the ground to a fly caught in a spider’s web.
Finally, after his continued flailing wore him near the point of exhaustion, the frog opened his eyes and began to laugh. The water poured out and began to flood the continent. Many animals and people drowned. It was only at the highest peaks and largest islands where people were safe
A pelican, who was a man during this time, went from place to place rescuing as many people as he could. On one island, he saw a beautiful woman and wanted to make her his own. He proceeded to rescue all the men and women of the island before her. Always telling her: “There is no more room in the canoe, I’ll come back for you.”
The woman knew he was going to take her back to his camp, so she devised a daring escape. She wrapped a log in her possum rug and escaped into the bush. When the pelican came to fetch her, he unraveled the possum rug and discovered that the woman’s trickery. Fueled with rage, the pelican vowed revenge and covered himself in white paint. He set out to destroy all men, but another pelican, who was bewildered by his strange appearance, smashed a club into his head and killed him. That is why pelicans have black and white feathers, in remembrance of the flood.
Eventually the water settled and the flooding diminished to reveal the land was fertile again and life continued.
Guess what?! You can grab your own Great Flood pattern for an special price, just because you read this blog post! That's right - to celebrate the refresh of this pattern, I have a special 25% off coupon for your preorder copy of The Great Flood. It will be a preorder - and the refreshed version is scheduled to ship September 30, 2022. Use coupon code GRFLD25 to grab a preorder copy of The Great Flood. But hurry - the coupon code is good through Sunday, September 11th. Click the button below to purchase - and don't forget to use coupon code GRFLD25!
Be sure to check out all of the other great quilters and designers participating in this hop. The schedule and participating designers:
Thursday, September 1
Anorina – Samelia’s Mum
Denise – For the Love of Geese
Cheree – The Morning Latte
Brenda – Songbird Designs
Friday, September 2
Karen – Karen’s Korner
Nancy – Grace and Peace Quilting
Sharon & Susan – Ms P Designs USA
Nina-Marie – Creations – Quilts, Art, Whatever
Monday, September 5
Karrin – Karrin’s Crazy World
Linda – Texas Quilt Gal
Yvonne – Quilting Jetgirl
Emily – The Darling Dogwood
Tuesday, September 6
Gail – Quilting Gail
Joy – Days Filled with Joy
Melisa – Pinker ‘n’ Punkin Quilting & Stitching
Carol – Quilt Schmilt
Wednesday, September 7
Melva – Melva Loves Scraps
Tammy – Tamarinis
Leah – Quilted Delights
Patricia – Faith, Trust & Breast Cancer
Hey - before you go, I wanted to let you know that my Free Mystery Quilt Block Challenge is still going on. A new block starts off this Thursday (08/04/22). Click to get all of the details for this free, fun month long challenge! And yes - you have still have time to jump in. It's just one block - but what block? Ah....that's the mystery!
Interested? Click here (https://view.flodesk.com/pages/624df0c78d82793f8155498a) to sign up to get the weekly emails (four in June)!
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