Fishy Business 11″ Pictogram

Description

This pattern is 11″ wide & 12′ long with no repeats.  That’s why we call it a “Pictogram.” 

Look for my other Pictograms, they all have lots of images and no repeats.

“Fishy Business” includes the following designs:    Angel Fish, Balloon Fish, Betta, Blue and Yellow Snapper, Clownfish, Damsel Fish, Golden Long-Nosed Butterfly Fish, Grouper, Lumpfish, Puffer Fish, Starfish, White Spotted Triggerfish, Crab, Sea Horse, Turtle, Octopus, Mussels, Sea Urchin, Scallop, Moorish Idol, Tiger Fish, Catfish, Sunfish, Kelp, Seaweed, and Coral.

When one of my sons was in 1st grade at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, he wrote a story and made a book entitled “Fishy Business.”  When I drew up this pattern years later I remembered that fun time.  I showed him the pattern when I went to visit him at College.

I said, “It’s called Fishy Business.”

“Oh, Mom,” he exclaimed with pleased memory.

Years later, I made 3 quilts for grandsons with “Peaky and Spike” fish. Then my friend Mildred quilted them for me with “Fishy Business.”  When the kids opened them they spread them out on the floor and lay there discovering all the fun fish etc.  I had to smile when my daughter told me!

Another funny story:  We were at a restaurant with some friends in Kuala Lumpur. Sitting at a round table we were all anticipating the deep fried fish our friend told us about.  When it arrived and was placed in the center of the table.  It was a huge Rock Grouper! It’s mouth was wide open in a startling laughing grimace. That fish was the inspiration for the grouper in this pattern!

Do you want it to go faster?  Consider the 15″ wide version- Fishy Business 15″.  I has only 3 of the panels but is 15″ wide!

The distinctive feature of a Pictogram is that it’s a pantograph with NO repeats.  It’s a complete 12′ roll comprised of 4 panels of 3′ each, all “hooked” together. I’ve added a dotted line at each 36″ section. While they can be stacked up as shown in the picture, they can also be quilted like an E2E or B2B giving lots of pictorial subject matter to your quilt.

To avoid placing an animal or image on top of itself all the way down the quilt I recommend starting at a different 36″ division for each “pass.” After starting, continue quilting through as many sections as needed for that row. You won’t have to stop – the line is continuous. For a full sized quilt I might make 7-8 rows, starting at various sections of the panto.