Like many teens coming of age, I was enthralled by Catherine Marshall’s beloved book, Christy. It was inspired by her mother’s experiences teaching at a mission school, in the mountains of Tennessee, circa 1912. Published in 1967, the book would go on to become a best-seller.
Fast forward some 27 years and Christy was brought to the television screen. Debuting on Easter Sunday 1994 to great acclaim, and one of the highest ratings ever recorded at that time. Fans of the book were delighted! The show featured a stellar cast, and was filmed on-site in and around Townsend TN, against the back-drop of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Sadly, after only one season, the show was not renewed. Fans fought desperately to bring it back with a massive letter-writing campaign, and in so doing, ended up founding an on-line community of enduring friendships. Long before there was anything remotely known as ‘social media’… before Facebook, Tumblr, or Instagram – there was alt.tv.christy. A place where fans could meet together and chat on-line.
Many found inspiration, like Catherine Marshall did, in the story of her mother Leonora Whitaker. And this inspiration spawned many a unique and creative endeavor on the part of fans. There were individual fanfics, round-robin fanfics, on-line ‘cave parties’, and even a Christy Cookbook with recipes from many of the cast and production members. Or… in my case – a quilt.
This piece has the distinction of being the first fractured landscape I had ever tried my hand at. Having no idea what I was doing, it was by faith and by God! That’s the type of effect Christy had on so many devoted followers of first the book, and then the television show.
Based on a particular scene from the episode known as “Judgement Day”, the quilt features two of the main characters conversing together on a bridge.
It was a landscape just begging to be ‘fractured’. For a better understanding of the dynamics behind the whys, and how a quilt is ‘fractured’, check out Iris Medley for more details.
The quilt was sketched from a video tape of the show stilled to this particular scene. The bridge and main characters were the central focus of the quilt. But it was also the balance of the surrounding landscape which drew and inspired me. The stream running under the bridge, with its banks of fern and tree stumps… the wooded areas on either side. Most of all, it was the beautiful back-drop of mountain and sky that grabbed my attention. The Great Smoky Mountains are simply breath-taking. And more than once I was reminded of Psalm 121: 1-2… “I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, who maketh heaven and earth.”
The original sketch, made from stilling the video tape, was enlarged to make templates which were then cut apart to be matched with appropriate fabric pieces. At which point, the individual fractures were then re-formed, and stitched together to make one complete quilt. The finished size came to approximately 52” x 58”.
The piece was subsequently framed in borders of varying widths and colors.
Fabrics of white, lilac, marbled green, and blue, encase the quilt. This was interspersed with a thin border of black to both highlight, and tone down, the multi-coloured borders. Ending with a small strip of black bias tape for a finishing touch. Each border color picks up on, and enhances, one of the major colors from within the fractured scene.
There are over 27 ‘fractures’, all of which surround the central piece featuring the bridge and main characters. Since that’s where you want the viewers attention to be drawn, this particular fracture was done in a circular shape. Now there’s a challenge for a beginning quilter! All the other fractures radiate out from around this. The multitude of fractures serves to highlight the play of light and dark, which gives a sense of movement and depth to the piece. Nothing is still or static. The scene actually breathes life.
The quilt was machine-pieced and then ‘thread-painted”, using a combination of both hand-quilting and machine style free-form quilting. Thus, giving greater emphasis and clarity to the various shapes, i.e. tree trunks and logs, leafy boughs, water, mountain, and brush.
A view from the back of the quilt shows this clearly. It echoes the stitching from the front – a mirror image. You can get a better idea of how the various matching and contrasting threads help ‘paint’ the scenery. The trees are not just outlined – they have bark. The stream flows in ripples, the banks contain grasses, ferns, and stones.
Taken together, both front and back, it would appear to be a case of either side being its own work of art. This quilt has brought great joy over the years. A reminder of a time when life was simpler and more innocent… and of the many friendships formed nearly 30 years ago, which continue to this day.
So, here’s to Linda W… Marilyn M… Teresa M… and Mary K…
walking it together, lo these many years.
We’re not getting older ladies, we’re getting better. Aging like a fine wine!
Note: The spirit of the original Christy group formed back in 1995 remains alive and thriving. They are now known as Christy Friends. You can check them out on Facebook… Christy Friends
And… join with them yearly as they celebrate the enduring legacy of Catherine Marshall’s Christy. Homecomings will be held at the Christy Mission site during 2023 on Sunday, May 28… Sunday, August 13… and Labor Day Monday, Sept 4. Each event begins at 11:00 a.m. with worship at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Del Rio TN, where Leonora Whitaker lived and taught school. This is followed by dinner on the grounds at noon. It includes tours of the mission site, music, along with plenty of fun and welcoming fellowship. All Homecomings are free to attend. Bring yourself and your appetite! See Christy Friends on Facebook for more detailed information.
56 years after publication…
the ‘magic’ that is Christy continues to inspire with
its enduring – and endearing – legacy!
2 thoughts on “The Enduring Legacy… of Christy”
Please email me if you are interested in reading my fan-fiction sequel to Christy.
I’d be delighted to read it – thank you.
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