As summer sings its swan song, I am soaking it up with movies that capture the season. One of the most beautifully rendered visions of summer that I have ever seen is Agnes Varda’s Le Bonheur, and I rewatched it this week to bring you a newsletter on picnics and the associated accouterments, namely the mixed gingham quilt I threw together for this purpose!
Le Bonheur translates to Happiness and that is the theme this movie explores. A young and beautiful couple, Francois and Therese, make a simple life with their two babies. Summery scenes of domestic perfection, languid picnics in the countryside, tender touches, pleasure and joy taken in watching their precious children… nothing amiss. When Francois begins an affair with the beautiful and new to town Emilie, nothing seems to change in his already satisfactory life besides even more happiness becoming available to him. The affair did not come about from a sense of lack, more from a fully indulged masculine entitlement. Francois sees no problem in eating his favorite food everyday, in taking a hunk off a passerby’s baguette for a snack, or in pursuing a relationship with Emilie. His appetite for pleasure and his capacity for happiness has no limit, and he lives for his own. But what of his wife? Her happiness, derived perhaps more from his than her own, should grow as well, even if she is not the source… but does it?
This film was Agnes Varda’s first one in color, and her use of it is central to the film and really guides the visuals. The scenes from their countryside weekends are especially gorgeous and evoke pastoral scenes of old paintings, demonstrating the picture of perfection, the wholesome, beautiful, and the natural. The blooming height of summer, and this abundance is brought in, seen in giant floral arrangements, including into the modern apartment building Emilie has just moved into. It brings to mind questions of what is natural in love and partnership, and what brings true abundance? The films ending at the advent of Autumn may give us a hint at some answers, but it is in no way explicit and you’ll have to draw your own conclusions.
For my project I focused on the picnic scenes seen throughout the movie. I found the mosquito net the children napped under to be especially charming, and it made me want to include a length of tulle for my next picnic! Other details I will likely need to steel is the use of multiple baskets as my own is quite full of plates, and hardly leaves room for food! I’d love it to be the classic lidded shape seen above, and of course famously carried everywhere by Jane Birkin. ‘Til then, I’ll just be happy with the addition of my homemade blanket!
I acquired a stack of irregular cuts of mixed ginghams, mostly micro-gingham in varying shades of blue and red from a yard sale, immediately thinking to use them in a picnic quilt. My interaction with quilt making has been disjointed… I have dabbled with patchwork outside of the blanket context, I’ve mended and altered existing quilts, and most recently I have taken a vintage quilt-top and finished it up with batting, backing, and hand-quilting. So this is my first start to finish quilt! I followed some directions from a Taproot magazine, they even called it a picnic quilt… taking the more laborious elements of quilting out with the aim of making it quick and easy and not too precious as you throw it down on the ground :). The patchwork features the easiest blocks (squares and half square triangles), the backing is an old canvas drop cloth and also forms the edge binding, the plush batting in between is omitted, and in place of quilting stitches, the two layers are connected with little yarn ties. I had fun arranging the colors, taking care to alternate reds and blues, but not paying attention to the shades, resulting in a pleasing mix of pattern and variation. I wanted to add a bit of yellow, so I soaked my originally white yarn in some turmeric water.
I am supremely happy with how it turned out, and have gotten to take it on two spins at the park! Other picnic must haves for me— enamel splatterware plates and bistro flatware (both can be found in Nashville at Green Ray Books… I hope to upgrade my silverware with Sabre Paris ones they carry eventually!). Old jelly jars make a great stash for food as well, couldn’t be more perfect with the gingham lids, I got the giant 36oz Bonne Maman jelly expressly for the purpose of some larger picnic storage, lol!! Final missing piece I covet or would endeavor to make now that I am beginning to work with leather is this Cawley Studio bottle bag, complete with a sling for two cups, c’mon it’s too good!!!
Hit reply if you have any picnic adjacent thoughts (invites?) or just wanna say hi, I love to hear from you :) and consider forwarding this email to someone who might enjoy it! I appreciate you reading and looking <3
You are my guiding inspiration!
Really enjoyed reading this, the quilt is picnic perfect and what’s this I read about you learning to work with leather ? You really are multitalented !