Peace and Quiet-- A Felt Board Story

Why has it taken me so long to acquire a copy of Judy Sierra's The Flannel Board Storytelling Book? Her stories are easy to tell and the felt-board pattern pieces are distinct. After borrowing the library's copy, I ordered a used copy for my own collection.

I recently used patterns for a Eastern European Yiddish folktale called "Peace and Quiet," which follows the same plot-line as Margot Zecmach's It Could Always Be Worse. In "Peace and Quiet," the rabbi's role is played by a wise woman, and the harried protagonist is a farmer who lives alone but cannot get any sleep due to the creakiness of his house. I simplified the pattern pieces, used thread instead of glue, and opted for imagination instead of cutting out a felt house. I acknowlege that goats generally are not green and cows are not pink.

Here's what I came up with:


The farmer consults the wise woman


The harried farmer tries to get some sleep

I try to use craft felt as much as possible because pure wool felt is expensive and I need to save it for my dolls. Craft felt can be found at many hobby stores as well as textile shops.