These were fun blocks to make. I love practically everything about them, something I don't often say. The bowl fabric -- gosh, it's beautiful in person -- is almost copper in color. (The line is where the fabric was folded. It will quilt out.) It's a color I love but rarely find. This fabric came from a thrift store shirt. And the flowers: unusually bold of me to put that lighter fabric behind the deeper striped fabric. The doves fabric came from part of a sheet pressed into use for a round tablecloth. They are not quite white, leaning just slightly, just barely toward peach/coral/pink. Maybe noticeable in the photo when compared to the much whiter "liberty" fabric.
I like the flag and fish almost as much as the bowl. The fish's tail is a little wavy but I know that will quilt out. The tail and head were my first time sewing curves for a quilt block. Not exactly a great success but I wasn't about to redo them. Those letters are a lot out of kilter, maybe the only part of this block I'm not thrilled with but, again, I'm not about to change them. (At least not yet.)
While I was working on the flag the beautiful song "America" came to mind and I envisioned some of the lyrics -- spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountains.... I especially love the phrase, "Confirm thy soul in self control." Gosh, wouldn't America be a grander place if we all had a little more self control?
I read Robin's post about her interpretation of this block. She stitched a tree and added the words, "Let music swell the breeze and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song." I couldn't remember those lyrics in "America" and suddenly realized the theme of this quilt is not "America" but "My Country 'Tis of Thee," which is just as beautiful (though I like the tune for "America" better).
And here are the five pieced stars. These look a little cloudy, washed out even, in the photo. I left them wider than 5½" because I'm still hoping to add enough width to have a quilt that's about 64" wide. I don't know if/how these colors will work with the other blocks and will make others if they don't.
Finishing these stars and the two sections of Sweet Land of Liberty, above, completes my One Monthly Goal for July.
Now I'm on to Bromeliad for my version of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt.
Fabrics for consideration.... These may change completely by tomorrow afternoon.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Nancy.
I'm linking this post to
> One Monthly Goal - July link-up at Elm Street Quilts
> Finished or Not Friday and Busy Hands Quilts
> Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at Sarah Goer Quilts
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
> BOMs Away at What a Hoot!
Thanks for hosting, ladies.
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You're making fabulous progress on your Liberty quilt. After seeing so many of these blocks folks are posting in her Facebook group I thought this would be a larger quilt.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Quilting Babcia. It feels like slow progress to me but I'll take any progress!
DeleteWhen I first saw photos of the quilt I thought it was large, too. It's not wall-hanging size but it's probably not quite twin bed size, either. I think it finishes at about 60" x 76". That's probably a good size for a nap on the couch....
Very nice blocks! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Patty.
DeleteWoohoo for achieving your monthly goal! Your fish is terrific - love that print you used. Perfect fishy stripes!
ReplyDeleteI'm also enjoying watching your Flowers quilt grow!
Thank you, Gayle. I'm satisfied with the fish though I did love the first one. I've set him aside for some other future quilt.
DeleteBoth of these quilts have been fun to work on but my sewing machine is missing me. I haven't sewn much of anything all month, except by hand to applique, of course.
You have done wonderfully well with a most splendid Liberty block, Nancy.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jocelyn.
DeleteThat is a gorgeous blovk!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alycia.
DeleteCongratulations on your finish! It is lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karrin. It's been a fun quilt to stitch.
DeleteI really like your fish block. The fabric you have chosen is perfect. I like the little gather effect in the tail, it makes it look like he's swimming. Don't worry about the "Liberty" being off-kilter (I think it looks very nice) off-kilter is what Cheri's quilts are all about. I took all my blocks off of the make-shift design wall in my sewing rrom and put them on the real design wall to get a better feel for how it's coming together. I'm like you, I think it needs to be wider. i love the fabric you have picked out for your next project - don't change a thing. You must have a great stash.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin. I loved the first fish but it wasn't right for this quilt. I think this one works better.
DeleteAre you happy with your blocks, colors, arrangement, etc., now that you can see everything on your design wall?
Will you try to make the quilt wider? I have been thinking about how I could manage it without it seeming odd. It seems like we're making the sections about two blocks wide and if I added extra width to the the sides of those, I think it will create a division down the middle of the quilt. Other possibilities I thought of were to make larger Economy blocks which could add width without adding length. Or adding an extra round or two of flying geese. I need to make more parts of the quilt and go from there.
Your blocks look super and I really love your fish!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lori.
DeleteI really love how you Land of Liberty block turned out. Perfect choice of fabric for your fish! Good luck choosing your fabrics for your flower block.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebecca. I like the fish but he took a dozen or so fabric auditions before I finally chose. The flower block is almost finished -- just the fabric for the pot. I hope to finish it tomorrow and then we'll see how it looks!
DeleteGoodness! Could you have found a more perfect fabric for that fish body? I think not! I love your whole block!
ReplyDeleteLOL. Thank you, Deanna. I made another fish that I liked better but it did not look primitive. It took a few auditions of fabric to finally decide on these. I'm glad you think it works.
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