Martha Circle quilt top
Originally uploaded by Suzie Rozie.
That's my new quest, to see what the addition of a color does to a supposed-to-be patriotic theme. This is Phase V of experimenting with quilting variables - shape, color, arrangements, etc.
Necessity and curiosity are the parents of invention, I think.
The necessity I encountered is this: It's really difficult finding good quilting fabrics that are red, white, or blue and which aren't filled with ultra romantic or feminine motifs like flowers. And the other side to this coin is that I have over-stashed my cabinets with fabrics that I thought were just wild bargains and which I just didn't want to do without.
Thus, the question came to me: What would happen if I added a bit of color that wasn't red, white, or blue. If I could do that, I could use up some of my stash.
I'm still not sure of the answer, but I don't think the addition of a color necessarily takes away the overall patriotic color theme. I suppose someone else could make a different judgment, but since my fabric budget is limited (more limited than I would like it to be, of course), I am encouraged to stretch my imagination a bit to think that these color combinations are patriotic.
The curiosity that comes into play in the quilt pictured above, and others like it which I've posted to Flickr, is this: What would happen if I combined an organized, traditional block with more plain ones? Well, I'm not too disappointed in the results, but I don't think I'll use these particular traditional blocks (in the corners of the quilt pictured above) again. They really take more time to create than I want to invest in what's supposed to be a short job (but which I have made longer just because I want to experiment); and, although I got better at making these blocks as I went along, I think I'd have to give their construction a little more thought to make them work just right. I tend to sew them up a little bigger than 9-1/2, and I haven't figured out why.
I hope someone takes some comfort in these quilts (lap robes, really), though, when others finish them by adding the batting and the back. The whole idea is to bring comfort to our wounded who are taken to a U.S. military hospital in Germany. It's to tell someone that we're thinking about them, that we care that they're injured, that we spent time thinking about them and praying for them, and that we wish they were home with their families and those who love them.
That I have a bit of fun and learn a ton of things in the process is secondary. I always pray that love will overcome my poor workmanship and that emotion is what is received when the quilt is given to its recipient.
Just for my own notes, measured by my self-set goal, this takes me up to the middle of May. I have blocks cut out for two more for May, and I'll work on those, as time permits, during the periods we're home this spring.
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