Block 9 Brick Pavement - March on Washington

This block reminds me of my sister as the (day, month) dates are the same...altho I hasten to add this march was a number of decades before my sister's birth! The March on Washington was March 3, 1913 but I doubt my sister wants me to broadcast her birth year.

This should have been an enjoyable block to make but my focus has been greatly diverted this weekend because of the pending large storm headed our way. Instead of playing with fabric this weekend I have spent hours and hours outside trying to get the outdoor area ready for the very high winds and heavy rain we are told to expect on Monday and Tuesday.

Last night I was still up at midnight trying to select fabrics. I had decided I wanted to use one particular fabric (sent to me by Pip who I know only through the Grandmother's Choice project) but I wrestled for ages trying to work out how to use it; in the center squares or in the long rectangles? showing three diamonds or two? with green? with white? with purple?  Would I ever get the block done?

As you know I have the one background fabric that I must use. And it photographs poorly in artificial light. Once we came indoors today around 4.30pm I sat at the machine and frantically sewed so I could take the photo outside in the fading light. I finished just in time and dashed out with my block on a green olfa mat. I discovered too late that the green mat shadowed through by background fabric and showed it poorly...but I did get it posted on the flickr site before we went out again to eat (after all that yard work I was happy to take up the suggestion to eat out).

Now home I have photographed the block again - I set it up in my fabric closet which is equipped with a special daylight bulb. Here's what it looks like in the closet:

 The fabric in those three purple squares are offcuts from the backing fabric of my Purple Passion quilt made in 2005/06. This scrap, only about three inches wide, was carefully tucked away and I came across it this week when looking for something else.

 Because of the expected high winds I had to shuffle round all my outside potted flower plants and put them in as sheltered a position as I could. Earlier in the week I had to clear off my front porch as I had a painter here touching up the paint trim. It seems I have been hauling plant pots hither and yon all week! But look, my hibiscus is still flowering. Wonder how it will be doing after the storm when there is a potential for snow so they say. Thank goodness the weather forecasters are not always right is what I'm hoping.

The dianthus are still looking pretty and crowding out the pansies that might last through the winter if it is mild like last winter was (I'm crossing my fingers here).

Three were a variety of ways that this block could be colored and I may yet do another version of this block. Some people selected fabrics with an eye to having them look like brick pavers. I decided posing the block on brick pavers was going to have to do for me. So many things have already been cancelled for the next couple of days that I'm thinking it will be a good chance to stay home and sew. Of course I would need electricity to be able to do that...

There are so many sewing projects I could work on...here's hoping!