But before I get onto my block I just want to say I felt more than a little pressure this week. Firstly, since the block was about New Zealand I couldn't just whip up something without too much thought. But secondly, gee, in my neck of the woods it is December and my calendar is chockablock and I wondered how so many others got their blocks made and posted so promptly.
Since the title of the block is Centennial I felt it would be appropriate to celebrate just that, the centennial. Thus I looked to the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal commissioned by Her Majesty The Queen for design inspiration. I chose to try to replicate the ribbon design in the rectangles and in the center square to go bold and state New Zealand in a circle to represent the medal shape. I wish I had a fabric with a camellia flower but, to date, that still eludes me.
Don't peer too closely at your monitor - trying to sew those white and golden yellow stripes at 3/16" wide was surely testing my abilities. Oh, I forgot to mention that I decided to give myself permission to break my own color rule for this block and use the realistic golden yellow. Next week I'll return to my normal programming and keep to the chartreuse, red-violet and white color scheme.
Maybe next Saturday and Sunday will be a little less hectic and allow me to get to my block in a more timely fashion. Of course I may have to at least start to write Christmas cards by then. Oh well, it's worth hoping!
p.s I was a little disappointed in the link Ms Brackman provided showing "a quilt made by a native New Zealander". Firstly, the quilt is made by someone in the Cook Islands - that is similar to choosing to show something made by someone in Puerto Rico and pass it off as representative of a quilt made by someone in the USA. Secondly, there are many, many excellent quilters in New Zealand who make outstanding quilts and I am sad that a better choice was not made to depict a New Zealand quilt.
3 comments:
Your block is a standout, great idea interpreting the Centennial medal in the Centennial block!
I think the quilt choice is more like picking a Gees Bend quilt to illustrate a point.I would guess Ms. Brackman chose it as an example of the unique spawning of an original design, bold and graphic, with only a bit of influence of the the quilts those missionary wives brought. She seems to delight in finding a "new to her" piecing scheme or applique motif and then seeing if there are any others that confirm a theory, and both the colors and design of this Cook Islands quilt are interesting.
I really like your block Dorry, I've been pondering the fabrics I will use for this one. I like how you have used the medal ribbon as your inspiration.
Although the quilt in Barbara's link is a Tivaevae quilt, the person who made it was living in NZ. I had a quick skim through some of the quilts on the Te Papa site and there do seem to be a lot of tivaevae quilts there, a lot of images are unavailable as well. I do concur with Cheryl's second paragraph.
Crisp, clean, and outstanding! My favorite so far!
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