Block 20 Memory Wreath - Emily Wilding Davison

Oops, I just remembered that I have not yet done my blog post about the Grandmother's choice block for the week.

This is the photo that I took of my block last night after I had made it using the best available light.

Here is the same block ten minutes ago on a dreary afternoon but with natural light. The purple changes color dramatically but the white fabric looks better with the artificial light. Some you win, some you lose. I chose that white fabric specifically for its swirly pattern to go with the center motif.




The story that goes with the block this week was fairly shocking - if you have been to Ms Brackman's blog you will have read all about Emily Davison (a well known suffragette) who threw herself in front of the King's horse while it was galloping by in the famous Derby horse race at Epsom Downs (England) in 1913.

I felt that the block as shaded for this week did not really look much like a wreath so I changed where to put the light and dark fabrics. This big motif fabric has been sitting quietly waiting and wondering if there was ever going to be a block with a space big enough for it to be used. This might be it's only chance so I decided to make it the centerpiece and then make my wreath out of purple which is variously the color of mourning and of royalty.

And to remind us that the horse involved in this tragedy was owned by the King I have posed my block with a crown.

I was out on a fabric retail therapy trip yesterday with friends, one of whom is also working on this Grandmother's Choice project. We were chatting about what working on this block of the week is doing for us; my friend mentioned it is teaching her to sew more precise seams and give more thought to fabric selections and fussy cutting.

Since I had already had a chance to work on those skills with the Civil War block of the week I conclude that what this one is teaching me  is how to better photograph my block. Purple is a difficult color to photograph and the fabric I chose as my recurring fabric is also one that does not show up well in photographs. Then there is trying to get the photo exactly square (like the block). I am learning but I still have a ways to go.

It is always good to learn new skills even if you did not expect that was what you would gain by participating in an activity.

H'mm it seems another new skill I had better work on is blog posts. This one seems to have a case of big gapiosis and I'm not sure why. Oh well, like me, it is not perfect but it is what you get!

And now I wonder if I can figure out how to put this daylight photo of the block into the flickr group and delete the one that is there...