I have hit a wall, I am so over this year long project. There are a few reasons for this, there was a break for Christmas, so being out of the habit makes it hard to come back and make two blocks a week.
This block is by Latifah Safir, a wonderful quilter I know personally. It represents an airplane. So I went ahead and changed the colors, I think the airplane still comes through. This is the last block I enjoyed making. It was the last one before the break.
This one may have been a bonus before the New Year, or not, it was alright.
Everything is wrong with this block. The instructions were to cut half square triangles and sew them together. No, I wasn’t going there, but then there weren’t the dimensions for the final square or flying geese blocks. So it looks wonky and the burn out is setting in.
I skipped two blocks, embroidery, and fussy applique. Just no.
So I made my own off center log cabin block. 
I’m too close to the end to drop it all, although I will need a break before I put the quilt together. This block was a combination of simple piecing, applique, and some embroidery. Let’s just say I really simplified the applique and skipped the embroidery. Only eight more blocks to go, either I will do them or others of my own choosing.
And now on to something that isn’t painful at all. Embroidery. You’d think with my complaints about the embroidery blocks, that I don’t like this craft. I actually love it, just not on a 6″ quilt block. Many of my quilt labels are embroidered. It’s that final handmade touch.
This is the label for my son’s quilt, an elk of course. The pattern is a transfer pattern from Sublime Stitching. I love the whimsey of these designs and I bought a few packages at Quiltcon last year. The needle keeper is one I got in a gift exchange, nice to use my gifts.
This was called a deer head, not an elk, but elk are just bigger deer. There are no stitch instructions, so I have fun pulling out embroidery books and trying different stitches.
I made the decision to put the year and my name but not to name the quilt. In the discussion about art and quilts – I fall on the side that quilts are beautiful craft. These days I find no beauty in contemporary art, so feel no need to call myself an artist. I will happily sign my work, but it doesn’t need a name. The image of the elk is name enough.
I usually use blanket stitch, I got creative and it didn’t work out so well. Not so bad that I’d tear out the stitching, I’m sure my son and his family will never notice, the elk head is so impressive.
A close-up of the embroidery. I love it! I’m so glad I am able to incorporate it into my work.
Leah