Seasonal Quilting

I was in a patriotic mood for the past few days, and enjoyed working on Dawn's Early Light.
Center, border and quilting are done, and it's ready to be bound.

This one gave me fits in several ways:

• I didn't count what pieces were made and was surprised twice that I needed to piece more string blocks.
• The orientation of the blocks is crucial at every step of the assembly. I nearly wore out a seam ripper.
• I should have bought another half yard of the backing. I ended up piecing it.

It gave me a few afternoons of stitching while considering the blessings of being born in America. I stitched with gratitude for all those ancestors who came from Naples, Sicily, Bavaria, England, Canada and probably some points unknown, to become part of America's history. Some settled here in the northeast, some in the early Virginia colony, and some settled down to farms in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. I know that some of them did the same type of handiwork that enriches my retirement: sewing, tatting, embroidery, quilting, crocheting. I have some of their work and I treasure it. I don't know if my quilts will outlive me and stay in the family, but I don't care too much about it since I enjoy the process even more than the product sometimes. 

Happy Fourth! Here is how it looks out my front window today.