My journey with ‘Hope’s Journey’ has officially begun and although I started with a different block, I’ve now gone back to the front of the book and started at the beginning with chapter one. The first block is Lady of the Lake and I’ve seen so many antique quilts made entirely from this block that it would be tempting to do a modern version. That’s one of the things that I love about this book – it is inspiring in so many ways and has my mind swimming in all sorts of quilt ideas. (is that really a good thing? hmmmm?)
The instructions to make this block are very concise and I did end up with two large leftover triangles. I decided to put one to good use right away and construct a second Lady of the Lake block. That’s the most fascinating thing about a quilt like this – there are no rules on which blocks or how many you make. In the end, I’ll narrow down my choices and build the quilt around whichever blocks I like and add fillers as needed.
I did manage to finish the construction of my first block, the Feathered Star, in chapter eight. This was probably the most difficult block I’ve sewn in a very long time, but so worth it! I love it! I chose to start with this block for a few reasons, which I’ll explain as I go along, but mainly I was most intimidated by this one and wanted to get it out of the way at the start. It is also the largest block in the quilt and features quite centrally as a focal point, so by creating this one first, I was hoping to nail down my colour scheme and set the tone for the entire quilt. The remaining blocks will all relate back to this one as I’m choosing fabrics for each chapter. I took my time and switched around the values for the block, in order to create a snowflake type motif on a darker background. This meant lots of notes posted on that page, just to avoid confusion when cutting and sewing.
I know the journey has just barely begun but so far it is quite the adventure. Have you decided to join Jeanne spiralj2.blogspot.com, Tammy (no blog), and myself on this wonderful journey? Next Tuesday is January 1st, which is a very good day to start something new, don’t you think!
until next time, carol
Happy Wednesday! Your soft colors and delicate prints are just lovely — this is going to be a wonderful quilt!
I think your approach makes a lot of sense — getting the hardest out of the way first and setting the tone for the rest of the quilt. Can’t wait to see your progress!
Thank you so much, Jeanne! I’m enjoying this shared journey so far 😮
Hi Libby! Thanks for leaving such a lovely comment on my blog post. I hope you will consider joining us on Hope’s Journey. There’s always room for one more 😮
Love that blue and brown fabric! Very nice combo! xoxo
Thanks, Tammy! I really appreciate your encouraging feedback. This is a fun project!
Love and hugs, carol
The feathered star block is gorgeous
Thanks for nice compliment, Janine. That feathered star was the most challenging block I’ve ever sewn in the almost twenty years I’ve been quilting… but worth the effort.