January Block - 26 Stars for 26 Angels

Well, it is finally done.... I hope that someday, when I have been making Crazy Quilt blocks for some time, I will be faster but for the time being I need some extra time now to find just the right stitch and practice it a few times before it goes on my block.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was deeply effected by the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary school last December 14th. Initially I couldn't even watch it on TV because my mind just couldn't grasp the unjustly act that was committed upon those 26 people, most of whom were very, very innocent 5 and 6 year old's.

It was at about the same time that I got into the 2013 CQJP and I knew right away what my first block would be. I know I would put in 26 stars to represent the 26 people that were taken from their families. When I was piecing the block I looked for soft colors and patterns that were somewhat child-like. The angel had to be in the middle so I cut a piece of fabric that was just the right size to fit her on.

Once the block was pieced, it was just a matter of fitting 26 stars on it and putting the title "26 Stars for 26 Angels" somewhere. Although I am not the best at embroidery scripting it had to be in there to explain what I was representing. It was a challenge to get 26 stars on such a small quilt but it was fun to figure it out.

So here it is: 

 

I already know that my February block will have something to do with our month in Cape San Blas, Florida, which is almost coming to an end now. Possibly it will contain a fan shape to represent the gorgeous sunsets that we see most nights and something that looks like shoreline to hold some of the itty, bitty shells I've collected - one of my favorite past times here in Florida.

Nothing can be done on it until I get home and have access to my stash to piece up the block. For now I have some other hand work that I can work on, of course, and I can practice my embroidery stitches!

Piece Be with You!

I got in!

Originally posted January 8, 2013....

Yippee! Although I let the deadline for 2013 registration slip by, Kathy was so generous and let me in even though registration was closed. This is something that I had wanted to do last year but the upcoming year was full of unpredictability so I opted not to participate.

So now I am ready to roll and I even know what my first block will be. Like most everyone else in our country, I was deeply effected by the rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. Although it didn't happen in January I am still going to do a block so that it gets included in my 2013 journal.

I am not 100% sure of the final format to display my blocks but I am pretty sure that I will, literally, make a journal. Three of the sides will be "finished" off and the inside/side will have grommets or ties or something to help form a book-type journal, unless I decided to do an accordion style book. Then I will probably finish off the inside/side before I attached the pages together. That is way down the line so I won't be too concerned about it now.