HOPE

Here's a small quilt I made this week that I absolutely love. The pattern is one block of the Tattoo Quilt by Berene Campbell at Happy Sew Lucky. You can purchase patterns for the whole quilt or individual blocks in her Etsy shop.

I immediately fell in love with this block because the Rhode Island state motto is Hope. And I love tattoo art. And barn swallows are cool.

I downloaded the pattern and started piecing on Tuesday. I thought a scrappy green background would be fun. It. Was. Not. The completed block went in the trash!

Restarted on Wednesday. I wanted to use the same deep blue for the birds, but I wasn't sure if there was enough. I traced the pattern shapes, added generous seam allowances, and cut out the pieces. Joost-a-joost, as my grandmother would say!

My favorite bit of piecing is the life light in the eye.

The quilting texture in the background makes me happy.

My goal with this binding was to match up the flange at the join more accurately than past attempts. Nailed it! I used the tutorial by Sew Fresh Quilts, but made my binding a bit narrower. (I cut my strips 1.25" and 1.5" wide.)

Glamour shot. Julia bought these lunchboxes on a high school trip to NYC. They haven't moved from this spot since!

HOPE

15" X 20.5"

Pattern by Berene Campbell

Started 4/29/2020

Pieced on 4/30-5/1

Quilted and bound 5/3/2020

These are two of the five neighborhood deer that snack in our yard almost every day. I wish they'd stay away from the lilacs!