Lancaster Diamond: January Update

 

I don't want this blog to become all about one subject, and so my plan for sharing my Lancaster Diamond on my blog is this: At or near the beginning of each month, I'll post the pictures of the blocks I've completed since the last sharing. 

This photo shows all of the blocks I completed in December plus three from January.

I've completed the easiest pieced blocks and was foolish enough to look ahead to a category called "Miniature Diamonds." Somehow I suspect those will not appear in my quilt! But who knows . . . .

At this point the quilt has a tentative name: Christmas In Lancaster.

Early in the coming week my besties and I are heading actually out to Lancaster County for a bit of retail therapy and lunch at my new favorite L.C. eatery. I will be taking my blocks along and auditioning backgrounds. I had initially thought of a pale, pale green background; my mentor suggested waiting until a group of blocks was complete and then try out a variety of backgrounds. She's pretty wise: Pale green is no longer in the running, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Something I decided, firmly, at the very beginning of this project is that while at this point I am planning to follow the layout of the blocks in the original quilt, this will be my interpretation of The Lancaster Diamond and I will allow myself to vary as I see fit. If you enlarge the photo above, you will see that my method of appliqué is hand buttonhole. If you look closely at the block that looks like a pink flower with a blue stem and pink leaves, you'll notice that I felt moved to embroider the little pink circles in a sunburst kind of design; this obviously isn't in the original quilt.

This is the block I am currently working on. 

You can see that there is a nice little bird appliquéd (in spite of my less-than-terrific photography). The bird's legs in the photo are, of necessity, on the thick side. In the pattern/guide diagram (not shown out of respect for the author), the legs are even thicker and on the clunky side.

And this is my version of the bird block; it is bonded and waiting for tonight's television session when I will begin the hand-stitching. It likely will take a couple of evenings.

My bird, at the moment, is legless and seems to be impersonating a hummingbird who is abandoning his usual diet of red sugar water in favor of a nice yellow berry of indeterminate variety. After I finish the appliqué work, I'll consider whether to embroider some legs or let the hummingbird persist. It's too early to tell.

Also, I thought the eye in the original -- again, of necessity -- was way too large (we're not talking eagle eye here). I believe that a nice French knot will suffice and be of a better proportion.

In the original quilt this block is upside-down. Not on mine!

And that's it for Christmas in Lancaster until early February!