A president doesn't have to be brilliant.
He doesn't have to be clever. You can hire clever.
But you can't buy courage and decency, and you can't rent a strong moral sense.
A president must bring those things with him.
~Peggy Noonan
Quilting
My second String Tulips has more yellows in the border. {I learned that from the Electric Socket.}
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| String Tulips on Blue baby quilt |
That let me choose tulip petals that are lighter in value than the first. More yellows here, too. I can see more yellow will be useful in future quilts as well. It certainly adds light and excitement.
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| Detail of crossed tulips |
After all the difficulties quilting the previous String Tulips this one is quilted in the same manner. I'd like to get those ideas down pat.
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I really, really, really wanted to use this blue and white stripe for the background but it was a bit short in one direction. Even after cutting the extra from the height to add to the width, there wasn't quite enough to fill the space. So I just turned the final scrap ninety degrees. It adds to the charm. Right?
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| Detail of String Tulips border |
The back uses a blue stripe enlarged by an insert of green.
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| Back of String Tulips on Blue quilt |
As always quilting visibility improves on the back. Is it because we have fewer different fabrics? The zigzagging of the border quilting is easily seen here. I stitched diagonally across each block around the inner round of the border then moved to the outer round to complete the design. The zigzags roughly parallel the strings.
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| Detail of back of String Tulips on Blue quilt |
The border is the final remnant of a pillowcase made for a grandchild. Not even enough to capture the entire height of the swans but the color was a good value and I love the scale variation it adds.
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| Folded String Tulips on Blue quilt |
The binding caused me to pull out all my fabric {which is greatly reduced from the beginning of the year. Hooray.} This fun print was in the purples but the blue undertones {is it periwinkle?} and the sprinkling of dark blue ovals made it work very well here. I love finding unexpected solutions, don't you?
Quilt Specifics
Size: 47" x 47"
Design: String tulips and string block border
Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton
Thread: Gutermann 50/3 light and dark blue cotton thread
Quilting: SID and FMQ
Approximate yardage: 6.5 yds
Previous posts:
1. Stringing along - the original plan
Reading
A friend recommended Reading with Patrick {The Atlantic's comprehensive review} to me and I'm glad I took her suggestion. The memoir by Michelle Kuo focuses on a two-year stint with Teach for America in Arkansas and her seven-month return to the Delta a few years later when she discovers one of her students has been arrested for murder. Michelle, who currently works for an Oakland CA non-profit, says her writing is an act of contrition. The New York Times published a conversation with her that illuminates her motives and hopes for the book.
Enjoy the day, Ann