The Pieceful Patchwork kit by Shabby Fabrics for June showcases strawberries and strawberry blossoms. This is a fun, moderately-sized (31"x31") project that gave me a great break and palette cleanser from making larger quilts. The fabric choices in the kit were very cheerful and germane to the theme. The white background has teeny strawberries on it. The red for the bulk of the strawberry has tiny white random spots, like seeds. The central star block was fun to do. The jagged green leaves facing different directions at the top kept me engaged and on my toes to face them correctly.
I made two strawberry blocks over two days, two blossom blocks on a third day, and the assembly on a fourth day. I broke up the necessary (but not always exciting) cutting on the day I actually made that part, so there were three cutting sessions. The petals of the blossoms were actually two subtly different shades of cream. The center was a happy yellow. Providing three different greens for the leaves added depth and interest.
When I picture small square baskets of strawberries I imagine them same aqua blue as the background of the blossoms.
I also associate baskets of strawberries set out on a gingham table cloths or with gingham napkins. Therefore the diagonalized gingham sashing also tied in with my musings. The fabric for the outer border brought to mind the Beatles song
Strawberry Fields Forever which can be heard in
this YouTube video.
Per the
Wikipedia entry for Strawberry Fields Forever I learned that John Lennon based the song on his childhood memories of playing in the garden of
Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children's home in Liverpool. The
the song's lyrics represent a reflection on childhood innocence.
Now what's left to do is the backing, quilting, labeling, and binding. I am leaving those activities for another day and another mood. Completion is on my "To Do" list but hopefully will soon be on my "TA-DA" list. The term "TA-DA" list refers to a term coined by Katie Fowler in her book
An Artist's Journey through Wonderland. I blogged about that book in my
Wander or Ponder post dated 4/13/2016. It is a short, fun, inspirational read. The book was motivational without a lot of heavy dogma. But enough meandering down the rabbit hole. Enough blogging and sewing... time to eat some strawberry ice cream!
