Friday, August 30, 2013

The "CONTENTMENT" Quilt - Block 2, here comes the stork!!


Here is another "Contentment" block - this one noting the birth of our daughter.  "Contentment" is a story quilt I am designing for our 20th wedding anniversary this October.



I love the idea of the stork delivering the baby...a very traditional idea.  As I recall, this was a very appealing idea to me about the sixth hour of labor, LOL..."here, storkie, storkie, storkie...I have some hospital saltines for you..."

I had a long, single strand of orphan gold thread that I used to chain-stitch the delivery cap...it makes him look a little more official, doesn't it...maybe I should go back and give him a little bow tie, his skinny little neck looks so naked.


I studied a lot of pictures of storks and then tried my hand at sketching one.  Remember the stork that delivered Dumbo to his sweet momma elephant?  Leave it to Mr. Disney to gloss over the ordeal of birth...how many of us thought that OUR babies would be magically delivered by stork one day when we grew up?


I liked doing the feet and the knobby knees...


I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the lettering.  I like the presentation of information, after all, this is a story quilt.  But all that data does makes the block seem crowded...maybe I need to make the blocks 12 inches instead of 10 inches?  What do you think?


All the leaves and petals are great ways to use up the tiniest scraps...and eliminates fabric decisions...they all work!


I hope you get lots of stitching done over the long, holiday weekend.  I am glad I got the stork done before Labor Day, since "they" say we are not supposed to wear white AFTER Labor Day, LOL.

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

14 comments:

  1. Love the stork block, but I do like your ideas of adding a bow tie AND having the blocks 12". With all you want on them I think it would be a better size and look less cluttered/filled. What a treasure this is going to be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love it as is! Traditionally, story blocks are quite busy with lots of information encoded that quilters wanted to remember, things that were symbolic, etc. I think it's perfect as is... wonderfully balanced in design and I love the little stitched details, like the baby's hair and eyelashes....SO CUTE!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a wonderful idea. I love this block, not too crowded to be but I like that busy look. Love the idea of the bow tie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your story quilt blocks have been wonderful so far! I don't think you need to change anything. I can't wait to see what comes next!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another suggestion is embroider the dates. It would be finer. You are adding touches of that anyway. Just a suggestion. Chris

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love this! Your details really do make your applique designs so wonderful! Looking forward to more!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I echo Quilter Kathy's thoughts - I find it all delightful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a gorgeous block! Love all the detail and your perfectly precise appliqué!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love this block! The lettering is just perfect and I think a bow tie on the stork would just take it over the top!! Love seeing all you do. You are such a inspiration!
    Kerry

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think it is just great as is, but its your block and if you feel it's too much simplify it some.
    I think everything you do is special.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a wonderful block to remember your little girl. I like the idea of a bow tie on Mr. Stork. Size would depend on how big you plan to make the final quilt and YOUR preference. I like the idea of possibly embroidering the date as someone else suggested. Or perhaps make the applique a bit smaller. Whatever you do it will still be terrific.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such talent!
    High five!
    Fist bump!
    Love, love, love!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Do you have other children to add to the quilt? Just wondering what kind of design you will come up with for any additional ones.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think the lettering is perfect, also because of the colors, they sort of blend in the rest.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by the quilt cave...I love your feedback!

I am sorry, but you need a Google account/Profile to pose a question or leave a comment. That is very easy to get (FOR FREE) at Google.com.

Of course, you can click on my email and contact me there any time!

I am no longer able to accept comments from Anonymous readers...too much weird spam!