Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Partnership block

Those of you who keep up with the quilting bloggers in Japan, must be familiar with the partnership quilts. Each year as the Tokyo Dome show kicks into gear, NHK announces the theme for the coming quilts and the details  for those wishing to contribute a block.

I think among my friends, I am the last to get my block together. With a week of camping looming, the deadline for submissions having been moved up a month,  and many unknowns down the road of life, I thought if I was going to do it at all, the time had come to bite the bullet and get it done.

This year the block size has gone from 20 x 20 cm. to 15 x 15 cm. The theme is "Garden".

 
This is what I came up with. The Cardinal is the Ohio state bird and he is perched on a trowel, planting a seed. I had planned in my sketch to put another plant to his back but this was a more difficult size to work with so I decided one flower is enough. I had also planned to use different yellow fabrics in the sunflower petals but gave up on that plan too.

All I need now is to put my name in the seam allowance ... though how well it will show up might be a problem ... and find a post card to enclose.
It will be interesting to see how the quilts with smaller blocks turn out. I watched the NHK program with suggested blocks and compared to other years, it was  rather uninspiring.

The internet company called my daughter to inform her I should wait another month to have my connection restored. I guess she handed the phone to my son-in-law to argue the point. Well, he managed to convince them to give me back my former phone number so we will see how this second argument goes. Anyway, it won't be before I leave for camp and there won't be much of the month left by the time I return. I heard the neighbor return as I was taking the photograph so decided to swap my bedtime for a post. Now Nikko is saying her evening walk is long overdue. Experience with hanger-on connections, however, was telling me "now or never".

15 comments:

  1. smaller blocks in my opinion are harder to sew, love that Cardinal . Internet, surely it will get fixed very soon.

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  2. What a great block! I love the Cardinal. Hopefully you'll have internet when you get back from camping.

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  3. That's a pretty cardinal with sparkly eyes. Have fun at the camp!!

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  4. Oh I just knew you would make a bird! I love the little surprise of a bird planting a seed, instead of eating it.

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  5. It is funny! It is charming! It is beautiful! It is typically Julie!
    I LOVE your gardener and am already looking forward to seeing him in Tokyo Dome in January next year. What seed is he planing? Will it have grown into a full plant by next year?
    You have used the prints to FULL advantage!

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  6. Your block is wonderful and perfect for the theme with a touch of whimsey.
    Have fun at camp and hopefully your internet problems will be resolved by then.

    Debbie

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  7. oooh! Love your block ... good luck with the internet.. the saga has to end at some point xx hoping for a good result x

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  8. Charming - perfectly balanced and scaled and personal too with the US connection and gardening theme plus wildlife!

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  9. Fabulous block, so bright and cheery. We had a slide show at our Quilting Guild meeting yesterday, one of our members came to Tokyo Quilt Festival this year, it brought back a lot of wonderful memories.

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  10. Great result with your block and of course a special meaning.
    Good luck with camp and the internet.

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  11. Julie, your block is bright, cheerful, artistic, and very creative ! We love the idea of the cardinal planting the seed ! But, we are dismayed at the idea that you should wait even one more minute for internet service ! Not sure why, in a country like Japan which is dedicated to technological advances, the powers that be could imagine that anyone could wait any longer for service. You've already gone through so much.
    Take care, and have a wonderful time at camp. We know you'll be very busy. Blessings to you, from Marina and Daryl

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  12. Your block is wo wonderful! So full of life! Great idea, great presentation! And you got your bird in too! Absolutely love it!!!!!!!

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  13. What a charming block - your talents are limitless. I just love the flower and the flowers, and the seed and trowel and of course the bird - just a perfect block.

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  14. Hi, Julie. Adorable block! enjoy the camping and have a great summer. Best, nadia

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  15. What a darling block! Beautiful work.

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