Minnesota State Quilt in Progress - Art Every Day Month - Day 16

I haven't made a quilt since June when I did one for the Summer of Color challenge. The Art Every Day Month challenge seemed like another good time to undertake a quilt.

None of the quilts I make are like the beautiful ones that you see at quilt shows, or county or state fairs. The level of precision and perfection is admirable, but truly escapes me when I try my hand at quilting. So, instead, I aim for comfort and usefulness.

For the quilt I'm making this month, I chose the theme of Minnesota since that's where I live. There are going to be 35 quilt blocks (5 wide by 7 long) that are raw-cut at 12 1/2" on each side. With 1/4" seam allowances, the final squares should be about 12" square. The final quilt should be about 60" x 84".

Of the 35 blocks, 12 will be appliqued and hand-embroidered; and 23 will be fabric only.

Three of the hand-embroidered squares

are in this picture.

All the fabric is in shades of blue and green since those colors remind me of the many lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and streams in Minnesota as well as the variety of trees that grow here.

Some of the fabric reminds me of my family and home.

The fabric with the blue bird on it is from a quilt that I made

for my mom's 80th birthday.

The blue fabric next to it was used for curtains I made

for one of the bedrooms in the home.

Today, I ironed and cut 23 pieces of fabric in shades of blue and green plus 8 pieces of white fabric. I arranged the squares in the pattern that they'll be eventually sewn in.

The eight white squares will have applique designs

that I will hand-embroider

(there are four that I have already completed this month).

As I was arranging the quilt squares, I realized that a significant number of pieces came from old bed sheets, pillowcases, and clothing. It's certainly one of those "make do" quilts and one that reminds me of ones that would have been made years ago when women resourcefully used what they had on hand.

Yesterday, I found some images on the internet that I can adapt for the quilt. Some are from the Department of Natural Resources, while others are photographs or drawings I found from different sources.  I'm going to have to work a bit on the images to somehow change them from being coloring sheets or photographs into workable patterns for applique. Perhaps that will be one of my projects this afternoon.