My grandmother grew up in a time and a place when women’s education was not valued. While her two brothers went on to become headmasters, she didn’t get to finish her education. When she got married, my grandfather provided her all the books she wanted to read to quench her insatiable thirst for knowledge. She learned the value of equality and humanity from those books. In a culture steeped in segregation, she opened her home to everyone.
Unlike my grandmother, I am lucky to live in a country where I can receive education, express my opinion freely, read banned books and write without fear of censorship. I dearly love my country for all that and more. My FREADOM quilt is made to honor the books that continue to free my mind and in red, white and blue for a country that makes it possible.
I asked my wonderful friend Susie from Susie’s Sunroom if she would be willing to make a mini for this blog post. She was so enthusiastic about it that I had photos of her finished mini in my mailbox within a couple of days. Susie has impeccable colour choices, so I knew I would love the colours she would use. I really fell in love with the photo of her beautiful mini amidst her books. It was very hard to pick just one photo for this post. Make sure to visit her blog to see more.
The FREADOM bookshelf quilt pattern makes a 10″ x 16″ quilt block. Both striped and non-striped versions of the R-E-A-D letters are included in the pattern. It is also a very scrap-happy block. Other than the background fabric, I used scraps for every bit of this mini. The pattern is now in my shop.
As a thank you for reading my blog, I am giving away two sets of these Fourth of July fabrics. Make sure that you are subscribed to my blog and leave a comment. I will announce the two winners on July 16th.
I will leave you with my next set of index card drawings for the icad project –
Solitude in rain, breathing in the smell and quietness
Windmill sentinel against the sunset sky
Always have had a weakness for vintage Porsches
California Poppies – lovely flowers of my state
Corn Lilies – I always stop at the site of corn lilies on hiking trails
The colours started taking their own forms
A grey dapple foal, free and beautiful like moonlight
There you have it! They are taking up every last scrap of my time, but I am letting myself get lost in these mini index card paintings.
Have a fabulous weekend!
-Soma
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