Swan solstice three quarters done

Today's teal progress on the quilt.

This Peace Round the World quilt has been going on for over a year. The last few rounds have mostly been sewn left-handed simply due to my wonky right shoulder. However, with one last side of swans, etc, left to go, I'm writing a little something related to how much I love making this quilt, because sometimes beloved projects don't get enough airtime.

They're favored, but not savored aloud. They're pined over, yet not yapped about. They're stitched left-handed when one is right-handed because super slow stitching beats no stitching whatsoever.

The reason for this quilt is I saw it on Jodi Godfrey's blog, not that she made it, but Lisa Sliva did. And I fell in love with it and had to fashion my own. This started sometime late last spring maybe? And I was pretty go go go with it until late last year when any EPP sewing went out the window after my right shoulder said No mas. But I've taught two of my three left-handed grandchildren how to sew in the manner easiest for them, so I figured, what the hey?

What the hey indeed, LOL! I'm fairly proficient now, though I use my right hand for corners. And lately that right shoulder hasn't been so argumentative, so....

But this isn't so much about ambidextrous stitching. It's about falling in love with the look of a quilt and wishing to employ as many of those elements in my own realm. Buying fabric from various retailers because Guicy Guice's wovens collection that Lisa used was long out of date. I wrangled most of the prints, added some others, then after a row of light green decided it was time for the swans.

Anna Maria Parry's swans, plus some Karen Nyberg from her Oceans collection, and another AMP print from a recent line since she moved to Northcott Fabrics. My granddaughters helped align these light and dark teal squares, and now I have one quarter of them remaining. After this row, I'll move inward, reducing each colour by four squares, Which at this point seems innocuous, but every four squares less means a wee bit less left-handed stitching as the crow flies.

I have future fabrics already in mind, the next row nearly prepped (dark green Guicy Guice). I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what I'll back it with or how I'll hand-quilt it. Those are issues definitely for Future Me. Yet Present Me is quite (I nearly wrote quilt, lol) chuffed to have made it this far on the solstice row. I like thinking of the swans as the summer solstice for when they were added and for that lovely summer feeling teal brings to the project.

Looking sweet!

I'll be keeping this for myself unless or until someone asks very nicely for it. Because it's been a LOT OF LEFT-HANDEDNESS and much love poured into something so delicate and fragile feeling due to all those woven prints. I used very generous seam allowances when basting these squares, so it's going to have a good heft to it. And it's not small, over sixty inches from swan to swan, HAH! I cut the squares myself, 2.25", so a few are a tad wonky, like my right shoulder, like life. But my goodness I think it's gorgeous, and if I use a flannel backing, so super soft. And the notions I have of stitching as peace swirled all around me, keeping me safe and sane, well that makes it even more of a treasure.

Anyway, that's the Peace Round the World quilt update. More as it moves along, left-handed I'm sure. Enjoy the rest of your week, and keep that peace close. We all need it.