Monday, April 21, 2025

The Color of Valor

Island Batik's April Challenge requires us to make a lap-sized (or larger) quilt using the timeless Drunkard's Path Quilt Block, making sure that the technique used is curved piecing and not applique.



Naturally, many ideas were considered and discarded. I am saving them to a very long list of possible future quilts.

In the end, I chose the quilt block - Moon Over the Mountain. I have been fascinated by this quilt block for a long time. I looked for tutorials and found few but none of them appealed to me.

It was time to design it myself.

Thank you EQ8

Next, I auditioned a few different fabric collections, also in EQ8.

Petal Poetry (I have a huge crush on this one)


Botanical Dreams

Shadow Blooms

They all looked lovely. But I wanted more than that. I wanted energy and passion. I decided to go for yellow orbs over rust/orange/red mountains.


Fabric Pull


I ended up using fabrics from Modern Opulence, Celebrate, and Fire & Ice collections.

Block Construction


Design Wall


Basting

And here is my first finish named Rising Suns.

Rising Suns


The background and binding is Island Batik Solid Black. I used Black Heirloom Batting from Hobbs and Schmetz 80/12 Needle for both piecing and quilting. I used Walking Foot to quilt squiggly lines. The variegated thread adds to the sizzle.


Walking Foot Quilting


Variegated Thread


The bright orange shades made me think of Saffron, one of the colors in India's national flag. India's national flag is named the Tricolor, so named for the three major colors. Saffron for sacrifice, White for Peace and Green for Prosperity. Saffron is symbolic of renouncement - giving up everything for the one cause, making the ultimate sacrifice for the country.


Labelled


Now that I am an American, I associate Red, White and Blue as the colors of valor. Is there a universal color for valor? Or does it mean different things to different people?

As I was mulling over colors, an off-color incident made me seethe. Not that I could do much, but I channeled my thoughts into prayer while I busied my hands to make another quilt.


Pinned


Work in Progress


I chose nine different  yellows and nine different blues. The background and binding is Solid White. I used Hobbs Bleached White 80/20 Batting. I used Schmetz 80/12 Needle for both piecing and quilting. I used Walking Foot to quilt squiggly lines. 


Backing is Frosting, Labelled


Here is my second finish. I have named it Doblest, which means Valor. 



“Any fool can fight a winning battle, but it needs character to fight a losing one, and that should inspire us." 
_William Butler Yates




Both quilts finished at about 53" by 51". I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar. Should you have any thoughts about color, valor or this block - Moon over the Mountain, I'd love to hear from you.

29 comments:

  1. Love these, Preeti! Great use of the Drunkards' Path block!

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  2. What beautiful quilts - I love the way black batting works for dark colored backgrounds. I have never felt particularly proud to be an American. Lucky or privileged, maybe. And while many individuals have shown and show valor every day, I don't necessarily associate a particular color with that -- but my deepest admiration goes to all those who are working hard to help the arc of history bend toward justice, even when things are backsliding so very quickly.

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  3. Beaitiful quilts once again, Preeti, Love your twist on the historical drunkard's path block.

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  4. These are both so lovely. You have such great imagination and color sense!

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  5. That is a great block, Preeti! Beautiful when it sizzles and beautiful when it makes a statement. I love both of your versions!

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  6. Wow! Both versions are gorgeous! You did a great job designing that pattern to work so well using that Drunkard's Path technique.

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  7. I love moon over the mountain and those are great colors - both of them

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  8. Preeti, you do Island Batik proud. Moon Over the Mountain is such a stunning block. Love how you have managed update it with a Modern Quilt vibe.

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  9. They are both very beautiful, both technically and artistically, but you always put meaning into your quilts, which makes them that much more beautiful.

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  10. Such beautiful quilts; and so different from each other! I don’t think I ever would have thought of them as drunkard’s path quilts if you had not mentioned it. That’s just not at all what I saw when looking at them.
    The first one looks very Asian to me, but the second not as much.
    I have no opinion on the question about valor as that’s not a concept I think about much.

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  11. Moon Over Mountain Is a lovely quilt, Block! It is reminiscent of the mountains that we live by. I’m always surprised by how color changes a quilt pattern! Shadow Blooms Is what our mountains look like at night time. Rising Sun Is what they look like when the sun is rising. Yes! The variegated thread certainly does add to the sizzle.
    I understand what you mean by praying as you create. Hand sewing can also be a time of prayer for myself as well.
    Take good care and thank you for sharing such a wonderful post.

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  12. These quilts are so inspiring! I lean towards the black background but appreciate the blue and gold quilt of valor too. Your work is always so impressive. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. These are both very pretty!! I love the thought behind the color combos.

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  14. All of these are lovely, and I especially like the one with the black background. I think I would have named it "Moonrise over Kilauea" as it is erupting again.
    Always a delight to find you in the inbox first thing in the morning.

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  15. I love this quilt. Your color choices are spot on. You have done a wonderful job with pattern design too. You are a true artist. Thank you for sharing.

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  16. Rising Suns is stunning!! I love all of the color combinations but what you selected fits perfectly.

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  17. What a great way to use the classic Drunkards Path block! Both quilts are so very pretty and each honors a homeland. The colors are great! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
    https://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2025/04/22/wednesday-wait-loss-429

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  18. I knew you would do something really interesting with your Drunkard’s Path challenge and you did not disappoint. I love your Moon Over the Mountain quilts, the two you made as well as your alternate colorways!

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  19. The piecing of your block is very interesting to see, Preeti. I love how the variegated thread shows up on the black background. Both quilts are stunning!!!

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  20. Both quilts are gorgeous, though I think the black, yellow and orange is my favorite of the two.

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  21. Beautiful quilts! Love both colorways.

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  22. Phenomenal piecing, perfect fabric pairings, and fabulous quilt finishes, Preeti!

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  23. These quilts are so beautiful. It really is a fun block and the variations in the mockup are all great!

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  24. WOW! Both are beautiful finishes! You totally rocked this challenge!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects

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  25. Beautiful finishes! I really like the pattern you created! I love the colors of Botanical Dreams. Reminds me of Purple Mountains Majesties from the lyrics from America the Beautiful!

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  26. Hi Preeti, what a gorgeous quilt. Thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks

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  27. Your quilts are very pretty. I like your color choices.

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  28. Both are beautiful! Love how you designed your rising sun block, and the quiting is like rays of heat. We share the same flag colors, blue, white and red for the French flag ;) We stand for Freedom, Equality and Fraternity, but it's not always obvious that these values are respected...
    Thank you for sharing your wonderful quilts, and linking up.

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