Hello My Name Is...

Kona Nerd, of course!

I have been playing with ideas in my head for Project: Kona Nerds, Unite! fairly steadily for the last couple months. Lot's of blocks have come my way and I have to start figuring out how they're all going to play together.

I decided I wanted to make one final block as an anchor for this project,  so I set off on an epic journey of sketching and applique that landed me squarely in my happy place. I just love this block. This block is going to be the focal point on the front; not exactly a medallion, but a spot for the eye to land in a sea of busy words and colours so it had to be perfect.

It didn't come easy... getting the letters right was tricky. I was able to generate the print text up top by printing an enlarged copy of an actual label. But the cursive lettering...oh my...I am simply not computer savvy enough for this kind of work. I printed what was probably 5 or 6 versions of scripty fonts without hitting the mark in my minds eye. Of course, because I am my own worst enemy, this meant I had no choice but to draw the letters myself. All I can say is Thank God for erasers and take out pizza. A brain on fire moment cannot be interrupted with trivial things like feeding one's family or scrubbing pots.

It took a while to get them "just right" but as soon as I saw the shape emerge in my sketching I knew I had it. I also knew that machine applique was going to be a lesson in patience with all those nice curvy bits & pointy corners but I stayed the course, pivoted my little heart out and got it done. Voodoo Duck laments my current frequent use of fusible webbing, he says it robs him of his sense of job security. I managed to insist that he is more than a stitch recipe holder and that his pins were invaluable to the project to secure the tear away stabilizer behind the stitching area. Silly Duck, what would we ever do without pins?!?

There are lots of Kona colours being represented in the quilt now... I haven't counted, but there are 9 colours in this block alone! The fabulous peachy pink lettering packs quite a "punch", don't ya think?