Finish it up Friday....

Recently, Illinois became the 16th state to legalize same-sex marriage.    Since this affects me in no personal way, I am unsure why it's so important to me.  Does it even matter?   But I was very happy the day it was decided, and even happier the day it was signed into law by Governor Quinn.

But I'm sure everyone can agree, that the design is great.  So great, I HAD to execute it.

And here's how I did it:

Using a jelly roll I had on hand of rainbow hued batiks,  I selected an array of 6 colors.

I trimmed then to 1.5" strips in order to get all the colors in the applique.

I then checked my friend Google, and downloaded an outline of the shape of IL.

Once the strips were joined using scant 1/4" seams, and ironed,

I then ironed my piece to a  fusible product

Then, I placed the shape and pinned it to my fabric and fussy cut along the border

I  ironed my "Illinois" applique to a black background square.

Using straight stitching, and going very slowly, I stay stitched around the border.

If you look very closely, you might notice  some texture within the strips. Lesson learned: iron-on fusible does have a shelf life. And if it's crunchy,  it might give you trouble. 

I'm loving how my vision turned into something finished. Or almost finished......I have no idea what to do with this block now that it's done.   

Ideas, anyone?