A Prayer For My Country – Finished Quilt

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the first day of July.  The year is half over, but feels like it just began.  In anticipation of the 4th of July weekend, I’m here today with photos of A Prayer for my Country, a finished quilt.  I love this piece.  It will have a permanent place in my home.


It all began with scraps, castoffs from other projects, and then it grew into something more as I grappled with all the opposite feelings I feel about the state of my country.  So much has happened since, and while some concerns have changed shape, it’s interesting that many have not.  In other words, I’m still praying.

In the middle of the quilt is a very abstract, broken flag.

Melissa custom quilted this one for me, and one of my favorite parts is the tiny star in the blue square below.  So perfect.

That broken flag is surrounded by a more recognizable flag, all made from scraps as well.  This means several different shades of white, and a  few prints found their way in.  I love the wavy quilting in the white stripes, too.

I foundation paper pieced all the stars, and these photos tempt me to start a quilt of just stars.  That thought means I don’t accurately remember how much time it takes to pull off all the little paper pieces afterwards.  (It takes forever!  It’s my least favorite part of paper piecing!)  Still, they’re pretty.  I opted for a binding with two different blues, one to reference each version of the flag, a little red, and a red/white stripe in opposite corners.  I really enjoyed stitching the binding on.

And now for the back!  I added a red stripe at the bottom because the blue floral piece wasn’t large enough on it’s own.  Thankfully, I pieced together enough scraps to add the hanging sleeve.

There’s something special about this floral, though.  Can you see it?

It’s very faded, but this piece is an original feed sack.  It’s stamped “Gooch Feed Mill Company, Lincoln Nebraska”  I did a little research , and sure enough, it was established by Herbert Elmer Gooch in 1908. It feels appropriate for this quilt, a bit of history mixed in with everything else.

Like my seashell banner , A Prayer for my Country is about the broken and beautiful nation I call home.  It’s about our undoing and our making.  I made this quilt with a heart full of sadness and hope.  I believe in a better future as we work together to improve.  We have a marvelous opportunity sitting in our laps, and I hope we use it well.

It needs a label, and I’m working on that.  Still, I finished it, and it’s up in time to celebrate.