I'm in the Double Digits!

Woo-hoo!  Block #10.  Only 2 or 6 or 10 to go.  I just can't decide how many I'm making.  I really think it will be 16.  I laid out the 10 that are finished on my bed the other night and wow!  Even I was impressed and I'm my own worst critic.  I can't stop at 12 because there are some more pictures that I want to include, along with some other pretty things.  My poor husband walked in and almost dropped his jaw.  He's seen me working on blocks (everyone has seen me working on blocks), but I don't think he realized how much work I've done.  Or maybe I just didn't want him to know how much time I've spent on this.  After all, it's not like my family has missed a meal over it. 

This is Papa and Nano.  She taught me to embroider when I was probably 6 and is the grandmother whose passing made me finally start this whole process in the first place.  I credit Papa (and my dad, too) with my attention to detail.  When we were watching the roustabouts (he worked in the oilfield), he would tell me "you watch 'em, baby, and make sure they do it right."  Like I would know.  He's been gone 23 years, but I can still hear those words.  Anyway, the picture is from right after their marriage.  She was 16 and he was 18 and had always been childhood sweethearts.

The block doesn't have as much embroidery as the other blocks.  I'm not sure why, but it just didn't seem to want much.  Maybe it was because of the brightness of the block.  There is a lot of chartreuse and bright pink, much more than the pictures capture.  This one of "before" is probably the closest to the real colors.  I hate how the pictures are so clear in their folders, but never look the same on the blog.
The yo-yo flower garden will be extended to cover the seam when this block is attached to another.  The last time my grandmother was lucid enough to watch me sew or talk to me during a visit, I was making yo-yos.  So I made some special ones for her block to remember that afternoon. 
The Easter lily is important because Easter is my favorite holiday.  And on that note, a very Happy and Blessed Easter to you all!