A Little (late) August ALOYF Finish

My August goal here was to finish the Nautical Quilt in the Sewvivor Sew-along.  I did finish it ... but not until September 4.  Oh, well.

This is my favorite quilt to date.  I had a really difficult time folding it up to give away at a baby shower, but I did it knowing that the recipient would truly appreciate it.

I paper-pieced the mariner's compass from this link.  I used fat quarter scraps, so I don't know the exact colors of yellows & light blue used.  The dark blue is Kona Nautical (my new favorite neutral!), the white is Kona White and the orange is Kona Carrot.  The backing is from "All Hands on Deck" by jack & lulu for DearStella.

As you can tell from my original graph paper drawing, I had intended it to be a RWB quilt, but when I saw the Kona Carrot, I knew that was the way to go.  My choice was confirmed when my nephew's summer wardrobe via Carter was the same colors of blue, white and orange =)

Because it is mostly strips of fabrics, this came together rather quickly.  The quilting took quite some time, though.  I had originally intended to follow the 4-point star pattern more and make it into more of an antique compass.  I even had visions of an FMQ fluer-de-lis as North.  But when I got going on the circles, I just couldn't stop.

One thing that helped me fall in love with quilting is the historical symbolism behind so many of the blocks.  The mariner's compass is one of those truly historical blocks with hundreds of variations.  Not only does it look like the compass on an antique map, it can also look like the sun.

All the while I was working on quilting this I just kept thinking of the Liahona that led Lehi and his family to the promised land.  As long as they were righteous, it pointed them safely in the direction they should go.

I know that this quilt is now with a family that will carry on those righteous traditions and raise their son pointed safely in the right direction.

I've linked up ...