Long Road Home Row A Long

 Hello and Welcome everyone!

Today is my turn for the Row a Long that is hosted
by Seams to be Sew and Sew Incredibly Crazy

40 designers, from all over the world, creating quilt rows representing HOME to each of them. Thanks and more thanks to both of you. And a big thank you to the many sponsors who have supplied the giveaways for the duration of this Row Along.

The row that I have designed is an African Sunset with wild animals walking in the veld.

I live in Pretoria (South Africa) now which is a big city and although there are a lot of wide open spaces, we only see animals in the zoo or if we travel to the National Game Reserve (Kruger Park).

My husband and I both love the bushveld and the animals so much and we're always looking for time to go and spend at the Park. It brings such a sense of peace and always helps to unwind from the stress of work. I always call it my second home, so that is why I've made this row for all of you.

The row is Paper Pieced and measures 12" x 40" (31cm x 1029cm) and is on the Intermediate level.


My good friend Ulrike Brandl of Germany also tested the row for me and she let me use some of her photo's too. Thanks so much!! I really appreciate it.


Here you can see Ulrike made a Key for her fabrics. I really tried to keep it at a minimum because the bushveld is all really very plain and the sunsets are very vivid and sometimes looks as if the sky is on fire.



The row consists of 3 parts

The first is the Elephants moving off in the distance. Although I love to watch them and see their babies, Im really scared of being close to these amazing animals.

The yellowish-orange colour behind them is only the glow of the sun. The setting sun is on the second part behind the Giraffe.

This is a closer view of my elephants and the Thorn tree which is found in the bushveld too. As they get older they form a flat looking top, so they almost look like they're an umbrella.

The Giraffe is the second part of the row. The animal is walking towards the right but looking back at the sun.
I love to look at these gentle giants. They have the most unusual faces but are also still a strong favourite.

This is my Giraffe block. Once done, you can join the two blocks together.

I was going to only make the 2 blocks and the row would have been a lot shorter, but I felt it needed another part to really end it off a lot better.
You will notice that I designed the Meerkat family on the rock later and then just included it in the PDF pattern. They do fit together once they're sewn.

 Here you can see how Ulrike took the two images of the row and wrote onto it to show herself which fabic to use for the last block so that it would match.










This little Meerkat family is watching the sunset from their rock. In front of them is Baobab trees that are catching the last of the light.
These trees are the most interesting to see, because they always look as if they have been melting in the sun. When they are young trees they are tall and straight with the smoothest bark you ever saw.




The small group of Meerkat is a little tight and if you feel you won't be able to manage, then leave them out. You will see that they are in one section and you could easily just make that plain.


Here is my completed row of the African Sunset.

I must show you all Ulrike's blocks that she made - they are so beautiful!

I love the batiks she used for the sky

I really hope you enjoy sewing your rows and that this one will inspire you to try new things too.
The pattern prints to an A4 page and will be available until the end of the Row a Long.

Download your FREE Row here at CRAFTSY...

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ALSO: Stop by at Seams to be Sew to enter the giveaways
 

Now, to our other Rowers for the day…

Words & Stitches

creates Beaches of California

I CAN QUILT 2

creates Baltimore, MD

Any Pattern

creates Port Angeles, Washington

Patchwork Breeze

creates West Michigan Shoreline

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day...

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