Summer Sampler 2018 // Block #15 // Petra

This is Petra, block #15 in the Summer Sampler 2018, designed by me!!

This block is a combination of paper piecing and rectangles, and goes together pretty quickly. I am [loosely] following the rainbow quilt mockup, and love these warm colors together.  

My tip: Have some fun with this block--include your favorite colors, or if you are running out of fabric, swap some out for something different. I am making my quilt entirely out of stash fabric, so sometimes the colors, like the lightest yellow, aren’t exactly what I would have chosen if I had purchased the fabric, but when all of the quilt blocks are together, it will look great!

After spending a few weeks in Italy and France (tough light, right?) our summer road trip is heading to Jordan. 

When I was 19, I spent a semester in a college study abroad program in Jerusalem.  My classmates and I travelled all over the surrounding areas, and one of my favorite trips was to Jordan.[Being young and dumb, a friend and I got into a cab in Amman one night, with some Scottish boys we had just met. After a great night, we couldn't remember the name of their hotel,  didn't speak much Arabic, and when we finally *did* figure out where we were staying, I was so happy to get out of the cab, I left my wallet in said cab. Nothing to do with Petra, but one of the stronger memories of that week. Ah, the things we do when we are young.

Thankfully, I had left her passport in the hotel safe and sound, and the only inconvenience was calling my mom and asking her to cancel my credit card.]Petra is an incredible ancient city, carved from the rock, engineered and created by the Nabateans. You walk along a long gorge, called a Siq, and finally see the city. [Incredibly, this photo of the Siq looks like it could have been taken on our visit to Zion National Park a few weeks ago!

Petra was first inhabited as long ago as 7,000 to 6,500 BC, and was settled by the Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab people who started settling the area around the 6th century BCE. At one point, it was a major city, linking trade routes from China to Rome and the west. The stunning buildings that remain are tombs, most of them empty, meant to last into the afterlife. The Treasury [pictured here] is one of these!I took the design of these blocks from the triangle roofs/capitals on top of the columns/buildings.  I wanted something that was more triangles than flying geese, with a little more detail! Red rock is so interesting to photograph--it changes so much depending on the light.Want to make your own?

You can purchase the pattern in Lee's shop, and its never too late to start sewing!

Remember, it’s not too late to join us—click here for all the details! And while you’re at it, visit #summersampler2018 on Instagram to see the blocks everyone else has been making for the last 15 weeks! See you next Monday for block #16 of 18. I can't believe this summer road trip is coming to a close!