Nifty Fifty 3 Charity Quilt for Breast Cancer Research
In 1999 I used this web page to record design ideas and progress on making
the 55 blocks representing New Mexico in the third group of Nifty Fifty
Quilters. For more information on Nifty Fifty, visit the page
for the original Nifty
Fifty Quilters Across America, the Nifty
Fifty charity quilt page, and the Nifty
Fifty 3 Website. Also of interest is the page for Nifty Fifty 2 and
Nifty Fifty 4,
and a related international group, Twenty Plenty. For
more links to subsequent Nifty Fifty group pages, visit Teresa Drummond's
List of Nifty Fifty Hostesses.
The January 1988 issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine has an
article by Barbara Brackman on p. 16-17+ with ideas for New Mexico quilt
blocks. The three that most interest me are called "Santa Fe" (in yellow
and red with 65 pieces and 7 colors), "Santa Fe Trail"
(in pink and blue with 49 pieces and 5 colors), and "Santa Fe block" (in
red, blues and peach with 77 pieces and 6 colors). The colors pictured
in the article are not set in stone for these blocks, but the pictured
colors are very typical of New Mexico colors. The traditional New Mexico
star block (the big red and yellow block on the right) has 75 pieces and
being a 5 patch block is difficult to do as a 12" block.
This is a my New Mexico block. The original name of the block
as published in the 1930's was "Santa Fe Trail", but for the purpose of
the Nifty Fifty three quilt project, I am renaming it "New Mexico" because
it is rife with symbols of New Mexico's history and heritage.
New Mexico was conquered in the 16th century by Spanish Conquistadors,
moving north out of Mexico, bringing priests with them, with a dual
purpose of finding the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola and
Christianizing the native peoples who had lived here for many centuries. They found the seven
golden cities at Zuni and Acoma, but the golden buildings which had been
reported to them turned out to be the golden sunlight reflecting off of
the adobe walls of the pueblos--the same adobe building materials which
they knew in Spain and Mexico. Therefore the center of the block
represents the golden star superimposed on a cross and reflects our
hispanic culture and heritage. Each arm of the cross has a patch of
adobe.
New Mexico has been tri-cultural since the arrival of Anglos along the
Santa Fe Trail. The four corners of the block reflect our Native
American culture, and the Anglo culture is represented at the ends of each
arm of the cross by that most Anglo of modern ladies--Debbie Mumm.
These are the fabrics I'm using in my New Mexico block. From left to right
they are:
Adobe: Besides being the color of an adobe brick, this fabric has
tiny flecks of straw (an ingredient in making the bricks), silver (for New
Mexico's mineral industry, and blue which New Mexicans paint their
door and window frames to ward off evil spirits. The print is by Peter
Pan Fabrics and came from Karen's Creative Fabrics in Las Cruces.
Dark Red: This print has a small leaf pattern. I wish
I could say the leaf was from the New Mexico state tree (pinon) or the
New Mexico state flower (yucca) or even the New Mexico state vegetable
(chile) but it's none of these. Actually it looks just like the
parsley in my garden, so that's what it represents--me! This fabric is
less bright than it appears in this photo. This fabric is by Kona Bay and it also came from Karen's.
Deep Gold: This fabric represents both the gold which the
Spanish conquistadors sought when they conquered New Mexico and our modern
mineral industry. The print is an Ozark Calico by Fabri-Quilt Inc.
and came from Hobby Lobby.
Light Gold: A Debbie Mumm print which is also a little less bright
than this photo shows. It represents the Anglos of New Mexico's
tri-cultural heritage.
Corner squares: This fabric represents the Native Americans of New
Mexico. The round red shapes reflect the roundness of Navaho hogans
(dwellings) and kivas (ceremonial chambers) of both modern and ancient
pueblo peoples. The straight lines represent modern and ancient pueblo
dwellings. The color is similar to adobe clay and desert sand. This print
is by Wave in the SL collection and also came from Karen's in Las Cruces.
