Swedish Block

I commited to making a block for the Crazy Quilting International Group. They wanted to make a block for all the countries that were represented in our organization. You didn't have to be from the country to make the block. I asked for the Swedish block as a tip to my paternal grandfather. I originally pieced the block seen below, but after a few months I had ideas, (dala horse, a Carl Larsson painting, ice skates, faux Swedish weaving, country flower and some Swedish folk art)  but did not know what to do about placement. I had difficulty knowing what to do first.

I asked for advice from a Crazy Quilting guru in our group. She took my ideas and photo-shopped them to show possibilities. She also advised that the silkie that I selected was too small and underwelming for the size of the block. She choose another Carl Larsson painting and showed me the difference.

Ok, now I had an idea where to start. Here is the completed block after I took Gerry's advice.. I think it looks pretty nice. The only change I may make is to put some trim along the seam under the ice skates to make them stand out better against the blue.

Well, I went ahead and did as I said, I believe adding the lace makes the skates stand out better, so here is the finished block ready to mail!

Overall, I am very pleased with it, and plan to make a similiar one so I can have one of my own.