Makeover for Ritva's Art Nouveau Block

I would have sworn I blogged about this block but for the life of me I couldn't find in on either blog... This block was from last year and when I ran across it in a file I was unhappy with the upper part...  I  asked Ritva to send it back and let me rework it and she graciously did.

I didn't like the foliage upper left and I don't know what processed me to have the bee flying off the block..  I found it very distracting... I also didn't like the bit of lace centered at the top...  So to me the whole top of the block was weak and wimpy and the elements didn't work well together at all.

I thought the fix would be simple...just add to the foliage and remove the bee and replace it with a directional bug.. But of course things didn't quite work as I planned... I had put the bee there with such vigor that I knew if I removed it there might be a scar on the fabric and so to be on the safe side I decided to leave it in place...

So I did redo the grass so it flows across the top to carry the eye... I still wanted a bug that was directional and added a dragonfly..  I kept it close to the bee so they worked as a single unit but larger to make the bee's direction less important...

So I am happy with the foliage and that the bit of lace is gone.. It would have been nicer if the bee could disappear but not happening....  Even with the bee, the top section is stronger and in balance with the rest of the block...

I love the hummingbird on this block...it was done on felt with lovely watercolor silk threads... When I added it to the block I stuffed it slightly with batting so it is very dimensional when you see it in person... So it will be popped in tomorrow's mail and off again to Ritva in Finland...  And my thanks again to her for returning it to me...