This hardy, excessively thorny shrub is often found as a sprawling vine and has a tendency to climb like crazy, but in any case, "A rose, is a rose, is a rose" (as Gertrude Stein observed), and here we have the 'Cherokee Rose' (rosa laevigata) the state flower of Georgia. Because of its vigorous nature, it is well-adapted for hedge purposes and as a natural fencing, often used in this capacity throughout the South. The petals are actually white, but again, stitching white-on-white in this instance would probably not be as effective, so I decided to go along with the original directions that suggested pinks. I think pale blue would also do nicely to convey a white flower. Up to you.
For the history buffs: the 'Cherokee Rose' was adopted by the Georgia General Assembly as a floral emblem at the request of the Federation of Women's Clubs, and carried out by Joint Resolution August 18, 1916. The name is derived from the Cherokee Indians who distributed the plant throughout the region after it was first introduced by China, via England, during the late 18th century. Because of its hardy nature it quickly became naturalized. It is sometimes called, the 'camellia rose'.
- DMC COLORS: I used #760 for outlining flower petals; #3712 for darker inside lines on petals; #420 brown for stems; #320 for leaves; centers yellow #444. Lettering dark gray #645. Overall, I'm using 3-4 strands of floss for the flowers, 4 strands for the state lettering and 3 strands for the flower names.
- Images should be about 4 x 4-inches to fit a 6.5" quilt block.
- To get the image: RIGHT CLICK to save it as a file, or for size options--LEFT CLICK to flickr and choose the 'all sizes' option link.
- If you are visiting for the first time, and/or just starting this project, you can download the original stitch guide and color chart here as a PDF:
The State Flower blocks are being stitched in the order they were requested. Check out the list here: State Flower List to find your state. If you're faster than I am and want it ALL now, you can get the whole enchilada on my website here.
All right then! On to Vermont we go . . .