When I first thought of developing my AMB block, I wanted to start by taking a look at Montana license plate designs ... however, after discovering that Montana has more than three times as many specialty license plates as other states in the region ...
I decided I'd best design my block with my own ideas!
So, with that in mind, I give you a brief tour of my state with the hope of showing you what inspired my block:
Montana's name is derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain) and, living in the western part of the state ... you truly see mountains in every direction ... a total of 77 named ranges are part of the Rocky Mountains.
From Glacier National Park,
the "The Crown of the Continent"
to portions of Yellowstone National Park,
America's first national park,
Montana represents the untamed, the wild, and the natural.
Of course, with fifteen ski areas for winter recreation ....
We have plenty of reason to get out and enjoy the natural splendor in cold weather also.
Montana contains thousands of named rivers and creeks, 450 miles (720 km) of which are known for "blue-ribbon" trout fishing. In 1992 the Robert Redford directed movie "A River Runs Through It," extensive fishing scenes were filmed in Montana's Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone River; south of Bozeman on the Gallatin River and south of Big Timber on the Boulder River. In 1998, Robert Redford returned to Big Timber with "The Horse Whisperer."
Montana is ranked 4th in size, but 44th in population with 1,015,165 people living in Montana .... Yes, that is 1,015,165 people living in the whole state! Wide-open spaces anyone?
Since forests cover approximately 25 percent of the state and Montana has the largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states, I've included them in my block along with the state flower, the Bitterroot, and stems of grain to represent our economy. With a 1/3 of our great state covered in mountains, that leaves the remaining 2/3 area covered with plains and grassy ranges and provides area needed for supporting Montana's economy which is primarily based on agriculture, including ranching and cereal grain farming.
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courtesy of nbc.com ... Robb Kendrick / Aurora file
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With this wealth of information, I attempted to make my block represent the whole state ... mountains in the west, plains in the east, river waters in between and topped by our great big sky:
So there you have it, my representation of the State of Montana in one 6 1/2 by 12 1/2 inch block.
My thanks to Clothworks and American Made Brand Cottons for hosting this fantastic tour of our United States.
Clothworks is generously sending one Why-Knot-Kwilt commentor eight fat quarters from the
American Made Brand Cotton Solids!
Grown and Made all right here in the
Good Ol' USA!!
In addition, I am hosting a second giveaway for my wonderful international visitors.
Those of you from outside of the United States have a chance to win this bundle of 5 1/2 inch squares:
which I cut from the remaining Clothworks American Made Brand Cotton Solids not used in my block.
If you wish to enter the giveaways, please leave me a comment on this post, with the following information:
1) which country you reside;
2) where you live in your country of residence; and most important;
3) make sure I can contact you!
If I cannot contact you,
you will not be able to win.
Drawing will close on Friday, June 20th.
Please be sure to visit Bloomin’ Workshop who is sharing the State of Washington with us today.
Hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the state I've called home for the past 33 years. When my day is at an end, I have to admit...
it is a pretty beautiful place to call home.
Until next we visit, happy hopping ~
It has been overcast, so the temperature has been perfect. 
