The Unofficial New Jersey Tartan

 Yesterday (7/27) was National New Jersey Day.
I decided to post my my New Jersey Tartan Map artwork on IG.

It was easily found:

I couldn't remember if this was an official tartan (ratified by the state) or one that I designed.
I did some detective work...

I first looked here, on my "2016 A-Z" page and discovered New Jersey was missing!

(and nobody has called me out on it either!)

Next I looked at the "N is For... [Part 1]" post, just to be sure...
N is for NOPE

My next stop was Spoonflower -
I've uploaded all the tartan designs for all US states and Canadian provinces and indicated in the fabric names whether the tartan is Official or Unofficial

Unofficialdom confirmed

But why is this tartan different from my 2016 design?

More exploration ensued...

I searched my files for "NJ Tartan" and found a third design!

What is going on?

This design is my artwork from the entry in The Scottish Registry of Tartans,

which required permission for usage.

I think the Spoonflower version is my melding of the first design with the third.
And taking the colors from the NJ state flag

Hmmm, maybe my blue isn't quite right...

My next move will be adding the missing New Jersey to all the posts and pages.

Thus concludes my New Jersey rabbit hole, hope the journey was interesting!

All my Spoonflower tartans can be found here
Most are on Redbubble too

Tartans A-Z Master List

A-Z Tartans

Tartans of the US and Canada

Table of Contents links

Intro: about the A-Z Challenge
A is for... Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Arkansas
B is for... British Columbia
C is for... California, Colorado, Connecticut
D is for... Delaware
E is for... Prince Edward Island
F is for... Florida
G is for... Georgia
H is for... Hawaii
I is for... Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa
J is for... New Jersey
K is for... Kansas, Kentucky
L is for... Louisiana
M is for... Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana 
N is for... Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York
                        Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut 
O is for... Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon
P is for... Pennsylvania
Q is for... Quebec
R is for... Rhode Island
S is for... Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota 
T is for... Tennessee
U is for... Utah
V is for... Vermont, Virginia 
W is for... Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
X is for... TeXas
Y is for... Yukon
Z is for... AZ
Epilogue: Reflections on the A-Z Challenge

#AtoZchallenge Reflections on the A-Z Challenge

Wrap-up time for the A-Z Challenge. 

What did I learn?

1. This is a good place for me to work the challenge --
the posts didn't get mixed in with other posts (as happened last year).

2. I liked having the framework of the challenge to force myself to get this body of work refreshed.

3. It's much easier to create ONE new piece of art a day vs TWELVE (I'm looking at you, "N").

4. I am ignorant about the Canadian provinces.
I will remain deliberately vague about that and will quietly update my error.

5. Already thinking about possible themes for next year,
and will start working on the art to see which direction I want to pursue.

6. If I have my posts prewritten, then I can spend more time reading other A-Zers.
My social A-Z game was abysmal this year.

[Original Map of North America with US States and Canadian Provinces by FreeVectorMaps.com]

#AtoZchallenge Z is For...

AriZona 

Read about the Arizona tartan here.

Thus concludes our tour of the US and Canadian tartans from A to Z, A-Z, AZ. 

I am still recovering from "N". 

I also overlooked an "L". Oops. "L" comes before "N", so I have no excuse. 

At some point, I'll be refining all the graphics so that I can offer posters, tees, etc. on Society6. These were all created at postcard scale, and some of the tartans I resized for a better layout with the map outline. I want the scale of the twill weave to be consistent. [OK, nerding out now, I'll stop].

#AtoZchallenge Y is For...

Yukon 

Read about the Yukon tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge X is For...

TeXas  

Read about the Texas tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge W is For...

Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming  

Read about the Washington tartan here. 

Read about the West Virginia tartan here. 

Read about the Wisconsin here. 

William Drummond Stewart, a Scot who explored Wyoming in the 1830s, inspired my choice of the Stewart tartan for Wyoming. I recolored it in these colors: Blue, Red, and White for the state flag, Black for the rich deposits of coal and oil, Jade Green for the state gem -- jade.

#AtoZchallenge V is For...

Vermont, Virginia 

Read about the Vermont tartan here. 

Read about the Virginia tartan here. 

#AtoZchallenge U is For...

Utah 

Read about the Utah tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge T is For...

Tennessee 

Read about the Tennessee tartan here.

"Where is Texas?" you ask. X marks the spot!

#AtoZchallenge S is For...

Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota  

Read about the Saskatchewan tartan here. 

Look familiar? The South Carolina and North Carolina tartans are the same. 

Read about the Carolina tartan here. 

I designed the South Dakota tartan based on the Mitchell clan tartan. For purely personal reasons, I chose this to honor the town of Mitchell, which annually hosts the Mitchell Corn Palace. I chose Sky Blue, Gold, and Yellow from the state flag, Black for the Black Hills, and Pink-purple for the state flower -- the Pasque Flower.

#AtoZchallenge R is For...

Rhode Island 

Read more about the Rhode Island tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge Q is For...

Quebec 

Read about the Quebec tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge P is For...

Pennsylvania 

Read about the Pennsylvania tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge O is For...

Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon 

Read more about the Ohio tartan here.

Read more about the Oklahoma tartan here.

Read more about the Ontario tartan here.

Read more about the Oregon tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge N is For... [Part 2]

Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut 

Read about the Newfoundland tartan here. 

Read about the North Carolina tartan here.

Specific Scots in the history of North Dakota are few and far between. I based my design on the Miller Clan tartan, for John Miller, the first governor of the state. My color choices were: Deep Blue and Gold for the state flag, Black for the rich underground deposits of oil, Azure for the clear blue prairie skies, Pink for the Prairie Rose -- the state flower. 

Read about the Northwest Territories tartan here.

Read about the Nova Scotia tartan here.

Read about the Nunavut tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge M is For...

Maine, Manitoba, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Montana  

Read more about Maine's tartan here. 

Read more about Manitoba's's tartan here. 

Read more about Maryland's tartan here. 

Read more about Massachusetts's tartan here. 

Read more about Michigan's tartan here.

Read more about Minnesota's tartan here. or here

Read more about Mississippi's tartan here.

Read more about Missouri's tartan here.

I designed the Montana tartan based on the sett of the Royal Stuart tartan -- Granville Stuart was an early Scottish settler of Montana. I used blue and yellow from the colors of the state flag, as well as white for the snow-capped mountains, silver for the state motto "Oro y Plata", and deep green for the state tree, the Ponderosa Pine.