Blocks received for Boomerang 5.0

I've received 6 more grownup blocks for Boomerang 5.0. There are still 4 that are owed to me - and I don't know if I'll get them or not. Those 4 ladies are on everyone's "missing" list. We'll just see if they're flakes or not. I hope not.

from Mary (Havplenty)

from Angie S

from JudyVA

from Lillie

from Suzanne W (quiltin' gran)

from Sandy C

Crumb Along, Step 1

On my Liberated Quilting Yahoo Group I saw a post that linked to Jo's Country Junction and her announcement of a "Crumb Along."  Since I'm into scrappy, liberated quilting, I knew this one would be fun.

The first thing we are doing is creating two blocks using some flying geese.  I had a bunch of triangles left over from making African Violets for Block Lotto, and decided I'd use those. Since they were all dark, I made the triangle part of the flying geese white and cream.

I dug into my white/cream scrap tray and cut dozens of rectangles, 1 3/4" x 3".  Then I put together about 50 wonky flying geese.

Jo says her sewing area looks like a bomb went off -- mine, too! 

Since my initial white rectangles were 2" x 3", my flying geese are a bit odd. But I don't care. Continuing Jo's directions, I sewed strips to the sides of the flying geese units and then squared them up to make the 6" squares she said to make.

These are all the extra flying geese.  She said to make several more sets of 4. I ended up with 7 sets plus 15 other unmatched ones. I'll be able to use these in a border.

Inukshuk

While we were on our Alaska Highway trip this summer, we saw many, many of these for sale at the souvenir and gift shops. We saw them made of jade, gold, rocks, marble, wood, and lots of other materials.  This is called an Inukshuk, also spelled Inuksuk, which is a type of cairn. A cairn is a marker built to identify paths or specific locations, and these were made by the First Nations people in British Columbia and the Yukon. When I saw this paper-piecing pattern for sale at Bear Paw Quilts in Whitehorse, Yukon, I had to have it so I could make one for myself.

3 Boomerang Blocks 5.0 received

from Laura B

from KarenPatrick

from Lauren K (MFQS)

Blocks for 15 Minutes

Victoria's Basket of Flowers

Julie's Hybrid Tea Rose

Bonnie's Cactus Flower

Just trying to keep up with the BOMs on 15 Minutes Play.  I have so much "made fabric" to use up, with more scraps to use.

At quilt guild yesterday I learned that there are many, many women who do not use their scraps. One woman had made a pretty quilt, and came to the meeting with a garbage bag full of the scraps left over. We're talking about large scraps, too.  She donated them to be used as stuffing for a doggie bed.  I wanted to shout, "give them to me!" There were enough in there to make a whole quilt!  Don't they realize that our scraps also cost $9 a yard?  I was talking to the president during the break and mentioned the garbage bag of scraps, and she said that a lot of the ladies just don't "do scrappy."  Well, they're going to see my scrappy!!!

My first quilt guild meeting

I joined the Citrus Belt Quilters yesterday. It's a pretty large guild (I think) - there were 109 members and 5 guests at yesterday's meeting. I'd wanted to join one for quite some time, but didn't have the time while I was still working. I know a couple of ladies there, and have already been roped into helping with our vendors' tables activity in December (members selling their own stuff).We're having our first annual quilt show in October - the Harvest of Quilts, and it'll be at the Yucaipa Community Center.  I'm sure I'll be able to help with that, too.

After the business meeting, we  had a great speaker - Lyn Brown of LynBrown.com.  She's from Anaheim Hills, just down the road a ways, and did a presentation of quilts she's made and designed "through the seasons." She started with Winter-themed quilts, and worked her way through the seasons and holidays.  She also had her patterns with her for sale, and sold them for $5 each - they're normally $8.  I bought one - I'd been looking for a way to use up a set of fat quarters I bought a few years ago in Seattle, and this one will be perfect.

Two more Boomerang Blocks received

I am loving all these blocks! Everyone is doing such a fabulous job of coordinating the colors, and each block is different. There's very little repetition of colors, too, so the quilt made with these blocks will be very bright and colorful.

from Karla R

from Robin S

African Violets for Block Lotto

I like these!  They worked up quickly, and a bunch of them will make a lovely quilt.

More Boomerang Bocks Received

I had 10 more Boomerang blocks waiting for me at the post office when we checked mail on Thursday. I am so excited about these.  I deliberately selected a multi-colored, wild fabric so that I could get lots of bright colors. That's what is happening.  I LOVE these blocks!

from KaSandra

from Donna D.

from Jennifer

from Larissa B

from Carole Mc

from Cindy

from Linda H - this is an embroidered patch that matches my fabric beautifully

from Janet T

from Patsy S

from OK Darla

Now that I'm Back...

I'm happily sewing again.  First up was a block for Qbee, which should be the next-to-last in Boomerang 5.0.

The block is called Hayes Corner.  There might not be another block for me to do in 5.0, as I have yet to receive a Fat 8th from the last person. They were all due to me by April 15.  Yes, April 15. The swap organizer has tried to contact her numerous times to no avail; we're both resigned to the fact that there are often people who flake in swaps. But what bugs me is that this person now has 35 Fat 8ths from everyone else, and hasn't returned our completed blocks. 

I will, however, continue to do this swap - version 6.0 will start next month. I really like the challenge of getting fabric and coming up with coordinating fabric and a block to put it all in.

Alaska quilts

Several of the museums and visitor centers we've visited have had quilts on display by local artists or quilt guilds.









At Denali National Park they have an "Artist in Residence" program, where different kinds of artists (painters, sculptors, writers, quilters) stay for a period of time and then interpret their locale or experience. The quilt above and the closeup are by Linda Beach, who stayed there in 2005. It's titled "Threading Through the Gravel Bars--East Fork of the Toklat River." her description says, "During my ten-day stay in the park as Artist in Residence, the one element that took me by surprise was the sheer vastness of the open spaces. Walking along the gravel bars of the East Fork of the Toklat in particular, I was overwhelmed by the sight of miles and miles of multicolored stones and water as far as the eye could see. With this quilt I hope to share my experience of Denali with an unlimited sense of place and time."













This quilt, shown in its entirety in the first picture, is actually a set of panels that form one larger piece. it's called "Seasons of Denali," and it was made by Ree Nancarrow. "This view from Eielson depicts the changing seasons, from the last bit of winter, through spring, summer and fall, to the beginnings of winter. Sun, plants, animals, and migratory birds increase in a kind of crescendo, then decrease with a rapidly approaching winter. I have tried to convey my love and awe of this truly special place. If you look carefully you will be able to find some of the very unique plants, birds, and animals which are able to flourish in this harsh environment. "

Down on the Kenai Peninsula in the Pratt Museum, there are several lovely quilts.












I've been blogging about our trip to Alaska on my blog Wanderlust: http://holmantravels.blogspot.com


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Two More Blocks

Sue, this info is for you--since there's no way to email you. The blocks are part of a Block of the Month activity using "made" fabric on a block called "15 Minutes of Play...Bumblebeans." the link is http://www.15minutesplay.com/.

Victoria, of Bumblebeans Inc. manages this blog where we try out various activities and tutorials, including how to make the fabric. Right now there are several things going on--the blocks of the month, a solids challenge that turned into a swap, and some bees (swaps). In the block of the month activity, different blocks are posted with tutorials, and we give them a try. Miki's block was a square within a star.

This next one was a pinwheel; directions posted by Margaret.




I realized while I was assembling it that a couple of the triangles had tips made out of the same orange as the background. So the tips disappear.

The tutorial for the next one was posted by Victoria. She calls it Beacon Lights.






Those will be the last ones for a while, as we leave this campground tomorrow and head for Canada. We'll spend 1 night at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, 1 night in Fort McLeod, Alberta, and then 4 nights with no electricity in Bow River Provincial Park west of Calgary. Then after that I doubt I'll have time to sew for a while since we'll be busy seeing all the sights of Banff and Jasper.

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Finished 6 stars

Yesterday and the day before I made fabric, and finished off a crammed-full gallon ziploc bag. Today I made 6 stars using Miki's tutorial.

Here's just a fraction of the fabric I made.






And since the 6 stars pretty much all look alike, here's a pic of two of them.







Now I'll try to get to work on the pinwheels.

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Henry's Lake - 2

This is the view from our front door. The lake isn't visible from here but is just a half mile away.





These are the East Centennial Mountains, to the west. This is the view I have looking out the window from my recliner. The lower dirt road goes west up Red Rock Pass and into Montana.

Yesterday and today Don spent most of the day fishing. It was the first time we had time alone (without the other). We'd been together 24-7 for 6 days, and it was time for "me time" for each of us. I did laundry yesterday morning, then pulled out the sewing machine to "make fabric." I took a gallon-sized ziploc bag full of scraps and sewed them into increasingly larger pieces until I had most of the scraps used up. I have enough 3 7/8" and 3 1/5" squares for 5 12" stars (using solid background) as well as all the large pieces in the photos below.











Tomorrow I plan to cut the orange background pieces for the stars and start putting the stars together.

There's a roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and onions in the oven, and since it's been a nice day outside, it's pretty warm in here. But Don got himself chilled while he was fishing, and thinks it's just fine. At least it smells nice!


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