Rabbits and Squirrels

 I wrapped up this rabbit by making more stretched star blocks and settling on an arrangement.

I made a few last minute changes after this photo was taken and the blocks are now stacked and ready to trim at Devo next week.  I have picked a couple of border options to audition.

My cutting room needed straightening in the worst way, so I spent some time yesterday cutting more strips for Color Stix blocks before putting away the leftovers. 

As I was putting away some background fabrics I had purchased last week, I found myself chasing another squirrel.

I think this would be considered a "chunky" churn dash.  Debbie Caffrey calls the quilt made from them Square Knots in her book, Open a Can of Worms.  In her world a "worm" is a 2-1/2" strip so I raided my drawer and picked an assortment of pinks, yellows, blacks and greys to make the blocks.  Silly Me, I started cutting pieces according to her directions before I realized I might be able to do some strip piecing.  Oh, well, something to sew is something to do ...

Tomorrow I'll be looking for a handwork project to take on our next extended holiday.  It's a toss-up between EPP hexagons and counted X-stitch.  That's assuming I can find my glasses for close-up work!

Eclectic - It's the Way I Roll

 I don't think I can be accused of being single-minded!

The clutter on the right has been on my design wall for months and I finally started pulling some of the bits into a cohesive, though chaotic, whole today.

I recently saw an orphan block quilt done in a spiral so I'm thinking about proceeding in that style.  I've pulled a creamy Grunge to be a separator and/or pathway for the spiral.  I know, that doesn't make any sense ... hard to describe.  You'll understand when I get further along

I did manage to get the "manly" Color Stix blocks in a somewhat pleasant arrangement and they are now pinned in rows, ready to be stitched.  It will probably need a border to make it big enough for a man's lap.

AND I spent a good portion of the day cutting and stitching these blocks for a Stretched Star from Nickel Quilts.

It feels good to be stitching again!  

PERFECT!

Apparently in Canada nothing is just OK, or even good.  It's PERFECT.  (Or maybe that's how the Rocky Mountaineer employees have been trained to respond.)  Nevertheless, our recent circle tour through the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer was as close to perfect as any vacation can get.

Apologies for the silence, but I don't like to announce when we will be away and I didn't think to schedule posts in advance.  Can you believe two weeks on the air/rails/roads and not a single visit to a quilt shop?  Maybe because of views like this. (yes, that's snow, not clouds)

Or adventures like a walk on a glacier ...

Anyway, I have spent a few hours in the sewing room room today and hope to share some progress with you soon.

I Love a Challenge

 Well, maybe it isn't exactly a challenge,  But I DID challenge MYSELF to come through for my blog friend, Cynthia, at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  

In case you've missed it, Cynthia holds a block drive a couple times each year.  She assembles the blocks into compassion quilts which she distributes in her area of Oregon.  In her current block drive she has requested Color Stix, a pattern available on her website.

In a little over one week I have assembled 58 blocks for Cynthia ...

... made a small happy quilt for myself ...'

... and started a "manly" quilt for our Devo and Sew comfort quilts ...

Check out Cynthia's blog to see the specifics.  The blocks are very easy to make and a bit addictive -- just sayin' ...

An Orange Plate

 Loyal Readers know that my mother preached "a colorful plate."  But sometimes taste trumps color.

Leftover BBQ brisket just called for carrots and sweet potato fries today.  Yum!

I've spent much of this week working on blocks for Cynthia's compassion quilt drive.  I decided to focus on the guys who might receive one of her quilts.  (I think I sense a theme here ...)

I also made a collection of florals and a few miscellaneous blocks ...  total of 59.  But I didn't stop there.  Rather than put my fabrics back on the shelf, I started making some for myself.  Tomorrow I'm calling Addictions Anonymous!

A Busy Week

 Whew!  Finally a chance to breathe and catch up.  

I had a committee meeting on Monday afternoon that involved quite a bit of prep work in the morning.  Tuesday included a trip to Nashville for our afternoon dental checkups.  DH had the great idea to put dinner in the Crockpot so that it was ready after the 2-hour trip home.  It was so nice to come home to sweet and sour chicken ready to serve.

If you are a loyal reader, you know the fate of the Crockpot.  😢  I immediately ordered a new one.  And when I realized I have a 6-quart Insta-Pot that can function as a slow cooker, I opted to get a 2-1/2 quart replacement.

A  perfect size for just the two of us.  It came in a package with liners and a cookbook.  

Can't wait to give it a try.  I'm going to cook a brisket next week and doing it in the pot will save heating up the kitchen for 6 hours.

Wednesday was spent shopping and prepping for the arrival of my friends.  Thursday the girls and I went to Pigeon Forge for Mountain Quiltfest.  

Friday, after the girls left, I washed and petted all my new fabric purchases.  I had splurged on a lot of light background fabrics that I have already paired with fabrics on my shelves.

I also got 2 yards of this fun black and bright print ...

... along with some fat quarters that I hope will work with it.

Now I just need a pattern.  Any ideas?

A Quilty Kinda Day

Spent a lovely Thursday with S'more friends at the Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN (home of Dollywood).  I thought you might like to see the big winners.  (I apologize for not getting the names of the makers; I thought I had picked up the show list but all I have is the vendor brochure.)

Best Large Quilt

Excellence in Hand Workmanship - Linda Roy, a frequent winner at AQS Paducah.  I know this one because she is relatively local and showed this one at a recent guild meeting where she was the program speaker.

Excellence in Machine Workmanship  - This one was absolutely exquisite with very subtle bedazzling at the tip of each star point.

Best Small Quilt

The local guilds who put on the show always do a stellar job.  They have many talented quilters in their ranks and the show attracts many entries from out of state, as well.  My favorite part is the challenge for local guilds.  This year the theme was "Water in My World" and the interpretations were many and varied.

Unfortunately, the city owns the convention center where the show has been held the last few years and they control when the show can be held.  It used to be in March (4 days) when there were fewer tourists; now it's in June (only 3 days) when everyone in the world is in town and hotel prices are higher.  I estimate there were about half the vendors than past years.  I doubt we will return as it is scheduled for the same week next year.  So sad.

You're probably wondering how much damage I did with the vendors -- I got two really sweet Christmas mini-quilt kits, several fat quarters, and some yardage.  But my big expenditure was at a local quilt shop that was honoring their 20% show discount in the shop.  I bought a LOT of backgrounds.  And then we stopped at a nearby shop on our way home.  Can't wait to show you but it's in the laundry right now.