More "Your Way" blocks

Yes, I'm still making more. Not so very many, but they are taking longer than I remembered.







We all were to make 15 big blocks for a 3 x 5 setting. I have made five more for a 4 x 5 block set. Now I am in the process of making four more so I will have a 4 x 6 set. I want to make it large enough for a twin sized quilt.









And we celebrated Charlie's 65th birthday at a downtown restaurant last evening. Here he is with our DDIL Lynne.
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Charlie says he is now participating in a large government health insurance program (Medicare), and so far, so good! Why not trust a new program as well?
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Sara

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Gratitudes:
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Reaching 65 in good health!
Leftover birthday cake after exercise class
Another beautiful afternoon at the beach

Trail Volunteer and Rail Fence blocks

Charlie has signed up to be a Trail Volunteer for our Kent County trail system. He has been to the class, had his "record" checked, and received this splendid costume which he is to wear on the trail.

His assignment is to walk at least two hours a week and report the condition of the TRAIL. If there are any problem with PEOPLE, he is to use his own cell phone to call the sheriff.





I'm working on the Rail Fence blocks, which seem pretty big. But then, that will make the quilt top quicker! Here are some of the blocks to show how the colorway is looking. Looks like Summer or July Sunshine!



And here is the wastebasket with the slivers of trimmings from cutting them all to my PPM, 10.25" square.



Sara

Gratitudes:

Easy picking out new tiles for basement shower floor
Progress on the Rail Fence blocks
Robin chicks have flown away (or disapeared anyway)

More on the Layout

Call this A. Adjacent.

Call this Sashing B. ------------------------------------Call this Sashing C.

There you have it! Three choices of the layout for Carolina Crossroads.
Which do you like, and WHY?

These photos are straight on, but the quilt is going to be set with the blocks on point. And I made six of the stars have yellow centers, and they will go in the middle two rows of the quilt. The outside Stars have dark centers.

Charlie and I had appointments to give blood this afternoon--and were both turned away because of our trip to Costa Rica! We might have been bitten by a malaria mosquito. And we can't give blood for a YEAR!

10:30 pm
I put 20 of the Ring blocks together today. I need 30 for the quilt as I enlarged the design. I had about 8 for the photos. Now I have had to take them off the bed so that DH can go to bed. Oh, dear.

You will not be surprized to hear that the votes coming in on which version you like are divided! Not clear what is the "winner", but black is the loser. What, you say, there is not artistic agreement among quilters! A shocking development.

Sara

Gratitudes:
Quilters are polite when asked their opinion
Charlie cooked dinner
Got all my GOE exams printed off today

Pieced words

This quilt top has been hanging at the head of our bed for the past year. (Photo is sideways. Top is to left.) My plan here was to make a Night Sky with lots of different stars in it, using my collection of blue fabric with stars/nebulae. I thought it was ready to quilt, in fact it is spray basted to the backing. But it hasn't felt "right" to go on to the next step. For one thing it is an odd size, about five feet square. And it doesn't feel focused.

Hooray, a possible solution has presented itself. I looked at Lazy Gal Quilting (Bonnie Hunter's friend Tonya) and she is encouraging a Winter Challenge on "Free Piecing" --something themed for Christmas or Winter. I remembered some of the stars on this quilt WERE free pieced, because I got bored with how unlike the stars in the sky the Regular star blocks looked. [In fact I sent one of these Odd Stars to Bonnie Hunter as part of a Congratulations shower from Stashbusters.] Then I realized that with Tonya's second area of fame (with me) I could add some piece WORDS to this quilt. This is a new technique for me! Maybe this will solve the quilt's problems.

Right away, I knew the words I wanted were "Follow the Star". We have a family game by that name we play every year only during the 12 days of Christmas.

Today I had time to work on it, starting with the easiest letter - "O". Here is the result. Only one word so far. It took a long time to make the "W". I made it her way, but wrongly. Then I corrected it. Then I made it the way I wanted it to look.

The word is now pinned to the star top, and Charlie is in the room getting ready for bed without any comment being made. It is right over his pillow!. Oh, well. He has his sermon written, and we are packing for St. Louis and then Costa Rica. So much to remember and imagine that the real physical world has little reality for him. He's not very "visual".

Sara

Exercise today: Walk to STOP sign, and shovelling
Steps: 3011

Gratitudes:
Walking with my trekking poles through the fog,
ice melted on driveway,
diabetic chocolate from my Secret Sister

Charlie and lobster

All I did that could be considered quilting today was "squaring up" the 9-patches from yesterday. At least that means I am ready whenever Bonnie tells us to sew some of the completed blocks together.

So I don't have a photo of quilting, instead I will share with you a pic of my Dear Husband having a delicious encounter with a lobster on a vacation in Maine. It's down the column on the right somewhere.

Today's exercise: One hour at Strength and Stretch class.

Sara

Gratitudes:
encouraging talk with a fellow diabetic
afternoon nap under the duvet
TV show "Little People"