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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Time Certainly Marches On


If ever a month has passed by in the blink of an eye,
it has been March!  In less than a month,
I'll be winging it back to Cape Breton!

You know what that means!
Time to buckle down and finish up projects!




My latest obsession has been these wonky churn dash blocks
I try to make a couple a day.
My design wall is this little 16 x 20" bulletin board!
It may not hold many, but I can see them,
and that's all that counts right now.
I only need 2 more!

Enthralled as I am with them,
after making the (plus size girl) hipster bag on the right,
a free Riley Blake pattern which no longer seems to be available,
(at least I cant find it to leave you with a link)
Found it!!
Riley Blake Hipster Bag

(click on picture to make it larger)

I decided to use one to change things up a bit,
and the bag on the left is the result.


Here's a closer picture.

Since April is "Random Acts of Kindness Month",
it is on its way to a colleague of Crafty Daughter's,
who lost her young adult son just one year ago.

The rest of the Wonky Churn Dash blocks?
I have an idea, and I've drawn it out,
but you know how that can go, so I'll just keep it to myself
in case it doesn't work out and it becomes another cat bed.

During my Texas stay, I enjoyed my annual week long visit
with two of my quilty friends from North Texas.
We taught elementary school together and they came to my home
to quilt every Monday night for years.


Quilter Jill, Sew Sweet Susie, and moi

Sew Sweet Susie gave me the left over Riley Blake Extravaganza strips
she had been working with and this is
one of the quilts I made with them.




(I had to add a couple of extra strips.)
It would have been nice if I pressed it before photographing it,
but I was in a race with the sun this morning.
The pattern is from
Sassafras Lane Designs
and you can get two quilts from one jelly roll!
This one measures about 41x52"

THANK YOU, Sew Sweet Susie!
And thank you, Quilter Jill, for your gracious hospitality!
I had so much fun!

~

Texas birds always delight me,
and seeing a Crested Caracara never disappoints.




It's the size of a large hawk, but of the falcon family;
a bird of open country,
seen only in Arizona, Florida, and Texas,
although I did see a rare bird report for one that had blown off course
this spring and ended up in Nova Scotia, of all places.
That's a long way from home!
Wonder if it was looking for me?
It's a scavenger that hangs out with the buzzards and the vultures,
which are also pretty impressive,
if you don't mind what they eat.
Enough said.

~


Keep it simple,
and make it fun!

XO,
karen

I'm linking up to

26 comments:

Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge said...

I've not seen a wonky churn dash before... I'm smitten!

Sondra said...

The wonky churn is adorable! The Hipster bag is a perfect fit for it!! I would love to see a crested caracara.....
Time to head north already??

Silvana Vituriano Celistre said...


Beautiful images!

Lynn said...

Love your churn dashes and the bags. I always like your bird sharing. This one is really interesting. One of my favorite birds are turkey vultures. Weird huh?

canuckquilter said...

Oooh, I like those wonky churn dashes. I can see stash busting possibilities in them :)

Marcy said...

Wonky churn dash? Too cool! Neat colors and the black sets it off. What a great adventure you had making it.

Linda Reeder said...

It's always fun to see what you have been creating.

Allie-oops Designs said...

I agree, March has gone FAST! I just love your wonky churn dash blocks, they're going on my list immediately of "someday to make"!!! Really striking with the colors you've chosen, and perfect for that bag. The sweet dreams quilt is so pretty!!!!

Fiona said...

I love those wonky churn dash blocks - they look great with the black slashes...
Hugz

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

Love these blocks xxxx

Julia D @ Jada's Quilting Adventures said...

The wonky churn dash blocks are gorgeous! I love the quilt! This winter has passed by quickly this year. Our winter was so mild compared to previous years. Hopefully I'll get to visit you over the summer :)

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I love the cute blocks and the bags are adorable. Beautiful quilt. It is ncie to see you and your quilting friends. The Caracara is an awesome bird. Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

lovely to see a photo of you with your friends and that you had a good time visiting. I have seen that wonky block but didn't really know the name of it. Good luck in finishing all your projects before you take off for the north.

Needled Mom said...

The little Churn Dash blocks and it makes a great addition to the bag.

Sounds like you had fun times with your friends.

Stunning photo of the bird.

Judy said...

Hi Karen,

I love those churn dash blocks! They look like fun and that's a great idea to add them to the nifty bag. Thanks for sharing the photo of you and your friends, it's always neat to see photos of the people whose blogs I enjoy reading :-)

Heidi said...

Those Churn Dash blocks are AWESOME! Would make a great ISpy setting too, and the little block you added to the bag looks great too. March was a blur for me too!

Just Ramblin' said...

I love your wonky churn dash blocks. Don't think I've seen them before. Really like the one you used to make the bag. I am always
amazed at the neat and fun things you do and how kind and generous you are. So many of us benefit from you wonderful gifts and talents. The jelly roll quilt is so bright and cheerful! Love it! I'm glad you had such a nice visit with your friends. Can't wait to see what you do with the churn dash blocks. Nola

Linda said...

I adore your churn dash blocks so much! What an amazing quilt that will be. Love the hipster bag too. I have to settle down and have a bag making day. I still need to get the cargo pants one done. That is a really nice photo of you. How nice to spend such quality quilty time with your friends. Maybe I know them ! haha You will be home in the wink of an eye. Still cold, so bring us some heat!

Anonymous said...

Love your wonkies and BOTH bags! Maybe that pattern will turn up somewhere. I don't do many (well, last one was more than 15 years ago, so ... yeah, not many!) but it might make a nice change, if it's easy enough. =) Love the picture of the bird, and that you got to spend time with your friends - what a great reunion. I know the next month will speed by and there you will be, off on another adventure to Cape Breton!

Sheila said...

Your wonky church dash blocks are darling and look sweet on the cute bag. Sweet little quilt too , you have been busy creating some very special projects . Yeah you will,be back soon.

Lorna McMahon said...

I have to admit those wonky churn dash blocks are doing it for me, too. Love how they feature your favourite fabrics in the center. How delightful it must have been to get together with your old quilting crew! That's wonderful! And thanks for sharing the photo of the bird. He really is quite handsome.

Nancy said...

I found the hipster bag at this link. http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/media/uploads/Free_Store_Display_Projects/2014/HipsterBagStoreSample.pdf

Leanne Parsons said...

The wonky churn dash blocks are beautiful, and that bird is amazing!

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Looks like you have been productive while away...and having a great time. Hopeful the weather will be better when you get back here. Safe journey.

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

Your wonky churn dash blocks are lovely, great colour choice. Really like it on the bag too, nice one.

Carrie P. said...

Love those blocks and your bag is so pretty.
How great that you got to hang out with some old friends.
Awesome bird!