Quilt Blocks and Quilt Shows

Test "drove" my four-patch grid based Nosegay block. The tulips are real easy to piece, but I haven't come up with an easy way to rotary cut the vase. I thought perhaps the Tri-Recs ruler would work; it's great for the background pieces, but the angle isn't right for the vase. (I tried to upload my drawing from EQ5, but it vanished into cyberspace.) My next approach will be to mark the center of two sides, and angle a ruler from a corner to a point 1/4 inch from the marked center. One advantage would be there is only one vase for each complete block. With an 8-inch block, that wouldn't be too encouraging if a king-sized quilt were the objective. I will include a rotary cutting table for at least three sizes in the hand-outs for Guild Retreat.

Went to Columbus, Ohio, to the NQA show. It has a completely different atmosphere from the AQS show. It is not a juried show, so that is a contributing factor. I'm always amazed at the number of quilts made identical to commercial patterns, or straight out of a book. I might display my effort at the local Guild show, but it would never occur to me to enter a national competition with someone else's design. There was an exact duplicate of one of Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville postings. I think half the hall would have been emptied, if all the duplicates were removed.

There were some great vendors, and I collected a few fabrics for a couple projects. Planning a pineapple star for my granddaughter and a "Surveyor's" Compass for one of the land surveyors that I work with on a regular basis. He's an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and I found a Moda "cheater" panel, Northwoods Crossing, to incorporate, probably as corners in the borders. I picked out earth tones, a rich dark red, deep blue, and dark green for points of the compass. It's hard to refrain from rushing into new projects. I have so many others going that I'm trying to be "good"!

While I was gone, my DH went to an auction. He found a neat maple sugar bucket style sewing box on three legs. I've got a similar one in my studio. Actually, I have wooden sewing boxes all over the house. For a long time, he was convinced that I was acquiring them for refinishing projects for him. It's only recently that I have admitted to collecting them! For several summers, when Quilt America was still being held in Indianapolis each summer, he would refinish one that was in good condition, and donate it to the auction to raise funds for mammograms for low-income women at Indiana University Medical Center. They always brought more than $100 each time. Sure miss that show, and more than that, the class opportunities it brought. I participated in some wonderful classes by some wonderful instructors . . . Elly Sienkiewicz, Nancy Pearson, Pat Campbell, Jeanna Kimball, Philomena Duncan, John Flynn, Doreen Speckman, Marianne Fons, Nancy Johnson Srebro, Anita Shackelford, Susan Cleveland . . . a regular who's who in quiltmaking.

Now I'm inspired to go finish my postage stamp baskets, and cut the neutral I need to finish my perfume bottles. Then on to nosegays! All are projects for Retreat samples.