10/10/14

The challenge block

I’m about to do my first public challenge block.  I’ve done challenges before, but never one that anybody else saw but me.  I’m pretty excited to give it a try.

The challenge is for next year’s Georgetown Quilt and Stitchery show, sponsored by Handcrafts Unlimited.  HU sells hand made items for seniors; a clearinghouse for them to display and sell their wares.  And, I think they all have to take a turn working at the shop.  Anyway, they do a challenge every year and you buy the fabric from them for next to nothing and make any block you want and turn it in.  They judge and there’s a first prize.  They keep the blocks and use them for a future fundraiser. 

I like that.  We’ve been attending this show for years and there are beautiful quilts and it’s always well attended.  The day we picked up the fabric was the first time I’d been in the store.  It was really nice.  I could have spent a lot longer, looking at the cool handmade items that were reasonably priced.  We will likely be there again sometime.

Here are the fabrics.

100_7436 

Maybe it’s just me being influenced by that Jubilee Quilt I started when I turned 50 and now can’t make myself work on, but whenever I see batiks matched out like this, I think Mariner’s Compass blocks.  And, I won’t even have to do any research because I have, like 36 patterns printed off that I was going to use in the Jubilee Quilt…and do we now understand why that’s so hard to pick up and work on.  Maybe this block will inspire me.

It’s Friday.  It’s a good thing.  I’m very tired.  I have a huge project that needs completing today.  Or, over the weekend and I really don’t want to do that. 

Go Malala!!!!  Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner!  What a wonderful and inspirational young woman.  I wonder if she’d come here and talk personally to my student about the importance of education.  Her book is next on my reading list. 

Have a great Friday and a great weekend.  I’m catching up on blogs I haven’t read this week.  And, speaking of, I’ve tried to follow some of my followers lately and there is no button to add you to my dashboard to follow.  That’s really handy for some of us old timers that still use that button to follow folks.

Lane

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think a mariner's compass would be lovely. How will you get it accurate? Do you use foundation papers? Also, YES...well done, Malala. How courageous she must be to have stood up for her basic human rights. What an inspiration for Sydney and all other young women.

Sharlene said...

I purchased the 'young reader' edition of Malala's book, read it myself and then had my 12 year old daughter read it. She is really enjoying it. I've heard from a couple other women that they tried to read the adult edition and found it too political to follow. Either way, her story is a great one for all young girls to be aware of.

lw said...

I'm so glad that the Nobel team picked someone worthy of the prize this year!

I love those colors, though the last time I used bright batiks it was to imitate the rows of pennants fluttering in my memory at the car lot next to my dad's gas station on a blue, blue day.

I get why you're not working on the 50th birthday quilt. I get stuck like that all of the time, and the only way I've gotten past it is to separate the project...I'll just do one little block, and then stop if I want to...

Mari said...

Hi Lane! Blogger got rid of Google Friend Connect in order to force everyone to use Google Plus, so if people have newer blogs, they won't have a button at all. This is not because we don't want followers but because Google won't let us have an easy way for people to follow. That's why you're not seeing these buttons any more. Dumb move on their part, but nothing we can do about it.