Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday!

Before I share some quilt finishes, I want to say "Thank Goodness the Black Forest Fire is Finished!"

(Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

I chose this photo to symbolize the end of the Black Forest fire because the Fire Crew is from my home state of Idaho.  That's a long way to come to help fight the fire, and all the residents of Black Forest, Colorado Springs, and Colorado appreciate you.

The fire burned 14,280 acres, it is 95 percent contained. Officials hope to have the fire 100 percent contained by 6 p.m. Thursday, June 20. So far, 509 homes have burned, 28 are damaged and 3,653 remain unaffected.

I've been asked by several blog followers if there will be a "quilts for victims" effort, and yes, there will be. Details will be published on this blog when they are available.

Now, let's turn our attention to some happier news.  Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday!

I posted my first finish yesterday -- but it wasn't really finished!  Can you find the mistake in this quilt?  Thanks, Anne, for being the first person to point it out!

Even the DH found the mis-oriented orange chevrons!  Just so you know I really did fix my mistake, here is a second photo of the corrected quilt:

I also finished piecing the August Jelly Roll Party sample. It's "Ring Toss," pattern by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew.  The fabric is Sweetwater for Moda, "Reunion." background is Moda Bella Solids in Porcelain.

What have you finished recently?  Link up below to share your "Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday!"

From the desk of your

Spring Block-a-Day Quilt

Karen Snyder, who blogs at Anna Lena Land, tells us "Can't find time to make a quilt? How about a block each day! Every season I'll showcase a new block, post a tutorial on my blog (annalenaland.com) and try to give you lots of inspiration"

She is right!  For Spring 2013, she showed us this super-easy chevron block.  Despite weeks in Idaho and being glued to the TV watching the Black Forest fire, I finished my quilt top.

It's hard to see in this taken-indoors photo, but all the colored fabrics are polka dots. I  used Kona Snow for the background and setting triangles. This quilt is perfect for one of the twin beds in my downstairs bedroom.

I'm hosting Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday tomorrow -- I hope you'll join me and link up your own finish!


From the desk of your

Saturday in the Park

To get away from the fire, the DH and I drove to Berthoud, Colorado yesterday to take in their annual "Quilt Show in the Park."

[BTW, the Black Forest fire is still burning, but is now at 65% contained and they are gaining ground. 482 homes destroyed, 14,198 acres. Rich Harvey could be elected governor by acclamation!]

It was a perfect day for an outdoor quilt show. Blue skies, light breeze, temperatures in the mid-70s!

I would estimate 75-100 quilts hanging between the trees in the charming city center park:

We were there early, so there was only a "light crowd."

It was fun to evesdrop on the quilters and hear their explanations of "why I made this quilt," and "the problem with this one was . . . . "

Quilt sizes ranged from this beautifully pieced mini to king-sized quilts that had to be doubled over the clotheslines. (I am so sorry my camera battery was dying and I can't read the photo of the label. So I can't tell you who made it, but she was close by and I told her how impressed I was).

DH really liked this quilt, The pattern is called "Labyrinth," it was pieced by Kate Huxford and quilted by Kim Waite.

 

It's no wonder I liked this one, it is one we made last year for Fat Quarter Fun! Flim Flam was pieced and quilted by Judy Luppens-Huntley.

 

Even though this quilt is made from a traditional block, the two-color design and wonderful use of "negative space" make it fit right in with my favorite modern quilts!  "Cheddar" was pieced by Pam Topping and quilted by Kim Waite.

I do hope I have the right label with this quilt. I took the photo because I need two complementary colors for my Margaret Miller class at Quilt Wyoming next month! I'm pretty sure it was pieced by Jo Howalt and quilted by Bobbie Kwall.

The first round of photos, every picture I took was of a quilt pieced by Nancy Cole! "I need to make friends with this person," I thought.

Of course I had to photograph her Scrappy Jacob's Ladder! Pieced and quilted by Nancy Cole.

I also am taken with the colors Nancy used in her "Harvest Moon"  quilt.

 

And the rest of the story? When I went to the Laughing Ladies Quilting shop three blocks away, I asked "who is this Nancy Cole?"  Oh, she's in the back room cutting fabric!  Thanks, Nancy, for inspiring me to work on some more scrappy quilts!

I'm off to the mountains to escape the fire coverage. I'll be back in time to share my "Block-a-Day" quilt for spring on Thursday (or Friday!)

From the desk of your

July Jelly Roll Party: A Friday Finish

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.^[1] The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.^[2][3]In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. (Wikipedia: Flag Day United States)

(Image from Wikipedia)

The July Jelly Roll Party quilt at Ruth's Stitchery will be Hexagon Garden by Pam & Nicky Lintott. 

Since it's for July, I used the "Old Glory Gatherings" jelly roll by Primitive Gatherings.

  

Here are some hints for making this quilt. 

1. You will need a design wall. If you don't have one, a flannel-backed plastic tablecloth will serve.
2. Pin early and often -- every seam is not too much.
3. Don't try to chain piece the triangles together. It's too easy to lose your place and sew the wrong pieces together (ask me how I know this!). It would be easier to sew the rows together if you could arrange your design wall to be within reach of your sewing machine! 
4. Be very careful when pressing, as you'll be working with bias edges. Remember: press, don't iron!

I found the directions to be a little vague about how to trim off the edges so they were a straight line before adding the borders. [In fact, the pattern doesn't explain this at all!] I used my 8.5" X 24" Creative Grids ruler and trimmed at just a smidge wider than 1/4" away from the edge of the points on the right-hand side of the quilt. Then reverse and repeat for the opposite side. 

Even with my greatest care, I found the centers of my hexagons "poofed" a bit. Buts, as my long-armer jokes, "that will quilt out."  Well, it did, but washing the quilt and laying it flat on the bed to finish drying is what made it lie nice and flat!

The candle is lit for the Sailors on the USS George Washington, who will soon be heading out to sea for their summer cruise. Fair winds and following seas!

Addendum: had to add this image from Amy Barickman on Facebook.  Happy Flag day to all ships at sea!

From the desk of your

Fire Update

The fires are still burning in Colorado, four now. Mandatory and pre-evacuation boundaries have been expanded, but remain 8 miles to our north. The latest reports say 92 homes are a "total loss." Last summer, 349 burned in the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs.

Here is a photo I copied from Facebook of the Black Forest burning last night:

(Photo by Steve Kjonaas)

And here is another of the main road into the village of Black Forest:

(Photo by Steven D. "Smitty" Smith)

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and best wishes. I'm hiding out in the basement sewing room with the A/C on so the smoke doesn't get to me.

If there's a bright side, I'm making progress on my Spring Block-a-Day quilt!



From the desk of your

I Just Can't Do It

I just can't bring myself to write a cheery "oh, look, here's what I'm working on today."

Most of my readers know I live in Colorado Springs. You may not know there are three fires burning around our city, the closest in Black Forest. My "home" yarn shop, Table Rock Llamas, is 10.5 miles north of us and has likely burned.

At the last update, the fire has burned 8000 acres, which is 12.5 square miles.  Here is a map showing my approximately location, and the yarn shop in the center of Black Forest:

And here is a link to video from last night:

http://bcove.me/skxzd2q8

If you're a praying person, this would be a good time to pray.


From the desk of your

Design Wall Monday, Oh! My!

Oh! My! It's already June 10, and look at my "To-Do"  list for June:

Notice that not one thing has been crossed off?  I don't know what I did with the first 10 days of June, but it apparently wasn't "work on The List!"

I was lucky enough to be invited to spend the weekend at a friends "cabin" this weekend. It is such a beautiful, quiet place -- if you don't mind keeping an eye out for bears and mountain lions! Worrying about the wildlife makes it easy to stay inside and make progress on sewing, though.

I got a good start on the August Jelly Roll Party sample. The pattern is "Ring Toss" by Cluck, Cluck Sew. The jelly roll is "Reunion," from my favorite designers, "Sweetwater."

Somehow I mis-counted my jelly roll strips, so I have to cut 10 more blocks. Here's what the finished quilt should look like:

The air conditioner dudes are coming tomorrow to turn on our A/C. The high today was 97, so I will welcome them with open arms!


From the desk of your