Vacation

I just returned from a 6666 mile road trip (19 days, 19 states, 11 reunions/parties).  I did manage to squeeze in stops at 9 quilt shops.  For the most part, I behaved myself.  I collected green batiks for a leaf applique quilt I've been designing for a few weeks.  Picked up the reds for the state quilts.  Plus some blues for a quilt for my mom. And a few irresistables.  I'll post more on them as things get unpacked.

As for progress...I have 192 hexies put together for Rita's quilt. Another 100 or so are glue basted.  This project is English Paper Piecing for which I attempted glue stick for basting rather than thread for the first time. The hexagons are 1.5".  There are over 1000 pieces in the planned size.  However, as it goes together, I'm concerned that it's smaller than I'd imagined.  Need to decided if it needs more pieces or wide borders.

I also got some of the state blocks finished.  This one is Anvil and represents Pennsylvania.  The red fabric was sent to me by Laurel at Lively Stitches.  Hmmm  the block photos are a little blurry this morning...as am I.  Will work on better photos and updating the State Block page after I recover from the trip.

Ohio Star fabric came from Lucy at Oh Lucy What Did You Do?  who is a brand new quilter, working on her very first quilt.  She's also a friend of mine from high school.  Met her for supper on our way through S. Ohio.

Here's my Iowa block, "Corn & Beans".  Picked up one of the reds at Prairie Star Quilts in Elk Horn, IA.  The owner, Julie Larson, has designed a series of reproduction fabrics that are available through the website.  We took the back roads back to the freeway, and drove through fields of corn and soybeans.  The choice of block was obvious.

Our stop in Tennesee was at The Quilter's Attic in Goodletsville, TN.  This turned into a very expensive stop, as they had a selection of batiks that I didn't yet own.  And I bought a fantastic pattern book:  The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt  I plan to use these templates for my State blocks as well as a blue & white Life History Quilt for mom. (Like the state quilt, there will be a block to represent an event from each year of the first 80 years of my mom's life.)