Updates - a long time coming

I have been very busy and somehow, posting on my blog has moved down the priority list. Yes, we all have excuses - I wear mine like well thought-out accessories. First there's the kitchen - 5 weeks now cooking on the George Foreman grill, borrowed electric wok, and microwave. Next week the granite benchtops go on and we will be done!

We are off on an extended 3-month journey to the US starting mid-April. This means that I have a lot of planning to do (thanks goodness for hubby taking on much of that planning for me). Because I contract at work and am not sure there will be a job waiting for me, I need to wrap up everything, document it, and hand it over to other people. This has been weighing heavily on me and seems to be sapping me of some creative energy.

But I have been sewing...(sorry, no pictures this time)

• March Block Lotto - love the HSTs and managed to throw together 7 of these blocks.
• April Block Lotto - Sneak Peak. I put together 3 blocks so far and really want to finish 9 of them, especially since I had to source some 'special' fabrics for this one.
• AMQG fundraising quilt - prototype blocks - I volunteered to organise this (what was I thinking?) and have narrowed the options down to 3 blocks. The stars are winning. Our next meeting is 10 April, so I will need to present the guidelines and instructions (oh, and make a block).
• AMQG challenge - Many of the members regularly make small quilts to donate to Auckland Starship Hospital's special care baby unit (SCBU). This challenge is to make a small quilt (minimum size is 20" square, I think) and then donate the quilt to the hospital. I chose to use one of the NY beauty patterns (this one was from Sew Sweetness). I've finished the 4 blocks to make up the circle and now need a border and to finish it by 10 April.
  
  
  
• Cotton Robin round robin - I can't post much about this one because it's supposed to be secret until the quilts are done. I've done the first border on one block and sent it on a few weeks ago. My next block with one border already on it arrived last week. I've decided on the design for the final border for this one and need to get it done and posted by next week.
• Crumb quilt - I never posted the finished quilt. I think I finished more than a month ago. DD has adopted it and she and the dog sleep with it every night.
• Green HST - no progress.
• Blue snowflake - started another block (this one blue on white) in February, but no progress since then.

When I'm in the US we will be travelling a lot. Anyone that has a favorite quilt destination (shop, gallery, antiques, etc.) please let me know. We will be in/around these cities in April-May:

• Fredericksburg, VA
• Nags Head, NC
• Charleston, NC
• Savannah, GA
• Florida City, FL
• Orlando, FL
• Port St. Lucie, FL
• St. Petersburg, FL
• Destin, FL
• Natchez, MS
• Memphis, TN
• Paducah, KY
• Mammoth Caves, KY

AMQG ideas for fundraising quilt

I volunteered to organise a collaborative fundraising quilt for the Auckland Modern Quilt Guild (AMQG). Because we are modern and because there is a mix of skills I thought that an easy 'liberated' design would be best.

I've narrowed the choices down to three designs - color choices are still negotiable.

I've had lots of inspiration out in blogsphere on these, but no one specific design. My Block Lotto experience will help me with this, I hope. That's probably why I volunteered.

Candidate number 1: wonky stars

Wonky stars made from a few scrappy flying geese and arranged into a 9-patch. I used bits and pieces from my scrap basket in blue/white/grey. I like the color combo, but think that the greys should be limited to lighter shades; the dark ones I don't like so much.

My thought is to allow any size star and each block can include multiple stars. All final blocks should be a set size (9" or 12" finished). I envision lots of stars floating on the background.

Candidate number 2: asterisks

A quick and simple design created by slashing a background square and inserting strips of color. This one could be very specific about size of block and width of strips or people could choose the sizes themselves. I think my strips are a little wider than I'd prefer.

Candidate number 3: log cabin squares

I confess that this is my favorite one. An easy log cabin design with each row being a single color and width. This one will result in a really modern look and we can practically use any colors as long as the inner and outer squares are a consistent color.

Comments are welcome!