Bonnie and Camille show and tell

It appears that as our world gets larger, it also gets smaller. Remember the pattern name change I mentioned yesterday? It appears that the word "gypsy" is NOT a nice word to some cultures. I get it - I truly get it, but we have now dug ourselves into a pit where NOTHING is correct. It doesn't matter what you say or what you do, or how you phrase something or your tone - someone will not be happy. 

I'm not saying that we should continue to use words that are not acceptable, but when is it going to stop, and how large will our vocabulary be? Will we have a safe list of words to use? How many words will be on that list? Will we have to invent new words to ensure that no one is offended? With exposure to so many cultures, it's going to be a challenge as we move forward. 

It's funny how different one day can be from another. Yesterday was NOT a very productive day. I just didn't have that get up and go. Perhaps it was the heat? I had a BIG nap in the afternoon! But then the problem was, I couldn't get to sleep last night. Sigh.................

But I'm making slow progress on stuff on The Task Master, and I'm staying focused. That's all that counts. Stay focused. 

Let's have a look at some show and tell from Bonnie and Camille this morning. 

The first set of blocks belongs to Bev. These were the three blocks that were assigned as homework. I LOVE this class - I think everyone is keeping up!! When has that ever happened? 

I love that scrappy look. 

Bev

I laid my blocks on the design wall, and although we've been working on this quilt for a while, it doesn't seem like we have a lot done. But we do!! And now it's time to start sewing it together. To do that, we needed to make some filler blocks which are flying geese. Bev made all the flying geese needed, not just to sew this section together but also all the other sections. 

The flying geese

And here's the top right-hand corner of the quilt. 

Bev's top corner of the quilt

These blocks belong to Cathy. Bright and cheery. She made the flying geese units needed to sew the top corner together. It won't take long to sew that corner together! 

Cathy

Next up is Donna. Ooops - these pictures are sideways. I must remember to rotate them in the future when I'm editing. I can rotate them within Powerpoint, but not the blog. So that's why they are sideways. I LOVE this colorway. I think it's an added bonus when you step far away from the original coloring of the quilt. 

Donna

She has little pops of red throughout the quilt and has the corner unit together. 

Donna's corner unit

Here's a picture of all of her blocks to date. See what I mean? It looks like we haven't done much! But wait - after this month's homework, that will change quite a bit!

All of Donna's block so far

She also made the little thread catcher. The pattern is included in the book. It's darn cute!!!

The thread catcher

Oh -- and here's her other block that doesn't fit in the top corner. 

Donna

I lament on and on about my limited choice of fabrics, but Heidi gently reminded me that she is working with THREE colors! Actually, not three colors, but THREE fabrics, well technically four when you count the background. She's using red, yellow, and blue, with white as the background. I was curious to see how it would turn out, and it's looking awesome. 

Heidi

That's so exciting to see the students step out of the box and go for unusual colorings. They are learning, and they are bringing their learning to the table!! I LOVE it. Here's her top corner sewn together. 

Heidi

I thought I'd share Heidi's special quilt that she's working on. Do you know what this is made from? It's hard to tell in the photo, but the "black" is actually a deep blue. It's an RCMP uniform. The person in question is retired, and the uniform was going to be destroyed if anyone is worried that an active uniform was being cut up. It's absolutely stunning, and there are many special meanings to how she chose the design. Well done, Heidi!!!

Heidi's special quilt

Next up are Karen's blocks. Oh boy - an upside-down one. Well, you get the idea of what the block looks like. 

Karen

Karen

Karen

And here is the top corner sewn together. 

Karen's top corner

The next set belongs to Kathi. Lots of bright colors, and that black and white is pretty neat within the blocks. I can tell that she's having loads of fun playing with her fabrics!

Kathi

Kathi

Kathi

Here are Lucy's blocks and another interesting take on the coloring. Almost all of the fabrics are from the same fabric collection. And it's a blender collection. Again - a super way to play with color. But the leaves on that flower are a graduated print, and I love how she fussy cut the leaves. 

Lucy's blocks

Next up are Margaret's blocks. She's waiting before she sews her blocks together. Like most of us, she's using what she has in her stash and has resorted to using several light grays for the background, which I think is a lot more interesting than using one and if you happen to run out, no problem - just add one more. 

Margaret

The next couple of pictures are Marilyn's blocks. 

Marilyn

Here's her top corner. It looks awesome!!!! 

Marilyn's top corner

This is Sheila's top corner and the extra block for this month. Looking good!!!!

Sheila

These next two pictures are Val's block. She's following the colors in the book and even using some of the fabric from the collection used to make the original. Hey -- that's OK too. Sometimes we are attracted to a quilt because of the color, and that's why we like it! But notice her very scrappy background. I think every piece in this block is different!

Val

Val's top corner

And last (one day, I should reverse the order to throw Zildi off!) here are Zildi's blocks. 

Zildi

And there's the top corner. These quilts are all going to look amazing when we're done!!!! 

Zildi

OH -- in case you're wondering what my quilt looks like. Here are the pictures. 

Here's the top corner. 

My top corner

And here are all the blocks so far. There are MANY holes in that quilt, but after the homework assigned this month, that's starting to fill in rather nicely. 

All my blocks as at the end of May

I've backed out of almost everything I could for the summer. All the clubs are shut down and will start back up in the fall. But these ongoing quilts (there are four) will continue over the summer by unanimous votes from the participants. I had two more presentations last night, and that's it for the week. I LOVE that. I almost feel like I'm getting out of practice!! I do have a class this morning on the mySewnet embroidery software. 

The virtual retreats will also continue over the summer - at least for July, with the next one scheduled for July 24 and 25. Just keep watching the blog to stay in the loop. All the classes that I'll be teaching starting in September will be announced sometime in August. Not sure when. But if you read the blog - then you'll know. 

I have to say that my laptop was in top working order last night, but things are NOW in a different place. How can that be? It's still Windows 10, but things are just behaving a bit differently? I still have two more software programs to load on the laptop, and then I'm back in total business. I must remember to do that today. One is EQ8, and I suspect I have to deactivate the license and then reactivate it, so I can reload it from the internet. The other I can just download from the internet. You have to love the way technology is now. No need to locate your program disks and then feed them into the computer one at a time. 

So whatever the glitch was that I had, let's hope that it never resurfaces its ugly head, and before I know it, I'll be happy with the new look. 

On that note, I have a super busy day. I can't afford to slack off as I finish prepping a few things for the retreat. Not that I need to, and I'm trying very hard to keep everything in ONE container. I may have to repack a wee bit! I'm taking my applique tool bag, and it doesn't fit. There must be room in there somewhere! 

And I have that class as well as some prepping for a big writing assignment. That's very important to get done today. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!