A humbling day

 

I've NO ONE to blame but myself. But I just made TWO very costly mistakes. The first one is that I was writing this morning and totally forgot to save the file, and then when I went to save it - WORD froze, and I lost all the work. Someone sent me an article which I still need to read about technology woes. Perhaps I should read it now. But here's the thing - the Autosave in Word no longer works the same way that it used to. 

If I want to use Autosave, it will save my document on the Microsoft drive in the cloud. I do NOT want the document on that cloud. Not because of security, but just because I want it on my hard disk. Is there a conspiracy going on here? I need to check it a bit more later today, but well, that puts me behind by an hour or so. Not such a huge deal as it was the rough draft, and I'm sure I can come up with that again. 

Seriously? AutoSave only works on OneDrive or SharePoint Online???

Silly me for not saving the document the moment I opened it. 

But what happened yesterday is a bit more of an issue. I got a customer quilt quilted, and all was good. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Then I went to load the second quilt as I really wanted to get another quilt done to keep on track. OH MY GOSH - I even found another GOLD thread on that quilt. It for sure, came from me, but how???

Another gold thread

The second quilt got loaded, and I set up the dimensions, and I was away. It's a big quilt (of course) at almost 80" wide. The pattern is a bit of a complicated one, and it flows in a wave pattern on the screen. 

When I went to roll the quilt to do the second row, I realized that I had made a fatal error. The pattern was too wide to fit in the safe area. Even if I had the absolute maximum area marked and trust me, I went back and enlarged the safe area to the maximum, the pattern was just less than 1" too big. It didn't show up on the first row as the top of the pattern was cut off. Are you kidding me? NOPE!

So now, I have to rip out EVERYTHING that I stitched. Yes - a dense pattern and 80 inches of it! GRRR!  I'm about 1/3 of the way, and I couldn't take any more last night. 

Ripping out the quilting on the long arm

I didn't take the quilt off the machine. There's no need to do that, but I've lowered it so I can use the table as a surface. Of course, the tension is perfect, and well, it's just time-consuming to rip out. But again, I can blame NO ONE but me. Well, there's another checkpoint to watch for when I use these wavy patterns. I hope to get it ripped out today during Monday sewing. And then it'll have to be quilted tomorrow. But that puts me way behind now. Oh boy. 

I did get out for a long walk yesterday. And I spotted some dandelions. Don't they know that winter is almost here? I guess they were totally unfazed by the snow we had last week. 

Dandelions

Let's say that ONE thing at least worked out well yesterday. I've wanted to do this embroidery project for a while. I bought my threads a couple of weeks ago and well, yesterday seemed like a good day to experiment. 

I actually had to leave the Designer EPIC 2 stitching when I went to bed, and I prayed that there was enough bobbin thread. I used up two full bobbins before I went to bed. I woke up this morning and checked the machine to find this message. You can't read that, but it says, "Embroidery is Finished." So that was a positive thing. 

Embroidery is finished

The file contained over 212,000 stitches!!! Yikes - when I initially started it, it was going to take over 8 hours to stitch, and I started at about 4 PM. Then it quickly settled down, and it took over 5 hours to stitch out. 

What was I stitching? Here's a sneak peek. 

Sneak peek of my embroidery file

This is what I saw this morning. Of course, I had to stitch that out in the 360mm by 260mm hoop. Go big or go home!!! Good morning M!!!!  I wonder where her good looks came from? 

My finished embroidery of M

Here's a close-up of the stitching so you can see that it's made up totally of lines. I used a photograph of M. It's one of my favorites, and it's a headshot that she uses in her portfolio. I contemplated removing some of the detail in the background, but I decided to leave it. I did a wee bit of playing with the original photo's saturation, but it's mostly intact. I LOVE THIS. I created the file using the PhotoStitch Wizard in the mySetnet Embroidery Software. The same Wizard feature is in the original Premier +2 Ultra Software. 

The picture is made up of lines

This is what the back of the embroidery looks like. There's just one blip on her neck, which is when I had to change the bobbin, but I'll get rid of that later today. Note to self - remove the Jump Stitch function when doing the Linear art. 

The back of my linear photo stitch

It looks just like the real photo! I'm so impressed for several reasons. It was so easy to create the file. It was super easy to stitch out, and the end result is awe-inspiring and realistic. I see many more of these in my future!

The linear embroidery looks like a real photograph

Well, this brings up a whole lot of other ideas. Now, if I'd stop messing up, I'd have a bit more time! I can't believe that I screwed up twice. Oh well, there's NO time to worry about it. I just listened to an audiobook while I was ripping out, and the time passed fairly quickly. However, it's back-breaking work, so I can't stay at it too long, and I would have done more last night, but I was getting tired. 

Now, who can I do a photo stitch of next?? I need another model. Oh - I can hear the girls yelling - Pick ME!! Pick ME!!!  

I see it's time for me to get myself in gear and fix both of my mistakes. I always say that I love to learn by making mistakes, and I do, but I really don't like it when the mistake costs me a lot of time because I don't have a lot of free time these days. Although I was feeling pretty good about the time and thinking that things were almost up to date and I could relax a wee bit. Maybe my lesson should be - never let your guard down!  But I'm going to find the bottom of that technology issue - that's disturbing as it's happened more times than I care to think about. The long arm one was totally me, and now I know never to set the pattern to greater than 18" since that's the maximum throat space on my longarm! Duh -- I can't believe that I ignored that number. 

There's going to more show and tell this week and more stuff about classes and upcoming clubs, so watch for that. 

Have a super day! And if you make a mistake, well - let's hope it doesn't cost you time like mine did. 

Ciao!!!!

It's a Celebration

 I won't tell you what ridiculous o'clock I was awake this morning. Too many things running through my head, so I eventually just got up and did them! I sent a lot of e-mails and did some paperwork that needed to be done. Got an embroidery designed and ready to stitch out later this morning. I think I still owe 4 personal e-mails to people, so be patient a day or so longer - I'm almost out of the huge pile! 

Yesterday was an interesting day. I was on Zoom from 9:30 - 5:30. Now how did that happen? Well, three classes and a meeting. But that's OK - I did have 15 minutes between a couple of the sessions. We had an amazing Ruler class for the domestic machine, and it goes to show that YES, you can have some successful Zoom classes. 

I'm going to post the upcoming classes for 2021 this coming week so watch for that. 

Today, it's all about sharing the homework from one of our ongoing classes for 2020. It was the class that almost didn't happen because of COVID, but I'm so glad we pushed ahead and well - it was interesting to see how the participants made out since a number of them, myself included, were using what we had in our stash!!

The Celebration pattern is by Marilyn Foreman of Quilted Moments. 

Celebration by Marilyn Foreman of Quilted Moments

We ran this class through The Hobby Horse in Georgetown, so they sourced the pattern for us. I will confess that I would probably pass it by if I saw this pattern on the shelf. I'm not that fond of either picture on the front cover, and the pictures on the back are not that great either. 

I see the designer has taken this pattern and made some changes to it, and released it with two sizes and different corners. You can see that picture on her website. It's called Morris Medley, and I have to say, I LOVE the new corners, and the coloring is much better. That's what happens as we grow as designers. We're not perfect, and the original pattern was created in 2008, and a lot of learning can happen in 12 years. 

So without further ado, let's have a look at the finished quilts. We were 18 in the class, and we ended up with 2 people who audited the class but whose life got in the way and didn't have any time to sew, one person who got off to a rocky start and is going to start over, 2 almost finished top, 9 quilt tops, and 3 completely finished quilts. That's pretty darn good considering the conditions!!!

We did make some changes to the pattern, in particular the outer corners. The values and colors are different for each quilt. It's truly amazing fun to flip through the images and see how different they all turned out. 

Many of the group went through various forms of mental health struggles, physical struggles, and time management struggles during the making of these quilts. Some struggled with the pandemic shutdowns. It was NOT easy. 

Sit back and enjoy!!!!

Diane started off with some nice colors but felt it was a bit on the dark side. She couldn't continue with the quilt but will be working on it, hopefully next year. Life happens- we all get that! But it's a great start!

Diane

Mary has a very soft pretty version of Celebration. She changed up some of the colorings around the center green star and made changes to the corners. 

Mary

This is Susan's partial top. I love where she's going with the colors and hope that we'll get to see the final version of it at some point. 

Susan

A totally different look by Kathi. Those are HOT colors and look like a FIESTA, not a celebration. She also made some changes to the corners and still has to add her final border. She used the inside border for the center star, the same color as was on the outside. Interesting.............

Kathi

Another soft version of the quilt and this color combination is beautiful. The corners were changed, and some of the colorings within the quilt were switched around as well. 

Lynne

Another FIESTA version. Valerie kept running out of blue fabric and finding new blues to use. But you wouldn't know that to look at the quilt. And her version is quilted with an overall and needs the binding attached. 

Valerie

This belongs to Cindy and has a masculine look. Amazing how color can totally change the look. A lot of us had to play with the fabrics in the center block, and Cindy changed hers at the last minute, and it made a huge difference to the look. 

Cindy

Cindy did not put the final border on the outside, and she had her version custom quilted. It's already being used! She's FAST. 

Cindy's quilt - custom quilted

Here's what she did with those extra center blocks she made. She used them in a matching pillow! 

Cindy's matching pillow

Linda took an unusual turn with this amazing colorway. I LOVE the black/red/grey/white that she used, and she has one fabric that ties it all together. It's gorgeous. She's close to being finished, and I can't wait to see this final quilt. Great job, Linda - take care of yourself!!! 

Linda

Judi had almost abandoned her quilt. She wasn't happy with the colors she started with. We had a chat, and the next thing I knew, her quilt top was done. This is NOT at all like what she started with, but it's AMAZING!! I love the colors. Great job, Judi, and so glad you stuck it out. 

Judi

Here's another FIESTA quilt. This one is BRIGHT. And I'm sure it's even brighter in person. There's a busy floral in those larger squares where Wendy pulled the colors from. The black is spectacular and really sets the quilt off. 

Wendy

This is Grace's fall version of Celebration. She made some changes to the corners and changed up the coloring in the middle round. I think almost everyone did change up their fabrics and colors. But wow - this is gorgeous!!! I believe it's mostly batiks. 

Grace

This is Nancy's quilt. Again, a totally different look. I love how she used two borders on the outside and also changed up the corners. She's courageous to use black in those large squares, but it seems to anchor the quilt, and it really is beautiful. 

Nancy

We got to see Patti's quilt each month, but Patti couldn't join us on Zoom. But we gave her feedback through a friend who was on the Zoom calls. I think the end result is beautiful. Notice the coloring of her quilt is quite close to the small picture on the pattern's front cover. I never noticed that before! But it's awesome, and Patti also had to remake the center block. I think all of us did.

Patti

Marilyn used what she had in her stash! And even ran out in some places and had to substitute. But aren't the colors pretty - She's calling it Celebrate With Ice Cream. It sure reminds me of all the flavors at the ice cream store. She used different fabrics in different spots, and the quilt looks entirely different from the others. 

Marilyn

This next one belongs to Catherine. She wasn't happy with some of her fabric choices at one point and found a substitute fabric. Now it looks gorgeous. 

Catherin

She had it custom quilted as well, and I think she still has to put the binding on. She used Fireside Fleece on the back. Here are some snaps of the quilt back. 

Custom quilting on Celebration quilt

Custom quilting on Celebration quilt

Custom quilting on Celebration quilt

Last but not least is my version. It's very subtle, but I like that! I feel like it's glowing. I also made some changes to the position of the colors. I ran out of two or three fabrics and was lucky to find some substitutes once we could get out shopping. I thought I was done and made the binding and the backing. Then I heard one of the students mention a border. A border? Oh, shoot - I completely forgot that there was a border. I'm going to rethink it today and see if I have any fabric left that I could play with. I don't think so, so this might have to be it!!!

My version

And there you have it—the results of our great year-long class. If you want to be part of one of these amazing classes, stay tuned as I'll be posting the information for what's coming in 2021 in a few days. And if you don't want to start a new project (but who doesn't want to start a new project?), then we're going to have several clubs next year, which will keep you on track. More details coming this week as well. 

On that note, I'm off to work! Yep - no rest for me. At least not today. Don't worry, I've got a couple of lazy days planned for later this week, and as a result, I've got to get stuff done today. Writing, quilts, and our UFO club! Only one Zoom session - thank goodness. I didn't get out for that afternoon walk yesterday, but that's OK. Today, however, I'll be out!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

On a new adventure

 

So today, well, actually yesterday, starts a new Virtual Adventure. I was excited and set up the start date as yesterday. 

Wait a minute - let me backtrack here. I had NOT bought anything as part of Black Friday. I don't need a thing. Not even in the quilting world. Although I did check out a couple of websites, nothing piqued my interest. How could it when there's so much already sitting in Studio B waiting for its turn to hit the sewing machine? Oh - you don't even know half of what's down there. And let's just leave it like that!

That's the problem with organizing - you get to see the extent of what is still to be done in clear detail. Kits bought years ago, half-finished projects, and boxes filled with stuff that I'd like to attempt - one day! The only saving grace in all this is that almost all projects started this year and last year got finished this year. I'm still working on a few things but have plenty of time to finish before the year is out. I cannot justify spending more money on stuff that will just sit there and eventually be donated to someone when I'm not here. 

However, I did spot an e-mail that intrigued me, so I went shopping. My original intention was to buy the latest Virtual Challenge - climbing to the top of Mount Fuji in Japan. It's a short challenge, and there's a 30% off right now. The distance is something like 46 miles (74 KM), which is very doable for ANYONE!! Imagine if you only walk one mile a day or even half a mile a day, you'll get it done! And you get a very cool medal to boot. The sign-up cost and the medal are $21 US plus $5 to ship the medal when you're done. So a very reasonably priced gift for you or someone else. 

When I placed my order, I was asked if I wanted to buy three more adventures (any of them) at a discount. I thought - why not? So now I have three adventures to choose from, plus Mount Fuji. So I got excited and signed up for the next longest adventure, the Appalachian Trail, along the US's eastern coast. 

But here's the thing - these adventures would make an awesome gift for someone. You receive a code, and they can start whenever they want to. No shipping, no gift wrapping, unless you want to wrap the code. They get to set their own time frame for finishing. You need a way to track your miles, but who doesn't have a FitBit or some other tracking device these days. 

If you're interested in buying the adventure, then use this link. If you use the link below - you'll get an automatic 10% off the cost. But if you're going to buy Mount Fuji, then use the link above as it's 30% off right now. This link is for any of the other adventures at 10% off the regular price. 

Your unique referral link is: https://www.theconqueror.events/r/ET657

Loads of people, like me, are hooked on these adventures. They are a lot of fun, and I love seeing my progress on the Google Map. 

Well, I decided early this morning that I should start this new one on January 1. Well, I already have miles logged, and I have no idea how to back them out. It appears I'm on my way up the East Coast of the US. Oh well - it's not a big deal. I was missing looking at my progress on the map anyway. I've shifted my distance into KM, so that's easier for me to comprehend! 

The Appalachian Trail Virtual Challenge

This one is shorter than Route 66, which was 3,669 KM. This one is only 3,167 KM. A whopping 500 KM shorter!!! My goal is to finish it by the end of September 2021. 

And here's the route I'll be taking! It's pretty exciting, and wouldn't it be fun to walk this trail in real life? OK - only for crazy people like myself. Since the route follows the real Appalachian Trail through the mountains, I'm not expecting to see many Google pictures since it would be a challenge for the Google car to drive that route!

The Appalachian Trail route on Google maps

But if you sign up for one of the challenges or buy it for someone, let me know! Remember, these are NOT races. You just log your daily steps. And if you have a FitBit, all the logging is automatic, so you just open the link on the computer or the app on your phone to see your progress. Super easy, but super motivating. The mileage gets updated once a day. 

There are days when I don't always feel like I want or have the time for that afternoon walk, but I'm excited to see my progress on the map, so I go! How silly is that? 

I had another successful presentation yesterday and a class. I'm now down to four presentations and several classes. The teaching year's end is drawing to a close, but there's still stuff going on. There's the UFO club, following up on some of the Facebook only groups, and well, a whole lot more! But the bulk of the "hard" work is done. All that's left is making up PowerPoint presentations, so the group gets a front-row seat in the show and tell. 

I also got another customer quilt done! I just counted, and there are a "few" quilts waiting to be worked on. But there's time to get them done before Christmas, so that's all that counts. 

Customer quilt - DONE

And I'm playing around with the new mySewnet Embroidery Software. I've got loads of samples that I want to make, so I get a few minutes of playing in when I'm waiting for a class to start. I'm learning loads! There's still lots to learn, and I'm only focusing on the easy stuff - the stuff done with Wizards, but boy - can you do some amazing things. I'll be sharing that with you once I start to do the stitch-outs. 

Don't forget that Block Five of the Spectrum Quilt a Long is now posted. Here's the link to my version made with Blue Stitch by Riley Blake Designs.    And if you want to see Claire's version, here's the link.   And the third version of the block is done by Paul.  I just love how all three blocks look so different. It's going to be great fun to see all the finished quilts. 

But I swear that I see so many different ways that I could have placed the fabrics to make different parts be highlighted! Wow -- those are great blocks to put in EQ8 and play around with!!!

I have one of the two presentations that I need for this morning done. I'd better get to work and get the second one finished. And yes - it's going to be another crazy day, spent mostly on Zoom. I'm sure getting my money's worth from that Zoom account!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Getting Along

 

So I'm back to reading an audiobook, and I listened to half of the book yesterday. A book about Melania Trump: it's written by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, called Melania and Me. Ok - so I have a morbid fascination with this entire mess. What I don't understand about this story is how the heck could Stephanie give up so much to be so loyal to Melania? I don't get it. And it also shows how conniving the rest of the Trump family were (are) in making a total mess of things. 

There is a bit of bitterness in the book - I'm not sure if that's self-directed to the author for continuing on the loyalty when it was really one-sided. Or was she trying to ride on the coat tails of the First Lady? Or did she really believe that she got screwed over? How can this perfectly sane and very successful businesswoman get hooked into this mess? It's a sad story, but there is no one to blame but the author herself. She should have walked right at the beginning when things started to go south. 

Oh well - that's life. It takes all kinds to make the world go around. Let's hope that the entire mess just goes away in January! Somehow, I'm sure that family will continue to find the spotlight. If we would just STOP paying attention, it would all go away. 

Speaking of January, can you believe that it's almost the end of November? I can't believe how quickly the year has flown by. And after this weekend, my schedule is going to clear up. Oh don't worry - I still have things to do - a few classes to teach, but the things to do are a lot more spread out, and it's going to be like that for almost TWO months! I should be able to get a lot done! And I have days on my calendar to clean the office and to clean up my computer files. Stuff that I really need to do! But now that I'm more disciplined about sitting in front of the computer, I think I can make some of that stuff a reality.

I got the giant quilt quilted yesterday. It's now ready for the customer to pick up today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

The next one is mostly loaded and ready to go later this afternoon. I'm a wee bit behind, but I think I should be caught up by the end of next week. Well - we'll just make it happen. 

My goal over the month of December and January is to work on the Quilts of Valour quilts and some of the other community project quilts that are waiting to be quilted. And perhaps throw one or two of my quilts on the machine as well. I do have a couple of trunk shows coming up in January and February, so I should have the goal to add one or two FINISHED quilts to those shows. 

One more presentation last night. It's kind of sad when I finish up the 6-part series. I open my calls up a half-hour before the presentation starts so we can chat and answer questions. I feel like I'm getting to know some of the ladies. Hopefully, they'll book more sessions in the new year. 

I got a lot of sewing done, but nothing that I can share at this point. Instead of writing, I did two hours of paperwork. While I needed to get that writing done, I feel much better that I took the time to clear up some paperwork. It's amazing how quickly it accumulates!

I snapped a couple of pictures around the neighborhood. I was on a long call yesterday, so I wandered around for a while. Now this is a serious porch drop off. That's a HUGE box. I wonder what's in it? I can't imagine anyone grabbing that box and running to their car. I think it's safe. 

A large porch drop

And what's the story behind this driveway. I checked - it's a house, not a townhouse or a shared driveway! But doesn't it seem like things might not be OK in the house? The line goes right down to the street! I'll have to watch when the snow comes back. Is half shoveled and the other half is not? 

A divided line

 I see that Miss Lexi is on a roll this week. Another post. How is this happening? 

I see it's Black Friday. My e-mail box is crammed with sales messages. Good grief - the amount of sale e-mail I get is insane. Yes - I could delete the stuff and I do, but I don't know why I need to get so many, and often, they are advertising the same thing! If I wanted it, I'd have bought it the first time. I don't need anything, so I won't be buying anything. There are a few things that I thought I might want, but then I realized that I don't really need them. Saving up my money! Besides, I have so much stuff to deal with and that has to be done before I even consider buying anything else! 

Well, it's another action-packed day, and I might as well get started! 

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Moving on up!

 Yesterday was a good day! Sometimes all we need is a good sleep and the next day is much brighter! The SNAFUs from the previous day got fixed.  They weren't my issues, but I had to deal with the consequences. I'm happy to report that the giant quilt is on the long arm and ready to go later today. 

I don't mind doing some work for customers to help them get their quilts ready. I've done bindings, but I had to make the backing for the giant quilt, and there wasn't enough. So the customer scrambled and had to make a long trip to get me more backing. I also had to put the borders on the quilt. Don't worry - they'll be paying for my time. Next thing you know, I'll be making their quilts! Ah - no - I won't do that!

Lots of phone calls dealing with other stuff got accomplished, as well as e-mails. I still have more today, but I'm good. I will have to break down in the next day or two and actually go out in the car. I have a few things that need to be picked up, and well, I can't put it off too much longer. Actually, I was waiting for the snow to melt off my car as I was too lazy to scrape it off. I see it's almost completely gone. I'll wait until tomorrow to do the errands. 

Here's a very frustrating thing. It's so frustrating for local small businesses. Where I live, the stores and restaurants are closed. The stores that sell non-essential items. But the large stores, where MORE people gather, get to stay open because they sell essential items, yet I bet people are buying non-essential items. Yet, I can drive TEN MINUTES from my house to some shops where I normally shop, and I can go in. Can you tell me the logic in that? I CANNOT cope with illogical decisions, and this one is a doozy. 

I admit that I'm putting my head in the sand because of the insanity of this ruling. It just doesn't make sense. I'm also DONE with talking about the pandemic. I'm just so done with speculation on when a vaccine will be here, I'm done with who agrees with what, and I'll just stick close to home and venture out when I have to. 

I see that Miss Lexi was on the computer again! Two days in a row? She must be mad! You can check out what's happening in her world here. 

I did get another quilt quilted, so that's one more off the list. I'm making great progress on the list, but I'm not as up to date as I would like to be. 

Customer quilt - DONE

We're back to curbside pickup at the library. NO - I didn't have any books to pick up, but DH had one, so I got it for him. I returned one book that I finished, and I finished an audiobook as well. That was a very tough read - Five Little Indians by Michelle Good. It was sad, it was heartbreaking, but I had to smile when they talked about the reservation near where I grew up and that they used salvaged lumber from North Battleford, the closest town to our farm. It's just so shocking how those kids were treated. 

I found out (I had not really paid attention), but there was a residential school in Battleford. Now I'd like to go back home and look at that spot in a totally different light than what I've done in the past. And no amount of money can repair the damage these kids suffered at the hand of the church. Yes, I know the government put them in that situation. But the abuse is NOT acceptable. The sad thing is that abuse to children was not just restricted to these schools, and it hasn't stopped. 

When I was out for my walk, I stopped by the grocery store to get more brownie mix to make more Bear Paw cookies. As if I need them. I must say that I've let myself indulge in a bit too much sugar these days. It's all time-management stress-related. If I'm not under the gun with a deadline, I'm pretty good with the sugar. OK - that's got to stop, and I need to find a substitute! OH -- I bought three mixes because it was 3 for whatever price. I couldn't help myself—my LAST splurge. 

Brownie mix

So what the heck am I doing with my days? I don't seem to be getting anything much done - at least not that I can share with you! Next week will be much better!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

Long Time Gone Show and Tell

 

Do you ever have one of those days when things just go haywire? That was yesterday. I had plans - I really did, and several things put a wrench in the mix. So I just decided to take the rest of the day off. GASP!!!  I know - I'm feeling the pressure this morning, but I'll just put the pressure on the back burner and focus on ONE thing at a time. That's all I can do. 

I did sit and finish reading that book. Oh boy - I didn't see that ending coming! Loads of twists at the end, to be sure. And I started another one - hey, if I'm going to take the day off, I might as well do something I like. It was good, and perhaps I needed that wee break. 

I did get a bit of sewing done, but nothing that I can share with you, so I'm going to share the homework from Long Time Gone, which we had this past weekend. There are over 50 of us in the class, but I know I didn't get 50 pictures. Some people have time restraints or are still working out their colors. 

We had one block for homework for the first month—a trip around the world. There are 169 pieces in this block - each one a 1½" square. I have to say that from what I've seen so far, the group has done amazingly well with the homework. I'm super impressed and the color combinations. Oh boy - there are all kinds, light to dark, dark to light, brights, multi-colors, and everything in between.

So sit back and enjoy. 

This is my block 

And YES, I encouraged them to twirl their seams. That was a lot of work, but the block lies perfectly flat. Oh boy - I didn't post the pictures of the back of the blocks, but MOST of the group twirled, and they love it! Their blocks look so flat, and the quilt is going to look so much nicer!

The back of the block with all the seams twirled

Love the multiple fabrics in the background—great contrast on all the colors. 

What a totally different look as the colors go from dark to light and blend into the background. 

And here's a HOT version. Adding some of the background fabric inside the block doesn't make it look quite so heavy. 

I love the little pops of grey in that background. A very neutral palette!

A soft look with these colors and again - the mixed fabrics in the background. Makes it much more interesting. 

Another soft look. These quilts are going to all quite different when they are finished. 

Another bright block. 

Love the colors in this one. And notice how they kept that red/green stripe going in the same direction? 

Look how cheery this one looks. Not as much contrast as some of the others on that final row. Which is totally fine. And see how they were careful on alternating the red/white striped fabric. Love it!!!

So many neat colorways! That soft green and yellow. Looks awesome. 

Another soft version. That's the beauty of these group quilts. You get to see many options for colors and if you see something you like, save that idea for a future quilt.

I love this one as they continued the pattern out into the background with different fabrics—a very clever idea. 

We're not going to ask this person to take their block apart, but that circle fabric begs to be fussy cut in that last row! IT still looks awesome like this.  

Another version in the neutral palette. What amazes me is that even in this simple block, changing the colors and/or values can make the block look totally different. 

Here's something totally different. The background is dark, and the center of the block is light. LOVE IT. I wonder what direction the rest of the quilt will take?

Another great color combination, and it looks like they've mixed solids and patterns. It works!!!

Here's one with a fussy cut center. That little heart is adorable, and this looks like a very whimsical version of the quilt. Again, look at how that variety of background fabrics add to the whimsy of this block. 

Another different coloring with the tans/beiges for the background. 

This one is bright and cheery! And some low volume fabrics in the background. It also looks like they kept that outer turquoise directional print going in the same direction! 

More low volume prints in the background. It adds so much interest to the block and nice contrast of lights and darks in the block. 

Here's another soft version with some low volume prints in the background. 

This has a bit of a tropical look to it with the bright yellows and greens. 

This one is still under construction, but it looks awesome! 

Looks like solids mixed with prints and, again, a directional print alternatively placed in the block. 

Another great colorway. Interesting how the same fabric was used for the background, but the print offers up a lot of interest as it was cut. 

Another unique colorway. How can we have so many colorways for the same block? Easy!!!

Another soft version. These quilts are going to look very pretty!

And then there's a rebel in the group. She doesn't want to work with small pieces, so she made her squares larger! 

And there you have it - that's all the show and tell that I got from the group this week. They now have seven blocks to make this month. I see that some of them are already posting pictures of some of their homework. 

These ongoing projects are the best. You get to see so much variety in colors and value. And the homework assignments are always chock- a- block filled with tips for better construction. I think many people learned so much from this first block! And we've only started!

I'll be posting the other ongoing classes that start in January. I'll try to post them tomorrow so you can get in on all the fun!!

On that note, I'm out of here! I'm just going to tuck my head between my shoulders and FOCUS. I've got quilts to quilt, writing to do, and a few other small things that have to be done, and I've got one presentation later this evening. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!