Susans QOV - and Finished! or not - Friday!!!

I have a friend.... she has a sister.... her sister wanted to make a Quilt of Valor.

I gave her the info and BAM! She got to piecing!!

She brought the top to me ....

and... it is now quilted - and ready to go to our Sew day to get bound!!!

Ta Da!!! Susan's Quilt of Valor!!!

I really Really REALLY wanted to take it outside to take a photo - but we have had winds .. and the slow ones are 30  mph.... it blows!

Look at all those little pieces!!

I just loved this one - I think a lot of the hexie pieces were fussy cut and they are so cool!!

It was such a fun quilt - that I just added simple stars to the quilting - and tried to blend the thread...

And this is the back I chose for it!

One of my grain buckets blew so I bundled up to go get it before it ended up in Kansas - I grabbed the handle as a gust blew - and I swear I became a kite!!! I am SO not a fan of wind!!

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My Rainbow Scrap Challenge block how to

 You may have noticed that for 2022 I chose a specific block and have been making whole quilts with that block. 

The block is based on my pattern called Zig Zag Rails. I taught zig zag rails to a million 5th graders ( okay maybe 100 - but it felt like a million) as they were participating in making Quilts of Valor.  We also taught it to the College Softball Team - they ROCKED this Block!!

Then Liz showed this block... and I loved it!

This block actually goes together a little faster....Which makes it perfect for my Lack of Patience!!

its a fairly versatile block

but these are mine so far.....

So the Block is 9 1/2 inches Unfinished... You know before it is put into the quilt.

I do it by using Strips - again - super impatient 

But you can also do bricks - make it even scrappier!

Alright - cut your fabrics to 3 1/2 inch wide.

I am doing mine scrappy - so I am not caring how long the strips are - but they have to be at least 6 1/2 inches long. 

Most of mine seem to be about 20 inches.

If you are not going to use strips - 

Cut your Bricks 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches

Stitch them together.

Once my strips are sent together - I press the seams - I haven't really paid attention to which direction... sorry...

Then if you are using strips - cut your set to 6 1/2 inchs

You should now have a unit that measures 6 1/2 x 9 1/2

6 1/2 x 9 1/2

then you will cut a 3 1/2 x 9 1/2 inch strip.

As you can see in my red ones - I used white,

In the Teal quilt - I actually used a darker Teal

and in the Yellow one - I used Black

In these pink ones - I am going to use a darker pink 

Stitch that 3 1/2 x 9 1/2 onto the side of your brick set.

Again - since I am doing scrappy - I am not caring which side it is on, as I will be able to play with the arrangement when all the blocks are made.... and this will give me variety.

TA DA!!!

Your finished blocks

Just to prove I did the math right

( more for me than you!!)

It is 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches square

I am pretty sure that none of the Quilts I have made so far have the same amount of blocks.

But - with a 9 1/2 block its pretty easy to do the math to figure out how many you want for the size quilt you want to make ;-)

Just because you all know me....

Plaid!!

There you go!! Have fun!!

A Sad Happy Day... and books of March

Today is a Sad Happy day. It is Happy because a lot of offices in our area have decided to have actual return to the office hours... so yay... Covid numbers are declining enough...

It is Sad,.,.... My Man has to go back to the office a few days a week. After having him working from home for over 2 years - I kinda got used to him.   I mean - it was an adjustment - but!

I liked that on the lunch hour I could get him involved in my projects ( okay, really to do them, but don't tell him that!)  and on nice weather days we could go get a little riding in... and maybe check on a fence post or 6.....

I Actually went grocery shopping with the thought of having to make portable lunches for him again. SO STRANGE....

Anyways... on to the Books I read in March.

Not as many - but SUPER long.....

The first was 

The Last Rose of Shanghai

Here's what they say 

"In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music…

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz―but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.

As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption."

I thought it was amazing that in my history classes- I don't remember learning about the Jews fleeing to Shanghai - and what the life was there. That same disbelief that America had - that these atrocities could be happening. 

And the next book

Carnegies Maid; 

At first I thought it was true - but alas - it is not.

and it is long, and you wonder how money could make people so different , when in reality, they all started at the same place...

Here is what they say:

" Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the woman who shares her name has vanished, and assuming her identity just might get Clara some money to send back home.

Clara must rely on resolve as strong as the steel Pittsburgh is becoming famous for and an uncanny understanding of business, attributes that quickly gain her Carnegie's trust. But she still can't let her guard down, not even when Andrew becomes something more than an employer. Revealing her past might ruin her future—and her family's.

With captivating insight and heart, Carnegie's Maid is a book of fascinating 19th century historical fiction. Discover the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist to the world's first true philanthropist."

After visiting Newport RI - I am somewhat intrigued by these people - and that is what drew me to this novel

You can bet - I am picking shorter books for April - haha!

Jeeping on The Gold Belt Tour

 Day Two of our little getaway.... We decided to go Jeeping along the Gold Belt Tour that was used in the olden days to get from Canon City to the Victor Mining District.

We had a tour guide/driver.. I was glad - he drove - I gawked - it was awesome.

Oh plus!! He knows all the history - I didn't have to google!

(Shameless Plug - If you go - take advantage of Colorado Jeep Tours )

The road that you take ( the rugged road) is the one that the Train used to use in the 1800's to get supplies up to the Mining camps, and to take Gold Ore down to Canon City to be processed,

We stopped in an old Mining Town that had amazing Architecture.

And lots of fun signs

This is us in the jeep - I was in the back for the majority of it and then I got too cold - so I got down into the lower seat and made them turn the heater up for me. Of course, it was open air.... so I'm not sure that helped much.

I took two blankets with me, and I was mercilessly teased - but please note what is across the boys' lap

Oh ya - Moms rock!

In the Mining Town there was a German Bakery... Oh! My ! Goodness!!  Of course - she had amazing desserts. The boys dug in!

Thats a Mocha Truffle cake

and 

This is a Carrot cake

Then a Peanut Butter Cheese cake

I had to roll everyone back to the jeep!! haha!

We got to see an active gold mine. Its kinda cool how they work.

These fences were used to hold in the dirt and rocks that they remove to mine.

it keeps them from falling on to the roads.

and these were built in the 1800's - and are still holding the rocks back

This was what was left of a Pony Express Station

It was a fun tour - and we found places we want to go back an hike more in depth.... if only we didn't have to work haha!!

Under the wire... Steppin on Up!!! and Finished ( or not) Friday!!

 Did you know that yesterday was the last day of March?

Did you know that my Yellow RSC quilt was not finished....  

Did you hear the panic, the desperation, the whirring of the sewing machine????

That was me... sorry about that disturbance....

But Now!!! after all that Panic - I can now say!!

YELLOW is finished!!!

It is super bright and FULL of bees!! I hope that all the bees stay on the quilt, and don't swarm me... I am allergic - but!! they are just so cute!!!

When I was building it - it just seemed unfinished.  

Jan at https://thecolorfulfabriholic.blogspot.com/ said I should add a row at just the bottom.

And she was right ! Finished it just the way I wanted it to look!!

Then I quilted really fun circles - in my thoughts - maybe how a bee flies as it goes around the flower before landing? 

Oh!! and for the back!! I found a Black with Bees Print!! I am thinking I might have carried the theme a little too far - but! Its all a Buzz now!!!

And for the final Count of Hats for the Month of March - EIGHT!!

The Maize color I had really got 7 hats  and that top right one is all the leftovers of the maize, Green and blue. So there you go - I am up to 25 hats for M to use for her Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

And now I am ready to move on to Pink for April!! This is what I found... we will see what works!!

AND NOW!!

Welcome to Finished!! ( or not) Friday!!!

Hopefully you had a great week and you have a finish to show off!! to let us Ohh and Ahh over!!

Link away!!

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Rainbow Scrap Challenge

The Royal Gorge Train and the Abbey Winery

Spring Break happened - and I got So lucky!!

Two of my kids had the same spring break, and those same two had to work most of the week - but!!! They were able to get away for a short break and hang out with us....

Instead of putting them to work fixing fence - we all escaped!!!

The first thing on our list?

The Royal Gorge Train!!

Its a train that goes up the Royal Gorge Canyon in Canon City along the historic Denver and Rio Grande Railways. I happen to love trains - so just getting on one is cool!

In 1882 this was the transcontinental link from Denver to Salt Lake.... I have a feeling this was NOT the most direct route to get there!!

We got a dining car with a window roof, and the seating was very much the same as in the 1880's.... I think people were not as tall back then - my poor 6'7" and 6'5" sons' legs had trouble... but we all managed!

We really enjoyed ourselves - we had lunch on the train, then wandered out to the observation cars. Our car had amazing windows tho ( my shade is shut for the photo but you can see the windows over Little Bits head.)

The plane going over the train!!! and that above me - is the Royal Gorge Bridge!!! Holee cow - it is up there!!

This is the side of the canyon - see that tube thing? That was how they got water to the city in the 1800's. It DOES NOT LOOK SAFE!   In Canon City - Colorado's first Territorial prison was built, before we could become a state. 

So when they needed to build water lines, they had a whole prison full of laborers - and this was built by them. It is no longer in use, but I tell you, some of the place this *tube* went.... you could not have forced me to build there!

I really suck at selfies... but I was trying to get us and all the windows in the background. 

The train was awesome - we loved seeing everything.

After the ride we headed over to the

Holy Cross Winery at the Abbey

for wine tasting

( and purchasing)

To me, it is very interesting that what they can grow in this area of Colorado is so different than our area. That they grow enough grapes to even start wine is impressive. They offer a red blend wine that is a blend of local growers in town.  So if you have a little backyard grape vine - you can sell your grapes to them and they create this blend of all the local grapes. I love it!!

Of course, they have a LOT of other varieties and have won awards, but I really liked the community idea.

Our tour guide told us the Abbey was built in early 1900's ( or somewhere around there) to help the community , and to stop the interference of the KKK.  I only found a little about that - but our tour guide who told us that has been in the area for a LONG time... so I will believe him.

It was a short trip - but you know.. I have more blog posts ( and photos!!) about it right?

String Blocks for March

 I have to tell you... I am impressed that I have stuck with this for three whole months now...

I am a great procrastinator... and I am a great list maker... then list loser.... so I have to say.

Surprise!!!

I have 31 string blocks!!

I have more Teals to make, and I am running out of my 10 inch strips of Red and Blue... PLEASE DO NOT SENT MORE haha!! I am excited to see the bottom of the Patriotic buckets!!!

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Stop Tossing version one... and Finished ( or not) Friday

 

When I write a Mystery Pattern - I usually just make the quilt first.

Then I cut Version two and start writing the pattern as I stitch along.

Then I bribe a friend to do it and critique it

Then I offer it to you as I am quilting my version....

Except this time.

I still have Version one.. with all its boo boos.

Version two got awarded somewhere along the way ...without photos. Which is good, it is doing what it was intended to do... but HOW did I forget it's photo???

and I DID make a Version three.... and Yes... its in plaids... but... It still needs its borders - so I am going to save it for another blog post - just to bother you... annoy you... and well... let you know that my best laid plans.... fail... 

Its all good tho... and I don't stress - I sorta laugh at myself....

Here is the original .. 

It started because my 5 inch square bin... just keeps overflowing - and it needed help......

And I needed some brain stimulation ... do you ever have days where your creativity ebbs? This one got mine going again!! YAY!

The Back... It is now in the to be bound pile for my QOV sew day, where I will bribe one of my favoritist people in the world to bind it ;-)

What have you got finished up?  Share away!!

Please add your Direct link only ( not the main link to your blog)

Please only link up a Finished ( or not) project - not announcements .. that's not really in the spirit of the link up

Please make sure to visit the links - make someone's day with a sweet comment

Please - link back to this post so others can join in

Link closes Sunday at noon my time

***********Link Up *************

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

***********The end *********************

Stop Tossing.... a Finish

 Stop Tossing is now over...

It was a fun easy one, but it was so good for me to get my design juices flowing again. I think they had stalled out... but this got them going again... so beware.... haha

This is Connie's Finish...

I just LOVE it!!!!

Check out Pat's at Bell Creek Quilts... 

And Check out Elizabeths

I will show you mine on Friday - for 

Finished (Or Not) Friday.... I hope if you have made it you will consider Linking up!!

Linking to

Midweek Makers