Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Still has been beautiful walking of late. Carol talked yesterday about our snowshoe walk on Saturday with our oldest daughter and the grands. On that walk, I noticed a ridge of snow where a mouse had been tunneling just under surface pushing the snow up to form the ridge.

Saw where it popped up out of the snow and then it’s footprints on the snow where it continued along, now on the surface. I looked around everywhere but I could see no mouse.

My grand daughter sighted a print of Big Bird on Saturday’s walk as well.

On Sunday’s walk along the camp road I saw this as evidence of a probable night time visitor. 

I looked everywhere but could see no other track and alas, I did not get to see the monkey. But it just shows that you need to keep your eyes open, one never knows what one may see.

Often when I post a picture of a quilt top that I made, someone will want to know what the pattern is and where they can obtain it. I never know quite what to give for an answer. Usually I comment something like, “oh I don’t follow patterns I make up my own designs.”

Thinking about this (on one of my walks), I decided that this is not really completely true. While I do design most of the tops that I make, seldom do I create one without at least a pattern in the form of a picture. That picture may be within the EQ8 program on my computer or it may be a drawing I made on graph paper in one of my many note books. Sometimes a combination of the two.

Rona 11 is a combination of the two. This is another top that I basically designed in my head on one of my walks. I knew I wanted to deplete the 4-patch bin that had been created by cleaning out the 2-1/2” squares bin. It really is a vicious cycle. 

I covered a lot of ground on my walk as I played with the math of what I had in mind to see if I could make it work. Seemed like the block would work. Then I decided that I would use the Studio 180 Corner Pop 2 Tool on the sashing strips to get V-block stars with fewer seams then with using the V- block tool. When I got home I drew this out on graph paper and it became my pattern. 

I then used EQ8 to get a general layout to get how many of my now designed 12” finished blocks and sashing strips were needed to get the quilt top to grow to a usable size.

After drawing out the block I needed to see how it would work out with real fabric. I chose what I thought was an ok fabric to use as the background for the block and made a block.

Boy was I wrong, the fabric I had chosen was way too dark and was quickly deemed unacceptable for use. I chose a different fabric and confirmed that I had plenty, chose a couple accent fabrics and took off running. 

I’ll tell you some more next time and maybe have it all done. I’m working on the borders now and there are quite a few pieces in them.

So until next time - remember, wherever you go, there you are, and only you know when you get there. Enjoy and piece something, feel free to show me what you are playing with under your needle.