Geese Going South

Participating in bees has been a challenge. I'm notorious for not finishing things on time. But I feel a bit better knowing I'm not the only one in my group. And just yesterday I found a block that I finished months ago, but never got popped in the mail. Yikes! It will go in the mail this weekend, along with the fabric for my month.

This month I've chosen a Flying Geese block. I've sent out a generous FQ of yellow, plus some greys, whites, and a touch of turquoise. I'm not picky about the size or shape of the geese within the block or how many you put in, I only ask that they all fly in the same direction. You can also make the geese any way you are comfortable doing. Some tutorials for you here and here.

Finished block size will partly depend on how many geese you do within the block. My preference is for a block either 12.5'' square, 12.'' by 18.5", or 18.5" square.

I've had this quilt in my head ever since the bee started. The one thing I don't like about bees is feeling like someone else's sewing factory. I personally, prefer to be challenged to create something a bit more unique. I also like to get something unique to the quilter back. Then I love the challenge of making it all work together. That's why I'm excited about our Mid Mod Bee and my month here at Pieced Together.

Urban Survival - TV and Trail Mix

In the midst of a major deadline (let's just say it involves a lot of words) and a weekend away with some family, there hasn't been a lot of great cooking around the Arkison household. To be honest, I'm struggling to feed the family well and work. I'm totally relying on what's in the freezer to get dinner on the table.

During the day it's another story. The girls have been surviving on grilled cheese sandwiches and bowls of cottage cheese for lunch. At snacks they are, sadly, begging for chips and chocolate. Christmas isn't that far behind us, after all. Thank goodness for apples and pomegranates!

What they are truly surviving on right now is PBS Kids and Trail Mix. Yes, my kids are watching too much TV. I know that, leave me alone. As for the Trail Mix, this is my Mom's fault. Yes, Mom, I am totally blaming you and your Costco treat.

After buying the Trail Mix only once I got smart and made my own. I could make 4-5 times the amount for the same price, even from the warehouse. Use a combination of ingredients that works for you. Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, cereal, and even a few treats. In our house I use whatever nuts I have in the freezer. Or, perhaps, the leftovers from Christmas. Sometimes I'll toast them, usually I don't. The girls don't care. Add in some dried cranberries and raisins for some sweetness, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and yes, some M&M's. I used to add chocolate chips, but those got messy when a certain 2 year old liked to pick them out and coddle them in her hand for an hour.

Store in a large plastic bag or air tight jar. Pack in jam jars for on-the-go snacks.

It seems like a no brainer to do this, but I find that not many people take the two minutes to toss it together in a large bowl. I, for one, am thankful I took the time between paragraphs. Now, when The Electric Company comes on I know I can get at least a page written before the jar of Trail Mix is gone.

Workshop in Progress - January 12

Welcome Back!

I am so glad to have all the returning and new folks back in the Workshop in Progress. This looks like it will be a good session.

Just a reminder to keep any of your comments constructive. It takes a lot for some people to put their process out there and ask for opinions, advice, and feedback. If you don't have anything nice to say then keep your mouth shut and your fingers down. If you genuinely see a spot for improvement, choose your words carefully and deliver the message kindly. Of course, if you love what you see or have a great answer to the question on deck then don't hesitate to share it.

If you've got a post for this week, feel free to add your link to the widget below. Every week you can add another post. I will, however, only keep the link widget open until Friday morning. And don't forget that you can add your photo and question to the Flickr group as well.

Please note that I've also updated the blogroll with participants new and old. If you are missing from this list, please let me know and I'll add you in.

Hobo Quilts

Every now and then a book completely grabs you, unexpectedly. You aren't sure why you are drawn to it, or what holds the appeal when it seems to obviously not your taste. Regardless of whether you think you should like it or not, you do. And you can't stop thinking about it. So you buy it, even when you aren't supposed to be spending any money.

Hobo Quilts is the most recent addition to my personal library. It's a book filled with over 50 block patterns and 20 quilt patterns from those blocks. It's more than that though. It is also filled with stories from people who rode the rails, fed them, entertained them, policed them, and more. Part oral history, part quilt book.

The patterns are based on a symbol glossary common to people who rode the rails. And the stories are all from archived collections and the author's family.

Each of the block patterns is accompanied by a story. The patterns themselves are quite simple. A life-size line drawing of the block with cutting instructions. That's it. It's up to the reader to put the block together. Some other reviews do caution that the cutting instructions and finished block do not correlate. For an experienced quilter, however, none of the blocks are so difficult that you couldn't adapt it for your own taste and size. There is a pretty good split between applique and pieced blocks. Here are some of my favourites - for the design or simply the name.

On first glance, these blocks may not appeal to the modern quilter. The history attached and the fabric choices in the book are not likely to appeal to someone used to working with large scale brights. But the simplicity and graphic nature of many of the blocks should not be overlooked. Combined en masse many of these blocks would make a striking, modern quilt. Your fabric choice and scale of the block could radically change from what you see in the book. It just takes some imagination.

Hobo Quilts

Debra G. Henninger

2010

Krause Publications