Supernova Friendship Block Swap Update + Broken Top Hike

Posted on August 27, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Hi quilty friends,

Summer is quickly ending so I hope to have more time this fall and winter to catch up on my many projects in progress.

One project that I’m working on this year with a partner, Cindy, from What’s One More Project is the Friendship Supernova Block Exchange. You can read more about this unique swap in my first post here. In my first post, I have pictures of our month 1 blocks.

In this post, I’m happy to say that we have now swapped 2 more blocks (July and August) for a total of 6 blocks all together. We have 2 more months (September and October) for the blocks before we finish sewing our quilt tops together.

Here are the blocks that I made for July and August (1 to keep and 1 for my partner):

July Supernova Blocks

August Supernova Blocks

I took a picture of the first 6 blocks on my design wall in random order (3 made by me and 3 made by Cindy):

Supernova, First 6 blocks

Isn’t it looking fabulous??!! I just love how this quilt is coming together so far.

For those of you who have visited or are familiar with the Sisters, Oregon area (home of the fabulous Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show), you might be familiar with one of the mountains called Broken Top. This mountain is next to the Three Sisters and is featured in many patterns, including the row-by-row pattern by the Stitchin’ Post this year. I used this row as the top row in my quilt here.

My family decided to squeeze in one last camping/hiking trip before school starts here next week. We camped near Broken Top and took a moderate to aggressive, 4-mile roundtrip hike to a beautiful glacier lake near the top of the mountain. The color of the lake water is amazing – a sort of blue/green/turquoise color and absolutely gorgeous!

The road to the trail head is very rough and not really suitable for passenger cars. You need a vehicle with higher clearance to navigate some sections. Broken Top itself is 9,177 feet. I’m not sure what the elevation is here at the lake, but I’d guess around 7,500 feet or so.

Unnamed Glacier Lake at Broken Top

Another view looking back at the lake from farther up the trail:

View of Broken Top and Unnamed Glacier Lake

If you turn from this viewpoint in the opposite direction, you are rewarded with a stunning, up-close view of the Three Sisters. Here’s my dog with his hiking boots to protect his paw pads:

Broken Top Hike with View of the Three Sisters (and Brutus the dog)

My 9-year-old did great on this hike and had a great time. I think we wore out the dog because he slept for about 2 days straight after the hike! If you are ever in the central Oregon area, I’d highly recommend this hike for the impressive views.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Another Red, White, and Blue Swap Block

Posted on July 2, 2013 by thequiltedcat

I’ve finished another red, white, and blue block for a quilt block exchange that I’m hosting on the Carol Doak Yahoo group.

This one is the Africa block from Carol’s Mariner’s Compass Stars book. I think this block really gives great movement to the red and blue points. I have enough fabric scraps left over so I could make another one to add to my own red, white, and blue quilt.

Here’s the unfinished block at 12.5 inches:

Africa block

My quilting inspector decided to admire from afar while sitting on the fence under a shady tree. With temps in the upper 90s in the Willamette Valley this week, I can’t blame him!

A Shady Spot

I’m getting very excited for the upcoming Sisters Quilt Show! We only have a couple more weekends to go. I do plan on dropping off my quilts in person later this week and checking out the Stitchin’ Post before the show to pick up some goodies.

Until next time, happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Black and White Swap Blocks Received

Posted on April 14, 2013 by thequiltedcat

I participated in a group swap where each participant made black & white or black/white & zinger 12-inch quilt blocks and then sent them to the swap hostess. All the blocks were designed by Carol Doak.

Yesterday, I received my blocks in the mail! I am so happy with each block that I received and feel that each one is special since another quilter made them with caring and great attention to detail.

Here are the blocks:

Black and White by Mary D

Black, White, and Yellow Zinger by Dorothy H

Black/White/Pink Zinger by Erica W

The top block is from Mary D in Oregon, the middle block is from Dorothy H F in Massachusetts, and the bottom block is from Erica W. Thanks also to our wonderful block hostess – Cathy from Texas!

Here are the blocks lined up together:

Swapped Blocks Together

I am going to use these 3 blocks and add in some of my own black/white and black/white/zinger blocks to make a fun wallhanging! I had such a great experience with this swap, and I hope you enjoy looking at the photos.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Black, White & Zinger Blocks

Posted on February 1, 2013 by thequiltedcat

I’m working on a swap using 12-inch blocks with a black & white color scheme or a black & white plus zinger color scheme. All the blocks must be designed by Carol Doak since the swap is with members of her Yahoo group.

I’ve made some black and white blocks, but wanted to try adding a zinger color. For the zinger, I knew that I wanted to stick with batiks but didn’t really know which color to choose. My 7-year-old looked at my collection of batiks and promptly picked out a lime green!

So I present the first black/white and zinger block:

August 2012 Block with Lime Green Zinger

This is the August 2012 block from the current mystery block-of-the-month program on the Yahoo group.

Here’s a pic comparing the black/white/zinger combination with my blue/cream combination that I’m using for the BOM:

Comparing August Blocks

Next up, I decided to try using a solid black in the background. I chose the Africa block from Carol’s book, Mariner’s Compass Stars, and used a yellow batik zinger.

Africa Block with Yellow Zinger

I think it is very dramatic, and I’m going to make a second one to keep for myself.

For this last block, I wanted to make a block in memory of my grandma Sylvia who passed away several years ago at 98-years-young. She was born in beautiful British Columbia so I used the Canada block from the Mariner’s Compass Stars book with a red batik zinger.

Canada Block with Red Zinger

I’m going to keep this block and use it in my black/white/zinger quilt once the block swap is finished.

Hope you enjoyed these zinger blocks!

Enjoy,
~Jennifer~

Black and White Block Swap

Posted on January 9, 2013 by thequiltedcat

Have you ever wanted to make a quilt using just black and white blocks? Or perhaps black and white with a few bright zinger colors? If so, now is a good time to join Carol’s Yahoo group. We’re doing a 12-inch block swap using black and white fabrics.

I have a limited supply of black and white fabrics in my stash, but I found enough pieces to make my first block.

There is some Michael Miller black fairy frost fabric in my block. Plus, the white fabric actually has little shimmery white dots that my camera couldn’t capture in today’s light. I may try the pics with different lighting.

Here’s the block: