Twisted Tradition - Block 3

It's getting back to normal here in Rhode Island after Sandy, and we are still worried about all the people in NJ and NY who have been hit again by rain, snow, more flooding, and more power outages. It seems the electric companies will be working for a while to get everything straightened out.  In my town, people who want to help clean up near the beach are being turned away due to sewage leaks, gas lines leaks and other hazardous materials lurking beneath the sand and debris. Some homeowners are wearing respirators as they shovel the mess out of their homes.

I've been working here and there on a few things.
The first is the Queen of the May and Block 3 of my block-of-the-month from the quilt store Material Obsession in Australia. Here's a peek of the corner. Aren't these colors crazy! This is the reason why I'm making this quilt - to push myself in a color discomfort zone.

Half of the block

Almost all of the block

Ta da!

Block 2

Queen of the May was a lot easier to piece than the Carpenter's Square from last month because there are no inset seams and very little fussy cutting.

Block 3

I recommend checking out Material Obsession if you are intrigued by these blocks. The owner, Kathy Doughty, has written some amazing and inspiring books.

Saturday, some people in my guild are getting together to piece tops for Habitat for Humanity. We give quilts to every resident who moves into a  Habitat home. Perhaps some can go to hurricane victims.

Material Obsession Block 1

My DS, the racer above, broke his leg last February when he was skiing. Luckily, it was a closed spiral fracture of the tibia and didn't require surgery. It did, however, require quite a bit of physical therapy.  He had a full-length cast for 6 weeks, followed by a below-knee cast for 6 weeks and started therapy before the last cast was off. We found out that his crutches were too short which caused him to have an odd gait when he was allowed to put weight on the cast. Also, his hip and ankle were extremely weak. Therapy just ended this week and I'm happy that he is now walking well with only a slight limp when he's tired. He isn't allowed to run for four more weeks and then we'll have a final orthopedist visit. When racing season starts next December, he'll be all set to ski again.

I started this block before he broke his leg, but finished it while he was in therapy. It was very peaceful to sit and hand-piece while he was engaged in varying exercises with Michelle, his therapist. The block itself has a story: I went to the Sisters Quilt Show in Oregon last year and was enthralled with quilts hanging from one building. The fabrics sang to me and the color choices were something that I would never pick, but loved. As I was gushing over one quilt - a woman came up to me and told me I could make the same quilt as it was a block-of-the-month designed by Sue Ross from a shop in Australia. (Maybe it was Sue Ross I was talking too. Can't remember) I signed up as soon as I got home and packages with pretty stamps started arriving. The blocks were put on the back burner, as I was working on a bunch of other things, but now they are coming out and challenging me with fussy cutting, hand-piecing and curved lines. It's been fun so far and I'll share other blocks as they are completed. The blocks are from the shop Material Obsession in Drummoyne, Australia. Kathy Doughty, the owner has written amazing books with wonderful patterns and also has a blog.

I love how the stripes radiate out from the block's center. It's a bit wrinkly right now, but lays flat.

 Doesn't this center just make you smile?