Table Trails

 Created for Project Quilting 12.4 Snail's Trail challenge.

I figured a simple table runner fit my bill for this week. I started some blocks and soon realized that a snail's trail block is a pineapple block with a different coloration. Why did I never notice that before? I decided to use strips of varying widths because snails never travel an even path, just like many of us. 

Created by Diane Lapacek in rural Poynette, WI.

16" x 32"

Monticello Hexies Bag

 Created for Project Quilting 12.3 Virtual Vacation challenge.

Virtual Vacation was an interesting challenge for me this week.  First of all I was off for a three day road trip to pick up jars for Lapacek's Orchard. We can lots of applesauce, apple pie filling, apple butter and jams and jellies at the end of every season. We were out of jars, so we made a trip to the manufacturer in Arkansas to pick up more. Not the most exciting road trip ever, but better than any other road trip I've been on lately.  I have been making some hexies for a future hexagon quilt and packed them up to work on while in the truck. Great idea! Problem is I forgot to put glue sticks in, so I didn't get alot done. Oh, well. 

Anyway, I decided I could use a better bag to keep my hexie project in while on the road. A bag was quick and easy, so it fit into the rest of my week, which should have included a day babysitting for my littlest grandbabies, but Frank had to spend 5 hours clearing the driveway this morning so we could get out. No grandbabies for me today.

My daughter heard about this challenge and she told me I should use Monticello for my virtual vacation theme.  She lived in Virginia for 10 years and we took road trips to see her 3 times a year. Coming and going we passed close to Monticello and I said it was something I thought would be interesting.  I'm a gardener and we have a family orchard, so I thought it would be my kind of thing.

There is a standing joke in my family that Frank's idea of sightseeing is to drive past. So, we were near Monticello a few years ago and Frank said we could check it out. We pulled into the parking lot and there was half an hour to closing.  Obviously, this would not be worthwhile. But Frank now says we were there. (No wonder I've stuck with this guy for 44 years!)

I found some scraps of upholstery fabric I had dyed for a previous project and made a bag. My hexie supplies fit in it perfectly and I made sure to put in a few glue sticks. It's ready to go when we head for Monticello. Or maybe I'll work on those hexies when we go to watch the granddaughters play basketball or to babysit the little grandbabies or even just to the store. I believe this will be a long term project.

Created by Diane Lapacek near Poynette, Wi.

  

Fussy Flowers

 Created for Project Quilting 12.2 - Fussy Cut challenge.

Fussy cut is so not my thing. I guess that's why you do a challenge. To inspire you to do something that you wouldn't otherwise. 

I searched my stash to find anything that was worthy of fussy cutting. Not much. Then, at the bottom of a pile I found a small piece left from some Spoonflower fabric that my daughter-in-law, Kim, had given to me a few years ago.  It was made by manipulating a picture of one of my quilts. 

There were pictures of a shredded flower, so I fussy cut them, then made string pieced triangles to fill in the background.

Created by Diane Lapacek near Poynette, WI.
11" x 28"

Illuminated Argyle

 Created for the Project Quilting 12.1 – Illuminating + Ultimate Gray challenge.

Illuminating and Ultimate Gray.  So not my thing. That's only 2 colors and one of them is gray, which is not really a color at all! 

The next day as I passed through my living room, I saw the Argyle Answer hanging on the wall. Hmmmm. I made this one for the PQ9.2 Triangulation challenge.

This could work. So I went looking for grays.  In spite of them not being my thing, but I did have quite a few in my collection. Lots of equilateral triangles in gray and one row of illuminating yellows giving it some life.

Quilted with randomly spaced diagonal lines in various shades of yellows and grays.

Created by Diane Lapacek near Poynette, WI

18"x41"

Vanilla Beauty

Created for QQ2020 Q.5 Trish challenge.

I met Trish when I joined the Lodi Valley Quilters Guild. She and my daughter-in-law, Kim, discovered very quickly that they were meant to be quilt sisters. So, when a group of friends got together to sew in Poymette, Kim and Trish joined us. This must have been early in 2013. At that time, I was teaching every November at the Quilts by Barb Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend run by my sister, Barb Raisbeck, and our project for 2013 was the Squarey Quilt.

 Trish was working on her Vanilla Quilt that day. As she was laying it out on the floor, I thought, "Hmmmm, that's a Squarey Quilt." I know I took a picture of it, but it must have been lost when my old computer bit the dust. Trish's quilt was made with rectangles instead of squares, but definitely the same idea. So, I decided to make a vanilla quilt for this challenge. This is definitely out of my wheelhouse. I'm into lots of color and lots of fabrics. But a vanilla quilt is made of vanilla fabrics. And it needed to be a New York Beauty because that's what I'm doing right now. So, I put in as many different fabrics as I could find a place for and added one chocolate fabric because Trish did in hers. I would have put it closeer to the center, but I forgot until I was almost done. Oh, well.

This will go to my daughter-in-law, Kim, for her master bedroom even if it was made in honor of Trish.

Created by Diane Lapacek, while looking forward to getting her real life back after quarantining in rural Poynette, WI.
4 1/2" square.

Happy Birthday, Trish!!!

Spotted Beauty.

Created for PQQ2020 Q.4 Spots challenge.

Since I've now become obsessed with New York Beauty blocks, this was a no-brainer for me. I pulled out a few of my "spots" fabrics and created this little quilt. It will go to my daughter-in-law, Kim, to add to the collection of 4 1/2 " square quilts she is hanging in her bedroom.

Created by Diane Lapacek near Poynette, WI.
4 1/2" square

Poynette Beauty

Created for Project Quilting Quarantine 2020 Q.3 Vintage challenge.

So, as I completed PQQ2020 Q.2. Floral challenge, I commented that my luck would be that the next challenge would be something upcycled. No, the next challenge is Vintage. HMMMMM..... I used vintage linens as part of the last challenge. OK. I guess we'll use them again. I have plenty of hand dyed vintage linens. And some of them need to be cut up, because they are not in good enough condition to be used for their original purpose.

I went looking for a simple block pattern to make a 4 1/2" mini quilt, since my daughter-in-law, Kim, (yes, the creator ot Project Quilting Kim) has decided mini quilts is just what she's needs in her newly painted bedroom. Hey, I can complete my challenge and win some Brownie points with my DIL. Everyone always need those.

So, I thought, find a simple block. But,last week, I started making a New York Beauty quilt. I've been possessed by string quilts for more than 2 years. And last week, I had to make a New York Beauty. New obsession. When it's time, it's time. Vintage linens and tiny paper piecing. Probably not a good idea, but, hey, how do you know that before you try.

So, I made this tiny New York Beauty block. Not simple, but worth it. 

Created by Diane Lapacek while quarantining in rural Poynette, WI. 

4 1/2" x 4 1/2"