Southward Bound (Sutherlin, OR)

Okay, I'll admit that I have been a homebody for the last month.  Except for doctor appointments and shopping, I spent most of the time in the RV park.  Most days were spent walking around the park, looking for wildlife, watching cats, reading, and quilting.

We saw two does with twin fawns.  I tried to get a quick photo one day, but the family was not co-operating.

Max at least slept through his photoshoot.  This became his favorite spot on sunny days.  The weather has been wonderful.  Plenty of sunny days and cool nights.

The best part of our stay was having a friend drive all the way from San Diego for a two-day visit.  We have known each other for many years and it was wonderful spending some time with her.

https://www.pinterest.com/

Today was a travel day. We left Sutherlin and will spend a couple of nights in Grants Pass before starting our journey south to Texas for the winter.

Another snoozer during photo opts!  Hitch has become quite a lap cat while we are traveling.  Usually, he only sits or sleeps with us when he isn't feeling well. He has a lot of stomach problems that will last a couple of days.  During that time, he wants to cuddle all the time.  Once he is well, he is back to his aloof cattitude. 😸

On The Cutting Board

My new quilt has occupied most of my time.  Trying to decide on block sizes changed a couple of times.  

Rabbit

Then I had a hard time deciding on what fabrics to use for the alternate blocks and did I have enough to make a queen-size bed.

Eagle

In the meantime, I kept hand-stitching together the appliqué blocks.

Horse

Five appliquéd blocks later and I am still undecided as to what to use for the alternative block.

Turtle

This was the first block design I had finished, but once it was done....hmm, I just don't like it that much.  It looks too dark.  Sooo, back to the drawing board.

A month later, this block (below) jumped out at me when I saw it in a beautiful Alaska wildlife-themed quilt was posted on Facebook.  The quilt was a sampler design with appliqué and different pieced blocks.  I believe it is the perfect alternate block to bring my Southwest quilt together.  Since my fabric supply is limited, I am using two different color schemes.  I used my EQ7 to make the block and print out templates.  Sewed the first two together for a visual test and that was when I realized that I had made the blocks a half-inch too big!  Okay, back to the drawing board to resize the block.

I don't know the name of this individual block.  It looks like a different version of a square-in-a-diamond with a nine-patch.  If you happen to know the name of this block design, please let me know.
Happy Quilting!