Row-Mancing Alaska is a Flimsy

Hello Everyone,

 

It feels good to get back to my quilting.....if only for a few days before I take off again.  Tuesday, I finished the borders on Row-Mancing Alaska.  Just a little touch of color in the borders fit the bill for me.

 



I finished writing the pattern yesterday and sent it off to my testers and readers.  I'll let it sit for a couple of days and go over it again with a fine-tooth comb.  It's amazing what will jump out at me once the pattern sits and percolates for a couple of days.

When I was approached by the quilting cruise tour director last year, she told me that she would like me to design and teach a quilt with an Alaskan theme.  After many months, several dry runs, head scratching and general procrastination, I came up with this design for a row-by-row quilt.  Alaska has such a rich history, and I could have included so many more blocks.  I had to call it quits and keep it more of a wall hanging and not a California king sized quilt.

I poured through my extensive collection of quilt block books, and looked for blocks pertinent to Alaska.   The first row is called Aurora.  I looked at many images of the Aurora Borealis and tried to imitate the color scheme.  The second row is called Midnight Sun.  I wanted the sun to be rising over my quilt, low in the sky.  Of course I had to have flying geese! 

Next comes Eagle's Nest followed by Black Spruce.  I then worked my way down to Glacier Bay.

 

There is controversy over this little block.  I'm calling it Bear Paw, but many look at it and think it's a fish.  So whatever it is, fish or bear, it is either a fish swimming in Glacier Bay, or a bear walking along the bank of the bay on top of Gold Rush blocks.  You decide.

 



 

So there you have it.....from the heavens to the earth. My version of Alaska even though I've not been there before.  Next month at this time, I'll be sailing on the high seas, and stopping to explore the coastline and interesting towns and glaciers along the way.

The majority of the fabrics came from several different lines of Marcus Fabrics.  The lines are called Jewel, Sea, and Tranquility by Sarah J. Maxwell.  Many thanks to Marcus Fabrics for providing the fabric for this quilt.

I'm now putting the kits together for this quilt.  I've scoured quilt shops, and online shops for just the right fabrics to replicate this quilt. I have my work cut out for me today....tomorrow.....and quite possibly the next day.

Soon,
Lynn