Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Travellin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop

Hooray! It's my day on the blog hop :-D I still haven't fully recovered (or unpacked) after getting back from Sewing Summit on the 14th. I know. It's pathetic.


Salt Lake City was awesome, but I'm glad to be back in Austin, Texas. It seems we'll be having summer here clear through to the holidays, so I thought I'd take inspiration from a spot in this capital city. Among other things, Austin is known for bats which live under the Congress Street bridge in the heart of downtown. For a few months of the year, they emerge by the thousands at dusk to put a dent in the insect population. Thanks bats! There's a beautiful spinning bat statue south of the bridge that brings a smile to my face every time I pass it.


Ok, I'm usually headed home from a fabric store when I pass it, but the point is I'm smiling. I love the brightly colored Pride of Barbados flowers and the various yuccas planted around the base of the statue. I'm a very specific breed of plant and quilt nerd ;-)


You know my EPP Rose Star project is deep into its tenth month with no sign of a plan (or an end) in sight. I figured I would make a block inspired by this photo to add to the pile. I used the gray of the metal bat sculpture, the blue of the sky, the green of the foliage, and the red, orange, and yellow of the Pride of Barbados flowers to inspire this latest Rose Star block.


I don't have a block with so much concentrated red in the mix, yet, so I'm glad to add this one to the pile. If you're interested in learning how to make these blocks, Clare at selfsewn wrote the tutorial that changed my life.



If you've just stumbled into this magical blog hop, take a peek at more Rose Star magic from my pal Lucy at Charm About You. She finished a Rose Star block inspired by her home of Manchester, England. Love it! Tomorrow, the Travellin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop will check in with Em at Sewing By Moonlight. If you want to keep following along, Laura's got a list of tour dates on Quokka Quilts.


This post is part of the Travellin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop.  From 1st October - 30th November we are hopping all over the world EPP-ing in some fantastic locations.  Check out the full list here and be sure to check out the other participants. On 30th November it's over to you to link up for a chance to win these fabulous prizes! Sponsored by Paperpieces.comFabricwormPink Castle Fabrics  Marmalade Fabrics, the Fat Quarter ShopWantItNeedItQuilt, and Aurifil.
Full details for competition entry can be found here.

12 comments:

  1. Hee hee, love the bat statue and your block!

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  2. Oh, nice! I like bats too. Here we watch them on warm summer evenings but it´s too cold already, I havn´t seen a bat in weeks. After all this great rose blocks I´m tempted to start something new but no, I mustn´t. :-)

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  3. I really like the colours you've pulled together here, it makes such a happy block

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  4. Oooh, what a super, bright, fun rose star! I love it! You've been busy with all those. I stopped at just one and make a wall hanging. I don't have the patience for an abundance of hand sewing!

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  5. Clarie your star rose collection is so beautiful and this new block will ge a great addition. Thank you for the link to the tutorial.

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  6. Lovely colours. I love the rose star, and will get to try it one day!

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  7. We are at Grand Canyon so v little wifi! Trying to keep up. Must visit Austin and your bats!

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  8. Claire your blocks look awesome!! I love the Austin inspired one, such beautiful colours. That bat statue is flippin' incredible too and I'd be smiling, as would my son!! One day I'll make it to Texas :)

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