Race Cars & Pick-up Sticks

With the International Quilt Festival behind me, next it was my husbands turn.  
We flew to Las Vegas on Thursday and stayed for an extended weekend checking a goal off his "bucket list": 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Driving RACE CARS!!!

He has wanted to do this for a long time, so exhausted from festival... there I was, flying off again so he could partake in FANTASY RACING CAMP..

I spent most of the weekend sitting at the track observing & trying to amuse myself. 
I watched workshops on Craftsy, colored with Tula, and played more games of spider solitaire than anyone should ever play in a day!

A "high point" for me, included a helicopter ride allowing overhead city views for an evening between the city & the track.

Las Vegas from up above

Two days of defensive speed training exercises... and it was time for them to "qualify" for their race.

I was anxious beyond explanation.
There are reasons I am not married to a race car driver!

But he maintained control of his car... and by the end of the race- he and his teammate completed the race with a third place finish!

Lamborghini Gallardo 570-4 Super Trofeo Medal Ceremony

Home by midweek, (exhausted)- I knew I had a guild meeting Thursday featuring Becky Goldsmith with her program "It is not a quilt until it's Quilted".

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Followed by a full day workshop requiring quite a bit of precuts... with her pattern Pick-up Sticks, sold at her company Pieceocake Designs. 

Becky Goldsmith's quilt: “pick up sticks”

featured in her book The Quilter’s Practical Guide to Color

Eventually though, I got it all done. 
(This required extra trips to my local shop after the measurements were wrong :(  )

I decided on a silver background & as many fabrics as I could gather with "words" for my strips.

All the strips were 1 1/2" wide...

But, after reevaluation, 

I decided the larger print and turquoise strips 

were just not right for this project...

I settled on 1 1/2" strips in shades of whites, blacks, & reds

36- 10" squares of Kona Silver

By 8:30AM the workshop was a go!
We were all set up in our "workspace" and ready to get piecing... 

We prepped 4 blocks at a time.

In total... 4 cuts per block with one wonky cut strip sewn at a time before next cut was made.

After all the piecing- the blocks are trimmed down to 8 1/2" squares.

 “pick up sticks” trimmed 8 1/2" block 

4 blocks pieced will create a large square.

4 blocks on design wall for “pick up sticks” 

4 blocks on design wall for “pick up sticks”

7 hours later in workshop “pick up sticks”...

After an entire day fighting it out with my Janome Jem, missing my knee lift, needle down position, a needle threader, stable table and good iron---- I completed only 8 blocks.

It is a simple technique and now that I've got, it would go much faster. (Especially with all the comforts of home!)

Hopefully I will keep motivated and create a throw... and it won't end up in the WIP pile.

Until next week,

Lamborghini Gallardo 570-4 Super Trofeo THIRD Place Trophy!