Cactus Star in Winter?

At the May meeting of Country Roads Quilters yesterday I made this block using the foundation piecing method to get those nice sharp points.

  

This is my first block as a member of the Quilters' Online Book Club run by Starwood Quilter.  

Each month we read the book selected for that month, discuss aspects of it online and then make a quilt block associated with the book.  All of which is optional!  

I think I started in an especially good month as the book we read was Nancy E. Turner's, "These Is My Words:  The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine".  The story is historical fiction but it is based on the life of the author's great-grandmother.  I was quite sad to have finished this book, I shall miss Sarah Prine and her family. The story of her life in late 19th century pioneer country gave me many insights into the reality of living in that time and place and an admiration for those who did. I desperately wanted to shake her at times but I never envied her the shoes she walked, ran and rode in. I laughed and cried with her.  I think a lot of readers must be feeling the same way as the sequel, "Sarah's  Quilt" has been selected for June's book.

My block is called Cactus Star.  It is a reminder of the Arizona desert and the sunsets and wild plants.  I have decided that each of my blocks for the book club will be done using batik fabrics (I have quite a few and it is never a hardship to buy more), and each will be a star of some sort, linked to the story read that month.

This morning I finished this lovely bag.  I bought a kit from Japan Crafts at Japan Day last Saturday and it was a quick and easy design for a spacious bag that will go over my shoulder or safely across my chest.  The pattern is called Fuyu (Winter) and it used four fat quarters of Japanese cotton.  I think I will be making a few more bags using the same pattern.

P.S.  I don't know why the font I use to write my posts is not always the one that appears when the post is published, or why, sometimes the post is in several different fonts.  If anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it.  Thank you, Lis x

Quilting Groups

Thank you for all your lovely comments - both about my quilt and about blogging, it is really encouraging.

The internet seems a great way to share our great passion for quilts and the online festival has certainly brought a lot of quilters together.

There are lots of online groups too, I belong to British Quilt List http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BQL/

which is a very active group and has an exciting monthly challenge. I joined recently and wasn't too impressed with my first challenge quiltlet on a handbags theme- tried to do too much but learned to KISS (keep it simple sweetheart) - but it's great to see everybody else's interpretations of the challenge.

I also belong to the KiwiQuilters

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kiwiquilters/

where all the talk at the moment is of the Symposium, the New Zealand quilt show which was held in Wellington this year.

At present I'm learning what I like to do in quilting and what I'm not so keen on. I really enjoyed the foundation piecing process for the BQL challenge but wasn't so keen on the applique aspects!!