Quilt Along, Getting Caught Up, and Some Random Giraffes

I'm back... with a quilt finish, a quilt-along started, and a lot of catching up to do! I apologize for my absence (again!). I have been meaning to write and share some updates, but my father-in-law passed away in March and things have been a little off kilter lately. So here is my getting caught up:

Paint Nite:
We went on a Paint Nite for my friend Chana's birthday. I don't know if you have ever been on one of these, but they ply you with alcohol, give you a canvas, some brushes and some paints, and then ply you with more alcohol. They also give instructions, but depending on where you are sitting and how much alcohol you have had is whether or not you pay any attention to those instructions! In any case, the night that we went, the theme was giraffes. I am sharing this because I truly have no artistic talent at all, but with enough wine, even I can paint (well... kind of)!

Quilt Retreat:
I went on a quilt retreat with my friend Chris. This is the annual retreat to the Wild Rose Quilt Shop in Orting, WA. This year I took two projects with me. The first project was a quilt for a grade school in my area. Each year they do a history section on Colonial life and settling in the Americas. Each child is given a fabric square and asked to create a picture of something that they learned. The teacher then gave the squares to me, and I put them in a quilt.

This quilt went up for auction to raise funds for the school and brought in $300! I feel lucky to have been a part of that.

The second project that I brought is for my cousin, Sam and her new baby boy. I still need to finish the hand-binding, so you will get more pictures when it is all done and shipped to her, but here is the sneak peak:

Quilt Along:
I am currently taking part in a Quilt-Along through Cora's Quilts. I have done pattern testing for Shelley with Cora's Quilts before, and I am excited to be doing this quilt-along. I am learning some new techniques for flying geese, and am playing with colors in some beautiful batik fabric. The pattern is called Spring Sampler and is made up of 9 different blocks.

I have finished my first block (Block #1 - Pyramids), and I am excited to share it!

Thanks for being patient with me... I will try to get some more posts out soon!