2020 Quilter's Trek: TRUE BLUE (formerly Row by Row)

This year I'm going to actually make the quilt.  It'll be in different shades of blues and I'm really looking forward to getting started.  I've ordered a few of the kits, they're on the way!

My first call was for my favorite block in all my searching all over the country.  I'm quite sure it was the owner I spoke with, and she was super nice and talkative.   She says these fabrics are from her favorite lines.  The kit was $14.99 and s/h was $4.95, which seemed pretty darned reasonable to me.  Can't wait to see and touch the fabric.  Love that there are words on the background fabric!

My second call was to Lind, WA.  I loved the idea of including a crazy quilted square, and their kit cost and shipping was incredibly reasonable ($10 plus $2.20 s/h) and I think this one will be easy and fun to put together!  Christy told me about retreats they have if I ever get anywhere nearby, and they sound great.  I think she says they're about 70 miles from Spokane.  Fun!

My third call was to Knit One Quilt Too in Rhode Island.  You had to order the kit ($18.95) through their website and s/h is ten bucks.  This seemed a bit much, so I decided to look further before purchasing.

The fourth call stayed right here in Pennsylvania, to Wormelsdorf.  I'm going to have to hit the maps ti figure out where in PA they are.   In Stitches Quilt Store used yo-yos as flower ins a basket that looks pretty easy, with an appliqued handle on each.  I think I can tackle that, something a little different....  The kit was $17.99 with s/h $4.75. Okeedokee!

This is so much fun, might as well track down another!  My call to Cambridge Quilt Shop in Cambridge, MA was easy as pie!  It looks like an extremely easy kit and packs a punch - and I can add anything and everything to embellish it if I want. The kit is for the HOME, she added the HOPE to give another idea of how it might be used.   The kit is $14.95 and she though s/h would be somewhere between four and five bucks.  SOLD!

Well, I've spent $75.00 on this quilt so far, time to yank in the reins until next payday.  But was this ever fun!  I wonder when the first one will arrive?

I really like the background of this Dresden plate, and I love the idea of appliqueing the ties to it.  Unfortunately she doesn't have any extra of that fabric (I thought it might be nice to use in other places in the quilt) but I could always cut away the background behind the applique, right?  She'll send an invoice via email to continue the purchase, So now I have a block from Missouri!  It's 16.95 plus tax which includes s/h.  Can't go wrong!

PICTURE BOOK - Maya's Blanket / La Manta de Maya by Monica Brown

Illustrated by David Diaz

2015 Children's Book Press (Lee & Low Books\
$17.95 HC
24 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.1 - 124 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers:  Dark aqua fabric with "stitched" purple butterflies

Illustrations:  Bright and dark, completely filling the page with no white!  Heaven!

1^st line/s: "Little Maya Morales had a special manta that she loved very much."

My comments:  Another extra-special picture book to love.  And when it starts out with a quilt (or a blanket or manta in this case) made by a child's loving grandmother (abuelita), is bilingual, and is also illustrated by the incredible David Diaz....well, need I say more?  The rich illustrations that spread completely across the page from edge to edge in deep purples, greens, aquas, are wonderful.  The story, based on the Jewish folktale about Joseph and his overcoat, if great fun with repetition that isn't boring.  And in these days of recycling, re-purposing, and DIY, this "hidden" theme takes on new importance. Two thumbs up!

Goodreads:  Little Maya has a special blanket that Grandma stitched with her own two hands. As Maya grows, her blanket becomes worn and frayed, so with Grandma s help, Maya makes it into a dress. Over time the dress is made into a skirt, a shawl, a scarf, a hair ribbon, and finally, a bookmark. Each item has special, magical, meaning for Maya; it animates her adventures, protects her, or helps her in some way. But when Maya loses her bookmark, she preserves her memories by creating a book about her adventures and love of these items. When Maya grows up, she shares her book Maya s Blanket/La manta de Maya with her own little daughter while snuggled under her own special blanket. Inspired by the traditional Yiddish folk song Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl ( I Had a Little Coat ), this delightful bilingual picture book puts a child-focused, Latino spin on the tale of an item that is made into smaller and smaller items. Maya s Blanket/La manta de Maya charmingly brings to life this celebration creativity, recycling, and enduring family love."