Another not-disappointing trip to Cape Disappointment

We were more than a day late getting away due to international differences between American and German wiring. But after some frank and productive diplomacy, we were on our way.

Did we ever need a vacation?!? And not just to recover from the frantic rush to get ready for vacation. It’s been a year since just the two of us (and dogs) got away together.  Back to Cape Disappointment State Park we went, for the fifth (?) year.

One reason we like this place so much is watching Pippi and Poppi running free on the beach.  There’s also great flat bike riding and quite a lot of history and art on display.

"Free at last, free at last..."

"Thank god almighty, I'm free at last!"

"Look at that, we even got the old man running with us!"

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, we mostly sat around reading, watching the campfire and staring into space.  When we stepped back a bit, we saw a cozy little scene, both inside and out…

The weather was wonderful, basically just shirtsleeve weather, no wind, just perfect for lounging about…

And then we watched the moon rise over Toaster Moon… and be reflected in Toaster Moon.

And pronounced it the perfect moment of the trip.

Unveiling The One Block Wonder

Would you believe my one-block wonder quilt top is finished! Whew! Here’s what it looks like:

So I’m wondering if it’s bright enough?

Seriously, I’m thinking I need to show my work. I took a class at Cool Cottons, using the technique in the One Block Wonder book.

So you start by selecting a multicolored fabric with a 24 inch repeat in the pattern. Here’s my choice (yes, inspired by Toaster Moon decor!):

You use the special Kaleido-Ruler to cut triangles of a certain size out of fabric strips of a certain size.


You join 8 triangles into an octagon, like this:

Then you join smaller triangles to the octagons to form a square.

You can choose triangles that contrast with the nearby octagons, or triangles that blend with the adjacent octagons. I chose ones that blend, which gives a different effect than when you choose contrasting fabric. That’s why my quilt looks somewhat different than many one block wonder quilts, I think.

Then you join the squares so they look like what you see when you look through a kaleidoscope.

Then you choose fabrics for the borders. As usual, I went for eye-catching fabric in bright colors. When I got the outer border on, I decided it needed some embellishment, so I added curvy strips of the inner border, and random triangle shapes of the main fabric. The result:

Now I need to quilt it and and binding around the outer edge to finish it off. Then it will join its fabric kinfolk in Toaster Moon.