What If?

The last time I visited my long arm quilter, Janet-Lee, I dropped off my Slashed Squares quilts. Janet wondered aloud what would happen if I slashed some squares at an angle.

"Well, you'd have to figure out how to cut them apart consistently from one block to another..." I said, "and then you'd have to make sure that inner square went back together properly..." I started thinking.
"UNLESS IT DIDN'T!"

I paused, thinking hard.

"Yeah! It would be fun if I made SURE the inner square didn't go back together the right way, and that the result would be an interesting kind of a zig zag..."

I really have to do a lot of experimenting with this idea, but I think it can be really fun. The first cut, in the top picture, results in four pieces that are the same, and I don't want that.

I'll be doing some thinking and playing.

I'm taking a few days off. I need some time away from the studio. I want to enjoy the warm weather and not just by looking out the window.

What If?

A few weeks ago I mentioned that if it hadn't been for my cat Millie, I wouldn't be a quilt blogger. I wouldn't have met my friend Helen, who lives in Australia. Back in 2010 Helen and I did a private quilt swap. I sent her this, which got me started on a series of Rules quilts.

Well, Helen wrote to me the other day asking where in the US I lived. (Helen and I figured out we live 14,500 miles away from each other.)

I live in the Northeast, an hour's drive north of Boston MA.

Helen wrote that she and her family were considering a trip to Disneyland and wondered if I were close by so we could visit.  As you can see from the photo above, I don't live anywhere near either Disney park.

However, if Helen is going to travel 11,500 miles to visit the US, I am more than willing to travel 3,000 miles to meet her.  We don't know if this is going to happen, because the timing of the trip is a big factor, but I hope we can pull it off.

Like I said, you never know what can happen if you step out of your comfort zone and try something new.

**OKAY! I screwed up. Disneyland is in California and Walt Disney World is in Florida. I made the little labels wrong.  My son lives in LA so traveling across the US to meet my friend in California is not a bad deal since I get to visit my son at the same time. And seriously folks,  if Helen and her family are willing to travel 11,000 miles to California, I am not going to ask them to travel any farther to Florida.