Thursday, January 9, 2014

Eight Hands Around Quilt Block and the Setting of The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling



Do you love to quilt AND love to read?  I invite you to join the free, online Quilters' Book Club.  Each month, we read a book, discuss it through comments on my blog posts, and then make a quilt block to represent that book.  I research several potential blocks to go with the book's themes, setting, main characters, and events.  And I find the patterns free on the internet, making it easy for everyone to access.  Each member can choose the block or blocks they'd like to make.

To join, all you need to do is become a follower of my blog so you won't miss any blog post.  To make it convenient, you can also sign up for my posts to be delivered right to you via email.  It is never too late to join and begin reading and sewing along with us.  

I have chosen to make my quilt blocks out of only two fabrics, Kona Snow and Kona Rich Red.  And I have a name for my quilt.  It will be called my "Curl Up with a Good Book Quilt."  But, please feel free to choose whatever fabrics you'd like to use for your quilt, especially fabrics from your stash.  We quilters are such creative people.  I can't wait to see what we all create!

If you check out the book each month from your local library and use fabric from your stash, there will be no cost at all to you!        

Our book to read and discuss during January 2014 is The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling.  Get the book from your local library or bookstore and join us!  It's also available from Amazon on Kindle by clicking here.

In the Quilters' Book Club, I've tried to select books that take place in a variety of settings.  The setting of The Healing Quilt is the Northwest part of the United States in the fictional town of Jefferson City, Washington - "halfway between Tacoma and Mount Rainier."  If you'd like to create a quilt block to represent the setting of this book, here are two free patterns for you to check out:

Olympia Variation Quilt Block

Washington Puzzle Quilt Block
 
If you'd like to make a block to represent the setting of a quilting bee, check out:
 
 
Have you ever lived in or visited the state of Washington?  What can you tell us about this area of the United States?  Inquiring minds want to know!  Answer in the comment section below.  By commenting, you'll be entered to win a hardcover copy of Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas!  The more you comment, the greater your chances of winning!  If you are reading this via email, you must click on the title of my blog post to be able to comment and read the comments of others. 
 
You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post Disappearing 9-Patch Golf Shirt Quilt.

14 comments:

  1. I haven't ever visited Washington but have always been interested in doing so. I'm stuck (by choice) in the Midwest Corn Country which is great because it gives me plenty of territory to explore on vacations.

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  2. When I was in college, I worked one summer at Camp Sealth on Vashon Island. The evenings were beautiful from the rim trail with the sun setting beyond the Olympic Peninsula, and Mt Ranier floating in the sky like a huge strawberry sundae. (then came the rain and the banana slugs crawling across your sleeping bag). I have made some trips back in recent years for Scouting events and have three children living in Oregon, which is just as lovely.

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  3. I've never lived in Washington, but I've visited there. There is such variety in the natural world. It is a beautiful place. I look forward to visiting there again since my daughter will stationed at Ft. Lewis-McChord later this year.

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  4. A few years ago we took the train up the coast from Los Angeles to Seattle. Beautiful trip and we LOVED Seattle. Very quirky and friendly and accessible to visitors. We were there for 4th of July and because it's so far north it didn't get dark enough for fireworks until after 10:00 p.m. I'd love to go back to Washington again!

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    1. I've never been to Seattle but would love to go sometime. It seems like such an interesting city.

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  5. Love the quilt block. It is perfect for the setting. I have never been to the state of Washington, but I would bet it is a very lovely state.

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  6. One of my daughter-in-laws is from Washington, and we spent the week of their wedding there. The whole family stayed in a home we rented on the Columbia River. We had some time to go sightseeing, and it was really wonderful. They have both mountains and the ocean!

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  7. I grew up in a northern Idaho town about a half hour from the border with Washington and had family in the Seattle area and elsewhere in Washington. I have been there many, many times. The eastern part of the state is much different from the coastal areas. I love the Seattle area, the Puget Sound and its islands. We rode the ferrys to many of the islands and explored one trip--very fun! But there weather is dismal most of the year. Not just the rain, but the constant grey makes it a depressing place to live. The eastern side of the state (around Spokane) is much different and much drier.

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  8. My brother lives in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle, and works for Microsoft. I've been down to visit him a number of times and love Seattle. There are a zillion interesting things to do there - a tour of the underground city, the rock and roll museum, the sci-fi museum among them. I saw a Tiffany exhibit at the art museum in Seattle. So wonderful! There are lots of oceanfront things to do as well. I can't wait for my next visit there.

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  9. I just started reading The Healing Quilt.

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    1. I should have also said that I will be a 19 year survivor of Breast Cancer.

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    2. So very happy to have you join us, RoseMary. And how wonderful that you are a 19 year survivor of breast cancer. Congratulations!

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  10. I have been there twice. Both times for conferences. It seems to rain a lot. The coastline is beautiful with interesting rock formations. When the sun does shine the view of the mountains in the distance is stunning.

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