New quilt started

With the Christmas bustle over and a new year almost upon us, I decided I needed a new quilt project to keep me busy when I'm not hiking. A few days ago I pulled out this pattern that I bought ages ago and never used. It's a stack, cut, shuffle technique that appeals to me because of the abstract design, curves, and surprise juxtaposition of fabrics after they're shuffled.

I started with colors that remind me of the desert in spring: turquoise sky, beige sand, greens from trees and cacti, pink and yellow cactus flowers, and fiery orange sunsets.

I stacked six fabrics in each pile with a square of freezer paper ironed onto the top fabric. Then I drew five gently curving lines on each stack and cut through the lines. As per pattern instructions, I shuffled the pieces of fabric ...

... and then sewed the new layers together. I've done five so far and plan to stop at a dozen.

There are countless ways of arranging the blocks, which will be a lot of fun. I'll take pictures of each arrangement to help decide which I like best. Here are some arrangements with the same two blocks.

I also hiked again in Catalina State Park with my  new hiking friends. Our hike this week was windy with unusual clouds. Here's a shot of the sky that day with more of my cherished saguaros.

Here's a plaque on a bench in the park. I think that's a really nice way to be remembered, as a place to rest and enjoy the view. (If my kids are reading this, remember it when I kick the bucket! My plaque can say, "Have a colorful day.")

Linking to Nina-Marie and other fabric artists: happy-new-year-off-wall-friday.html

Have a colorful day