It's time for the July Snapshots sew along block!

Actually, it's a little past the time for this block. Ahem. I might have forgotten to show it to you last week because I was surrounded by moving boxes, small AND large bubbles, white newsprint and tape guns. You all know about the Snapshots sew along, right? And how it benefits St Jude Children's Research Hospital? And how we are making one block each month that represents a snapshot of our lives? If you need a refresher, just hop over here to get all the details, plus links to the patterns, video tutorials, kit and donation page.

This block represents my 20 trips to New Mexico! Every fall, a massive Balloon Fiesta is held in Albuquerque. (And if you're curious, here's a time-lapse video showing the balloons taking off at sunrise. It's amazing.) The fiesta is in October, but I usually visit in mid-November - it's my annual birthday tradition - so I haven't seen the balloons yet. Balloon imagery is found all over the state, and even on some license plates. Of course I would want to take a ride in a cute fabric balloon. (Actually, the truth is that I'd be terrified to get into that balloon. I'd need Dramamine. And cookies. And somebody to hold my hand. But I'd enjoy watching them take off and float around.)

Once again, I used the kit as a starting point, but I changed some of the Daysail prints and I added a Scrumptious tiny floral. The same floral was also used as "whipped cream" on last month's ice cream sundae block, so the finished quilt will have some continuity. I felt that the smaller, repeating prints would be more forgiving in the seams than the intended stripe would have been.

Ok, so get your balloons sewn up! The next pattern will be released on August 15 and it's the bicycle!

Finally, while making the balloon block I had to listen to Up, Up and Away by the 5th Dimension. Maybe I'll need to play this while I float over Albuquerque in my quilted fabric balloon!

Remember the fat quarter bundle of Bonnie & Camille's Scrumptious fabric that I bought at Quilt Festival? (I know that you didn't forget about it!) I carried it onto the plane rather than putting it into my checked suitcase. I'd rather lose my clothes and shoes than my new fabric!

Well, it didn't take me long to open it up and start cutting.

I knew immediately what I was going to make! It's a 100 patch block as seen in the Sept/Oct 2014 issue of QuiltMania magazine. It was shown in deep, rich colors, but I knew that it would take on a much fresher look with lots of bright citrus colors. Each square is 1", with a finished block of 10". You won't believe how different this quilt can look with a color makeover.

QuiltMania magazine Sept/Oct 2014 issue 103

The big question was which background fabric to use. I considered the Scrumptious white-on-white bias stripe (you can see this in the background behind my blocks), but I only have a few yards in my stash, with no idea how much I'll really need. I have a whole new bolt of Kona Snow. Perfect!

It's completely strip pieced, and each fat quarter will make two blocks. I have enough fabric to make this much larger than the pattern! I might add in some Miss Kate scallops (the "sundae" print) just because they're so cute, and they'll add another textural element. I'm also thinking that I might alter the pattern by adding some sashing, which would help to keep the focus on the fabric within each block. The blocks are super easy to sew, but they take me awhile because I use a billion pins to keep them flat.