Wyoming Breezes

Forever Vigilant   63 x 73 inches Quilt of Valor #261 No pattern was used for this framed panel quilt. The black frame is 2 inches finished; the red frame, 3 inches finished; the beige frame, 4 inches finished; the blue frame, 6 inches finished. Since the panel is so large, I felt it would make more of a statement on its own. 

Skacel Knitting Collection  Finally a needle you can count on! This new design features a Stitch Counting Sensor linked to your WiFi to help you stay on track. Whenever you’ve got too many or too few stitches for your row or round, you’ll be notified via email or text. The fiber optic Broadband Cable is flexible, pliable, and totally “wireless.” This revolutionary tool is available for a short time in select yarn shops.

Star Burst 60 # 70 inches Quilt of Valor #260 Star Burst was made with the “Bursting with Love” pattern on pages 28-31 in the 2022 January/February edition of Quiltmaker. My friend RoseMarie showed me the pattern, and I knew immediately that I could easily adapt it to make a Quilt of Valor by just adding borders. Thank you, RoseMarie for sharing this wonderful pattern: I’ll be using it to make another QOV.  The center medallion was made with fabric cut into squares several months ago. The borders were cut from yardage.  * Notes       red frame was cut 1.5” wide       white frame  was cut 2.5 inches       blue side border was cut 7.5 inches wide       blue top/bottom border was cut 5.5 inches wide       striped top/bottom border was cut 7.5 inches wide                 

American Collage 60 x 74 inches  Quilt of Valor #259 Pattern: Town Square by Fabric Cafe Border adjusted to meet QOV size requirements 

Jewel Box 64 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #258 Jewel Box used 480 HSTs made with scraps from previous Quilts of Valor. The various fabrics create the facets on the jewels and add sparkle to the blocks. 

Starry Delight 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #257 Starry Delight was made using five different star studded fabrics. The various fabrics complement each other well. The pattern Town Square by Fabric Cafe is a good one to feature focus fabrics.  Update :  July 2025 - Starry Delight was awarded to a veteran in Idaho. 

blocks made from scrap HSTs You might not remember my quest to use the squares in my 3.5 inch bin, but I don’t blame you: that sewing blitz occurred in September . I finally got tired of moving the baskets of HSTs from one place to another and started sewing them into blocks. I have fifteen blocks completely finished and another five on a tray ready to sew. The block resembles the Economy Block and uses 16 HSTs. Doing a bit of math, you’ll discover that the 20 blocks I’ve made so far used 320 HSTs from my baskets. The blocks will finish at 10 inches. Can you believe I can still make more blocks! I’m hoping to have enough for least 30 blocks. Do you think there are 160 HSTs in this basket? I haven’t counted, but I hope it’s close.  I have another QOV on the design wall to finish (this squirrel project lead me down a rabbit hole the last few days) before I can start thinking about making these blocks into a quilt. 

from Cowgirl Yarn Laramie, WY

Stealthy 60 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #256 Stealthy was stalled for several weeks while my sewing mojo was on hiatus. The blocks finished at 5.5 inches and were made with scraps from my 4.5 inch square bin and the 2.5 inch strip bin. The border fabric was donated by Sue S. from Massachusetts .  Thanks, Sue!  Extra blocks were used to make the corners.  Update : - July 2025 - Stealthy was awarded to a veteran in Idaho

stack of “Stealth” blocks will finish @ 6 inches I think these blocks look like colorful Stealth bombers, so I’m going to name the finished quilt “Stealthy.” The blocks are on the design wall but are not sewn together because I want to play with them for a bit to find a pleasing layout. I may or may not use sashing between the larger blocks.  Not much has been happening here recently because I was sidelined by a virus of some sort. It wasn’t COVID, but it left me with a hacking and lingering cough. I’m glad I got the latest vaccinations in September because I think this could have been much worse without them. 

natural bouquet at the top of a rose bush Laramie, WY A couple of weeks ago, I spotted this unusual cluster of roses on the top of a large rose bush near a neighboring apartment building. The bush is large and clearly reaches the eaves of the building.  Thanks to colder temperatures, it is no longer blooming. The colorful cluster of roses made me smile every time I saw it because it was so unusual. Have you ever seen a cluster of roses like this? 

Hand-knit socks summer and fall 2024 I’ve been knitting steadily, but I haven’t posted finished projects in a long time.       Patons Kroy (blue/green marl) - Faternal Twins      Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock (Zombie BBQ) - yarn a gift from Cheryl O.      Unknown manufacturer and color - one sock finished; another on needles - yarn a gift from Cheryl O.      Unknown manufacturer and color - one sock finished; another nearly finished - yarn a gift from        Cheryl O. In addition to knitting for my feet, I knit 16 “socks” for my kitchen table chairs from partial balls of Noro Silk Garden (assorted colors). I plan to knit 8 more for the two remaining chairs. The chairs slide better on the laminate when wearing “socks.”

Fabric donation for making  Quilts of Valor I received this generous donation of fabric from Sue S., a quilter from Massachusetts. I’ll be able to make several QOV with this fabric. Thank you, Sue for this generous donation! It was a miracle I received the box in the mail. When I picked up the box outside my door where the mail carrier left it, the box bottom broke, and fabric came tumbling out. 

Scrappy Stars 58 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #255 Update :  July 2025 - Scrappy Stars was awarded in Idaho

Don’t Overthink It!  (from Facebook)

I was pleasantly surprised that Wyoming citizens visit public libraries so much. I’d be curious of the patrons’ average age. Does your state’s rating surprise you?  I use the library’s Libby app extensively throughout the year to listen to audiobooks. In the winter, I go to the library on Friday afternoons and work on a jigsaw puzzle or just browse the shelves.  The Laramie library also has knitting needles and crochet hooks to checkout, which I think is brilliant. Last year, they were offering free yarn, as well.

Park bench Optimist Park West Side of Laramie This unusual park bench is in a park on Laramie's West Side next to the playground equipment. It's quite unusual because it is also a recycling project. The shelter surrounding the bench is a part of a wind turbine blade.  I'm not a fan (no pun intended) of wind turbines because I think they are unsightly, and the components are difficult to dispose of once they are damaged or outlive their usefulness. They must be buried and will not disintegrate in the landfill. I was very surprised when it was announced that this new park bench was made from part of a turbine blade. Even though this one blade was made into a park bench, I'm sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of others that are in landfills across the nation.

This pile of 3.5 inch fabric scraps may not look like much, but it took me two days to sew the neutral squares to the red and blue squares. The more I sewed, the more the piles didn't seem to shrink.  I chain pieced the squares together and when the last squares were used, I cut them apart into half-square triangles.  Inside the basket are 130 HSTs and in the foreground are another 130 HSTs ready to be trimmed and pressed. Look to the right of the basket in the top corner, and you'll see the piles of red HSTs ready to be trimmed, pressed and counted.  I'm unsure what I'm going to make with these HSTs, but I have some ideas for blocks. The HST are 3 inches unfinished, so will finish at 2.5 inches in a block.  So, you might be asking, "Is the 3.5 inch scrap bin empty?" Well, not exactly. I used all the cut 3.5 inch squares, but the bin still contains 3.5 inch strips. Those will likely be used for borders.  I'm also tackling the 4.5 inch square bin, so I'...

flying geese units ready for another quilt Another scrappy Quilt of Valor is in the works: this quilt uses two colors of flying geese. The top should be finished by the end of the week unless life gets in the way.