This was supposed to be a workshop with my guild awhile ago but then hurricane Hillary (🤪) hit and we postponed it to November. My dad passed away and I was unable to make it. I went to a mini retreat with my friends who had attended and I got started with their help.

These center blocks were the focus of the workshop and I brought my travel machine and supplies to my mom’s house. I was able to finish this part during slow moments when I needed a crafting break.

But I wanted to do the full quilt not just the center portion. So I started back at the beginning and did block 1.

I had so much fun I did block 2 too. If you can tell, the center part I did first (in the very first picture) are a little wonky. I had a hell of a time lining things up and pinning so as not to lose the points. I did ok but it was not fun. While struggling with putting those together I realized there were YouTube tutorials on the Alaska quilt by Edyta and so spent time watching them. Blocks 1 and 2 came together so much easier after that. I don’t normally press my seams open but in the video she explained that in this quilt she opted to do that to keep the darker fabric from shadowing through. And I liked the idea so tried it out. I know my friends who worked on it before were not happy with pressing open so I had pressed to the sides on the center blocks. I am really liking how the rest of it is turning out so far and will continue with pressing seams open. I do not know how that will affect the longevity of this quilt but we’ll see.

Happy quilting!

Melanie