Las Vegas: Did You Know ... ?

Road to Vegas quilt block

Today's featured quilt block is called Road to Vegas and it's a simple block using only squares and half square triangles. On the surface it looks kind of plain, but with interesting colour placement and rotation of the blocks, you can come up with all sorts of creative variations when making your quilt. Some of these ideas are illustrated on the free quilt block pattern.

More "Road" blocks to check out:
~ Road to California
~ Road to Mississippi

Some Fun facts about Las Vegas

• When Paul Anka first played Vegas he was too young to be allowed in the casino.
• Bugsy Siegel named his casino the Flamingo, which was his nickname for his showgirl girlfriend who had very long legs.
• In 1980, a Las Vegas hospital had to suspend workers who were betting on when patients would die. One nurse was even accused of murdering a patient so she would win.
• Howard Hughes stayed at the Desert Inn for so long that he was asked to leave. So, rather than leave, he bought the hotel for a reported $13 million.
• The Las Vegas strip is the brightest place on Earth when looked at from outer space.
• The largest sum won on any Las Vegas slot machine was at the Excalibur. After putting in $100, a 25 year-old software engineer won $39 million, beating the 1 in 16.7 million odds at the time.
• Las Vegas casinos never use dice with rounded corners.
• Las Vegas has the highest number of unlisted phone numbers in the United States.
• Although gambling is the number one industry in Nevada, weddings come in second. The average number of daily weddings in Las Vegas is 315.

_{'Road to Vegas' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}

ZigZag Quilt Block

ZigZag quilt blocks

It has been so hot lately where I live, that while looking at the ZigZag quilt block, the style of the block gave somewhat of an Aztec feel to me, so I decided to play around with those colours. Before long I was making all sorts of combinations of these colours. I'm sure you will have your own colour rendition of this quilt block, but here is a picture of a quilt I made, using only two different colours per block, but spreading the colour combinations around.

Now, on the surface, this block might look a little daunting. However, the patches are simple and it is made as a 20" block (and I also gave you instructions if you want a little smaller version as a 15" block). On the plus side,  bigger blocks = less blocks to make for your quilt.

And speaking of the heat ...

Probably the most famous quote about heat is from a former American president.

• "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
  ~ Harry S. Truman
  
  and then there are these bits of wisdom and/or humour


• "Nothing generates more heat in the government than the question of who is chosen to participate in important meetings."
  ~ Richard Holbrooke


• "Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself."
  ~ William Shakespeare


• "If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?"
  ~ Steven Wright

_{Image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}

Mr. Shakespeare knows a thing or two about geese

Starlight Geese quilt block

The Starlight Geese quilt block uses my favourite patch - the flying geese unit. These "geese" are flying in the night sky around the star in the centre. The star makes a pinwheel shape, a favourite of many quilters. This quilt block is an easy one, once you get the hang of making flying geese patches -- which is quite a simple task.

Even though I have stayed with the "idea" of the geese flying in starlit sky with my colour choices, you can come up with many variations, just by switching up the colours.

Thoughts about geese

William Shakespeare

• "What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."
  ~ William Shakespeare


• "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to get the most feathers with the least hissing."
  ~ Jean Baptist Colbert


• "If you feel the urge, don't be afraid to go on a wild goose chase. What do you think wild geese are for anyway?"
  ~ Will Rogers

_{'Starlight Geese' quilt image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Shakespeare image courtesy of public domain} 

A Bear by any other name ...

Bear's Paw - a Variation

I have been working on some seven patch quilt blocks lately (I guess I just like the number seven perhaps?) and this week created two new patterns. What is common among quilt blocks is that many go by different names, but are basically the same block. This brings me to today's featured blocks

•  Bear's Paw - a Variation
• and 

•  Tea Rose

Tea Rose quilt block

See if you can spot the subtle differences between the two blocks. (Okay, I said they were the same, but they are slightly different.)

And this list would not be complete without a link to the original Bear's Paw block -- an easier version. (You're welcome.)

Some Thoughts on Bears and Roses

• "It would be fitting, I think, if among the last man-made tracks on earth would be found the huge footprints of the great brown bear."
  ~ Earl Fleming


• "One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."
  ~ Dale Carnegie


• "Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses; they last while they last."
  ~ Charles de Gaulle

_{Quilt block images © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}
 

'Greek Cross' or 'Greek Cross' or just the Wisdom of the Greeks

Today's feature is about ... yes, you guessed it ... the Greek Cross quilt block, but depending on whether you want a simple task to complete for today or a more challenging one, I have created patterns for two different Greek Cross quilt blocks.

Greek Cross quilt block

The first version is a simple Greek Cross block -- a great choice if you are new to making quilts and perhaps this is a first introduction to a nine patch design. However, don't be fooled into thinking that "simple" equates to "boring". By changing up the arrangement of the blocks and of course the various colours, your quilt will be striking.

Seven Patch Greek Cross quilt block

The second version is for those quilters who want more of a challenge. The Seven Patch Greek Cross has many more pieces and therefore more care must be taken to produce accurate patches. None of the patches are difficult to make though, as the block contains only squares, rectangles and half square triangles.

An interesting side note: - Nine patch quilt blocks are so named because they have nine patches to make up the block. Seven patch quilt blocks have 49 patches, so why are they not called "forty-nine" patch quilt blocks? I guess that would just scare off quilters, so instead the seven patch is so named because it is created on a 7 x 7 grid.

Those Greeks were some smart guys

_{"School of Athens' by Rafael, image of Plato}

• "We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less."
  ~ Diogenes


• "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
  ~ Plato


• "The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be."
  ~ Socrates


• "You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity."
  ~ Epicurus


• "The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."
  ~ Diogenes


• "Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies."
  ~ Aristotle


• "My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher."
  ~ Socrates


• "Wisdom outweighs any wealth."
  ~ Sophocles

_{Greek Cross quilt block images © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
'School of Athens' image of Plato by Rafael, courtesy of public domain}

Wyoming and 'Butch and Sundance'

Wyoming quilt block

The Wyoming quilt block may look familiar to you, but that is likely due to the fact that many quilt blocks look similar. Changes in patch placement or rotation, and the colour value of the patches can make an entirely new block. You may be interested to check some of these blocks out for yourself, so I have listed a few on the Wyoming quilt block pattern page.

This nine patch quilt block is an easy one for the beginner quilter and introduces you to half square triangles and flying geese patches if they are new to you.

Fun Facts about Wyoming

• Any person who fails to close a fence in Wyoming is subject to a fine of up to seven hundred and fifty dollars.


• When you fly over Wyoming, you will notice that they have built their highways in an argyle pattern.


• "Wyoming" is Native American slang for "Almost square."


• Harry Longabaugh became known as the Sundance Kid because he served a jail term for horse stealing in Sundance, Wyoming.


• The famous Hole in the Wall hideout for Butch and Sundance (and numerous other outlaws of the time) is located in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County, Wyoming.


• Wyoming touches more states than any other.

_{'Wyoming' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
'Butch and Sundance" wanted poster image courtesy public domain}

"Oh, Sweet Pea, come on and dance with me."

Sweet Pea

I was on a walk along the trail the other day with my friend Carol, and we were talking about the beautiful sweet pea flowers we were seeing all along the way. Here is a picture of some of the beauty we were seeing.

Then, for the rest of the day, I had a song running through my head (I think they call this an "ear worm") from way back in the day -- "Sweet Pea" by Tommy Roe. Since it would not go away, I thought maybe that was a sign to make a quilt block pattern for "Sweet Pea" to add to my Flower Quilt Blocks category.

Sweet Pea quilt block

After searching high and low, I could not find a picture of a quilt block with that name. I did however, find a picture of a quilt named 'Sweet Pea' so I went from there.

The quilt block looks kind of boring, but it has lots of possibilities when you put many of them into a quilt, especially if you make a lot of scrappy blocks -- (not being much of a gardener, I am assuming that Sweet Peas come in a variety of colours). Here are some sample quilts to give you some ideas.

Sweet Pea sample quilts

Download the free Sweet Pea quilt block pattern.

Flower Quotes to brighten your day

• "If the English language made any sense, "lackadaisical" would have something to do with the shortage of flowers."
  ~ Doug Larson


• "Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts."
  ~ Sigmund Freud

and my favourite ...


• "Earth laughs in flowers."
  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

_{All images © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}

Copper is part of today's fun fact.

Arizona quilt block

Today's featured quilt block is called Arizona. How interesting that I used shades of "copper" in my sample block because, unbeknownst to me, copper is the most abundant mineral in the state, and Arizona leads the 50 states in copper production.

I am sure there are blocks for each individual state, and perhaps I will get to all of those ... someday. But for today, let's focus on using some half square triangles and some flying geese units.

This is an easy block to construct and the arrangement is similar to many other blocks. That is one of the great things about making quilts ... with slight variations to the colour and/or placement of the individual pieces, you get a whole new block. I have listed some links below for other blocks similar to Arizona.

Click on the Arizona image or download the free quilt block pattern here.

Other quilt blocks that are similar to Arizona
~ Checkerboard Star
~ Hands of Friendship
~ Lucky Clover
~ Maple Star (the block I use as my logo on Patchwork Square)

Today's Wise Thoughts

• "Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."
  ~ Walter Anderson


• "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."
  ~ Chinese Proverb

_{'Arizona' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}