Saturday, December 30, 2017

Racetrack Quilt

Well... I planned to think about 2018 but I'm in the doghouse. Someone has wanted a racetrack for his matchbox cars all his life. {He's two.} I have been delinquent; such a tragedy. Better get busy. {By the way, it wasn't the two-year-old who acted like a two-year-old. Just sayin'.}

I pulled novelty fabrics: race cars, space, guitars, fish, butterflies, giraffes - anything I had on hand. Then worked on arranging the colors. I thought most of my novelty prints had white or light backgrounds and was pleasantly surprised to find so many with color. {That means the road can be white instead of grey.} At first it seemed blue, orange, yellow would be the range but these alligators on green are simply too cute to leave out. Besides they are also in a quilt given to his youngest uncle. Nice connection.

Laying out the Racetrack quilt

When I first laid out the track I realized it would be a single circuit. That would quickly become boring. My first thought was to make gridded city streets on the back but then I realized I could modify this side with intersections and on/off ramps.

Racetrack quilt laid out

Layout complete. Sewing has begun.

With holes in all my old pairs, these Blue Q cotton socks were a Christmas present I really needed. I relate most to the pair in the middle. At least it looks like me on my bike. Plus it reminds me of that song by Queen. You know the one.

Blue Q cotton socks

Librarian Maureen Paschal explained how she teaches critical thinking in research and news. I remember my teachers emphasizing verifiable sources but Maureen has updated this information for the internet and social media. Her article shows we can all be involved in teaching discernment. It's not just politics; kids believe the craziest stuff about diet, exercise, needs vs. wants (what kid doesn't think a cell phone is a necessity?) Some of her points resonated with me including questioning my computer searches, "Why has this source appeared in my results list?" and the perils of using news aggregators. Her article is making me think about whether I'm being an intelligent consumer and citizen or a patsy.

Enjoy the day, Ann

33 comments:

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

that's a lucky little boy / what a fun project!

KaHolly said...

Your racetrack quilt layout is amazing!

Mel Beach said...

What a fabulous idea for a young boy...what fun he will have Vroooming his cars all around those twisty turvy roadways!!

Monica said...

Well, this is really gorgeous, and I'm sure it will be tremendous fun. Love the socks, too. :D Happy new year!

Barb said...

what a fun quilt.
I have the same middle sock and a couple of others like "my favorite salad is wine" lol

Angie in SoCal said...

Great layout for the racetrack. Fun socks, too!

Pamela said...

That racetrack quilt is the greatest!

Julierose said...

That racetrack quilt is amazing--he will just love it!! I love all the bright clear colors hugs, Julierose

audrey said...

This is going to be super cute! You're a nicer person than I am though to get right to work on this. I'd probably be demanding a good incentive at a nice fabric store in return! lol

Pam said...

love, love, love the racetrack quilt!!!!

Mystic Quilter said...

Love the racetrack and the socks!! I'm going to head over to the link you've put in and have a read.

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

love that racetrack! It is wanderful!

Kaja said...

This turned out well and looks perfect for its intended use. I found the article heartening: so good to know that at there are people out there thinking about how to help young people navigate the web in an intelligent and questioning way, and it's a good reminder for all of us to think as we consume information.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Wonderful quilt layout!!! Excellent linked article - thank you for sharing it (I will pass it on to Little Man's parents and uncle).

Ann said...

I’m actually glad to get is started. It is fun to work out.

Ann said...

I’m pleased I figured out ways to run the cars in mores directions.

Ann said...

Vroomong is one of this boy’s favorite activities.

Ann said...

At least I’m making it early enough in his life that he will get several years use from it.

Ann said...

Ooo! We’ll be twins. People won’t be able to tell us hellraisers apart.

Ann said...

It’s exciting to have figured out a way to change directions.

Ann said...

Thanks, Pamela. I think he’ll enjoy it.

Ann said...

Thanks, Julie. It’s turning out well. Everything came from my stash.

Ann said...

If I hadn’t started immediately it would have gotten buried again. Love the idea of visiting a fabric store. Wish I’d asked you first.

Ann said...

Those intersections make it much more usable, don’t they?

Ann said...

It made me think. I use an aggregator to weed out yellow journalism sites but hadn’t considered what they do with my choices.

Ann said...

Wanderful. I love it.

Ann said...

It reminded me of when my kids were in school. Their librarian made a deep impression, too. I’ve gotten lazy and found this a good reminder.

Ann said...

The intersections make the quilt worthwhile, IMO. It’s a good article for all of us. We should always keep our heads.

Mary Marcotte said...

The racetrack is going to be so much fun for him. He'll travel lots of miles on that quilt. :)
I haven't read your link article, but I will tomorrow. It's too late to read something that I may get upset about. Maybe not, but I'm not taking any chances. And I could use some socks like those. No one ever expects a great-grandmother to wear something like those. Keeping them guessing is a good way to have fun.

Ann said...

I hope the multiple ways to travel these roads will encourage him to use the quilt for a while.
The article shouldn't upset you. It's just what our librarians taught us when we were in school - updated for the internet. But it did make me think about how I'm abdicating control of what I read.
The socks tickle me, too.

Unknown said...

Great quilt! Happy New Year! Also good article, it would serve some grownups I know as well. Sometimes it feels like we've all retreated into our own little echo chambers. My 2018 reso is to listen better and google less.

Unknown said...

Oh sorry, that last one from "unknown" was really me, Sue!

Ann said...

I'm one of the grownups it's waking up. I do remember our librarians discussing source, etc. in high school all those years ago but I've gotten lazy with the internet. We do need to read well-sourced material, not garbage from who-knows-where. I love the old newspapers that had opinion articles on both sides of an issue.
Or another case, I read a magazine article last year debunking many of the homeopathic remedies and reminding me that nothing cures colds; they only treat the symptoms. It pointed out that legally homeopathic only means it's on Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia; these don't have to show they are effective. And some can circumvent the FDA. So many have bad side effects when taken for any length of time. Hmm. And so many people tout these in tweets, etc.