Up in the Air

Wow!! My brain actually went several different directions when I saw the theme for May. Airplanes. Birds. Dragonflies. But what I landed on was Contrails.

What in the world is a contrail? Do you remember those lazy summer afternoons when you would lie on your back and look at the sky? Either playing What Shape is that Cloud or just looking at the sky? The contrails are the exhaust streams from the back of the planes. Truth be told, I didn’t know they had a name until about a month ago. I always called them jet streams (not THE jet stream).

I used to imagine what it would be like to fly places. Or wonder where the people on those planes were going. Was it for business? Vacation? And I always wondered if the planes ever hit or came close to each other high in the sky the way the contrails crossed over each other.

My block this month is more of an improv block. I am not a big improv quilter, but every once in a while it’s fun to try something new. I still wrote the pattern since it is pieced, but your version will not be exactly like mine or the pattern. And that’s ok. Try it. I enjoyed not needing perfect points. The biggest thing is matching up the cross pieces. I used my cutting mat’s lines to help me out.

Don’t forget to check out all the designers’ patterns. They are really creative this month.

Pig with wings by Carolina Moore
Dragonfly by Crafty Staci
Kite with tail
Daylight Flight by Patti’s Patchwork
Hot Air Balloon by QuiltFabrication
Pancakes by Inquiring Quilter
Feeding Time by Robin Kinley Designs Etc
Contrails by Memory Barn Studio
Scrappy Birds by Katie Mae Quilts
Propeller by Patchwork River Quilting
Pinwheels and Northern Lights by The Quilted Diary
Space Rocket by Emerald Falls Quilts
Pilot Nutcracker
Flying Birds by Patchwork Breeze
Raven’s Flight by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Butterfly by Appliques Quilts and More
Night Sky by Studio B