Log Cabin Quilt LTC

Crazy Quilters Bee: Log Cabin

This is my card for the "Crazy Quilters Bee" LTC swap.  I love the log cabin quilt block and that is what I carved.

My original idea was with the magazines.  We had a yard sale at the end of the summer with my mother-in-law.  She was getting rid of a stack of old National Geographic magazines.  At the end of the weekend they were still there and she said that I could have them.  They are so colorful, I thought they would be perfect for LTCs.

I carved my stamp and started with my first idea.  I stamped the stamp on the card with yellow, cut out parts of the magazine, glued them on, and stamped my stamp on again with black.  My stamps did not line up and some of the papers were the wrong size.  I decided that this was to much work and I went on to plan B.

For the final card, I stamped the stamp on white/cream felt and colored it in with Sharpies.  Then I stitched over it by hand using black thread and glued it to blue paper.  I like how they turned out but it was a lot of work!

Vincennes Again & Lepidoptera

Caboose at Princeton Train Depot

My letterboxing buddy, G-MA, and I went boxing together on Friday.  About 2 weeks ago someone passing through planted a box in Vincennes.  It is about an hour away so I was not in a big hurry to go get it.  But when MiSs cHiEvOuS nEsS was in town for our recent event she planted a box in Princeton which is half way between Evansville and Vincennes.  I had planned on going for the boxes on Friday and G-MA contacted me to see if we wanted to go together and I said yes.

The Princeton box was at the Princeton Depot.  There is another box here but G-MA and I already had it so we didn't check on it.  We did look around inside the building for a bit a talked with the workers who were not very friendly.

Gibson Co Quilt Square

Gibson County has a trail of quilt squares.  We saw several on out trip and this is the one at the depot.  G-MA thinks I should plant a box at each one.  There are 212!!  I can not do that but I do need to check them out and see if any of them have good hiding spots.  Maybe that can be an idea for next year. I don't know, plant a quilt square once a month?

The box in Vincennes is planted near a running track.  It was a beautiful day so G-MA and I sat at the bleachers and talked for a while.  We ate lunch at a Chinese place in Vincennes and then headed home.

Lepidoptera  II: Question Mark Butterfly

This is my card for the Lepidoptera II tracker.  When I first made the card I really liked it.  But the more I look at it the more I hate it :(

It's Back!

Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice 

I just got my Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice back from being quilted!  I just have to trim the edge and add the binding and I am all done :)  Now I know what you are thinking, "What does all this quilting have to do with letterboxing?"  But I discovered the quilt on Atlas Quest.

I believe that I have talked about this quilt before but I thought I would explain it again.  This is a mystery quilt.  I didn't do it that way but that is how it started.

Back in November, Bonnie Hunter posted on her blog what fabrics you needed for the quilt (what colors, sizes, etc).  Then once a week for 5 weeks she posted what blocks to make, what size, color, etc.  She gave step by step instructions.

Quilting up close.

As people when along they posted pics of their progress on the Facebook page.  Then on Jan 1st, Bonnie Hunter reveled what the finished quilt should look like.  Everyone also posted pics of their finished quilts and I fell in love with them.  So I made one too and I love it!

I probably should have made it a little wider but my husband can sleep on the short side :)~

Paducah, Ky

4 different Log Cabin quilt tops

This year has been the year of quilts.  Back in the fall I found a Facebook group making a mystery quilt.  (I actually found the group through AQ.)  The group was making Bonnie Hunters Celtic Solstice.  I had never heard of a mystery quilt but at the beginning Bonnie Hunter tells on her blog how much fabric to buy, what colors, etc.  She gives you a few weeks to get everything together and then every week for 5 weeks she tells you what quilt square to make.  She tells what size, colors, gives step by step instructions, etc.

On January 1st, Bonnie Hunter has the big reveal and shows how to assemble the squares into her Celtic Solstice quilt.  Every one on the Facebook page was showing their progress and finished quilts.  Earlier this year I decided that I had to make the quilt.  I got all my materials together and completed the top in just a few weeks.  When I was done I sent it to a local woman to quilt it and I am eagerly waiting for it to be finished.

Outside the National Quilt Museum

During this process my kids have really enjoyed watching me make the quilt and then they all wanted quilts.  The first quilt I ever made was a Log Cabin quilt.  So I told the kids that I would make a bunch of Log Cabin squares and they could arrange them.  I just finished the tops this week and to celebrate we went to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky.

Paducah is about 2 hrs southwest of us and it has 5 letterboxes (now 6).

You are not allowed to take photos inside the quilt museum but here are the kids goofing off with a sculpture outside.  While we were there we planted a box nearby.

 Also in Paducah is a RR museum and it has a letterbox inside. You might recall that we went to a train museum on spring break and it was awesome.  Well this one was not so much.  Oh well, you win some you loose some.

Oak Grove Cemetery

There were two boxes in a local cemetery and they were easy to find.  However, the grounds crew had nothing to do on this gloomy rainy day so they drove in circles the whole time we were there.  We ended up taking the first box with us to the second box because they were hanging out too close to the first one.  We eventually were able to get everything back where it belonged.

Just down the road was a nice large park.  It had a cool amphitheater that the kids ran around on while I stamped the near by box.  We were almost attacked by ducks on the way back to the car.  The park had several play grounds so we had to stop and play for a little while.

The last box we looked for was another Whispering Giant mystery box.  This is our third one to look for and the second one that we have found.  These stamps are amazing!  If you haven't looked for one, you should!

Wacinton made of Red Oak 

We had a great trip.  The quilt museum was nice, we found all of the letterboxes that we looked for, and the kids were pretty well behaved.  We did miss our turn on the way home and went a little out of our way.  I always tell the kids that letterboxing is all about driving in circles ;)

PAL Day 2014

PAL Day was Saturday and I sure hope someone somewhere enjoyed it.  I planted two boxes and only one counted :(

Tin Man Brewery/Restaurant 

The first one was the Tin Man Brewery box that I made LTCs for.  It has already had it's first finder.  I am running an experiment with this box and it is going commando.  We will see how it goes.  Double bagging is big here.

 As for my second box, the clue was too old.  I started the clue and carved the stamp back in the fall but forgot about them.  I found them about a month ago and decided to plant them on PAL Day.  I made the logbook and spray painted the box the week of PAL Day.  Then planted it on Friday and listed it on Saturday.

Boehne Camp TB Hospital just before it was tore down. 

I planted it where an old TB hospital used to be.  It had been torn down several years ago but I think the location is interesting.  Also, back in the fall we had some TB drama in the Christmas family.

My oldest son was getting ready for middle school and had to get vacations.  He also had a TB skin test and it was positive.  We had the whole family tested and I was also positive.  He and I also had blood work and another skin test and they were all negative.

This was such a long, drawn out ordeal.  We had to deal with the pediatrician and health dept.  We ended up leaving the pediatrician that we have been with for 11 years because of how she treated the people at the health dept and her refusal to order a blood test for my son.

So, officially Indiana had 2 boxes planted on PAL Day.  I could have deleted my old clue and started another but with our number so low I choose not to.

My questions is, what happened to PAL Day?  Was everyone to busy with the holiday weekend to plant?  Did everyone boycott because of the new stricter rules?  I know Indiana normally has low numbers but the whole country is low.  According to the PAL Day widget it is the second lowest turn out ever with only 297 boxes.  The first year is the only one with a lower number at 269.

Lost a square or miscounted :)

I have been blogging and boxing less simply because there is nothing around me to find.  I started the quilt that I talked about a few posts back.  This summer I would like to box in Paducah, Ky (about 2 hrs away).  They have a quilt museum there and I hope to plant a box near by.  My kids are so excited about my quilt that I will make them all one too.  Not this design though.

I hope everyone has a fun safe summer :)

Reflecting on 2013

Lil Ewok and I at my 300th find

2013 was a good boxing year for me.  I didn't reach my goal of finding my 400th box but I am ok with that. There are two boxes within 10 minutes of my house that I could easily run out and get but I am trying to show the planter that I have standers.

Nashville, Tn

In 2013, I went to my first out of state events.  In August, the whole family went to an event in Nashville, Tn.  We had fun meeting new people and finding boxes.  It was interesting to see how other people do things.  Then in November, my boxing buddy and I went to an event in St Louis, Mo.  We enjoyed going over before the event and boxing.

GS Camp

I taught Letterboxing at two events.  I had about a dozen people show up at a class at the library.  Then I helped 85 Brownie Girl Scouts earn their Letterboxing Badge at Day Camp.

I love making LTCs!  In 2013 I made 35 and "found" 554.  I also hosted my first LTC swap.  It was a Christmas swap and I quickly added a few more that are due in 2014.  I have 2 Kids Only trackers and a Life is good one.

In 2013, I stuck my foot in the door of the postal world.  I have gotten 9 postal singles and I am thinking about joining a ring.  I am also pondering sending out a postal single.

Over all my find count was down from last year.  We have less boxers now and that means less people planting for me :(  In 2012 I found 154 traditional boxes and in 2013 I found 148.  I planted quite a bit more in 2013 than 2012.  In 2012 I planted 26 traditional boxes and in 2013 I planted 39.  I am about ready for my first plant of the new year.

Another new thing in 2013 was my Etsy store.  My husband had been bugging me about selling stamps so I gave in and started a shop.  I had 3 sales in 2013!  I thought for sure that it would so nowhere.    I have some new logbooks coming out soon.

I have no letterboxing goals for 2014 but I am excited to see what will come.  My noxer husband often bugs me about wasting gas while letterboxing.  I have promised to cut back and there isn't much for me to look for anyway.  I am thinking about making a quilt.  I recently joined a Facebook group where everyone made a mystery quilt and it looks like so much fun.  This has also got me to thinking about barn quilt squares.  There is a whole trail in a county near me and I want to check them out.  And maybe plant a box or two ;)