I love living in Alaska! I’ve lived here 35 years and traveled the state quite a bit, but I’m not done yet. There’s just too much to see, from the islands of the Aleutian Chain (next year’s trip, I’ve promised myself!) to the northern Arctic Wildlife Refuge to the islands of the south east panhandle. I’ve gone ocean kayaking in Prince William Sound, commercial fishing in the Gulf of Alaska and driven the Alaska-Canada Highway, many times. I’ve flown in jets, small planes, taken the ferry to many towns and driven many roads to explore this great state. Below, courtesy of Google, is Russia, Alaska and Canada, with a tiny bit of the Pacific Northwest USA in the lower right hand corner. The two pink dots are Anchorage and Seward and the yellow path is roughly the path I drove my RV this past year, heading toward Arizona and back north, to Alaska just a month ago.
This is one of my favorite photos of Turnagain Arm, just south of Anchorage, along a road I’ve taken hundreds of times to get to Seward, Kenai, Soldotna, Homer or Seldovia. The Arm, like so many things in Alaska, is gorgeous to look at but can be deadly to the unwary.
As I get older I think more and more about sustainability for our world and our global economy and I love the fact that Clothworks, a company whose fabrics I’ve loved and used for years, is focused on creating their fabric here in the USA. When I traveled through Arizona I saw cotton fields and I often wondered if that cotton would someday be in fabric that I use to make a quilt. Clothworks is introducing their American Made Brand (AMB) cotton, which is from Arkansas (and possibly other locations), spun and woven in South Carolina (I really want to visit there!) and sold out of Seattle (I love Seattle too). I was invited by Candice at Clothworks to join in on her American Made Brand Debut Blog Tour of the United States. 
She asked 50 quilters and bloggers to participate and to create a quilt block based on their state license plate – what a cute idea!
Here’s a pic of me, with my RV, and the RV license plate, which I used for the colors of my Alaska Quilt Block.
I took this opportunity to play with paper and pen (which I love doing) and then take some long overdue classes on using Adobe Illustrator.
Here’s my first draft, in pen on tracing paper. I use tracing paper a lot so that I can keep design aspects I like (just trace over them with a new sheet of paper) and move, resize or discard the parts I don’t like.
From there I started playing with color, matching the fabrics to the actual license plate and trying to decide on the color of the mountains. One of the things that I love the most about the mountains here is how close they are, and how beautiful they look when lined up against each other, fading gradually into the distance. This photo of the mountains in Seward, taken from the northern boat harbor, shows what I mean as the mountains go from dark in the foreground on the right, to faded on the left. The center has the two boats I worked on in 2003 and 2004, when I went commercial fishing for salmon.
I wanted the Alaska State Flower, the Forget-Me-Not, to be part of this block. It’s a delightful shade between pale blue and periwinkle and it’s a delicate, tiny blossom. I found these just down the street from where I’m parked in my RV this summer. Alaska is definitely a place you will never forget once you visit or live here.
When it came time to do some drafting, I went back to a site I’ve been taking classes on: Skillshare. It’s a site that offers a wide variety of technology and business classes that allow you to learn at your own pace. I’ve taken several classes there. I particularly like the fact that they use a lot of videos in the classes, and a minimum of text. The classes encourage students to use their own projects to learn with which is another aid to learning. By working on my own projects, I accomplish two tasks at one time – learning and finishing something I need done. It’s also a lot more fun to learn while working on something you like rather than a textbook lesson. Here’s what I came up with in Illustrator.
After drawing and drafting I was finally able to start playing with fabric – YAY!! What a gorgeous collection Clothworks provided, making it very easy for me to be able to use fabrics in the exact colors I was looking for.
I used the fusible web technique, drawing reverse images onto the paper backing of the Steam-A-Seam and then lightly adhering it to the wrong side of the fabric. After cutting the pieces out, I used a full steam heat setting to permanently set the fabrics. If you are not familiar with the various techniques of applique, I highly recommend Kay Mackenzie at All About Applique and my friend Ruth Blanchet at Academy of Quilting.
I put a little bit of stitching to hold the Aleutian Islands in place and wanted to embellish the Forget Me Nots with some white and yellow thread, but that’s something better done when the block is quilted. If I were quilting this today I would also put some white thread on the tops of the mountains because as late as June this year there was still fresh snow appearing on the mountains around Anchorage. It’s been that cold!
So, why did I call it Blue Alaska? If you look at every photo in this project, your will see multiple shades of blue. Alaska, The Last Frontier, has a big clean blue sky, huge clean blue lakes and is surrounded on the south, west and north by blue ocean. Even the icebergs have a blue tint to them. This land is often green, sometimes (for very loooooong periods of time) it’s white, but always there’s some blue… there’s even a Blue King Crab! Tomorrow brings the summer solstice and on a clear mid-summer night the sky in Anchorage is just a dark blue. On the solstice it never really gets dark like it does in the south, just dusky around 2-4am, and then it’s daylight again.
For quilters who know me, this little block was just a fun side project. I’m still focused on making, writing about and teaching quilt-as-you-go projects and the one I’m working on now ties right into this “Alaska” blog post – check out the T-Shirt I found in, of all places, Las Vegas! I went scrounging the second-hand shops in both Las Vegas (on my way home) and Anchorage for T-Shirts for project testing. I just had to buy this one! Look for more about T-Shirt quilts from me very soon. If you have always wanted to make a T-shirt quilt, gather them up now and sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar here. If you want to take a class with me, check out my schedule on the Classes & Workshops page here.
This was a fun blog tour and I’ve really enjoyed reading about the other states, 
and learning more about the quilters – some I know and some are new to me – and I hope you will too. Take a trip around the USA to visit some very creative quilters and learn about their home states. Many thanks to the folks at Clothworks for inviting me to be part of their wonderful tour and for sponsoring this great giveaway: leave a comment here to be entered to win an 8 Fat Quarter Bundle of American Made Brand fabric from Clothworks – YAY!! To qualify you must live in USA (I’m sorry to my Canadian and International friends). I’ll pick a random comment on June 27th and announce the winner then.
Click here for a comment window…..
Download the Alaska License Plate Block Pattern Download
OUR WINNER is Carolyn Boutilier! YAY and Thank you for reading and commenting on my home and my quilt block 🙂 ~Marguerita
Comments
170 responses to “Blue Alaska!”
Lovely! I grew up in the deep south and currently live in Wisconsin. The furthest north and west I’ve gotten is a short trip to Seattle. Thanks for the state tour! Notwendy gmail
I really like your block. It reminds me of the trip I took to Alaska years ago. We can’t wait to visit again when our kids are older. Your block will look great in the final quilt with rest of our blocks.
Good morning from Virginia. Lovely post about Alaska.
I appreciate the time you took to tell us your step by step process! Beautiful block for a beautiful state!
I love your block with the forget-me-nots. Some day I’ll get to visit beautiful Alaska…
One of our favorite vacations was the three weeks we spent in Alaska. Such beautiful sights and we only saw a small fraction of it. The forget me not is the perfect state flower because we’ll never forget Alaska!
I have enjoyed the tour and am kind of sad it is finished. But now I have some new blogs to visit. I love the forget-me-nots that you showed and put on your plate.
Good morning from Texas! Great job on the Alaska license plate! I have been watching all the shows on TV about Alaska – I can say I would love to visit – but sure wouldn’t want to live in the areas where these shows are filmed….enjoy your day! Thanks again!
Wonderful license plate and post about your state! Alaska is on my list of places I want to visit someday.
You have a beautiful state. Thanks for sharing the photos. Alaska is on my to do list.
Beautiful license plate.
My favorite cruise was the one to Alaska. It is so beautiful! I love your block and the concept behind it. Just lovely!
My son lived in Kotzubuie (sp?) for a while but I’ve never been to Alaska, One of these days we talk about talking a cruise to see the glaciers; in the meantime, I can dream.
Lovely design for your plate. Thanks for sharing the process.
Love your block. Also loved learning more about Alaska.
Thanks for the tour of Alaska!
Love your block.
I’m guessing most of your commenters have never been to your beautiful state (I haven’t!), but you’ve certainly made us want to come!
What fun to see your photos of familiar places and those wonderful forget-me-nots. I lived in Alaska for several years when my children were young, and my favorite photo of my toddler son has him on a mountain trail blowing fireweed seeds into the breeze. He loved hiking with us and going blueberry picking in late summer. Miss those days – thanks for the reminders!
I have been enjoying a friend’s pictures she took recently on a cruise to Alaska. The scenery is spectacular! Hello from Ohio.
Are you a full time RVer?? Visiting Alaska has always been my hubbys dream. We recently purchased a travel trailer and we hope to make that trip in the next couple of years. We have friends whose daughter and her family live in Nome. Thanks for participating in the blog tour. It sure has been fun.
Love your block. This brings back so many memories. We were stationed (Army brat) at Fort Richardson outside of Anchorage from 1961-1964 & drove back to the lower 48 on the Al-Can Highway. Thanks.
Ah – I would love to have a tour of your state! In the summer that is. My grandson loves the TV show about the Alaskan Railroad as he loves both trains and snow!
Very nice. I’ve enjoyed touring the country from my computer and visiting new blogs. I’ve never been to Alaska although I live in North Dakota. My sister and her family vacationed inAlaska last year. No darkness in the night. I didn’t know that. Here’s hoping I win. kthurn@bektel.com
I love how you included the forget me not flowers.
I love Alaska. We’ve been on 3 Alaska cruises and someday want to do the land and sea cruise.
Hi, from New York. Pretty State and block you made.
I visited Alaska briefly and I loved the scenery– amazing! Your block is beautiful!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful state with us. I have been learning a lot more than I ever expected about Alaska the last 3 years. 🙂
My husband spent three years in Alaska while in the Air Force and it’s on our bucket list to return. We thought we’d move there in the 80’s but it didn’t work out so I’m living vicariously through your blog! Thanks for the tour and the opportunity.
What a great post – thanks. Great block too. this has been the best blog hop ever!
I hope to visit Alaska some day! Thanks for pointing out the blue! WA state is the Evergreen State, and where I live (in the greater Puget Sound area) it is always green!
Alaska is on my bucket list! I have always wanted to visit there! Your block is beautiful! Thanks for the tour!
I am in California…and love road trips to!
You did a great job showing off your gorgeous state. My sister lives in Homer and the mountains and water are so stunning.
I have been to Alaska once, it was great! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures.
Your block is fantastic!
We were lucky to visit alaska last year and I couldn’t get over how beautiful the mountains were and so close. Fun license plate and those colors are great.
Yay! I love your license plate. Alaska always look so cold. The snow is beautiful, but the temperatures are so low.
I love the T shirt you found. I perused your blog and read about your long trip home. Alaska is one of the few states we have not visited and now that we live in FL, it isn’t likely to happen, I’m sorry to say. Thank you for the giveaway and your license plate perfectly reflects your beautiful state.
Alaska, a gorgeous state that I hope to visit. Love your license plate.
jean
jlickun@aol.com
What a great block! It is true, Alaska never leaves you. I lived in the interior in the early 80’s and loved it. I began my quilting journey with the Cabin Fever Quilters Guild in Fairbanks. A few years ago I returned to Alaska on a cruise of the inside passage and land trip; it was like I had never left.
Glad to hear about Clothworks.
Thanks for sharing about Alaska!
I just love the colors of your block! My cousin is a brewmaster in Anchorage – one day I would love to visit him there.
Beth
oneoldgoat1962 at gmail dot com
The photos of your state are spectacular. Happy travels.
Great job on your plate! I own a home in the bush on Lake Clark. It is the most beautiful place, so remote and peaceful. I do want to see more of Alaska, but for now its just go to the cabin and enjoy the beauty!!!!
You did a great job on your license plate quilt block! Alaska is one of the handful of states I have not been to.
I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska, ever since my grandma used to have a homestead up there when I was a child. She had to snowmobile to the grocery store sometimes, and always had a shotgun handy in case bears came around. She’s since moved down to WA, but still loves Alaska. Great job on your block!
Love your block (and I’m glad you included the Aleutian Islands since I lived on Adak for two years)
Love your State! I live in IL and I love watching all the new TV shows on Alaska, it is so beautiful!!
You certainly live in a beautiful state!! I’m sitting in very dry Arizona, wishing for a little rain and greenery
thanks!
My husband and I cruised to Alaska for our honeymoon! It is so gorgeous!
Thanks for your participation in the giveaway. I like your license plate!