An epic powder day on the ski hill – 15″ of snow!
Fellow Quilters,
Winter is quickly drawing to a close in my area. We had an unexpected 15” of fresh powder snow last Thursday – perfect for a few hours of epic snowboarding – but it had pretty much melted by Sunday. Most years our ski hill still has plenty of snow for the Spring Break festivities, but I suspect that the unseasonably warm weather this winter might make skiing an unlikely option by March 15th. Time to plan alternate outdoor activities.
One outdoor activity that often took place during university break for my sons was beer pong, involving teams of players, a ping pong or folding table, a ping pong ball and some red plastic Solo cups filled with measured amounts of beer. Each team arranges their 6-10 filled cups in a triangle formation at their respective end of the table, then players take turns tossing the ping pong ball to the opposite end of the table into their opponents’ cups. When a ball lands in a cup, the cup is removed from the table, the contents are consumed by the opponent, and play continues until one team has successfully removed every cup from their opponent’s end. While the game has traditionally been played with beer-filled cups, it can also be played with root beer, water, or another agreed-upon beverage. It is almost always played with Solo cups however, and they are usually red!
This activity came to mind when I was mulling over ideas for this month’s Quilt Block Mania blog tour.
Valerie’s new Tumbler Quilts book
The theme this month is Drinks, and a whopping 27 designers have come up with a w-i-d-e variety of 12” quilt blocks depicting their drink of choice. Tea and coffee seem to be popular choices, as was martini – my first choice. (Hubby mixes a fabulous crabapple martini made with homemade syrup from the tree on our front lawn.)
My friend Valerie Prideaux has just published a book on Tumbler Quilts (available from C&T Publishing), so a tumbler shape came to mind. That very quickly morphed into a red Solo cup, and next thing I knew, my Beer Pong
Beer Pong quilt block by Patti’s Patchwork
block was done. It even has a ping pong ball 😊. You can download the Beer Pong pattern here.
It’s quite easy to make. It has one partial seam but I use my nifty “im-partial” seam construction to avoid the loops and thread ends that are common in traditional partial seams.
Just for fun, I mocked up a quick 51” x 60” throw quilt featuring my Beer Pong quilt block – this contemporary and easy design might be enjoyed in some college dorms.
A 51″ x 60″ Let’s Play Beer Pong throw quilt in classic colors
Solo cups now come in a variety of colors, so you could also toss in other colors of tumblers. Fun!
A rainbow-colored Beverage Pong throw quilt
Here is the link list to the other designers’ blocks:
Champagne Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Martini by Crafty Staci
You Shake Me Up
Scrappy Mug by Katie Mae Quilts
Pina Colada by Appliques Quilts and More
Cosmopolitan by Inquiring Quilter
Cups and Saucers
Bubble Tea by Inflorescence Designs
Beer Pong by Patti’s Patchwork
Perfect Flying Geese
Bear Loves Cocoa by Colette Belt Designs
Coffee Bean by Sewistry
Sip & Stitch by Happy Hour Stitches
I’m a LIttle Teapot
Bit too Much by Epida Studio
Tupperware Pitcher by Cristy Fincher
Ice Cubes by Create with Claudia
Cherry by Slightly Biased Quilts
Tea for Me by Craftapalooza Designs
French Press by Oh Kaye Quilting
Sew Fresh FPP Block by San Diego Sewn
Cheerwine by Emerald Falls Quilts
Release the Kraken by Art Quilts by Design
But First Coffee by Paleofish Designs
Margarita by Sallys Sewing Circle
Iced Lemonade by Patchwork Breeze
Get my Beach Umbrellas pattern plus 11 others for $19 March 7-11
I’ll be blogging again in a few days’ time for another special quilty event. This is my first time participating in Patchwork Posse’s steal-of-a-deal pattern bundle. For 5 days only (March 7-11) you can purchase a 12-pattern bundle of terrific scrap-friendly patterns for just $19 – that’s $1.58/pattern!
My contribution is my PC237 Beach Umbrellas pattern, an easy hexie pattern that includes wall, lap and queen sizes. Stay tuned for the link on March 7th.
Coming up next, I’ve also got a fab floral modern quilt to share with you. So much quilty goodness!!
See you soon,
Patti
pattispatchwork-blog.com 
Hi Patti! Love the beer pong design! So creative. Love the minimalist feel with a big statement!
thank you for the beer pong block. this is so fun and you are right, so many possibilities. I love how you came up with your block.
I’m having trouble opening this pattern and I have to tell you this is the BEE’S KNEES! Most patterns are flowery and babyish sometimes – but this! WHAM OUT OF THE PARK! Thanks, j Woodridge Ill. Home of 62° temps when we should be having the last blast. We have a ski run across the street and they might as well have had a luau!