Orca Bay Kind of Day!

No avoiding it, today I had to figure out how to make my Orca Bay (aka Long Lake though I have had several people tell me I should call it Green Bay and that is growing on me!) work. My flying geese blocks were too big for the Ohio star blocks...so DJ and I started ripping off the wings and re-trimming (uh read that I skipped a bit of the directions and didn't cut them to size the first time around--UGH!) and then resewing wings and putting the blocks together. This was a painstaking process and there was much grumbling (just ask Ros and BJ since we sewed over there all day!). Eventually I decided I could just open up the tops and sew the middle seam a quarter of an inch and I was good to go.
Ros showed us her very cool fish quilt. BJ suggested the orange inner border and I think it really makes the quilt! Ros used scraps and made a backing for it that is great too. DJ really liked it.And BJ (show off LOL) proudly displayed her Orca Bay top which is complete sans borders. It is FABULOUS and BJ said it all went together super de duper well for me. This did not perk me up, but since it is her first Bonnie Hunter quilt I am glad it was smooth for her. Me thinks she reads the directions better than I do!

BJ made her borders today but didn't get them attached yet (I might catch up to her yet, HAHA!) She and Ros both worked on a block of the month from crafts.com or something like that. After seeing them deal with it I was really glad I didn't add that onto my to be done list for February!
Ros is doing hers in batiks.

She also made the bag on the right to replace the one on the left. She stores her plastic bags in there.
Ros' BOM blocks. Two for January and two for February. Somehow I didn't get pictures of all of BJ's!
Ah finally row one of Orca Bay comes together.
Row two was faster. I did this in rows because it was challenging to figure out how to lay it out. BJ helped with advice like the yellow blocks corners will point to the dark blocks, etc.

Row three was as far as I got at Ros. It really went slow for me, but it was a lot of forward progress.
DJ and I came home and I got another two rows on. Now it is halfway. WHOOT WHOOT!

I then took a break from the blocks and pieced the border. Unfortunately I did two halves backwards and DJ is currently helping me unsew them. I will get them back together and then if I still feel like it I will keep working on the blocks. I really want to get this one off my UFO list because I have lots of other stuff to keep me busy in February and I am impatient to get to it!