This beautiful block is the eighth one in the Riley Blake Challenge Block of the Week for 2026. It was designed by Sandy Gervais and is a great example of the type of blocks that the Riley Blake Challenge is known for. It is an exquisite block, unlike things you see every day, and it was indeed a challenge.
That is why I keep going back to the RB Challenge every year. I love the fact that the block offerings are not simple. They definitely provide a challenge to me. This block was made up mostly of flying geese units in various combinations of fabric colors. The flying geese were a weird size (1 3/4 x 3), so you had to make them one at a time and carefully trim them to size when made. There were a lot of intersections where the seams and points all had to come together, which meant pinning and careful sewing.
It took a while to make, but it was fun and I am happy with the results. Here are all my blocks for this sew along so far:
This has been such an enjoyable project. Every week, I look forward to what they give us next!
I had an adventure yesterday. I had some things to return to a store before the return deadline passed, so I drove to the Galleria in Roseville, CA. This is just under a two-hour drive for me, but the weather was good, and I had a new book on my Audible (This Story Might Save Your Life), so I decided to go for it.
I got my return taken care of straight away, then went to some of my favorite shops: Talbots, JJill, Nordstrom, and Chicos. This mall has absolutely every store under the sun, and some you’ve never heard of from other galaxies. I may have gotten a thing or two at Talbots and Chicos… Anyway, I treated myself to lunch outside and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. I had a great time off on my own.
I left for home around 2:00, after a quick stop at Barnes and Noble. I settled in for a peaceful drive through the countryside once I got out of Roseville. My book was good and the time was passing quickly. Then I got stuck. There was a terrible accident at the intersection of the country road I was on and a small highway. I was the second person at the intersection and couldn’t go anywhere, so I had an unobstructed view of the scene.
It was a bad-looking accident between a big pickup truck and a smaller sedan. The sedan was smashed to smithereens. It did not look promising for the occupants. What followed was fascinating to observe. There were at least a dozen fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, and EMT trucks on the scene. A helicopter arrived in the field next to the road and airlifted the driver of the smashed sedan up and away to the hospital.
The person in the passenger seat must not have been as badly injured, but there was a big problem. The car was smashed so badly that the EMTs couldn’t get her out. It was amazing to see the “jaws of life” put to use, and the care the six or seven people working with her took to extract her from the car. It must have taken 20 minutes to get her out and onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. Either she was unconsious or the team was super gentle, because she did not make a peep. I was 20 feet away and would have heard it if she had.
Obviously, I was super impressed by the effort shown by all the personnel who showed up to handle all aspects of the accident. I counted 15 different rescue vehicles and police cars! Once the ambulance drove away, the cars were pushed off the road and out of the way, the road was swept and cleared of debris, most of the firetrucks left the scene, the EMTs were on their way, and the police and highway patrol stayed to measure things and direct traffic. It was a very impressive team effort between all the different agencies.
All in all, I probably sat there for 45 minutes while all this took place. I have never been in such a bird’s-eye position to watch our first responders and emergency personnel in action. The only agency not in attendance was the Coronor, so that is a very good thing. I pray that those poor people involved will have a short road to a complete recovery.
Every time I go off by myself on a shopping excursion or other adventure, my husband always says “Drive carefully”. I certainly have been considering his words and taking them to heart.
16 Responses
I was thinking you would write that you started reading a book from your B&N tour! My SIL is a volunteer fireman. At a community event, the firemen showed how they would use the jaws of life to extract a passenger from a vehicle. I got tears in my eyes as he was using that thing. So proud of him and the men and women who voluntarily give up their time to help others.
Our county has a program for teenagers where they can attend a “camp” for a week and learn about all the different careers in the first responder realm. The daughters of a friend of mine attended and are now considering careers as EMTs.
That must have been horrible to see, but interesting to see the rescue team at work. What happened to the truck driver?
Your block is lovely. The pattern I’m working on has directions the designer thinks are clear, but I have to go over them over and over again, and Jack has been right there with me. Pretty frustrating. I may end up saving the rest of the blocks until I can work on them in a better state of mind!
I think the truck driver must have been ok. The truck was damaged in the front, but a man got in it and drove it to the side of the road, so it still worked. The sedan on the other hand was smashed on all sides and on the top, so it must have rolled over a time or two.
I hate it when pattern designs are confusing. There are a couple of big name designers I could name…
Oh wow, that was quite an adventure! I’ve been witness to 2 “fender-benders” and that was dramatic enough even with no major injuries. Can only imagine how dramatic, horrific, and yet interesting it was to see all the aftermath that you witnessed.
That latest block is very pretty! It is so fun to watch the your progress.
What a beautiful block! I like the RBD blocks as well and our small quilt group is doing a block swap using block patterns from a previous years challenge. Fun and challenging!
I was a nurse for almost 50 years before I retired. Emergency and trauma nursing were not my area of of preferred care. I so admire the first responders and EMTs and all other emergency medical professionals that respond to the unknown and assess and treat the injured out in the field.
It was very impressive. So many different agencies all working together.
I would have nightmares for years after being extracted by jaws of life….nightmares.
Those blocks are so different than anything I’ve ever seen you make. It’s gonna be a beautiful quilt.
Thank you Ina!
Yes, I think it would take a long time to get over an experience like that. Plus, not knowing what was going on with your air-lifted companion.
The block is super! The accident – amazing. Everyone on hand to help. Just before Christmas a flat bed truck went into the back of my daughter and son-in-law’s car on a motorway – they had stopped because of a jam and the truck didn’t see them and carried on at 70mph. Thankfully they were OK. But the services were a pain. Luckily an off duty fireman pulled his car across the carriageways and helped my daughter get to the side but son-in-law was wedged with the steering wheel across his chest and the fireman helped him out too. Paramedics came but because of the injury to his chest they didn’t know if he had heart issues or broken ribs. They were not able to take them to the hospital due to having limited equipment and space – not insured for passengers. The police came along and complained that the road must be opened – the paramedics said no and the ambulance with the right equipment must clear the scene first. One hour later the ambulance arrived. Son-in-law was bruised but fine and his mum took them home. The car was a mess, the rear of it had been caved in, pushing the rear into the back of their seats and if there were any passengers in the rear then they’d have been crushed. They don’t have children so that was a blessing. 2 weeks before they were due to stay with us for Christmas. I do hope the people in the car were OK. I’m just amazed at the co-operation of your services was exemplary whereas ours were not – and should have been! On the plus side, the truck driver admitted he was at fault – and daughter and son-in-law work for an insurance company!
oh my god, kerry! how awful. I can’t believe your daughter and husband weren’t seriously injured. so glad they weren’t.
Thank you Ina. We had a few anxious moments, but the relief phew. When I saw the photos, it was quite shocking – brought a lump to the throat for sure.
What a horrific experience for your daughter and son in law! I am so glad their injuries weren’t severe and they didn’t have anyone in the back seat. I think it is astonishing that it took so long to get quicker assistance at the scene.
Thanks Nicole. The state of the country is not what it used to be, unfortunately. Two weeks for an appointment with a doctor if you aren’t well. People are dying while on waiting lists for hospital appointments. But the non-co-operation of the forces is ridiculous. Yours are still fully functioning together as a team. I hope the US never follows our path.
What a lovely and interesting block!
As a retired RN, I worked ER for 5 years and loved it. I was only on the scene for 1 highway accident and arrived just in time to tell the folks who had already stopped not to move the injured person as they were set on getting him further from his car – which was not leaking anything and was not on fire. The first thing the ambulance folks said to everyone was that they were glad their patient had not been moved. Somebody said “She wouldn’t let us!” pointing at me.
Every night I pray for everyone everywhere and all living things.
Hugs!