The night before….

Bonnie’s mystery. And how is the challenge coming? Have not finished quilting on the Scrappy Trips. Did not get the Sister’s Nine Patch sandwiched let alone quilted.
But I did get another flimsy done. This one has been languishing since last year. Only needed the outside border but I was dragging my feet over making more of the checkerboard.

A Story Time Star with all the checkerboard. And just in time, hubby asked for another quilt for work. Thankfully for a boy this time, so I can use this.
Not as successful a challenge as I would have liked but did move some  UFO closer to finished quilts.  Having a challenge sparked me to get a little more done.  Who knows, there are a few hours left tonight, maybe ?


Linking up with Jo for her challenge update.

Another Bonnie Challenge update

A lot of progress to report. Having a few days off work will do that.
The sister’s nine patch is a flimsy, although I think I might add a border of red. But I’m very pleased with it. Plus I still have 40 blocks left to make another one. This one came out 32 X 45 with no the border, a decent crib size. Smaller than I have been making them but it is done. And I hope to get it quilted this week in between the paying work.

The Scrappy Trips is in the machine being quilted. Had to stop last night when I did a whole row without bobbin thread. Didn’t get back to it today but will.

No further progress on Easy Street. But now have 12 blocks together for the next Scrappy Trips (the one with the rocket fabric). 

So now to link up with Jo and check on how everyone else is doing.
 http://www.joscountryjunction.com/bonnie-challenge/

Time to do some Math

I’m sure there are lots of girls who hated that proclamation by teachers. I was not one of the haters, and in fact was  pretty good at math.  So figuring out how much fabric I need isn’t usually a problem. The problem usually is that I haven’t taken the time to do the math. I’ve gotten lazy. Scrappy quilts don’t require calculation. Run out of fabric? Ha. Doing Crayon Box or Scrappy Trips just means pulling out the stash of 2.5” strips and cutting them into the required length. 

But then we come to the “pink quilt”. This project is only two colours and needs yardage. So the question became exactly how much  did I need. Found a really easy double 4 patch pattern posted by Mary Johnson and started crunching numbers. At first I thought a 5 X 7 setting but that needed 40 inches of fabric. Ended up with 5 X 5 so far and maybe another row to make.

While I was calculating, decided to crunch some numbers for the Nine Patch top. Several people commented on how big it was going to be so thought I’d verify their opinions. Yep,they were right,  gonna be a big one. The block on point measures 6.5’’ which set 8 across would be 52 inches. So maybe I could divide the blocks into two quilts.

Raggedy Nine Patches Number One ready to assemble.

Bonnie Challenge Update

I didn’t think I was getting very far with my Bonnie Challenge, Sister's Nine Patch, but a count of the blocks finished so far shows I am within 8 blocks of goal. It is so amazing how fast the blocks build up doing them as Leaders and Enders.  The pattern (in Adventurers in Leaders and Enders) calls for 169 blocks, which I am not attempting. This will be a baby quilt so only shooting for 80 blocks in a setting 8 X 10.  The yellow fabric I found at a thrift store was the inspiration to make this quilt. Don’t know if it is identifiable but it is Raggedy Ann and Andy.

I’ve also added the first border to Easy St. and hope to get the second on this week. Not sure if I will get it quilted but  at least will have it as a flimsy before the next mystery starts.


And a border on the Scrappy Trips. Finally I can link up with some progress. So linking up with Jo's Country Junction

Caveat Emptor

(or.. don’t buy on-line after 2 glasses of wine.)

The entire trip to the east coast I was searching fabric stores. Not only for fabrics for the new mystery but also for a particular space fabric I wanted to be the focus fabric in a Many Trips Around the World.  I had the idea to use it in the same place, every block and make X’s. Since the quilt I wanted to do this in is actually two quilts I figured I needed more than I had. However, no one had any of this through all four states and one province. After the last quilt store we went to in N.S., either my dear hubby or my sister-in-law (I forget which, see above 2 or more glasses of wine)  asked if I had searched on-line. Nope, hadn’t, thought it would be more fun to track it down on foot. So we looked, and found it, same designer, same name, ordered it.

It came this week. Not the same. What arrived was almost the same. But what I wanted was called “Blast Off”, what I got was “Final Frontier”. Same background, no space ships. I looked on the website again. They have both fabrics, and have called both “Blast Off”.  DH wants me to call and complain. I’ve got a feeling I didn’t look close enough the night I ordered and just saw the name and clicked buy.

I’ve started the blocks using what I had on hand

Not sure you can see enough of the space ships to warrant the effort to get the right fabric.

Blast Off on the Left, Final Frontier on the right, you can see how easy a mistake it would be .

Home, at last

We actually arrived Wednesday night but since we drove in almost exactly 9 hours before I was due at work, have not had a moment to breathe let alone write. And I only have an hour before taking off for work today.  DH likes to travel until the very end of vacation, squeezing every possible moment out of our time.  As rushed as it seems to come back and hit the ground running to work, I’m glad I picked up these extra shifts.

If any trip fitted the definition of F.A. T. this was it. We did fabric acquisition every chance we got. A stop at JoAnne’s, Keepsake Quilting, two stops at Marden, a Fabricville, a Walmat and the Stitch N Post in Marion Bridge

 

And what we didn’t buy, was gifted to me by my sister and sister-in-law.  Now just have to get through work so I can start sewing.

Some progress made

Have made only 5 nine patches for my Sister's Nine Patch this week. On the other hand I finished binding the Shades of Black quilt, plus quilted and bound the baby quilt I brought. Not too bad for sewing while on a road trip. The fabric aquisistion on this trip has been enormus. Pictures to follow once home and unpacked.