Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt: Week 2

A working weekend meant less time for sewing but I did get a few cut and sewn of Clue 2. I tried a hybrid method, sort of a quick and dirty, slap together solution and am less than pleased with the result. So printed off the template and going to try it that way for a while.
Here’s what they look like so far:

Two unit 2s sewn, one unsewn and 50 of clue one done.





My inspiration for my pinks, still blooming. I’m hoping they will stay in bloom until the end of the mystery but it could be a bit of a long shot.


So now to link up with Bonnie and see every ones progress. It is so fascinating to see how different the pieces can look with a change in colour.

Challenge Update: Week 6

It is always surprising, all be it a pleasant suprise, when something takes less time than I anticipated, the quilt top I had started at the Collaboration Celebration class back in August 2013 for example.  This was the retreat/class I went to with classes by both Bonnie and her friend Mickey DePre, combining their techniques into a quilt. It has been languishing in a plastic drawer since last September.  Put away so I could focus on the sailboat wedding quilt and two scrappy trips quilts.  From time to time I would think about it but the thought was there was too much left to do for a quick project and that it would have to come out when I had time to focus on it alone.
Of course we all see where this is heading. I pulled it out  to be another challenge project and found there was very little left to do to get it all sewn together.

Here it is with all the setting triangles done and ready to assemble.
I held off posting yesterday hoping to have a finished top to show but my machine didn’t cooperate. And alas it is only half way together. But that is a lot farther than it was while stuck in a drawer so I’m pleased with the progress.
Now to link up with Jo

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt : Week1

I’m so excited to be starting a new Mystery Quilt.  This will be my fourth and I have already made myself firm resolutions to keep up with the clues and most of all get things cut. Also to have fun because that is the important part of quilting, it should be fun. It is definitely fun to link up on Monday and see the progress everyone has made, their fabrics and even unique colour choices. So check them all out over at Quiltville.
My progress was totally turtley this weekend. Yes, spell check doesn’t recognize that word either, guess it must be made up, but it describes what my sewing was like perfectly. Life got in the way.  Starting with a staff party Friday night, reached the heights on Saturday with hours spent at Costco negotiating a new cell phone, then ended Sunday with a gorgeous +16C day, perfect for being outside doing yard work.
Excuses out of the way, here is what I did get done in between all that.








I’ve cut about 150 HST pairs and about 20 squares  of blacks and yellows. Plus put together two blocks to test the cutting and sewing. Everything is matching up the way it should.  And I did some more on  Ring Around the Hexies. It went together faster than I thought, turns out I didn’t have as much left to cut as I imagined.

That’s my progress, now to see what  all the other mystery quilters have been up to.

Done, done, done !

A big thank you to Jo for the kick in the butt. By that I mean her challenge to finish a Bonnie quilt before the next mystery.  Spurred on by wanting some progress to report on every week, I have buckled down and actually finished Celtic Solstice.


I just love looking at it spread out on our bed. It will never win an award but has won a place of honour.
Now to get the linky thing going with Jo.http://www.joscountryjunction.com/bonnie-ufo-challenge-update/

Bonnie Challenge Week 5

Wow, week 5 is here already. Time to link up with Jo's Bonnie Challenge and see what everyone has done this week.
I’ve made great progress and can even imagine being finished Celtic Solstice by next week. Which would be a good segue,  the end of this mystery quilt and the start of a new one.
I marked a few swirls free had with chalk to start off the border quilting. Then once I had the pattern established in my mind, I did the rest with no marking.






That left just the trimming and binding. Done and half done.


Since this is going to be “our” quilt, I took the opportunity to get familiar with the binding tool we bought when I first got this machine. I had been hesitant to experiment with someone else’s quilt so had held off other that a few test pieces. The big stumbling block for me was turning corners. The You Tube video that is recommended for learning this had a convoluted (to me) way of cornering. Fortunately while we were walking around the Quilt Canada Market, DH talked me into asking the Janome salesrep about the binding tool. She turned out to be an expert user of it and give me a quick lesson with a better way to do the corners. So today I am doing it her way, and it is working. Two corners done so far, just took a break to come post this.


Another success, still have the geraniums in bloom, despite the winter weather that has dumped on us. I’m loving sitting sewing looking at them.

In anticipation of finishing off Solstice, I’ve picked another UFO of Bonnie’s to work on next. Pfefferneuse (from String Fling) is ready for borders, so I dug out another 2013 project. Ring Around the Hexies from Bonnie and Mickey Dupree. I stuffed this in a box when I had some deadline quilts and never got back to it.
Only three hexies left to finish that last block, and then the sashing HST. Time to “get’er done”. Not sure I can finish this in a week but at least it is back in active duty.

but first, back to the binding while the sun is still shinning in my bay window.

Week 4 Update

Here it is week four of Jo’s UFO Challenge and I am no further along than last week. Quilting totally halted this week while other activities took precedence.

One of which was my day job. No pictures of that to share. Although I was working on a unit where the patients have some beautiful quilts. A pineapple quilt that is just gorgeous with what I believe are 3/4 in pieces, all in 30’s prints. However, we are not permitted to have our phones with us while working or to take pictures of our patients and their stuff. So that’s the end of that story.

Next distraction was getting my geraniums out of the garden before the frost comes. I haven’t tried wintering them over before. Choosing instead to purchase new in the spring. However this year I really loved their colour and wanted to ensure I had the same next year. I’m trying three different methods, hoping that at least one will succeed. My ceramic pots I bought in Fancy Gap, Virginia, just came in as they were and are sitting in the living room bay window.

These ones even popped out some new blooms after I carried them in. The Ones that were planted in the ground I dug up and am trying to dry them out to store wrapped in newspaper. Which is a method I read about but have never tried so have my doubts. And one of them I replanted from the ground into a pot.
Another project that had lots of time and attention was acquiring a car for my DD2. I think I mentioned last post how we were out looking at used cars for her. We almost lost the one that we liked best and had to race out  after work on Saturday to put a deposit down on it. Monday we went back and completed the paperwork.

It’s a nice little Honda Civic which hopefully will last through the rest of her university years. We just have to get rid of the car in front of it now.

I did do some sewing on the Pfefferneuse blocks and am now sewing the hourglass units to the string units. And somehow I have miscounted again and am 9 hourglass units short.




 Hopefully they are just lost on my cutting table.
Linking up with Jo's Country Junction to see what eveyone has gotten done this week.

Wednesday Update

Oops, yes I know it is Thursday. Things got busy here yesterday and I wound up doing a lot of running around instead of writing this. We are trying to find a new/used car for DD2 and had to go check some out with her. But this darn clock change, wound up trying to check out cars in people’s driveways after dark, not a great set up.
So here is my progress on Celtic Solstice this week: finished the free motion quilting on the body of the quilt, did two rows of walking foot around the first border. Next up is some curves in the last border.

I love looking at all the fabrics in this quilt.  They range in age from my oldest, purchased to make the Storm at Sea back in 1989, to brand new oranges purchased on our trip last autumn. And everything in between. I can’t wait to get it done and curl up in it.
For the times I can’t be on the “quilting” sewing machine, I have been working on the Pfefferneuse blocks from Bonnie’s book String Fling.  Getting enough put together to see the pattern forming on the design wall.

I don’t know who will get this one. My DD2 loved it when back when the book arrived but she is now in love with Easy Street.  The problem being she loves almost every quilt. Maybe the other two kids wouldn’t mind if she gets two, or I will just have to make two quilts for them.

Now to do the linky thing with Jo's Country Junction