Mystery Monday, Part 6, 7, 8 & 9

When I left off blogging about the Mystery Quilt I was sewing clue five which was lots of chocolate flying geese. I finally completed those and cut peach/melon triangles for clue six. 

Clue six was adding those triangles to the chocolate/aqua triangles I had already sewn.

These units didn't take much time once I sat my butt down and did them. It was the getting off the couch from tiredness that took the longest. I'm still recovering from the holidays, I think.

Then, Bonnie took a wild hare and started throwing clues at us - bam! Bam! Bam! Four days - four clues in a row! Without the weekly deadline for each clue, I've fallen way behind. I'm much better with deadlines.

Bam! Part seven was sewing peach/melon geese to chocolate geese.

Again, these were a fast clue. Again...I took forever!

My bobbin was running low so I decided to just chain until it went out. It went out right as I finished the pile of goosey pairs! Ha! I did a quick clean up of my machine and wound more bobbins.

Bam! Part eight was to put some units into blocks. Like this:

I have ONE completed. Oh, I see I lost a goose nose. I don't die over it but I will make a point to be a little more careful with the rest. Pun intended.

Before I make the rest of the blocks I gotta remove all these dog ears I was too lazy to remove earlier. Why, why was I so lazy??? I'm kidding, of course. But it is boring. Time consuming. Damn dog ears. 

Bam! Part nine is laying out the blocks I haven't finished with sashing I haven't sewn together and setting triangles I haven't cut yet. Stay tuned It's getting there. One day. First, I'm trimming these stupid dog ears...

I'm linking up with Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 6, 7, 8, 9!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week 5

Once again I'm late for the link up! Christmas busyness took the wind right out of my sewing sails. Always too much to do and never enough time...and we don't even do big celebrations. Whew!

This week's clue was a repeat of clue two - flying geese but in chocolate and neutrals. Easy enough, especially this busy week. HA! And I'm not even done!

This is all that are complete. Maybe 40?

My duty today is to turn the rest of these neat piles into a honking lot of flying geese before the next clue comes out tomorrow morning! And I will lose a few hours as I have sent a shopping list to Dash to pick up the items I need to cook Chinese/Thai for our dinner. I am in desperate need of stir-fry and Jasmine rice.

Better get hopping!

Linking up with Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Tuesday Link-Up, Part 5.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week 4

I'm terribly late for the Mystery Monday Link Up, Part 4! So I'm having Mystery Monday on a Wednesday. Let's spice things up!

This weeks clue is a unit new to me, pieced triangles. I've never made them but following Bonnie's instructions, they are a breeze. Do you like my little Christmas tree?

I spent Friday and Saturday cutting the pieces. Bonnie's Essential Triangle Tool is fabulous for making these - so easy.

These are nice to sit down and cut and watch Netflix. 

Once I had the pieces cut, I sewed a trial unit and it came out perfect. I did forget to swipe to the "square" option on my camera...

Then it was easy to set all the aqua/turquoise out so I could get them randomly paired with the chocolates. Sew 20 and iron, finish sewing the 20 and iron and repeat and repeat. Half are finished, I've been dawdling in making them. Hey, I can't finish them too quickly or I'll have nothing to do until Friday when the next clue is released!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox 

Loose Ends

Well, for the second time on this years mystery quilt I finished a clue before the next one was released. I shouldn't do that. Now I am at loose ends. Nothing to do until tomorrow. 

Sigh.

Clue three was a challenge. I found I had cut 40 more rectangles than I needed because I wasn't checking my instructions. Boo. There is only a little peach/melon fabric left. I hope there isn't much more needed. These were fun to sew even if I can't follow instructions!

The box is filling up with clues! But there are loads of aqua/turquoise and chocolate fabrics left to use still. Most likely at least three clues left to go. 

I would probably not be so antsy if I had a project to sew on between clues. I do. I just can't work on more than one at the same time. The Dresden Plate quilt still lies in blocks waiting to be finished,  borders undecided. I have a Christmas tree skirt top I made two years ago, unfinished, backing undecided. I just bought an appliqué pattern and am collecting fabrics for it. Plus...there are the umpteen cross stitch designs I have going! Nope, these won't do! I hope tomorrow comes quickly. I might die of boredom...

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week Three

I finished up with the second clue right after Bonnie posted the third clue of our On Ringo Lake mystery quilt. I'm so pleased I've been keeping up!

Here are the first two clues all finished up. Aren't the colors scrumptious? I think the best thing about finding Bonnie Hunter's blog was learning to look at fabrics by the true color not the print. Best of all, I learned it early on in my quilting journey so I don't have to unlearn anything! 

As soon as I finished up clue two I got clue three all cut out. Cutting went quicker this time, I'm learning to trust this arm again!

Just a few more of clue three, left side to finish. Then we do this same block going the other direction. I do hope the ghost doesn't freak anybody out. There's plenty of wee mushrooms, bunnies, birdies and flowers to soothe.

Sewing is going a little slower as physical therapy on my broken arm is cutting into my free time.  The exercises are boring and painful. But hey! I can wash my hair with both hands again, yippee! 

I'm linking up with Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 3.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week Two

It's the second week of the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt! This week we have a clue that not only can be a tricky block to make correctly...we have to make a lot of them!

With my broken arm still healing, cutting remains a challenge. I have no stamina. Three full days into this clue (plus some) and I am still cutting my pieces!

Flying Geese

I have all the peach/melon fabrics cut and I'm starting on the neutrals. The colors are so lovely. I did grab a few scrap fabrics and sewed a test block to make sure what method I wanted to use. Since I am so slow this year, I think I will do the tried-and-true line-drawing-on-squares rather than try the folded corners ruler. I did buy the ruler but will save learning it for another time.

I'm terribly pleased with the finished first clue. They are just so wonderful! The aqua/turquoise goes so well with the peach/melon. This is going to be a beautiful quilt.

You can join in too! All the instructions are free on Bonnie's blog but it's only free until about February, then you would have to purchase. You can download the all the clues each week and save them, even if you don't have time now to start it.

I'm linking up to Mystery Sunday Link Up, part 2.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

I Can Sew!

I can! I can sew just fine! I have no stamina, but with lots of breaks to rest my very tired arm, I can iron, cut and sew!

I had great news at the doctor's visit on Tuesday, my x-rays showed the bone was healing very nicely and I was instructed to go about sling-free and to move my arm as much as possible. I am free! Well, almost! I can't lift my arm very high and I have little strength but I start physical therapy next week to help with that. I spent the last three days happily pottering about in my studio.

I got all my strip sets sewn and cut. 

Before I knew it I had the first clue all finished! The second clue came out this morning and can start cutting those pretty peachy fabrics and sew flying geese. Lots and lots of flying geese.

The weather has been mild enough for me to leave the back door open and let Molly pretend to be an indoor/outdoor dog. She mercilessly teases the four little neighbor dogs and you can see some of them lined up at the fence,  begging for her attention.

"Sorry, Mom. I can't help it if those little yappy dogs bark like mad every time I run laps!"

Dash has been out of town all week for work and Molly has been quite worried. She will be so happy this evening when he returns! I still can't play fetch correctly, my aim has disappeared! Molly cheerfully fetches whatever object she's brought me to throw even though it went wonky. Probably good practise and exercise for me, as my hobbies are. All this cutting and sewing and moving...I think I can already move a little easier even though I'm pretty sore!

I am off to start more cutting and sewing. Flying geese, here I come!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week One

When I broke my arm, I was in the big middle of cleaning and organizing my studio in preparation for the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt On Ringo Lake. It's taken me every bit of effort to get the studio finished (mostly) and my fabrics purchased. Being one armed isn't for sissies!

I took a photo from every corner of my studio. The main thing I did was move one bookcase to stand beside it's brother and put the sewing cabinets back-to-back so Fern and Jake could be out at the same time. I only wish I had company...we could sew together!

Ironing is slow going! I'm glad to have the Oliso so I don't have to lift so much! The ironing motion is very close to one of the exercises I need to do so I'm doing that and looking very silly! I do most of my cutting on the end of the ironing station. Power Cutting, you don't need much room!

Not much ever changes at the stitchy desk where the computer lives.

I must close the door to get a ruler or my mini ironing board. Or the dog gate if Molly is being obnoxious! She loves to herd the spray starch!

Here are most of my Mystery Quilt fabrics. Mostly fat quarters and a bit of yardage. A lot of the neutrals are still on the shelf when this photo was taken.

I still have to iron most of the chocolate and all the aqua before I can move on to more cutting and then sewing. 

I do have all the neutrals ironed and the strips cut for the first clue. I have a broken arm and it takes forever to do stuff! But I am doing it! I don't even know if I can sew yet...I guess I will find out!

Linking up (late) to the first Mystery Monday Link Up Party!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Retreat Fun or En Provence is a Wrap

At the end of March I attended a quilt retreat. This was a Christmas gift from Dash along with gift cards to the store hosting the retreat. I took my Dresden project which was planned and started just for the retreat. I also took my finished En Provence top, batting and backing to quilt on the longarm.

Retreats are such fun, even for me, so shy and bashful. I sewed on my Dresdens the first day (more on those in am upcoming post) but the second day was my appointment with the longarm!

I learned how to pin the backing to the stretcher bars.

And how to thread the machine! I chose this soft lavender thread.

The longarm is nothing like I imagined. The batting gets basted onto the backing at the top, then it and the quilt top just floats. See it all bunched up at the bottom?

Here I am maybe halfway finished. I got many compliments on the quality of my piecing and my fabric choices. All told, it took about three hours to get this quilted.

After I got it trimmed up, I returned to my table, made binding and slapped it on the front. Hand sewing it to the back had to wait until I get home. I was so tired that night! My body and brain had such a workout!

Once home, I spent several hours watching TV and stitching the binding to the back. I wanted to get a photo outdoors but it won't stop raining!

The backing looks fabulous, as I knew it would, and I love the lavender dot fabric on the binding.

I learned so much doing this Mystery Quilt! So many new blocks and how to longarm quilt. I really look forward to this years' holiday season...when the next mystery comes out!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Busy Bee

I've been busy in the studio. I ironed and folded this massive 8.5 yards of fabric to ready it for cutting.

I carefully measured my lengths and cut them out. I pin any fabric this long before sewing. It is so heavy it can easily stretch! I had to maneuver the fold-out table next to me at the machine to hold up the bulk. 

I sewed my three pieces together and ironed the seams open. My backing is complete!

Ready for quilting!

I got nervous of my ability to sew dresdens. Or maybe I was just intimidated to learn how to do it during the retreat...in front of witnesses? Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I sewed a test block. It took a bit of fudging a couple of the seams fatter but it lays flat as a pancake. Beautiful! 

Now, I need to teach myself how to blanket stitch this block on! And how to make the center part. Oh, this is such fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Dresdens Anyone?

I officially started a new project this week but I've been collecting the fabrics for a long time. I have a retreat planned and this is going to be my project for it. Today, I finished cutting the plate fabrics out.

Yes, this is a Dresden Plate! I plan on 16 blocks, all in blues on white Kona Snow with blue borders.

There are 56 different blue fabrics. Whoops! I am NOT done cutting...I still have to cut the white fabric!  Once I get the white cut, I still need to sew the backing fabric for En Provence. 

I found this pink and purple Paris fabric at Hobby Lobby a couple months ago and dithered. When I went back to see if they still had it for sale I found it in the clearance bin, an entire bolt!

While I was busy playing with fabrics, Dash went for a ride on the motorcycle. He stopped by Pops and got me six different sodas. I don't drink soda as a rule but I do like a treat every now and again. I think I'll try the peach one first!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

En Provence! Flimsy

I have a flimsy of En Provence! completed! For those non-quilters out there a "flimsy" is a quilt top that hasn't been quilted yet. This has been a wonderful learning experience and I have had the time of my life putting this quilt together. My design wall is not big enough:

I had to pull out my ironing station and reach high as I could. Still not big enough! Once I get it actually quilted, I shall get better photos. I am pleased as punch. It turned out just lovely! I will certainly do Bonnie's Mystery quilt again this year. 

I am still trying to figure out where these leftover four patches go. Can I really miscount that badly? Really? I admit I am not the best at math but whoa...there's like forty leftover pieces here! HaHaHa!

I am hoping to take my flimsy to a local shop that lets one rent a longarm. I'd love to quilt it myself. Now to find the perfect backing and binding fabric! I also need to start ironing a bunch of blue fabrics I've been collecting for my next quilt...

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Slow Rows

It may be slow going with the En Provence quilt but it is going! I have two rows almost completed. Thinking about it again...these blocks are so large I nearly have half the quilt put together, right? Ha!

I think it looks really cool. There is still a row of the neutral four patches to add to the outside border. I believe that border is my favorite part of the entire quilt, all those mixed-up not-plain-white neutrals make an amazingly beautiful design. This idea will definitely be used again by me.

Ok, Super Bowl Sunday snacks are at hand...I gotta run!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox