And now there are 10...

......and "only" six to go.  ONLY.  Only?  Only.  No matter how I say it -- it's still six blocks and I'm not working on any of them right now.  My goal to get Kim McLean's Lollypop Quilt appliqued this year won't happen. So - "maybe" 2015. MAYBE. Maybe? Maybe.

Nevertheless, I do love this quilt and I will finish it -- and the border blocks too! It will be huge. It will be a terror to quilt.  It will be a quilt I keep forever. It will be done!

I'd like to say I've accomplished all matter of other things. Not the case. I have started a lot of things -- including the mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter. Here are the remnants of step 1. Step 2 is about half done.

I have a few things I have to get done by Christmas so I'll work on the mystery quilt as much as I can - but I'm going to have to start focusing on gifts and commitments (not to mention Christmas, baking, decorating, and the best -- family).

I hope you are enjoying the holidays - finishing a few things - starting new things - and loving every minute of it!

Jan

Unexpected...

What to do?  My Christmas quilts are done.  My baby quilts for the hospital are done.  I don't have any deadlines that I need to meet. My 500+ HSTs for a swap are done and bagged.  I have three quilts cut out…

• My wonderful Cherrywoods in a tote 
• A One Block Wonder waiting.
• Bonnie Hunter's mystery has all the parts done -- although I have no desire to work on it.

I wandered into the guest room where my Lollypop Tree blocks sit and unexpectedly decided that kind of color and process was just what I needed! I can't rush.  I can cover up with a quilt if I'm chilly.  I can stop whenever I need to.  Each element is a "completion".  I can work for five minutes or five hours if I want to.  And -- the Australian Open was starting last weekend and this makes for a "quiet" way to watch tennis (or at least replays).

It was the right decision.  It's been a good week and I have once again been reminded why I ordered this pattern within a week of happening upon it.  Many of you have read about this journey in other posts and I'll spare you the details again.  For those who are not familiar with Kim McLean and her marvelous patterns, here's a link to some eye candy that can take your breath away.

This quilt requires 16 blocks and each block takes me days to prep.  I am not fast.  The process I am using is not fast. I don't want to rush.  I want to enjoy the process of choosing all the different fabrics, cutting them, prepping them, and gluing them.  The color is just what the doctor ordered on a  gloomy winter's day.

I have four stitched and one more prepped.  Period.  That's it.   Right now it seems reasonable to think that I will spend a few days later this week prepping another block or two. Who knows what will seem reasonable later this week but for now, that's my plan and I'm sticking to it.  

I hope you are working on something that has wonderful colors and the process is as much fun as the completion!  

Jan

Perhaps an Intervention?

Seriously -- what is happening here?

1.  All the Christmas gifts are finished -- no wait!  I have one more pillowcase to do out of dino fabric but have until New Years Eve to get that done.  Oh  -- and I forgot -- I haven't finished binding the dino quilt and that has to be done by New Years Eve, too.

2.  I am knee deep in Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt and determined to stay on top of every clue -- otherwise it will end up in a tote and become a chore to finish at some point. You can see how others are progressing at by clicking here.

3.  I have joined a HST swap using Edyta Sitar's piecing papers and that's due the end of January.

4.  And -- here's the kicker and the need for possible outside help -- I have decided to make a baby quilt (or slightly bigger) out of my African fabrics.  That's not too hard, right.  You only have to cut a bazillion logs and then start assembling them.

Like many of you, I don't really have yardage of African fabrics -- I have scraps that have been given to me or a scrap bag that I picked up from a vendor at a quilt show (usually from the garment district in NYC which means it pieces of clothing or leftovers from clothing).  These pieces are highly irregular - they may be a pocket, a shirt sleeve that was miscut, something that was disassembled and the button cut off.  They really are perfect for logs but each piece has to be individually cut.

For the first time ever, I know that I haven't over cut my logs.  I usually get really focused on cutting and I end up with too many of one size or one fabric.  The design wall is a life saver.  While this is a terrible picture -- you get the idea.  They are sorted by size and right beside my machine.  I can grab and go and make sure that no blocks have duplicate logs. I am hopeful the time spent doing this will save time (and order) on the backend when I start assembling.

This quilt will be 49"x 49" (7 x 7 of 7" blocks).  I say "this quilt" because there could be more.  Not because I have more scraps of African fabrics.  Those have been depleted.  But because I just found out that the young couple that I'm making this for may be adopting more than one child.

I knew they were well on their way to adopting a baby up to 18 months old from Ethiopia.  What I found out this weekend is that if the baby has siblings, they will take up to 3-4 children.  I am ashamed to say that "Oh how wonderful" was my second thought.  My selfish first thought was "holy cow, that could be four quilts -- I don't have enough fabric".  I am guessing my Australian fabrics will have to suffice along with a number of other African reproductions (you can see some of those in the logs I have already cut -- I think I have stayed away from the Australian ones thus far).

Obviously, the quilts could be out of anything but my initial thought was to have a bright baby quilt out of fabrics from the same continent (I doubt any of these scraps are purely Ethiopian).  My second thought is to try to make the appropriate number of quilts out of ethnic fabrics and that may change, depending on how this goes! So, I will make the first one and have it ready and see what blessings they are able to adopt.  They will be in Ethiopia for a few weeks and then come back without their baby(children).  That will give me some time to figure this out.

But -- if I agree to any more swaps, mysteries, gift quilts -- I may need an intervention.  I am on sabbatical from my two hospital quilts a month until March.  I need to use that free time wisely I think.

I hope there are people in your life that are full of the generosity and love that exist in this young couple!

Jan

Scrap Happy!!

Seriously -- I am so scrap happy!

I do love finishing things. And I really love finishing things when I have fallen out of love with them. That's the case with this little top. These blocks were a "leader/ender" project and have a lot of my quilting history in the fabrics. And I got tired of it….and needed to get it out of a tin and functional. I haven't touched it in over a year.  That's a clue that I'm ready to move on!

It's small -- 40" x 52"-- and needs an inner and outer border to be functional - so, technically, it's not finished. Nevertheless, I can put the "remains" back in my scraps and consider the piecing done. I'm thinking this needs a bright border and then I will probably donate it to Quilts Beyond Borders.  I've posted about this great organization before and love them!  I think if I get the borders on, it will be large enough and can keep some sweet child warm and even entertained with the different fabrics.  That makes me scrap happy!

I'm also happy to be using up scraps with the Quiltville Mystery Quilt.  I mentioned last week that I was able to use a green fabric that was 33 years old.  This week I used some yellow fabric that was left over from a dress my mother made for me when I was in my teens or early 20's.  Yep -- I'm guessing that lovely "hip" floral was 40+ years old!  That makes me scrap happy!

If you are interested in getting scrap happy with Bonnie Hunter's mystery, you can link here.  And if you want to see what others are doing, she will have a link-up party on Monday.  I'm hoping we get back to blues soon -- I've about depleted my orange stash and my creams/blues need to be whittled down as well.

I hope you are finding time to create amidst the holiday commitments of gifts, parties, and baking; and if you are a lover of scraps -- I really hope you are scrap happy!

Jan

Improv!

Hallelujah!

The top is done, quilted, and the binding is underway.  These great fabrics are from Wilmington Prints and just fit the bill for the type of whimsical dinosaurs I was looking for. Somehow, a 3 year old sleeping under lifelike dinos just didn't "float my boat".

But -- all is not as easy as it might seem.  I was backordered twice on these. There were panels that were awkward if put in a quilt without cutting them apart. I have no pattern. I needed to make the fabric that I had work.  The backgrounds are light and needed spacers to break them up. I went with 10.5" blocks cut which means you only get one from a fat quarter and then have to "make" the rest of the fabric work.

So -- thank goodness for a design wall and the ability work in sections and then try to get them to all work in the end. The quilt is not quite full size but will work for a "big boy bed" and should be done in time to take to Toronto after Christmas. I was lucky to have some help from Mr Iquiltforfun in the quilting. How fun to be able to tell our grandson that his grammie and granddaddy made this for him!  I would have cherished that.

AND -- here is my yearly reminder. I am using my last "faux minkee blanket" for the back. There are going to be after Christmas sales and we need to be looking for blankets on sale.  Not the fleece ones -- altho I'm sure they would work. But there are often minkee-type blankets deeply discounted (often doubled with minkee on both sides and then bound). SNATCH THEM UP. They are seamless and wider than normal width of fabric.

If you score a double sided one, you will want to be deliberate in where you cut them apart. They make a mess! There is no selvage and little pieces of fluff go everywhere. Since weather was not cooperating this week, I put the blankets in one of our bathtubs, perched myself on a  stool, and cut the binding off. Most of the little fluffies were contained and I could wipe them up with a damp paper towel.  The tag said this was 90 x 102 before I cut off the binding. NO seams. And it quilted up beautifully.

To provide a bit of order in my quilting world, I finished Step 2 of Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville Mystery. The details for the mystery are here. While I am not a fan of chevrons because of the waste of fabric, I much prefer her method to making them than trying to piece them with triangles. I have to say, this step  seemed pretty easy compared to some so I wonder what lies in store for a future step! These little jewels went together perfectly (so long as I did my sewing perfectly!). I am so happy to see some of these fabrics go! One of the greens was used in a quilt that a friend made for my son when he was born. He is 33!

Step 3 is live and another chance to use up some of those pesky fabrics that won't go away. And, it's a great step to use 2" strips from the strip bin. I love that for many reasons.  You can see everyone's progress and color choices here.

I hope you have some improvisation in your life - along with some order if that's helpful to you!

Jan

A Little of This -- A Little of That

This has been a few weeks of nothing "BIG" -- but enough "littles" to make me feel like I've gotten something done.

I managed to force myself to finally put the mitered borders on my circle quilt.  I have posted about this quilt and these fabrics here and I really like it.  Borders, of course, make it more "real" and I have to start thinking about how to quilt it.  But I don't have to think about that today.

I quilted a very very small lap quilt from a Mary Engelbreit jelly roll that my sister gave me for my birthday 3.5 years ago.  I have had the top done for three years but the fabrics are Christmas and there was always something more pressing that needed attention.

I got the strip quilt put together and quilted.  There is something about an all over pattern that helps a "blah" quilt become something really cute.  I haven't had a chance to take pictures so here's a reminder of what the blocks looked like prior to assembling.

I managed to get the binding on this Kaffe Fassett jelly roll quilt that I put together last year.  I really like it -- and I'm happy it's quilted and ready for binding to be sewn down.  Get in line.  I have not been motivated to bind lately!

Thanksgiving napkins got done -- well in advance.  Isn't this fabric beautiful?  For the second year in a row, I've made napkins for our dinner, washed them, and then every family gets some for their use.

And -- in a matter of a week, this Spiderman quilt got made in time for our grandson to have when he got here and then take home for his big-boy bed.  The back is a lime green flannel.  It's a great fabric and I figured I could get by with it when he was 3 -- but not so sure that will be the case in a few years.

I also got the binding on three hospital quilts -- makes me so happy that both the December and January allotments are done and ready for delivery.  I had some yummy Marcus flannel that allowed me to line them all up on the same piece of fabric and quilt them one after the other.  Hurray -- quilted and bound!

I have started Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville Mystery after sitting out last year.  Thus far -- Step 1 is done and Step 2 (released today) is cut. I have not made a dent in the scraps I have pulled for this.  For the first time, I have a friend who is also participating - although she's a high achiever and is doing the king sized version.  I am doing the 75" x 75" version.  Monkeymama rocks!  She also finished the first clue and is working on #2.  It's not too late if you would like to use some scraps and join in the race to get Christmas done while having each step complete by every Friday morning!  Here's a link if you want to take a peek.  Pictures next week!

Finally, I lined up all the completed tops and cut the batting for them.  I don't like doing that and so I'm pretty happy to have them folded with their appropriate batting in the right direction.  Backs for most are another story -- but at least the batting is done and another roll of Warm and Natural has bitten the dust (almost).

With Thanksgiving and I'm happy-happy-happy to say that our Toronto family was here -- fabric was the least of my concern.  It was all about family!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving -- I am thankful for many things -- and the generosity of quilters would certainly be on my list!

Jan

Ohio Stars

Ohio stars!  Do you love them?  I do -- they are my very favorite stars in the quilting world.  These are some that will finish at 6" that I've been working on periodically.  They are all cut (72 I believe) and are pieced with 1.5" scrap strips and real muslin that I have starched within an inch of its life to keep it from raveling.  I think I plan to set them with plain muslin squares -- I need to check before I start working on them again.

These little cuties are from the Orca Bay mystery quilt that Bonnie Hunter is sponsoring.  Same block and will finish at 6".  I have 13 more black stars to go.  I have always made Ohio stars with light background but I have fallen in love with the dark ones!  Aren't they cool?  One more thing to put on my "to do" list at some point. 

When it comes to mysteries -- I don't try to figure them out.  I just do what I'm told and don't spend a lot of energy or valuable piecing time trying to layout the quilt.  I'd be wrong anyway.  There are three components left -- and I am not going to be surprised if we don't see those red strings around the stars before it's all over.   The other two components are stumpers -- particularly the black triangles (that look like a whale's eye to me).  The fabric requirements called for a lot of red and the strips is all we have done thus far -- so I'm curious to see if that's border or if these "whale eyes" end up in the border.  More will be revealed on Friday and in the meantime -- 13 stars are calling my name!

If you're interested in the progress of other quilters on this journey, click on this link and you'll see all kinds of great layouts.....and beautiful star blocks.

As an aside -- our backyard is full of robins. I'm not sure what they are thinking but I'm concerned they are going to have to work pretty hard to find food on frozen ground.  I'm not talking just a few -- I'm talking 20+.  Maybe they're passing through but watching them forage on the frosty lawn is a bit concerning!

I hope you all are finding some time to piece while you clean up the leftover from yesterday's joy!  Jan

A week with Bonnie

Orca Bay Mystery by Bonnie Hunter.  Clue 3.  350 half square triangles.  Really?  After Roll Roll Cotton Boll and having to make 600 HSTs one week (month), this sounded manageable.   Not necessarily a walk in the park -- but not too bad.

And it was manageable.  After cutting the black strips, all the neutrals were already in my overflowing 2" tote and we were off and running.  At the end of the day (before sunset even), they were done, pressed, and double counted to make sure I really had them all.

So, what to do with the rest of the week?  I had expected a clue of epic proportion after getting by with the little 3.5" strings the week of Thanksgiving.  So -- maybe I should pull out my other mystery quilts from Bonnie and get them back on the front burner while waiting for the next clue?

The easiest was to get the binding on Carolina Christmas from two years ago.  We've actually been sleeping under it without binding once it got chilly before our furniture got here and one quilt wasn't enough.  I had been to Iowa to quilt this during a summer visit to a friend and hadn't even gotten it trimmed a before we started sleeping under it.  Once our island was installed, I could at least trim off the extra batting and backing. So Saturday was the day to get the binding on and get it washed.  It's back on the bed in proper order and I can mark it as COMPLETE!  Another finish before the end of the year!

Now what?  Oh dear....I know.  Roll Roll Cotton Boll.   Since I was sure I was pretty far along with the various steps, this should be a piece of cake.  Alas.  I am SO wrong.  I have two blocks done, all the strings complete and cut in half and most of the border pieces partially sewn into little strips but not even finished, much less assembled.  Basically, the quilt is cut out and each step has some work done on it.  Without instructions -- what was I thinking? Oh, yeah, I know -- that I was farther along than I was.

Last year at this time I was knee deep in the holiday stuff that we're all involved in but was also managing the acquisition and integration of a competitor and all the "people stuff" associated with it. A 12 hour day was a short day and a 15 hour day (with some weekends included) was more in order.  It was tough and they were cranky about all the changes. I was cranky too! Quilting was not on the front burner and staying up with the clues was impossible.  Apparently printing instructions was something I didn't think I needed..... we'll see about that in a few days.

So, I'll be spending the week with Bonnie after all.  Working on RRCB, sorting out where I am, and seeing what all needs to be done to get this top completed at the same time Orca Bay is looming.  I suspect there is a doozy of a clue coming since we haven't even gotten to touch the "red" or primary fabric and so much is needed.  I should put a new blade in my rotary cutter while I'm thinking about it and change my needle now!

I hope you're getting time to sew and making progress with whatever you're working on!  Jan

Postscript:  After putting 8 of the blocks together, I remain amazed at how well they go together and match -- so long as I pay attention to the 1/4".  Such a pleasure.  If you want to see what's going on with Orca Bay,  you can link to her post today and see everyone's progress.

What was I thinking?

Is it Thanksgiving weekend?  Yep.
Is Christmas coming?  Yep.
Have we just moved into a new house and can only get in half the garage?  Yep.
Do I have way more stuff to put up than I have places to put it?  Yep.
Did I succumb to the Orca Bay Mystery quilt on Bonnie Hunter's website, Quiltville?  Yep!!!

So, what's a quilter to do?  Why, dig through strips and cut some fabric!  And sew and sew and sew.  Starting with 448 quarter square triangles.  I'm happy to be able to use from my 1.5" strips that have been cut over the years.  I did have to dig into my stash for the 1.5" strips of black since I used most (or all) of them when I made two quilts this summer.  So - instead of going to all my blacks, I decided to just cut all the black strips from the same fabric.

And then what to do with all those?  Why make 224 cute little hourglass blocks of course.  They will finish at 2" when the top is done.   Step one...and I'm about 40% done.

But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't spend a few minutes while family was visiting someone else over the weekend to pull out my garbage bag of strings and pull out all the blue strings for Step 2.  It's only 72 string blocks at 3.5" square -- in blue.  It's actually a pretty easy step but after making some practice blocks last nite after delivering son and his family to the airport 2 hours away -- I ran upstairs to see how this would work.  I'm using stationery from my father's business which is old and perfect for this.  It's 25 years old but I couldn't throw it out -- I knew there would be a use for it!  Was I right or what?

So -- I need to get my act together, get the house back in order, take care of leftovers, pick up the toys -- but I'm not gonna!  After church today, I'm going upstairs and sew because the house can wait.  At least for another day....

Did you see the new button on the right of my blog?  Quilter Blogs.com is a great service where almost 1800 quilting blogs are screened and published in one place as thumbnails and you can scroll through them to see what appeals to you.  It's great and worth an icon on your PC, iPhone or iPad so you can peruse all those blogs when the mood strikes!

I hope you're finding time to piece and surf Quilters Blog.com!  Jan

Procrastination.....

Well -- let's be frank.  Procrastination can be fun when you're a quilter.  There are lots of dips and turns and creativity that can come as you work on one project and are distracted by another.  I am certainly guilty of that this week.

The cover quilt for the October issue of American Patchwork and Quilting came at just right time.  I needed to make a quilt for a special friend's son who is getting married and most of my fabric is in storage.  Lucky for me -- I brought all my FQ and smaller pieces for our foray into temp living and the bride loves all things Autumn -- particularly the colors.

So -- with the blessing of her soon-to-be-mother-in-law, I started cutting 2.5" and 3" squares out of my browns, reds, oranges, deep yellows, greens, and a few purples -- and every scrap of "neutral" I had that fell in the buttercream family.  This quilt requires 50 blocks and each block requires eight HSTs at 2.5".  I am one of those quilters who cuts the squares at 3", does the double seam, and then after pressing them open, trims every single HST to 2.5".  I could have avoided this "fun" by cutting the original square at 2 7/8" but I prefer the accuracy.  The tiny little pile with the red paisley on top is the stack of "trimmed" blocks -- the mountain still needs trimming and squaring up!

This has been a marathon of sewing and sewing and sewing followed by  trimming and trimming and trimming -- not to mention pressing seams open.  You get the idea.  The pile felt insurmountable.  The wedding is in mid October.  I need to be making stars and stars and stars.

But -- instead, I got sidetracked and started playing with the scraps.  I have never been taken by the "crumb" fever that has been prevalent since Bonnie Hunter made the very valid point that scraps still cost $9 per yard (and now $10) and need to be used.  Jo at Jo's Country Junction has been hosting a "Crumb Along" and I've been reading along but not crumbing along.  Until now. And I just had to make one 6.5" block which took much longer than the star.  This is not good.  My scrap bin exploded and I know how big the basket of scraps is that is packed and coming in three weeks.  I do not need to get started with this -- but it was kind of fun and it's so rewarding to be using little pieces that are too small/thin for strings.  Oh, dear......

One down and  49 to go!   Keep piecing -- no matter how small!  Jan

PS -- I'm linking to Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet (button to the right).  She regularly sponsors this as a way for smaller bloggers to get some new readers and possible followers.  Check out her blog as well as the Small Blog Meet!  Both are worth your time!

Mystery Quilt -- 2 years ago

I can't remember the name of this Bonnie Hunter mystery but I think I like it more now than I did when I finished it. It was gifted to a special friend and I hope she's wrapped in love.

I am a bit behind with the current mystery (Cotton Boll) -- actually I'm very behind but hoping to get caught up over the New Years' weekend -- at least up until the step that will post on Friday. I have no aspirations of getting that caught up! I admire those with the will power to work a step and be done before checking the next one. Not me! I'll open it as soon as it's posted....

I guess I should mention that I still need to quilt last year's mystery (Carolina Christmas, I think). My goal had been to have it on my bed for the holidays this year. That obviously didn't happen -- but what I love is I'm using my scraps. Thus far, most of this quilt has been done with strips I had already cut. How cool is that!

So -- we'll see what the weekend brings and what Friday's clue is -- only 2 more to go!

Keep piecing! Jan