I’ve been waiting patiently to get started on this kit. I actually mistakenly bought 2. I asked my LQS to order me one and after waiting a few months I thought they didn’t do it. So I pre-ordered one with Fat Quarter Shop. And it was through that process that I discovered that it wasn’t shipping until Nov. 2022. Anyway, when they started shipping I could have cancelled one of them but I didn’t. I felt bad that I had pre-ordered and figured I would find someone to buy one of them off me. And if I didn’t, I could always make a second one.
So last weekend at the Sew Awesome Gal’s quilt retreat, I opened it up finally and started playing.
Dancing with the Stars – Feb. 2022Mama’s Bukid – Framed March, 2022Glam Clam – March 2022April 2022Hawaiian quilt – May 2022Rippity doo dah -June 2022Provence – November 2022
A small project finished: Chirp Block
frontback
Finished tops….
Arabesque – October 2022Disappearing 9 Patch – October 2022Lucretia’s Journey – November 2022Storm at Sea / Snail’s Trail Designer: Wendy Mathson – December 2022
Provence is really close to being finished finished finished. I’m actually quilting the final border and I’ve got 3 sides left to quilt. It takes about 2 hours per side and I only have enough energy to do half a side at a time. If I would just focus on this it could be done in a week.
Disappearing 9 patch
I lost my center on this project. As a reminder, this was a guild sew a long hosted by a friend of mine. I used 100% stash. Now that the blocks are put together I don’t like the green and how it gets muddled with the main fabric. I wish I had used a yellow or something lighter instead of the green. My recommendation for next time is to do a practice block to see how it goes before cutting for all 12 blocks.
Arabesque
This was the September guild workshop. It’s paper piecing and I’m in a groove. I have 8 of those wedges complete and the other 8 in various stages of completion. In my head, I have Dora Carey’s instructions on how to put the wedges together and an interesting binding technique. I’m afraid if I put it away I won’t get back to it or if I do I won’t remember these instructions and will mess it all up. I want to just finish it. I also know exactly where I’m going to hang it.
Storm at Sea with Snails Trail – Wendy Mathson
For my guild’s October workshop and speaker, Wendy Mathson came and taught us this project. She has these cool rulers she calls Trimplates that make the making of these so easy! I got this little top done on one Sunday. The workshop itself was 6 hours and then I spent a few hours at home finishing it up. The hardest part in the making of this quilt was putting it all together and not losing any points. I pinned pinned pinned and sewed very slowly to get it all together. It’s not perfect especially that final seam but it’s not too bad and I enjoyed it a lot. I think I need to add some borders and this little practice project could be finished.
This was Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilt in 2020. This is one of the projects I work on while at retreats. The inner part of the quilt is finished and now I have to do the borders. I’m thrilled with how it came out.
As a reminder, I didn’t make the top. I bought it at a guild treasure hunt many years ago. Someone gave the top away. I thought it was a great way to practice my FMQ. I do not make a lot of quilts each year because life is busy and I enjoy the process. This particular year I was very much into FMQ and I was intent on practicing my FMQ. Practicing on a quilt top I purchased seemed like a great idea. I think I bought it for $5. I can’t remember. But I thought it was cute and now I have a quilt ready to gift if I need a gift. Well, many years later and it was still sitting in my bag of quilt tops.
This was the year that I put it in my queue to quilt. It was quilted with my Bernina Q20 (sit down long arm).
I pieced the back and I used fabric from my stash. The only thing I couldn’t find in my stash was a good binding fabric. I decided I wanted an orange to match the darkest orange in the top and I didn’t have anything in my stash. So at the last anniversary sale from my LQS (the one just a few weeks ago), I purchased this fabric.
I’m really happy with it.
And now it is finished. And I took a picture and posted it so it’s not just finished, it’s finished Finished FINISHED!
Happy celebratory dance all the way around.
I tried hard to get this done in time for Sunday Stash but I didn’t so it will be in next week’s post.
I am doing a little bit at a time on clue 5. I cannot remember when I started this clue. It must have been before last week but then we were in Fresno so maybe the week before that? I don’t know. I haven’t done much.
Grassy Creek
Clue 5 – just getting started
3/16/2021
I made a couple for kicks. Then I settled in on cutting. I know it would be really easy to cut strips and then sew them up until I get these 9-patches but I’m using up scraps. So I have a bunch of purple scraps (all colors really) but I pulled out the purple ones and cut out the bit of square I needed. I tossed a bunch of bits which make me happy. It takes longer to do it this way but I’m all about the process and using up my little scraps so this is how I do it. I’ve finished cutting all my smaller pieces and have pulled out the bigger pieces to use. Soon I’ll be done and will cut neutrals. the pinks have already been cut and set aside.
Finally! This clue has taken me forever to finish.
Grassy Creek
Clue 4 – Finished
2/21/2021
I had a guild workshop to take – maybe 2 workshops? I had Jan Krentz in January and Alex Anderson in February so those two classes threw in a couple of projects in the middle of this clue and I was only able to do a little bit each weekend. It was slow progress. Now it’s done and I’ll be out of the house this weekend and will not be able to touch my sewing machine until the first weekend in March. I will be doing a bunch of handwork so my hands will still be busy.
The first step was released the end of January. It took me awhile to get started. I had to pick and buy fabric (yay!) and pull out my light box.
I debated whether to piece the block first or do the embroidery and chose to do the embroidery first. Later as I was stitching the blanket stitch I decided I was all wrong. I should have pieced the block first so that I could do the embroidery exactly where I wanted it. Now I’m going to piece the block as is and if the embroidery is not quite right I would just have to be ok with it.
I say embroidery but all I’ve done so far is appliquéd the fabric pieces in and blanket stitched it. I used DMC perle cotton. I had it on hand and I wanted to use it. I don’t like stitching with it so I don’t know if I will continue to use it. Sometimes I like the look of the perle cotton and sometimes I don’t. I guess it just depends on what I’m feeling when I’m looking at it. For the embroidery part I plan to use dmc floss. I almost got sucked into buying Aurifil thread 28w or 12w just because and I am thankful my practical self was able to pull me away from the urge and close that website. Maybe one day I’ll check it out. I hope so. But not this time.
The second step comes out soon, 2/25, I believe, and I’ll be behind. but that’s ok. I enjoy the quiet slowness of hand stitching.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about this project. And less you think I have put this to the side since the reveal, I have not. I’m just not getting a lot done when I work on it. I saw the reveal and I love how it looks. I switched out my fabric so I’m curious to see how it will look with my fabric choices. I’m slowly working on Clue 4.
In a previous post, I listed all the quilts that I plan to quilt this year. There are 7 of them. In this post, I will list the quilts I’m working on and my plans to get them to the to be quilted stage….
Jan Krentz
Quick Star
01/01/2021
Jan Krentz – Diamond Star quilt. I’m not sure what this one is called but I started this in December (yup, just this past December 2020) in a workshop and I’ve got the inner top finished. I still need to do the border and I’m planning on putting some appliqued pieces in the center to make it pop.
Grassy Creek
Clue 3 – finished
12/26/2020
Bonnie Hunter’s 2020 Mystery Quilt, Grassy Creek – I’m currently working on Clue 4.
Scrappy Stars Around the Corner
3/6/2020
I need to figure out where I left on this project. I’m pretty sure I have a bunch of rows pieced together but I’m not sure if this top is done or not. I don’t think so but who knows… It’s been several months since I’ve pulled this project to look at.
Dancing with the Stars
Linda Ballard
8/2020
Dancing with the Stars by Linda Ballard – I’m also not sure where I’m at here. I know I ran out of fabrics and I can’t make it a queen size quilt so I need to make a decision on what to do to move forward on this quilt.
Radiant Jewel Quilt by Kimberly Einmo – all the blocks are done and my plan was to get this up oh a design wall at a quilt retreat to figure out where the blocks will go and move forward on it. It looks like that quilt retreat will probably not be happening anytime soon so… we’ll see where we are at when this comes up in queue.
Gardenvale
by Moda
7/12/2020
Gardenvale – started in 2020. I need to make a decision as to how I want to move forward on this. It’s been percolating and one of the ideas I’ve been playing with is doing traditional blocks around the new round in these fabrics. I need to do the math to figure out how big I want them to be and how many I will need to fill the round. I love these fabrics. 🙂
Allietare – Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilt from 2015 – I pulled this out in 2020 to start working on this but I had such difficulty figuring out where I was in clue 1 that I set it aside. I need to put my big girl panties on and just move forward on this one. I did not do too many of these so if I have to start all over, I’m okay with that.
Area Three Mystery Quilt from 2012 SoCal Quilters Run – I actually pulled this out in 2020 to start working on as well but something about it wasn’t sitting well with me. I had a kit of beautiful batiks and about 10-12 instructions and every time I tried to get started, I just couldn’t. So I scrapped it. I pulled the fabric out and it’s now in my basket to pre-wash my fabrics. When that basket gets full it will all go in the wash.
Civil War Diary Quilt – started in 2017 – I’m putting this on the list.
