Grand Illusions Part 1

I've been busy, but I was able to squeeze in some sewing time and got all my block done!!!!  They were officially done on Tuesday before noon!  Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt has been so much fun already.  I can't wait for the next clue, but I guess I'll have to!  So here is my link up for Grand Illusions Part 1.

Last year's Celtic Solstice was all done from my scraps.  This was the first time I bought all the fabric for the mystery quilt.  I needed to add to my collections anyways ;) The package arrived on Saturday!!!  So exciting.  I went through it, folded it, grouped it and admired it!  Not too bad from picking it out of a catalog.  Two were questionable, but after I put a few blocks together, I think it will work!  I also found some fat quarters of black with bright accents laying around that I could use too!  Bonus!

So here are my fabrics:

The black bright fabric in the upper left is my backing.  In the upper right are the neutrals and blacks I bought.  This doesn't include the bonus black fat quarters I found.  The bottom picture contains all the colors I have.  It is so hard to get a good picture which really shows the colors.  I decided to go with a constant yellow.  I kept to the colors Bonnie suggested.

As I started to sew, I was really enjoying the bright happy colors!  Though this picture doesn't do it justice.

I was a little worried about the teal fabric with purple dots, but once it was all put together, it looks fine.

I wanted to make sure I ran everything through the machine in the right direction, so I tried to keep everything in order.  Here is a picture so I won't forget!  Oh BTW, if you have a Pfaff machine, I have figured out a way to keep the seam from flipping - not that it was happening with this HST.  I'm going to try and post my solution.  Evidently this is an issue with newer machines.

An now adding the yellow square!

Such happy fabric =)

My first two blocks!!!!  I couldn't stop after that.... There are some scraps of pink in there too.  That squiggly line pink made such great binding.

Now, my 100 completed squares!  The extra 80 HST are patiently waiting for the next parts....

I'm not going to try and guess how these are going to be use.  I'm just going to enjoy how happy the colors make me feel.

Oh boy, Friday is almost here.......

Maybe I should clean up and sew some other projects while I wait.....

Well I hope you are having fun sewing along with this mystery quilt.

Time for a new Mystery Quilt!

Wow, I can't believe it is time for another Quiltville Mystery Quilt.  I also can't believe I haven't posted since March... Sorry.  Maybe I'll get better at this.  I've been busy quilting and making a lot of quilts, becoming a grandma for the second time this summer and hanging out with gd1 a lot.  I hope I can give a rundown of all the quilts I've done since March.  I have been keeping a log and have pictures to prove it.

But let's talk about this new Quiltville Grand Illusions Mystery Quilt!!!!  Bonnie Hunter released the first clue today!!!  I ordered some fabric to fill out what I was missing, so I hope it shows up today or tomorrow.  I do have some fabric to get started, so let's get sewing!  To see what this is all about, click on the link in the side bar "Grand Illusions" and it will take you to Bonnie's blog.  If that doesn't work, click here.

Easter chick is finished!

Well I got busy today and finished the Easter chick. I'm so glad I'll be able to enjoy this for a couple of weeks! Here are some pictures, they're not great, but hopefully you can see the quilting.

I couldn't figure out what to do on the eggs, so I thought I'd practice spirals.

I think that worked. They were fun to do ;)

This chick looks really fluffy with these crazy swirls! 

Have a great night! 

I finally got to sew!!!!

I've been wanting to sew for the last week or so.  I finally got to yesterday!  I went crazy and was so happy! =)

Even though I have a few projects to finish, I started something new....but it was for Easter, so it's okay, right?!?!?!

I pick this up on a camping trip last July in Williamsburg, VA.  It is called Easter Chick.  It is from Love 2 Quilt & More Designs.  It uses 30's fabric.  I bought the whole kit.  I like applique, but this fuzzy chick is crazy!  This is my progress so far:

Assembing my blocks from the 30's jelly roll strips

 

The first four random blocks, 5 more to go!

Here are the nine blocks all arranged.  I ended up with only two squares of the same fabric touching. I tried over and over again to make it work.  I was hoping to cover it with the applique... oh well!

I like applique, but this fuzzy chick is crazy.  I got it cut out, but I think I'm not going around the edge on this when I go to embellish the applique!  I'm gonna be creative! 

Applique is on! 

I even did the borders and......

....pieced a back from the left overs!

I was being so productive that I finally pieced the Nancy Drew top!!!

Waiting on some fabric for borders to make it bigger.  I have some yellow, twill type sweatshirt fabric I'm going to use on the back, gotta raid my stash and use it up!

I hope to finish the Easter Chick quilt today.  And maybe even quilt one of the many tops waiting to be quilted in my closet!!!!

Happy Quilting!

Get a clue with Nancy Drew!

I found this fabric, Get a Clue with Nancy Drew, on sale at Craftsy last week and had to get it!!!!  I bought 2 charm packs and since there were so many colors in it, I also bought some Kona Cotton in black to go with it.

A friend suggest the Disappearing 4 patch pattern from Quilting Quickly's Winter 2013 issue on page 11.  What a perfect pattern for this!!!  And to name the quilt.... Nancy Drew and the Disappearing Four Patch!

I might make the border wider so the quilt is a little bigger.  Maybe even add some inner borders, I'm not sure yet.

The pattern is basically making a four patch and then slicing it.  Well out of  the 42 blocks I made, I cut one wrong!!!  I need every one!!!  No one sells this around here so what was I going to do?

I was a little devastated.  I kept going and sewed all the other blocks without a problem.  At first I had tried to make it work, but it was pretty ugly.  I sewed it together twice and didn't like either result.  Finally I took the whole block apart, arranged it to work with the wonky dimensions I left myself, and sewed it up again.

I was a little happier and it wasn't as horrible as the previous attempts.

While sewing, I put some of the blocks up on my portable design wall for inspiration.

Now that the blocks are complete, I've been laying them out on the floor and taking picture to see if I've missed something.  I've rearranged them several times and this is where I'm at now.  Trying for random. Though the book spine print forms an X across the quilt.

Gotta love that button rug from Ikea.  It looks good with these colors! It makes the sewing room happy.

More later!

Celtic Solstice is finished!

I finished Bonnie Hunter's 2013 Mystery Quilt Celtic Solstice March 5 and it was bound by the 8th!  I missed the final link up by a month, but that's not bad. I finished it!  :) This was the third Bonnie Hunter quilt I've done since June 2013. Now I've just got to finish the first one I've started!

Here it is after it was quilted and bound.  I need to get a better picture.

I really had fun figuring out what to quilt where. This was the first quilt I quilted on my longarm.  I did use Pro stitcher to do the quilting. I learned a lot about the program while quilting this and can't wait to quilt more! Sorry it took so long to post.

Just finished!!!! Time to take it off and get the binding on!!!!

Here are some more pictures...

Pinning the backing

Getting ready to pin the top

Watching a little quilt cam for inspiration ....

Close up of the quilting on the outer borders

The inner border quilting 

The edge to edge quilting of the middle of the quilt

Quilting after washing

You can see the clover edge to edge quilting a little better here

Don't forget the label!!!!

This was a really great quilt to start with on my long arm.  I always like a challenge and I thought why just do an edge to edge design, why not do 3 borders too!!!!  I basted the borders so they wouldn't shift with all the different quilting I was doing.  Which really helped keep everything straight.  I was told to plan to lose an inch with the quilting, but it turned out it was 2 inches in each direction.  I learned a lot and just treated it as I would my embroidery machine and it worked out.

I went with Bonnie's color scheme and couldn't believe I had so much orange.  I up-cycled the backing from a Duvet cover I made my daughter years ago.  Bonus, it was already the right size and I didn't have to piece it!!! I love looking at the various fabrics and remembering, hey I made the boys shirts from this, or this is Christmas fabric from the 90's, or this is stash fabric from the 70's! So many  memories in this quilt!

I have about ten more tops that are ready to quilt, so I guess I better get ready to quilt some more!!!

Celtic Solstice Part 4

Here is my part 4 link up for Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.

Part 4 is .... 4 patches! Oh how soon I forgot the good advice Bonnie gave this summer. I'll remember now!

I was able to use up more of the orange scraps I had left over from another quilt.

Next time I'll remember to make sure the dark block is the first one thru the machine ;)

Celtic Solstice Part 5

Here is my part 5 link up for Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.

This looks exciting! Split triangle squares. I've never done any of these before.  So happy they all fit together :)
This mystery quilt has been a lot of fun so far.

Celtic Solstice Part 3

Here is my part 3 link up for Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.

Oh boy, pinwheels! I wished I remembered you could spin the centers to make them lay flat! I had issues with my snowman quilt's pinwheels....

This was fun! I love the color combination of orange and yellow! In the midst of sewing Christmas gifts, I went thru my bonus fabric and discovered some yellow calico from the seventies! It had pops of orange and green that I thought would be great with this quilt. In some cases it worked, in others the yellow calico competed with the orange. Either way, I'm glad I included it.

BTW, I'm just loving the easy angle ruler! HST are so much easier using this ruler, plus the fabric you save! ;)

Celtic Solstice Part 2

Here is my part two link up for Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.

Chevrons.... this actually went better than I thought. Boy, I really think this color combination looks Irish! I did save the points for a future quilt. I believe Bonnie said they would work for her Pineapple Crazy quilt in her book String Fling.

 

 

I will say it was a lot easier piecing chevron than painting them like I did for my daughter's apartment! ;)

Catching up - Celtic Solstice Part 6!

First, Happy New Year! I seemed to have gotten behind during the Christmas and New Year holidays. But I've been burning the midnight oil and have caught up!  

Here is everything I need to make the smaller version of Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt. I've got everything pieced in hopes of at least making this part 6 link up.  So glad I made it!!!  Three hours to spare, whew ;)

 

Hopefully I'll have the top done by the last link up on February 3rd.

Here are the two blocks for Part 6.

 

I'm so excited that I used up all kinds of scraps I have in my stash for this quilt. It's been exciting to see how it has come together. It is amazing how it looks when you step back and look at it in a photo.  See what I mean!!!

I guess I could have made a better choice with the blue/yellow fabric I used as a blue, but still I'm really happy with it all.   I'm going to play with the layout and see if that helps.

I can't wait till I'm done and it is quilted!  Now I'm going to catch up on my posts for each part.

Thanks again Bonnie for this fun Mystery Quilt!

Happy quilting!
:)