Fun In The Snow

The Boy loves the snow, in fact there can be quite a ruckus when it is necessary to bring him into the warmth of the house!

 Burying himself in the white stuff!

 Good times with Daddy!

Yesterday in Telluride on the Gondola..............

Wheeeee!

 

It  was a big day!

Merry Mayhem Modern Mystery [MMMM]

Having already cut the pieces for this quilt it was too tempting and I got started piecing it last night. Warning: the cutting directions are not wonderful, you definitely should not be multi tasking when you tackle it, turn off the TV and just do this one thing!

These are just a few of the stacks I cut and labeled in detail so that there would be no confusion when it came time to sew it all together. As it turned out I was happy that I took this extra precaution.

These are the first blocks I put together...............

then these.

As you can see there isn't a lot of contrast between some of the fabrics so you really have to watch what you are doing and of course, no multitasking! It is in fact a very simple quilt, these four blocks, two different sashings and two sets of cornerstones- it will go together fast as long as you check and double check each step.

The directions for this mystery are also less than stellar towards the end, a few other quilters have mentioned their confusion over construction so it was not just me! However, if you go by the pictures and match up their fabrics with whatever fabrics you have chosen, it is doable. I was very careful to mark each of my fabrics as I cut them so I would know which was which! Then you must pay close attention to the final construction or the woven effect of the subtle color variation will not be there.

Here is a mock up of my blocks, there are just six of them for this sized quilt. The blocks are identical but are rotated to give the 3D effect.

Below you can see how the finished quilt makes up.

The fabrics and blocks for MMMM will pack up and go with me to Colorado for the week and it should all be put together while I am there.

This morning I met up with BJ, Jacki, Andee and Kathy over at the 35th Ave store to pick up our packets for the first month of the beautiful BOM to which we have committed.

 I am doing the smaller size and must cut and sew lots of tiny [1.25"] squares, can you tell these will be really tiny once sewn into the quilt? I must not have paid attention though when I signed up because they have a gorgeous Amish looking version with a black background. 

This is the first month block in black, it's going to be smashing and I have decided to substitute the black for the white so now I need to purchase 4 yds of a nice Kona or other black fabric.  I will check at the website for Thousandandonebolts.com and see what they have in black on black or Kona or Michael Miller solid black.

Finished [Piecing] For Friday

Finally Easy Street is ready for the longarm. Because the borders ended up being whatever I had left of these fabrics I made them up as I went along and I am content with them. It is quite large, almost 100" square.

 A one inch, a two inch and finally a one and a half inch border.

This uses up most of these fabrics, now to figure out a backing-do I need to purchase some? I haven't checked the backing stash yet!

"Easy Street" Quilt, Almost There..........

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday ,Stacy Uncorked, Frugality Is Free

Easy Street And Another Quilt for The Boy!

Finding this a bit slow going, these final very large blocks especially with all the distractions in my life this week, mainly a 3.5 year old!

However all the triangles are done and I am working on the large square blocks. This is how my blocks will look together. Once again I ran out of the green, this time I had to cut more 5.5"squares for another 8 triangles. I have no idea how I could have been off in my count but it happens with a quilt that has as many pieces as Bonnie's do. I began to add up the number of pieces in each of these blocks and then realized why they take so long! I need another 12 of the "A" blocks to be able to put them all together

Hoping to finish this tomorrow and perhaps even borders!

The Boy's favorite cartoon is Sponge Bob Square Pants, and I remembered that I had purchased some fabric for his older cousins when they were about the same age. I think I planned to make pillowcases but it never eventuated. I pulled it out the other day and he was so excited about it that I knew I had to make him something. He has several quilts but I am a quilter so what else would I do with the fabric?!

We have been reading, The Boy and I and he likes me to sing the nursery rhymes. He has taken a particular shine to Humpty Dumpty and there right next to the Sponge Bob fabric on my shelf I found some with Humpty Dumpty. I gave that to him too and he couldn't decide between them so the other side of Sponge Bob is Humpty Dumpty.  I took a little break from Easy Street to make this quilt and took it off the longarm and bound it last evening, the little boy hasn't seen it yet!

After all, even a three year old can't have too many quilts, can he?

Cruising On Easy Street

Today I pieced samples of the final four blocks of this Mystery. I find it's easier to work from a sample block than the pattern with the designer's fabrics.

There are triangle blocks,

four small corner triangles.....

and twelve large side setting triangles. 

Then there are two different designs of 15.5" blocks that are combos of the smaller ones we have been piecing in earlier clues, these make up the body of the quilt. Nine of the above..........

and sixteen of these. 

It is a dynamite design and I can't wait to have mine ready to load on the longarm but it's going to take me a while to get all of these pieced and we have young Matthew this week plus I have three post-op rehab therapy sessions for my back. I did have to scrounge up more greens for these last blocks as I ran out of a couple of the originals but it makes it more scrappy and that's just a good thing!

Below is how it will look all done. Isn't it fabulous? I haven't yet decided on my borders it will depend on what is left of my fabrics.

A Finish Before Friday!

One mystery ready to quilt, now on to Bonnie's "Easy Street".

Wordless Wednesday

The Merry Go Round

The joy of a little boy!

Merry Mayhem Modern Quilt Mystery Fabric

Below are the Merry Mayhem Mystery designer's choices for her quilt, left to right, A-G.

Using these as a guide I checked out my grey/black/neutrals in stash and found these candidates.

Then I went by Arizona Home fabrics today and found these four to add to the growing list of choices.

That grey pin dot is a beauty, I purchased the "end of bolt". Two yards of the grey streaky one, one yard of the little flowered and the "end of bolt" of that luscious cream.
Then I headed over to visit with my longarm friend Gale this afternoon as she was down from CO. to her house in Surprise for a few days, and we collaberated on a final selection.

So here is what I have decided on, left to right A-G same order as the Merry Mayhem at top of the page. The grey pin dot will become A, my background fabric, B and C, the creams, are those light narrowest strips,  and D and E will be the larger strips. F and G I believe are those darker cornerstons.

Below you see the final clue in this mystery -click here for the link. I am very excited to get going on this quilt- it seems like a very different departure for me into such modern lines and colors.

Perhaps I will yet become a thoroughly modern quilter-- but first I need to finish the other two mystery tops I have in progress!

New Year's Eve Sewing

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Yesterday Jacki, BJ and I sewed and "Skype- sewed" with Andee and Kathy as we all worked on the NYE Mystery.

Checking in via Skype.

BJ making progress.........

a completed block for Jacki..........

and mine!

Four laid together showing the secondary pattern, not yet pressed though.

This evening I hope to complete my blocks and get them together into a top. 

There's a "Modern Mystery" over at Planet Patchwork by Merry Mayhem, I want to check that one out too! They are using black/grey/ cream/neutrals and it looks like it might be interesting. I need one more project.......not!

Easy Street, Clue #6

 Bonnie released the last clue today before the big "reveal" on NewYear's Eve.

Here is a sample of the 128 x 3.5" patches I made this evening. We also were to cut each of 16 x 5.5" squares of the green fabrics into four triangles. On NYE morning we will see the final design and I plan to put the blocks together on NYDay.

New Year's Eve Mystery Quilt 2012

It has become a tradition for several of us to sew with quilty friends on NYE, and this year we will gather at Jacki's to sew, eat, chat. play etc. The past few years it has just been BJ and me here at my house, while Andee and Kathy sewed at their home, and this year they are planning to stay home and will join us via Skype on a laptop.  I think we are mostly planning to make the NYE Mystery quilt and we have been offered the first 4 cutting and pre-sewing clues, so I have been attempting to accomplish this in between watching The Boy!

Here are my color choices all from stash:

#1, a dark

#2, the focus fabric

#3, medium dark, nearly the same value as the dark but I think it's ok because the hue is so different.

#4, contrast, yep that's good contrast!

and #5 background.

Because I try to use only what I have on hand my choices are not always quite perfect but they seem to turn out ok anyway! All but the background fabric above were purchased on a visit to Loretta a few years ago in Tucson when we drove out into the boonies to buy from a lady who sells out of an old trailer absolutely packed with fabric. Obviously these fabrics are appropriately aged and ready to use!

 Presewing requires the completion of hundreds of Half Square Triangles. 

Here are mine now ready for New Year's Eve!

Wordless Wednesday, Christmas Night

Wordless Wednesday

Merry CHRISTmas!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Luke 2:1-21 

Easy Street Clue #5

Bonnie was very kind to us this week taking into account Christmas and the need for simple and fast!

This is all there is to these little blocks, 64 of them, they look like little houses or maybe half of a snowball or square in a square block! It will be interesting to see how Bonnie combines these with the other little blocks. I don't know how many clues there will be but I am guessing that we have quite a way to go!

Bonnie suggests marking the sewing line for the corner squares.........

 

then sewing a smidge to the right of the pencil line.

This way when the fabric is folded back over the corner it will completely cover the bottom square.

If you sew directly on the line you may find that when you press the fabric up it may not quite cover the base. To some extent it depends on the thickness of the thread used, a heavier thread takes up more space and it may be just enough to leave your corner triangle a teeny bit short.

I thought this was a very handy tip that I will certainly remember, it worked well for me whereas in times past I have found I have come up a wee bit short.

So, now I am all caught up with Easy Street and I can go into Christmas with a clear conscience!