Sewing without knowing

For the last couple of weeks I've been madly cutting, sewing and pressing to complete the units for Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion mystery quilt before the final reveal. Almost made it.

Not sure why I decided to do this. I have enough ideas and UFOs to fill all my days and nights should I live a few lifetimes. Maybe it's the sewing without knowing what the end result will be that has a certain appeal. Sort of mindless. Well, as mindless as keeping the pieces in the right order can be. Or it could just be procrastination; I have two backings to make that I've been putting off for awhile.

I'm constructing my blocks with the sashing on two sides. Then I'll sew the blocks together in smaller sections so I have only one really long seam to contend with across the quilt at the end. Forget where I learned that trick, but I love not having to sew as many long seams as you would when sewing rows together. 

Cascadia mystery solved

Cascadia Doll Quilt, 16 1/2 x 18 1/8 inches.

I finished putting together Lori's Cascadia doll quilt mystery. It was small enough that I layered the top and backing with right sides together on top of the batting, stitched around it except for an opening to turn it inside out. Now I just need to add a bit of quilting. So close to being finished now that it might actually get done! (My last version of Lori's quilt-a-long is still only a top.)

If the fabrics look familiar, they are leftovers from Prairie Flowers with a blue and a few browns from the scrap bag thrown in.

Border mystery solved

62.5 inches/158.75 cm square

This is the border I ended up putting on my version of the mystery quilt. I have enough units left for another round of checkerboard, but I think that would make it too wide. I think I'll stop here. I'll make the binding and backing before I put it in the top pile. Red binding?

Evolution of a UFO

This isn't the UFO. This is progress on the Aboriginal quilt.

Or why the Internet is evil. Before the Internet, I would procrastinate doing something by cleaning, usually the kitchen cupboards or the junk drawer. Now I read blogs. Lots of blogs. And find lots of great projects to start. Usually I can stop myself from starting them. Usually.

But recently I was lured into beginning Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt Roll Roll Cotton Boll. Hey, it could be made entirely from stash, and I wouldn't have to think, just do whatever she said each week. A nice little break from my Aboriginal quilt and avoidance of the purse and tote bag I really needed to make for the nieces.

This is part of the UFO: Fabric and sewn units from some steps.

So I pulled lots of fabric, watched for each step to be posted, and promptly fell behind because that Bonnie is a task master. Then I saw the step that called for 600 HST (that's 600 half-square triangles!) I looked at the other steps and thought, "Oh no, I'm making the same blocks as in the Aboriginal quilt. The quilt I'm trying to take a break from."

More UFO parts with other project scraps.

After a half-hearted attempt to find a fast method to make half-square triangles that was accurate without requiring lots of trimming, I have not put another stitch in this quilt, but I haven't packed it away in a drawer yet as evidenced by the piles around the quilt room. I've seen a few finished tops, and it does look quite nice, but I'm so far behind now.

Getting the focus back on the Aboriginal blocks.

Hitting the wall on the mystery quilt did prompt me to work on the purse and tote bag, and I've made a couple more Aboriginal blocks, which I think I'll concentrate on now. Although I just got the Material Obsession 2 book, and I want to make every quilt in there! And Lori's doll quilt is terribly cute ... and small ... and could be made entirely from my scraps ... and I wouldn't have to think, just do whatever she said.

How to procrastinate with fabric

Because I should be doing other things, I started a new project. I'd seen this quilt before, thought it was cute, and wasn't tempted. Then I saw it on Kathleen Tracy's blog A Sentimental Quilter, and probably also subconsciously needed to procrastinate doing something, so I immediately got to work on it. Today, it is a partially assembled top. Tonight, it could be a completely assembled top. (Although I saw these oven mitts on the Bloomin' Workshop blog, and I'm wondering if I can get my hands on the right batting today.)

Once I decided to make this, I went to the new shelves and pulled out these fabrics. I remember seeing the print at a quilt show, loving it, buying it, buying four fat quarters to go with it, and then putting the lovely grouping together in the cupboard until the right pattern came along.  

I needed more variety for this project so I pulled more fabrics, and in the end only the red of the original four fat quarters made the cut. The above picture represents hours of fabric pulling and decision making!

I wasn't sure about the cutting part so I traced the template on my top before using a ruler to cut it out. I wanted to make sure the squares were squares and that I didn't wack off bits of my template trying to rotary cut around it. I should have starched this top before cutting, but I forgot. Kathleen's directions were helpful, but there's also a bit of winging it. No idea where to find a proper pattern.

Oh, and I also started Bonnie K. Hunter's "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" mystery quilt, and I have 600 half-square triangles to make. Yes, 600! Plus most of Step 3. ... I bet JoAnn's has Insul-Bright.

Snoring is my revenge

Nightly there is a battle of the bed covers, which I invariably lose. Not so much a problem during the summer, but we haven't really had one this year. Last night, after the annual block party, we slept under this:

Stack-n-Whack, pattern by Bethany Reynolds.

The quilt is probably 10 years old. I really should label these things, but by the time I finished this queen-size top I was so sick of it I almost didn't get it quilted. Fortunately there are long-armers so I didn't have to look at it any more. By the time I got it back I didn't detest it. It's definitely not a favorite, but it fits the bed.

And this:

Half Log Cabin, technique by Sharyn Squier Craig. Beautifully quilted by Maggi Honeyman.

I took this class in 1997 when I was relatively new to quilting. I like how the variety of background fabrics bring texture to the quilt. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same variety in the darks. Probably I was trying too hard to match colors and limited the number of different fabrics I used.

And this:

2002 Florida Cabin Fever Quilt Guild mystery quilt.

The real solution was Aunt Sukey's Choice, but I was playing around with the pieced units before the last clue and liked my solution better because it was more suited to the Asian fabric. This is one of my favorite quilts. I wish I'd had enough fabric to make it bigger, and that I hadn't experimented with black bobbin thread.

The block party was great even though it was quite chilly. We have the best neighbors, and every year on the last Saturday in August the street is blocked off, we set up tables and chairs in the streets, fire up the grills, play games and share appetizers, salads and desserts.


We lost seven trees this year on our block to Dutch Elm disease so there's no good way to string up the volleyball net. Instead one of the adult games was to guess which famous persons' name was written on the stickers on our foreheads by asking each neighbor two yes-or-no questions. My husband guessed he was Oprah after just three questions!

Don't look now! is having an unbelievable giveaway, and I am shamelessly plugging it here in order to get some extra entries. Although now probably you'll enter and my chances will go down. Kellie is giving away this gorgeous quilt. I can't believe it! I love her applique and patterns, but it's not really my quilting forte, so winning would be heaven.

What have I done ... what will I do?

No New Year's resolutions here. Going out to breakfast and eating pancakes plus almost all of the "crabmeat" and asparagus omelette encased in hash browns definitely would have torpedoed the obligatory diet resolution. Although having the omelette made with egg whites has to count for something. On the other hand, breakfast at Gail's is always a good way to start the day if not the year.

Been reading other blogs all day and seeing what other's have accomplished or plan to accomplish. Thinking of starting Bonnie's mystery quilt because I'm itching for something new. I still have that nearly 9-year-old half-square triangle UFO that I'm close to finishing. And, it has friends. Even after several years the old projects don't tempt the way a new one does, do they?

What have I done this past year? Hmmmm. I did finish some UFOs, some baby quilts, some presents. Or was that the year before? Time sort of blurs together. I did finish a couple UFOs. Here's photographic proof of one. (Can't find the picture of the other one I know I finished this year. It's on the bed, so I could take another picture later.)

A finished UFO! This is old. It's been sitting around for more than 5 years (and probably less than 10). From a "spa day" at a quilt shop in Orlando that is now closed. Blocks done, but for some reason I didn't put the top together until this year.

Maybe the blog will help me document some of my finishes a little better. And I could go make an inventory of my UFOs to check off. Or I could start cutting that mystery quilt. ... Or make dinner.