Allietore Update

It's been a long time since I updated this blog.  You can probably see that I use it mostly for weekly updates when participating in Bonnie's yearly mysteries.  Well, I finally have an update on Allietore!

The blocks are finished!

The border fabric is selected!

The quilt top is finished!

It's taken me long enough, don't you think?  LOL!  Now that the top is done and the binding strips (black) are cut, I just have to piece a backing and get it quilted / bound.  That will hopefully happen before Thanksgiving... when the next mystery will start.

Have you finished your Allietore?  If so, hooray for you!  If not, maybe your blocks aren't done aging (like a fine wine) so don't worry.  It will happen when the time is right. :)

Allietare Clue 4

Whew, just barely getting this post written in time.  Better late than never, right?  :)

For whatever reason, this clue seemed to take a long time.  Maybe that's because of all the units we had to make, maybe that's because we're also in the midst of Christmas obligations, maybe both.  I finished up late last night (Christmas Eve), so now I can share my progress.

Want to participate in this mystery too?  You can find all of Bonnie's clues on her blog:
Allietare Mystery

Want to see how everyone else is doing on their clues?  Check out the Monday Mystery Link-up!
Monday Mystery Link-Up, Part 4!

Here are my pieces all cut out and ready to go.  I'm loving my variety of neutrals!

Now it's time to assemble!  I laid my units out assembly line style, sewing all the pieces for each set together, leaving them chained together until it was time to press.  You can see the ones farthest to the right (next to Bonnie, my Featherweight) are waiting to have the first black triangle sewn on.  The next ones to the left are waiting to have the second black triangle sewn on.  Lastly I have the pairs ready to be sewn together into finished units.

Doing the sewing this way helped to keep boredom at bay.  I was able to switch up what I was doing every four sets.

And here we are, all my units finished!  Finally!  LOL.  I am now ready for Clue #5.

I also have progress to report on the Grand Illusion reboot.  All the blocks are finished, so I started putting them together into tops.  My goal was always to turn the blocks into smaller charity quilts, and I used a setting that I had seen someone share on Facebook.  I wish I knew who it was so I could give proper credit.  She had used yellow and white to create sashing and setting squares, and I liked how it calmed down the blocks so I did the same thing.  I like how it turned out!

This used up some of the blocks.  I want to make another one of these, using blue in place of the yellow.  After that I will have one lone block left over, perhaps I can make a medallion style quilt using the other units that I haven't touched yet.  I'll share photos when I get it done.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Quilting!

Allietare Clue 3

This week, the group of ladies I've been working with at the quilt shop couldn't meet, as there is another group that meets on the first Sunday of the month at the quilt shop.  It's a big group and would have left us with no room at all LOL.  So I worked at home to finish Clue 3.

Want to play along?  You can get all the clues from Bonnie's blog here:
Allietare Mystery

You should also check out the blogs of all the other quilters who are participating in this mystery.  Their work is beautiful!
Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 3

I dug into my stash of neutrals, I dug into my stash of strips for golds, and I cut from gold yardage bought for this mystery, and I came up with enough variety to make my strip sets for the 4-patches we need to make for this clue.

Here they are, my 4-patches all finished!  I'm pleased with how they turned out.  There's definitely enough contrast between the gold fabrics and the neutrals.

I got the extra pieces cut out too, so they are ready to go whenever Bonnie says they are needed.

I'm still working on the units from Grand Illusion as my Leaders and Enders.

And here you go, all my Grand Illusion blocks are finished!

It was always my goal to use these blocks, and the other Grand Illusion units, to make 2-3 charity quilts.  I've been collecting images of various settings that others have created for their quilts, these will help me decide how to proceed with my charity quilts.

As you may know, I've been using my 1947 Featherweight to sew these clues and the GI blocks.  I got it from a local lady who buys and restores these machines, so it doesn't have any history with my family.  I hadn't named her, but lately I've been feeling the need to name her.  I Googled popular names from 1947, and with the help of my children we've decided that her name should be Bonnie.  I think it's fitting, don't you?  :)

I hope you're making progress on your Allietare units!

Allietare Clue 2

Sunday is my day to work on the mystery, so I headed off to the quilt shop to work on Clue #2.  Want to play along?  You can get all the information for this mystery at Bonnie's blog:

Allietare Mystery

Want to see all the wonderful variety of all the other people who are participating?  Be sure to check out this week's Link-Up on Bonnie's blog.

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 2

I got to the quilt shop, only to find that I was the only one of our quilt group who could make it.  One other stopped by while out doing other things, unfortunately she was feeling  under the weather.  I hope she feels better soon!

The quilt shop is open for 5 hours on Sundays, and I put that time to good use!  While sewing together the units for this week's clue, I also continued using the pieces from last year's mystery, Grand Illusion, as leaders and enders.

Here is some of my work in progress, with my Featherweight getting a good workout.

In the time I had at the quilt shop, I got all the units for this clue sewn and pressed, hooray!

I also managed to make excellent progress on assembling the Grand Illusion units.  Next week the block will be taking shape!

I also have ready the extra pieces that Bonnie said to cut.

I'm so thankful for the time at the quilt shop.  It was distraction free time, which allowed me to get these units finished so I can focus on other projects the rest of the week.

How are all of you doing?  Do you have Christmas gifts to finish up?  I have some commissions to finish and other quilt tops to get quilted, but I should be able to get them all done in time for their deadlines.  I just have to focus until Clue #3 is released LOL.

Grand Illusion: Clue 5

Clue 5 is here!  Hooray!  And true to Bonnie's word, this one was super easy.  I started working on it at 8:00 am, and finished by 9:30 am.  No, I wasn't racing to get it finished, it just was truly this easy.

You can download the clue from the Quiltville blog until sometime in March 2014 (yes, this is new!), at which point it will be retired so it can be published as a pattern you can purchase.  If you're even thinking of working on this quilt, download the clues and save them... or else you'll have to wait until you can purchase a copy later.

Grand Illusion Mystery

Every Monday after a clue is posted, Bonnie has a Mystery Link-Up where participants can share photos of their progress, like I've done in this blog.  Be sure to check it out and see all the wonderful variations in color and fabric!

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 5

We had to make some easy four-patch units for this clue.  Most of them are aqua (blue) and yellow, while a few are a combination of yellow/black/pink (purple).  I've switched my colors up a bit from Bonnie's, with my color choices indicated in parenthesis.

I'm down to only four of my blue prints, and one of them was mostly used up in this clue.  So, to try to get more variety I kept my strip sets short, using the measurement Bonnie suggested.  Here are my strip sets, sewn and ready to be paired:

I was able to get six unique pairing combinations from these strip sets, so I have a bit of variety in my finished four-patch units.

I didn't have extra black, purple, and yellow pieces left over from previous clues, so I had to cut a few of those.  I only cut from two different blacks and two different purples, but that's OK. I don't mind if they aren't as scrappy as the rest of the quilt.  It's my quilt after all, I can choose to do that if I want LOL.

Here are all my finished units for Clue 5:

Here's hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas Day yesterday, and if you celebrate it, that you have a fun Boxing Day today.  May your heart be full of happiness, and may your soul smile... much like my kids were smiling yesterday.  (Yes, I had to sneak in a picture of my girls LOL.)

And may you have wonderful companionship during these holidays.  Our cat Nuggs says "meow", which is kitty for "hello".  :)

Grand Illusion: Clue 4

Bonnie wasn't joking when she said the next clue would be easier.  We used pieces from a previous clue, cut some more pieces, and had to sew only a few more units (in Bonnie terms) to complete this clue.  I surprised even myself and got it done in a day!

You can download the clue from the Quiltville blog until sometime in March 2014 (yes, this is new!), at which point it will be retired so it can be published as a pattern you can purchase.  If you're even thinking of working on this quilt, download the clues and save them... or else you'll have to wait until you can purchase a copy later.
Grand Illusion Mystery

Every Monday after a clue is posted, Bonnie has a Mystery Link-Up where participants can share photos of their progress, like I've done in this blog.  Be sure to check it out and see all the wonderful variations in color and fabric!

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 4

This clue started us out with the extra HST that we made in Clue #1.  We had to make as many more HST using white and aqua (though if you recall, I swapped blue for the aqua).  We also had to cut out some black squares and some yellow squares.

Here are all my pieces, ready for sewing to begin.

There are my HST triangles, already paired up and ready to sew.  I have to admit, at the start of this project I was a little annoyed at the idea of pairing up your fabric strips before cutting with the Easy Angle ruler for the HST units.  But now I'm a complete convert!  Yes, there is a little extra work to be done to get the strips lined up sufficiently, and yes you end up cutting only one pair at a time, but once you get these pre-matched units to the sewing machine, you FLY through them.

After flying through sewing the HSTs, I kept on sewing and paired up the blue/purple units from Clue #1 with black or yellow, depending on which block they were destined for.  When I was done with that... I had a whole lot of pressing to do LOL.

It didn't take long to catch up with the pressing and to continue sewing pieces together until all the blocks were finished.  I have all my Broken Dishes #2 finished:

As well as all my Broken Dishes #3:

Woot!  I'm thrilled to have these done!  I recently picked up a commission project, so I allowed myself today to play... and play I did.  Tomorrow I have to go back to working on the commission.  Grand Illusion is my motivation to keep on top of this commission... if I get enough work done on it through the week, then I can take Fridays off to play LOL.

Until next week....

Grand Illusion: Clue 3

I must admit, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Clue #3.  Strip piecing!  Simple units!  Yes, we still had to make a ton of them but strip piecing is so easy and so quick, I didn't mind at all.  :)

You can download the clue from the Quiltville blog until sometime in March 2014 (yes, this is new!), at which point it will be retired so it can be published as a pattern you can purchase.  If you're even thinking of working on this quilt, download the clues and save them... or else you'll have to wait until you can purchase a copy later.

Grand Illusion Mystery

Every Monday after a clue is posted, Bonnie has a Mystery Link-Up where participants can share photos of their progress, like I've done in this blog.  Be sure to check it out and see all the wonderful variations in color and fabric!

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 3

Friday happened to be a busy day for me, I was able to download the clue and read it while I ate breakfast but I couldn't do much with it until later in the day.  I did manage to find the time to cut out my strips later in the evening.  I only had four green prints set aside for this mystery but felt that they would be too boring all on their own for this clue LOL.  I dug into my stash and found a few more, not quite in the lime green I had started with but they played nicely together so I added them to the pile.  Here are my strips, cut and ready to be sewn together.

I first paired up a green strip with a white or black strip, until all my strips were sewn together.  Here they are, waiting to be pressed.

I was in the middle of pressing my strips when my iron decided it didn't want to live any more.  It made a popping, crackling kind of noise and then smoke started pouring out of it.  I immediately unplugged it and took it outside.  I couldn't see where the smoke was coming from, so to be safe I hosed it down.  The smoke kept coming out, and if I held it up in front of me, I could see waves of heat rising from the iron... not good.  So I filled a bucket with water and submerged the iron to be certain the fire was put out.

Of course, an iron is needed to finish this clue so I immediately headed out to get a new one.  A girl's got to have her priorities straight LOL!  This is what I came home with. It's lightweight and gets nice and hot.  The only thing I wish is that I could turn off the steam at higher temperatures, but for $30 I can put up with it.

Back to Clue #3!  Once my strip pairs were pressed, I paired up these units until I had enough to cut the pieces needed for the final blocks.  I tried my best to not have duplicate fabrics in each block, for more variety.  Here they are, my finished blocks!

I'm so happy with the way this mystery is turning out so far.  And like all of Bonnie's mysteries, I have no clue how these units will be put together into the final arrangement.. but that's part of the fun.  :)  Now to wait (not so patiently) for Clue #4.

Grand Illusion: Clue 2

Bonnie unveiled Clue #2 yesterday, hooray! 

You can download the clue from the Quiltville blog until sometime around June 2015, at which point it will be retired for inclusion in a future book.  If you're even thinking of working on this quilt, download the clues and save them... or else you'll have to wait until the book comes out.  :)

Grand Illusion Mystery

 Every Monday after a clue is posted, Bonnie has a Mystery Link-Up where participants can share photos of their progress, like I've done in this blog.  Be sure to check it out and see all the wonderful variations in color and fabric!

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 2

As soon as I woke up, I ran to my computer to download the clue for myself.  Because I am on the West Coast, my news feed on Facebook was full of photos of units that others to the East of me had made. What fun!  Unfortunately, I had plans to be out in the morning and only had time to make up two test units before I had to leave.

Bonnie gave us three different methods to make this unit.  I tried her template method, my test unit is on the right.  Unfortunately, it came out a little bit too small, by 1/8".  Next I tried the last method she suggested, the sew-and-flip method, and I got a perfectly sized unit... so this is the method I used for the rest of my units.

All my pieces are cut and ready to be sewn!  In order to keep this from being overwhelming, I attacked this in stages.  I would work on 20 units at a time: sew, trim, flip and press.  This made the job seem more manageable and less daunting.

See?  I got all my units sewn in no time!  :)

And look at that pile of trimmings!  I put my rotary cutter next to it so you can see just how large this pile is.  No, I didn't sew them into HSTs, I honestly don't  have the time right now.  I did save them to my crumbs bag, one of these days I would like to make a crumb quilt.

And voila!  All my blocks for Clue #2 are finished!  I'm really liking how my colors are turning out.

At this point, however, I may need to put the mystery aside.  I just had a BIG project dropped in my lap which I will have to focus on as it actually has a deadline LOL.  Or, I might use the mystery as incentive to keep myself motivated on this deadline project so that I can carve out a little time to play.  We will just have to wait and see what happens.  :)

Have fun, everyone!

Grand Illusion: Clue 1

This past Friday, we got to kick off the Grand Illusion Mystery with Clue #1.  Yippee!  There was much excitement in the air as quilters across the globe hurried to download the clue and get started.

You can download the clue from the Quiltville blog until sometime around June 2015, at which point it will be retired for inclusion in a future book.  If you're even thinking of working on this quilt, download the clues and save them... or else you'll have to wait until the book comes out.  :)

Grand Illusion Mystery

Every Monday after a clue is posted, Bonnie has a Mystery Link-Up where participants can share photos of their progress, like I've done in this blog.  Be sure to check it out and see all the wonderful variations in color and fabric!

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 1

If you remember from my last post, I'm mixing my colors up a bit from Bonnie's colors.  Instead of aqua and pink, I'm using blue and purple.  But the black and yellow remain the same.

Here are all my pairs of blue and purple triangles, cut with my Easy Angle ruler, and ready to sew.

Yes, it took a while to get through all of these triangles, but working in chunks I managed to get them all finished!

Once the HST were finished, I cut out my black and yellow squares.  Bonnie is sticking with a single color of yellow in her quilt, so I decided to do the same.  If you choose to go scrappy with your yellows, that's perfectly OK because it is YOUR quilt, make it however you want to!  :)

Once again, I worked in chunks to get the black and yellow squares sewn to the HST, pressed, and then paired up into Broken Dishes blocks as directed by the pattern.

And voila!  Here are all my completed units for Clue 1!

Already I'm having so much fun on this mystery, and I can hardly wait for Clue #2 to come out.  Of course, I've got plans to be out and about for a large chunk of Friday, and I'll be in a 12K running race on Saturday... think I can get the clue done on Sunday?  We'll just have to wait and see what happens.  :)

Making Grand Illusion: Colors

Yippee!  It's time for the next Bonnie Hunter mystery!  She gave us a nice surprise by announcing the name and posting her colors and required yardage a few days earlier than in years past.

This year's mystery is called Grand Illusion.  Here is a link to her Intro with colors and yardage:
Quiltville's Grand Illusion Intro

With Bonnie's mysteries, sometimes her colors call to me, such as Easy Street.  I had to make that quilt based on the colors alone LOL.  Sometimes, the colors don't speak to me at all or I have been inspired by another color scheme and I switch out the colors, such as with Celtic Solstice.  This year, I liked some of the colors she chose, but not others, so I'm mixing things up and making the colors mine.

Not wanting to rush anything, I gave myself time to consider my color choices.  One person on Quiltville's Open Studio swapped the pink for purple, and I really liked that.  But then I'd have a quilt with green, teal, and purple again, which is already in Easy Street and I didn't want my colors to be too similar.  I hemmed and hawed, until one night while binding a quilt I looked over at the spools of thread I had on the table.  There was a spool of bright green and a spool of bright blue sitting next to each other, and I loved the way they looked.  Then it hit me... these would be great colors to use for my Grand Illusion quilt!

Without further ado, here are my colors for Grand Illusion:

I will keep the black and the yellow that Bonnie indicated.  I'm keeping my neutrals white, I have a mix of white-on-white fabrics and some with a light print and a white background.  I will swap purple in place of pink.  My greens are brighter, and I'm using bright blue instead of teal.  My colors are jewel tones, and I think it's going to look very nice.  :)

Celtic Solstice: Finished!

 

It's done!  My Celtic Solstice quilt is finally done!

I made the smaller version of the quilt, but it wasn't quite large enough for my needs so I extended it a bit.  I added the checkerboard border to the top and bottom of the quilt to lengthen it a little, and I also added a border all around the quilt, using a grey print that was too perfect to pass up.

I mean, look at that print!  It really mimics the effect that the pieced blocks in Bonnie's quilt achieve.  This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I went looking for a border fabric, but it fits the bill perfectly and I'm glad I used it.

I quilted it with a simple meander, which will be fine for a bed quilt.  The meander gives the quilt texture without being too complicated, plus I didn't have a pantograph that really seemed to "go" with the quilt.  I used white thread for the quilting, I really had wanted a light blue but none of my blue threads looked right.  That's OK, the white worked just fine.

Thank you Bonnie, for once again writing and sharing a fantastic Mystery Quilt project.  You can see other folks' finished quilts at her last Link-Up of the project.