This fall, I supplied numerous members of our guild with weekly clues for the fall mystery.
Some of the quilters sent pictures … Enjoy!
This is Alice C’s. She said, “It was great to finally use the fall fabric I had for years.” Isn’t it a beautiful fall quilt?
Here are Fran’s … both are the baby quilt size and are still in progress. I love how the fabric makes each one very different from the other, yet the pattern is exactly the same!
This is Heather’s! … she says “I love the pattern. I’m going to do a quilt for my grandson And I love this! It’s simple but looks complicated!!!!”
This one is Bonnie K’s, she made the baby sized quilt. What a wonderful soft quilt. Some baby is going to love it!
Here’s Patricia’s: she calls it a “floppy.” The purple is so vibrant!
Here is Dawn’s: along with a picture of the beautiful feature fabric she used! It’s a great way to use that fabric that you really don’t want to cut into!
This is Kathy S’s. I love the bold blue and grey against the light background / focus fabric!
Here’s Patti’s. Isn’t that dark burgundy border just perfect?
This one is from Dawn W. It’s a super cute baby quilt!
This is Carol R’s … with no borders, yet! Of course, I LOVE the Blues!!!
I love how Jill used stripes!!! People are often afraid to use stripes, but this is proof that you can use them and be successful!!
Here’s Heidi’s. I love the solids amongst the busy print!
This quilt is in Fort St. James, hanging in the insurance office. It got it’s label on … “Jordan Marshall Memorial Society” for mental health in Fort St. James. In support with Hub international. It will be raffled off. The tickets are $5 and if you would like a chance to win this beautiful quilt – you can email < Jackie.marshall@hubinternational.com >
I made this quilt last February for the Island Batik challenge “Create for a Cause.” It was originally destined to be a comfort quilt, but in December, when I could finally take donation quilts in, this got overlooked. Now I know why. It was meant to go north!
For those of you that don’t know, we lived in Fort St. James for 17 years. It’s a small community literally at the end of the pavement in central British Columbia. I worked at the hospital for many years and as the public health nurse for short stints. Once the kids were born, I was a stay-at-home mom and was active in the Evangelical Free Church. Several relatives still live there – many (like us) have moved away. If you’ve never been there, it’s a truly gorgeous place to visit! There is a beautiful lake, an awesome ski hill and a bounty of friendly people!
Anyhow – email < Jackie.marshall@hubinternational.com > to purchase your raffle tickets! Or, if you live in “The Fort” you know where to find Jackie!
On Monday and Tuesday, a bunch of us met at Essem Textiles to play and explore Inktense Pencils. If you’ve never used Inktense – it’s worth giving it a try. They are like pencil crayons with water soluble ink in them. You can colour on fabric and use water, aloe vera or a textile medium to bring out the vibrant colours.
Below is what I worked on. It’s a free drawing from Helen Godden and is the Christmas 2019 project. My plan is to finish “painting” it and then follow Helen’s Youtube videos for the zen-doodling quilting.
While we were at Essem, a bunch of ladies from the Chilliwack guild stopped in the store. You’ve seen a lot of their SAHRR center blocks HERE … and it was fun to meet them in person!
Stitching Stuff
‘
Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!
January 1-16 – 16 / 16
Total: 16 / 16
Percentage =100%
Stash Report
Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash.
This meme is still true! No fabric has been bought … at least not yet! No change in what I’ve used!
Fabric Used this week 0 yards
Fabric Used this year: 1.5 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 0 yards
Net Fabric used 1.5 yards
To Do
Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.
The To Do list last week:
SAHRR: Finish Round 2 & work on Round 3 √ DONE
Work on Polar Bear Plunge: get the top done √ DONE
Work on Tickled Pink√ DONE
Work on Island Batik January Project √ DONE
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ DONE
This week’s list:
Finish Round 3 & start Round 4 of SAHRR
Sandwich and Quilt Polar Bear Plunge
Work on Tickled Pink
Finish Island Batik January Project
Finish Macaron Mystery – January clue
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
Design Wall
There are a few things on my Design Wall and there is a couple of things I can show you …
#1 SAHRR is in progress … You can read about it HERE.
But I can show you my center block with Round 1 added.
#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!
#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!
#4 … Macaron Mystery Quilt
I’ve got some of January’s clue done … still have more to do …
Quilting:
Island Batik, January challenge is being quilted.
One New Start … no finishes. I did pull the fabrics for the February Island Batik challenge – does that count as a new start? And I started the Christmas wall hanging.
If you are participating in the SAHRR 2022, this week, Anja has chosen curves. There are lots of options for doing curves … but I opted for a simple organic wavy curve to frame my center block. I started with lengths, 2″ wide and did an easy free-style curve. Then I pieced the curves together without using pins. There are NO quilt police, right? So, I don’t need to use pins!
If I had my time back, I would have started with 3″ strips. You can see on the right hand border – close to the top where there is not much of the print fabric showing and using 3″ strips would have given me a an option to trim it. And yes, I am using Island Batik fabric from the “Flutter Fly” collection!
Now I hope this round does not scare you away! Curves are simple – if you take your time.
My block was squared up to 9 1/4″ x 15″ …
When you have your round added, go to Anja Quilts and link up to show us YOUR round!
My Block
I have pictures from 2 Boundary Bay Guild members … Brenda W is using the flower block and Stella is using the pretty block she found in her stash.
Some of the gals from the Chilliwack Quilter’s Guild are also following along. Here are their center blocks:
Claudette made here block from a book and Darlene is going to make a large quilt, using the Paris panel.
Charlene wanted to try paper piecing. (This is the same block I used last year for my center) and Carol loves Kaffe!
Donna can’t decide on a colour way and she might have to make 2!! I just LOVE the elephants!
I think there are going to be a LOT of wonderful quilts made with this SAHRR!!
Visit the other co-hosts to see their blocks
If you haven’t done so yet, make sure that you go to their blogs and follow them so that you don’t miss a single post!
I am so HONOURED to be chosen again as an Island Batik Ambassador!! It truly is an honour to have all the wonderful support of the Island Batik team and to work alongside so many talented quilters!
On Wednesday night, I did a trunk show for the Chilliwack Piecemakers Guild and they were asking about “What came in the boxes?” So here’s a chance for them to see!
Oh – and apparently there is more coming later this month … I will show you what comes in that package after it arrives!
Here is the video of me opening the boxes.
Here’s pictures and details of what came in my boxes:
6 yards of “Linen.” This is a basic that is available any time.
Fat Quarter Bundle: Tantalizing Teals. These fabrics are available in yardage from your local quilt store. There are 20 fabrics in this bundle and I will show you what I’ve made in the next week!
Vintage Lace Fabric Collection: 1/2 yard bundle of 20 fabrics PLUS 2 yards of Snow & 2 Yards of Hunter! These gorgeous fabrics will be available in February.
4 yard cuts of Solid Black, White & Grey. Totally fantastic neutrals! I love these solids!
2 1/2″ strips of Citified along with 2 yards each of “Lavender” and “Blackberry.” Can’t you just imagine something awesome being made with these?
Stash-builder bundles. These bundles are 5″wide by width of fabric and there are 4 fabrics in each roll. Each package of 5 rolls contains 2.8 yards of fabric!
A Surprise Package! This is for the May blog hop. As I am writing this, I have no idea what is inside!
If you are participating int the SAHRR 2022, then your work this week is to choose your Centre block. It can be square or rectangle … even a circle if you want a difficult challenge!
My Centre Block
Yes, it is applique!!! Surprise, surprise!!! Applique? Can you believe that I chose to do an applique for the centre block? It is a pattern from Angie Padilla. She has a ton of applique patterns and you can see them HERE. This is from a 2021 BOM called “Lady Bug Hugs.”
This block, once it is trimmed, will measure 7 1/2″ x 13″.
For this SAHRR, I am using Island Batik fabrics from the “Flutter-fly” collection.
I chose to do a rectangle because I want a rectangle quilt in the end!
I have a UFO finish! It is the Any Which Way Mystery Quilt … it was finally trimmed and the binding was added! The first picture was taken in the sun … and the 2nd picture was taken on the snow – just because I could!
The binding was finished today while I was Zoom quilting with fellow Island Batik Ambassadors! It’s so fun to get together and see what everyone is working on!
This quilt used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs 80/20 batting and was quilted with Aurifil thread using Schmetz needles. It finishes at 44″ x 44.” It’s nice to have this UFO done!
Stitching Stuff
‘
Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!
This week, I managed to only sew for 15 min a day …
January 1-9 – 9 / 9
Total: 9 / 9
Percentage =100%
Stash Report
Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!
I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …
I used 1.5 yards of fabric for the backing of the Any Which Way Mystery Quilt.
Fabric Used this week 1.5 yards
Fabric Used this year: 0 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 0 yards
Net Fabric used 1.5 yards
To Do
Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.
I didn’t get a lot done this week. I’ve had a bad back and can only sit for very short periods of time.
The To Do list last week:
Trim & bind “Any Which Way” Mystery – √ DONE
Finish Round 3 & 4 of SAHRR (yes, I want to work ahead) Decided I didn’t like Round 2 – so did some un-stitching and re-doing the round X not done
Work on Polar Bear Plunge√ DONE
Work on Tickled Pink√ DONE
Work on January’s Island Batik project√ DONE
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes: no cleaning or tidying done and boy does it show! X not done
This week’s list:
SAHRR: Finish Round 2 & work on Round 3
Work on Polar Bear Plunge: get the top done
Work on Tickled Pink
Work on Secret Project
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
Design Wall
There are a few things on my Design Wall and there is NOTHING I can show you … yet!
#1 SAHRR is in progress … Centre block comes out Tomorrow! Be sure to come back so you don’t miss it!!!
#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!
#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!
#4 … Island Batik January Gradation project is getting there! and it will remain a total secret for now!
#5 Macaron Mystery by Meadow Mist Designs I have printed off the January clue – but haven’t done any sewing … yet …
Quilting:
Nothing is being quilted at the moment!
One UFO done!
Ms. P. Designs has this nifty colourful tool that you can use to track the tasks you have to do for your PHD. You can access the tool HERE.
My husband says every new year, “My New Year’s Resolution is to not make any resolutions.” I sort of feel the same way, but I do have quilty goals in mind and I’ll share them with you.
Island Batik Ambassador
I was again chosen to be an Island Batik Ambassador for 2022! I was beyond excited when I found out! If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you KNOW how much I love Island Batik fabric!
There will be monthly challenges and projects to make! I can’t wait to show you all the fabulous fabric and goodies from the industry partners!
New to Me
This is new to me, but it’s been around for awhile. I have watched other bloggers do this block of the month and thought I’d join in on the fun this year! Check out Jen’s blog post for more details and to get the pattern for this month’s block. Doesn’t “Spicy” sound fantastic???
January’s spice is Saffron. This is the 12 1/2″ block that I made:
I used 2 different oranges from Island Batik. I didn’t have enough of the dark orange, so I pieced the bottom left square.
Here are this month’s bloggers that are highlighting this Spicey month!
Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!
Last year I managed to sew 97% of the days. What will this year bring?
January 1-2 – 2 / 2
Total: 2 / 2
Percentage =100%
Stash Report
Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!
I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …
Fabric Used this week 0 yards
Fabric Used this year: 0 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 0 yards
Net Fabric used 0 yards
To Do
Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.
I had 2 weeks to work on my previous To Do list … let’s see how I did …
The To Do list last week:
Finish A&A’s Quilt √ DONE
Bind the guild Fall Mystery Quilt √ DONE
Prepare the PHD in 2022 blog post. √ DONE
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ DONE
This week’s list:
Trim & bind “Any Which Way” Mystery
Finish Round 3 & 4 of SAHRR (yes, I want to work ahead)
Work on Polar Bear Plunge
Work on Tickled Pink
Work on January’s Island Batik project
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
Design Wall
There are a few things on my Design Wall and there is NOTHING I can show you … yet!
#1 SAHRR is in progress … You can read about it HERE.
#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!
#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!
#4 … January’s Island Batik project and it will remain a secret for now! But, I will show you the stack of fabric that I’m working with! Tantalizing Teals! Aren’t they absolutely BEAUTIFUL? !!!
Quilting:
Nothing is being quilted at the moment!
However, my Any Which Way mystery quilt needs to be trimmed and bound.
My January Island Batik project is started … no finishes
Last year, as we had a parade for the SAHRR (pronounced Stay At Home Round Robin), we announced that we would be doing it again in 2022.
For the past 2 years, I have done a SAHRR and have made different quilts. The first year I did it on my own and then last year, I had some fantastic blogging/quilting friends join in the fun!
Here’s the quilts from previous SAHRRs. The one on the Left is from last year, the centre one and the one on the right were from the year before.
What’s a Round Robin?
This is a common activity in many quilt guilds. A round robin (in quilting terms) is where each person makes a centre block. This block is put in a bag or container, maybe with extra fabric, perhaps with a notebook, and the bag is passed onto another quilter in the group. They are given instructions as to what kind of border (or round) they are to add on to the quilt. Sometimes the next person will make a border for each side, or one side or two sides of the block. It’s then passed on to another quilter and it continues on … when the quilt centre and all the borders are completed, it is returned to the original maker of the centre block.
So, I stay at home?
That’s correct! You and your centre block and the borders all stay home. You have to make the decisions as to what to add when given directions. How big, how many … it’s up to you.
How do I join?
There’s nothing to join, no sign up. All you need to do is follow our blogs.
How often does this happen?
On January 10, we will show you our centre blocks … I haven’t seen any of my friends blocks – so it’s going to be a surprise for each of us. This will give you some ideas of what you can make or use (do you have orphan blocks?)
Then on January 18 (and each Monday following) we will give you instructions as to what the next border/round is to be. Again, we will all show you our centre blocks with the first border to give you some ideas.
Here are my blogging co-leaders in the order of what we will be doing and the linky parties we will be holding each week. (There will only be one linky party each week … and we’ll direct you to it …)
January 10: I will host the first linky party … for you to show each of your centre blocks … but you’ll have to visit each of the SAHRR co-host bloggers to see their centre blocks
Here’s my tally for the year. I managed to finish the 3 quilts that were left in my Starts in 2021 column! Therefore, I did get my PHD in 2021! YAY!!! And those UFO numbers are dwindling down!!!
Here are the 3 quilts that were Starts in 2021 and are now DONE!!! (The first 2 are finishes you haven’t seen before. The first one is the Fall Surprise 2021 guild mystery. The 2nd is A & A’s quilt … by the time this post goes live, they should have it – so it’s OK to show it. The 3rd one, I blogged about it HERE.
And here is my final tally sheet for 2021:
PHD in 2022
Are you going to join in the PHD in 2022? The information is at this POST.
Some people find it hard to complete 12 UFOs and some people find it hard to complete all of their new starts … However, if you are serious about getting rid of your UFOs, AND you don’t want your UFO list to get bigger – this might be just what you need!
In this Clue, YOU decide “Which Way” you want your quilt to be. Here are 4 options:
My pattern tester added an 6 extra HST in each colour so she could do pinwheels: Her quilt measures 40″ x 52.”
Which one will you choose?
Add Borders
For an easy and accurate way to add your borders, see This Youtube video:
Quilt as Desired
I always hated this direction … I never knew what to quilt. Well, here’s picture of my quilt – my chosen way. You should be able to see that I did simple brackets on each side of each triangle.
The binding is not on … I’ve got other things that are taking priority at the moment!
Please send me a picture
Once you have your top done, or even quilted, please send me a picture. I realize that not everyone who is doing the mystery has a blog – so pictures are great! If you have a blog, please send me the link along with your picture. I will post a parade of the quilts in the new year. My email address is quiltinggail@yahoo.ca
Support Me
Having a blog costs money each year … and each year, the price goes up. If you have enjoyed the mystery and appreciate that you actually have at least 4 new quilt patterns, please consider giving me a small donation. At the top of the blog there is a page that says “Shopping and Donations.” You can go to that page and make your donation. Thank you!
This is a small mystery quilt. It will be 40″ x 40″ if you follow the directions. Yes, it can easily be made bigger, but wait until the end to see if you want to.
Clue #1
Fabric Requirements:
Fabric
Amount
Background
1 1/8 yards
Contrast #1
½ yard
Contrast #2
½ yard
If you want – you could make Contrast #1 and #2 totally scappy. For example, Contrast #1 could be a variety of purples and Contrast #2 could be a variety of greens. It might be a good way to use up scraps!
These are the fabrics I used. They are all Island Batik fabrics. The Background is Rice. Contrast #1 is an older fabric with turtles and sea grass … Contrast #2 is two similar coloured fabrics.
As an Island Batik Ambassador, I am to make 12 projects, one a month using ONLY Island Batik fabrics. This is my 3rd year as an Ambassador and I have a bit of an Island Batik stash. The projects below are either the monthly challenge or ones I have done on my own. As you might guess, I LOVE Island Batik fabrics!
January
Between Christmas and New Years 2020, I hosted a Holiday Seclusion Mystery here on the blog. You can see a summary of it HERE.
These are the 2 quilts I made to test the mystery. The first one uses an older Island Batik that I bought, but neglected to keep record of the name of the fabric. It is paired with solid white. Although it was started in 2020, it was not finished until 2021.
This one was made with Scrapbuilder bundles in blue, teal and green, along with a solid grey. I love the overall graffiti or wild quilting on it!
January’s Island Batik challenge was to make placemats. I LOVE blue and LOVED making these placemats! You can read about them HERE.
I joined in the monthly Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. January’s colour was PINK. Here is the mug rug I made.
February
These 2 baskets were a free byAnnie pattern and you can read more about them HERE.
This quilt was provided as a mystery quilt for the guild. The Designer is Sue Pontifex, from Piece Arch Quilters in White Rock. This is a variation of the original design. You can read more about the quilt HERE.
February’s Island Batik challenge was “Create for a Cause.” Each ambassador was to create a quilt to give to a charity of our choice. The guild I belong to gives “comfort” quilts to a local cancer agency. This quilt is destined to go there when they start receiving quilts (after Covid). You can read more about this quilt HERE.
This quilt used the beautiful “Mystery” collection of fabric designed by Claudia Pfeil.
This month’s colour for the Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. was yellow. You can read more about this mug rug HERE.
March
Scrapbusting ws Island Batik’s challenge for March. What a fun fun challenge. My 2 quilts are shown below …
The Scrappy Irish chain with the star was a LOT of fun. Lots of 2″ scraps from every collection that I have had as an ambassador!
Is a quilt that started out small and became bigger as I really liked the colours. It initially started as a sample for a ruler quilting class.
This is a quilt, designed by an Island Batik alumni, Sandra Walker, you can read more about this quilt HERE and Here and HERE.
The Island Batik challenge for this month was “Spread Love & Joy with Accuquilt.” Boy, did I have fun! I love using the Accuquilt cutter and the precision cutting. You can read about my 2 quilts HERE.
In March, I took a course “Speed Dating with Improv” by Krista from PoppyPrints. It took me a while to get the facing done, but it was finally finished in June! I used Island Batik solids for this piece.
I finally put the facing on my Story-less Improv and you can read more about it here, here and HERE. This was from a by Krista’s classes @ Poppyprint. It has the super fun title of “Speed Dating.”
Purple is June’s Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. You can read more about this coaster HERE.
July
July’s Island Batik challenge was “Never Too Early.” I made a mini quilt and a basket. You can read about them HERE.
August
Try a Tool was Island Batik’s August challenge! Oh! Did I have fun with this one! Check out the details HERE.
Another quilt designed by Island Batik alumni, Sandra Walker. This is “Let your Star Shine.” You can read about it HERE and HERE.
This quilt was created for the “Orange you Glad” Blog Hop. You can read about it HERE.
This month’s scrappy table runner challenge was “aqua.” I wanted to try paper piecing a “Storm at Sea” block and ended up with this 14″ x 14″ square table topper. You can read about it HERE.
September
Island Batik’s September challenge was to make a byAnnie bag. I made this wonderful “Round Trip Duffle.” Read about it HERE.
This table runner was made for the Table Scraps monthly challenge (orange) and the Falling For You blog hop … you can read more about it HERE.
Kelly Young launched her newest book “Scrappy Improv Quilting” and I couldn’t help but enlarge this quilt and make a baby sized hot air balloon. You can read about it HERE.
October
October’s Island Batik challenge was to use Aurifil thread related to our assigned Endangered Species. I was given the Pangolin … it was fun zen-doodling the scales … you can find out more details HERE.
Then, I was involved in a blog hop, featuring Kelly Young’s book, “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” I made this ornament wall hanging for the blog hop. See details HERE.
November
The challenge for Island Batik, for November was the “Storm at Sea” block. I made 2 totally different quilts using the same block. You can read about them HERE.
I finished another quilt – with inspiration from Kelly Young’s book “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” This quilt used a lot of orphan log cabin blocks … For more details see HERE.
December
English Paper Piecing was the challenge for December. It was a HUGE challenge for me, but I got it done! And I’m happy with the result! See more details HERE.
This is another hot air balloon from Kelly Young’s book, “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” You can read about it HERE.
Catalogue Quilts
There were 3 quilts that were published in the Island Batik Spring/Summer 2021 Catalogue. You can access the Catalogue HERE.
Left to right: Modern Squares, Feather Chain & Flutterfly Stars.
Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
Yes, it seems like the year has gone by quickly! And, with the Covid numbers increasing and talks of future lockdowns, I’ll be hunkering down and quilting!!!
Next week, starting on Boxing Day, I will be hosting a mystery quilt. It’s a quick and easy mystery – and it will be fun! Are you going to join me?
Finally finished!
Do you remember the picture on the left? After lots of procrastination and neglect, I finally finished this hot air balloon quilt. The pattern is from Kelly Young’s book “Scrappy Improv Quilting.”
Before I taught a class, using this book, I wanted to demonstrate a few different techniques in making the slabs. There are many different ways. In this quilt, I used stripes, bargello, “twosies, foursies, eightsies …” and my own invention “random pieces in a line.” I have also use orphan blocks.
The baskets were chain pieced and made all at the same time.
Once the baskets were attached to the balloons, I played around with the layout and positioned them all slightly different … I wanted it to look like balloons were in the sky.
The fabrics were all from my Island Batik stash … bits and pieces of this and that. The background is BE34-E1 Dot Sky from the Blender’s collection. Hobbs 80/20 is used for the batting. The free motion quilting was pretty simple … clouds and meandering in the sky and vertical wavy lines on the balloons. The baskets were a grid of mish-mashed straight lines. It is bound with Island Batik’s Black solid.
The binding looks a little wonky on the bottom right, but that’s because it won’t be finished until after a special baby is born and I can put the label on it.
Design Wall
#1 SAHRR: I have my centre block done! Whoo hoo!!! And plan to work on the other rounds! The SAHRR will start on January 10. I’ll show you the centre block then!
SEW … start thinking about what you can use for your centre block. Will it be an orphan block? Will you start something new? something different? Will it be square or rectangle? It’ll be fun to see what you choose!
#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!
#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!
#4 Monthly Colour Challenge – with Patterns by Jen. Yes, I’ve pulled my fabrics for the first few months. I’m excited to show you January’s block on January 1!
Quilting:
#2 A&A’s Quilt: This quilt is under the machine at the moment!
Stash Report
The back of the balloon quilt used 2 1/2 yards of flannel – from my stash.
This will be my last stash report for 2021! By the end of the year, I will have used at least another 9 yards of fabric, but I’m not counting it until it’s finished. I will continue with my Sunday Stash report in 2022 – it keeps me honest about what I buy. And, I will often 2nd guess a fabric purchase when I think that I need to report it on my blog! (and that’s a good thing!)
Well, my husband didn’t add any fabric this year. Yes, he was with me on a few occasions when we were in a fabric store, but he didn’t pick up anything for me to buy! Well, the next trip to a fabric store could be another story!
Fabric Used this week 2.5 yards
Fabric Used this year: 104.25 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 50. 75 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 52.5 yards
Husband’s purchases: 0 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track! Unfortunately, he doesn’t sew!
Stitchin’ Time
This is my last Stitchin’ Time for 2021. The “Any Which Way” Mystery quilt is happening next week and I want to focus on that!
As for this year, I think I did pretty good … only missed 9 days in the whole year! Wow!! It does help that, aside from one 10 day trip, we didn’t go anywhere! If Kate continues this next year, I’ll be back with more Stitchin’ Time in 2022!
January – Nov – 324 / 333
Dec – 19/19
Total: 342 / 351
Percentage = 97 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
To Do
Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
I won’t be posting a To Do list next week, but I’ll be back in 2022 with updated lists!
The To Do list last week:
Get A&As quilt sandwiched. √ DONE
Finish Scrappy Improv top. √ DONE
I find it interesting that I had a blank on the list from last week!
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! HA! HA! … I started 3 new projects for the new year … I’d say I was distracted !!! Unsuccessful
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ DONE
This week’s list:
Finish A&A’s Quilt
Bind the guild Fall Mystery Quilt
Prepare the PHD in 2022 blog post.
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
I have 2 projects to finish before the end of the year. Unless something weird happens, I should be able to get them done this week! The BBQG Mystery #3 just needs the binding done and A&A’s quilt needs the quilting finished and the label and binding … doable … I hope!
Quilting Gail 