A Woolie Party and more

Yesterday I enjoyed a fun day of stitching with the Woolie Women, a delightful group that meets once a month to share our love of wool appliqué and embellishment. The group was formed soon after Sue Spargo came to our guild and inspired us with her techniques and designs. I started when the group was formed and was sad to leave them when I moved. Ahh, one of the perks of moving was being able to rejoin this fun group. Anyway, yesterday was our holiday get together and we had a little pin cushion exchange. Here are some of the delightful pincushions each special and unique.

Sadly I don't remember who made each one but I made the white square one with the Sue Spargo bird. It was actually my third attempt. I made the same bird in the first one and decided to try a fancy assembly. It turned out cute but was huge, more of a pillow size so I have kept it. And my second attempt must remain hidden for now as I decided it was more suitable for a different recipient. I received the white square with the colorful embroidered squared, so cute - I love it. Thanks Judy!

I have also been working away on the Bonnie Hunter mystery and am pleased to be all caught up with the second clue. Here is my test block.

Bonnie provided instructions for 3 ways to do these double diamond blocks and I went with the third method which resulted in lots and lots of bonus HST units. These will be fun to play with later! Now that the white has been added I am much happier with my color selections. I like how the solid plays with the print fabrics and makes the colors pop. I am really having fun with this and am looking forward to part 3.

I have also been busy getting up the Christmas decorations. Last year at this time I was working on the Bonnie Hunter mystery, Celtic Solstice, and selected colors that would go with my Christmas decor. I knew it was not yet quilted but was shocked when I pulled it out to discover that I had not finished the borders. It must have been packed away unfinished during one of the house showings last year! Anyway I finally added the borders and here is the finished top. I love this quilt and really learned a lot from the mystery experience.

And here is how I am using it this season. It may not be finished but it adds lots of color on the back of a chair. And I made snowflake pillows this year too. I took felt snowflake placemats from Pier One and appliquéd them onto red fabric and then made quick pillow covers. Easy and cheap!

And another Christmas quilt over the mantel. I made this a few years ago for a guest bedroom. That was before I had the teal sofa and seeing these colors come together influenced our decision on sofa color. I am happy to be able to use it in the livingroom this year. Those silly looking stockings are a throwback to my childhood. Mine was a gift to me on my first Chrismas many, many years ago. I made one for my DH the year we became engaged and then one for each of my children for their first Christmas. I have made them for my children's spouses and my grandchildren and even for a dog or 2. They are kinda kitsch but have become a family favorite and they hang in each of our households. We still keep our youngest son's as he is still in college. I will be sad once we are down to just the two of us!

Finally I am still working away on Stonefields but I will wait til my next post to share that progress. Hope you are finding time to stitch in this busy season.

 

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Let the mystery begin!

After a lovely Thanksgiving break filled with family and food, it is back to the sewing room for the start of Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt. This is my second year doing this quilt and my SIL and I are keeping track of each other along the way. Last year I really changed up Bonnie's colors and loved the result. But this year I am sticking closer to her inspiration with only a few minor changes and I am already second guessing myself. I chose bright modern fabrics but am not sure how they are going to play in what will most probably be a traditional pattern. Not sure why this didn't really occur to be before but once I started putting things together the doubts began.

Here are all 280 of my HST units.

And the first 10 of 100 broken dish units. If you are following the Grand Illusion Mystery you might notice that I have changed the yellow for orange and it is scrappy not a constant. The only other change I am making is that my neutrals will be a constant of a solid white. Hope I like the result as much as last year but even if I don't it is fun to be part of the excitement. It isn't to late to join in, check out Bonnie Hunter's blog Quiltville Quips and Snips for all the details for the free mystery quilt.

 

 

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Sampler Magic ready for the border

I am working away on the appliqué quilt shown in the previous post and am really hoping I will have a finished top soon. But there is not much progress to show so instead here is the finished center of Sampler Magic.

Here are a few close ups of the blocks. I missed a few of them as I stupidly deleted a bunch of photos.

Now on to the pieced border. I really want to get this finished up as I have my fabrics picked for Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. Check out her Quiltville blog for the details. The fun begins the Friday after Thanksgiving and the free directions are given out once a week for 6-8 weeks. I have changed one of the colors from yellow to orange to suit my guest room decor and look forward to working with this fun group of fabrics. Great to be using fabrics from the stash though I did buy a few greens and may need some more black.

 

 

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