Blue & Green Mystery Solved and Finished

This was number 1 on my list of goals for the 2nd Quarter Finish A-Long 2016. You can find my list here.


Silly Goose Quilts offered this as a mystery quilt in September of 2015. You can visit her here to make one of your own. It requires lots of piecing but I am drawn to these types of quilts and hope you are too. It is always fun to mix colors. The border idea was my own. I had some leftovers (as usual) and played around to find something I liked. Sometimes borders can be the most fun!


This project finished at 88" x 88" (that is 352 total inches). It is composed of 1,629 pieces and used up 8 1/4 yards of backing fabric, and 7 1/2 yards of various blues, greens, and creams. A grand total of 15 3/4 yards of stash busted!


The colors in this quilt remind me of tropical waters. Twenty years ago I would have never dreamed of using blue and green in a quilt. Aren't we happy there are no rules today! 


The quilt pattern I chose from my long arm quilter was "Water Waves" which worked perfectly.




And the backing was pieced with fabrics from my stash that I have been trying to clear out. It is a bit more interesting than a solid backing. Do you agree? 

Those are teal blue and lime greens. I had to take an indoor shot since it is presently raining outside. 



Beginnings of this quilt are shown. All those pieces waiting for assembly. 

Now it is time to link to She Can Quilt's 2016 Finish A Long blog site. You can join us too as the linky party will be coming up next week for the next quarter. 

Number 2 - Second Quarter Finish A Long 2016

This was number 2 on my list of goals for the 2nd Quarter Finish A-Long 2016. You can find my list here.  

One of my oldest (and dearest) projects is finally finished and is laying nicely on our gate-leg table in the living room. I wonder what took me so long! Well, I have plenty of excuses but now I can Snoopy dance because she is done!

 

Each of these 9 blocks finished at 5 1/2". I drafted and cut the templates which were then hand-pieced. I learned so much in this class. It was definitely a game changer! If you can break it down and draw it, you can do anything you dream of.

I love birds so I had to add a few. And the flowers just evolved as I cut out pieces of leftover fabrics I set aside with this unfinished project. 

Hand quilting on this in the evenings was so relaxing. It was hard to know when to quit. 

Now I am happy to link this finish on 2016 Finish A Long on She Can Quilt. Join with us if you have not already done so.

2016 Winter Finishes

Besides working on a couple of quilt tops and getting them ready for the long-arm quilter, I have managed a couple of genuine finishes so far! I love the winter months sewing in the "studio".

2006 Thimbleberries' Vintage Stitches
I am so glad this is finished. It has been a good lesson on why we should not let some projects age for too long because I am not sure I even like this quilt anymore. It is completed though and I still have 12 more blocks to set into another quilt. (I chose not to make it reversible.) Maybe the next one will excite me. I am waiting for inspiration. 

Vintage Stitches back

This quilt is quite large and because of the dark colors it looks really warm, doesn't it? We will probably sleep under it a couple of times before giving it away. And if I snapped this picture earlier I would have caught my Christmas Cactus in full bloom! 

The backing fabric came with the member's kit which is a hexagon patchwork that is a "cheater cloth". I omitted this fabric on the front of the quilt as you can see, but had plenty for the backing.


Hexagon Tablerunner
There is a lot of hand quilting in this little runner. I did not add binding but folded the top and backing together and invisibly stitched them together for clean edges. She looks nice on the counter next to the Fiestaware I received from my daughter last Christmas. I'll have to keep a close eye on this. She may want to "borrow" it for her own. (grin)

No binding technique

Happy stitching! The days are getting longer!

2nd Quarter Goals for 2016

I'm loving the challenge of setting these finishing goals! These lists keep us motivated and focused, don't they? You too can link up your list with this global community of quilters at the 2016 Finish-a-long. There will be a random draw for prizes sponsored by some generous sponsors at the end of each quarter with no penalty for not finishing something on your list. How is that for incentive?

  

 

 

 

1- Blue & Green Quilt.

I really do not have any other name for this quilt. It is a completed mystery quilt from Silly Goose Quilts that I started late last fall. I created the borders with the leftovers and she finished at 91"x91". She is presently at the long-arm quilters so I will be able to get the binding and label on before the close of this next quarter. I also pieced the backing from a few larger pieces I had stashed away that were blue and green. I am so anxious for this to come home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 - Hand Pieced Mini Quilt.

This is one of my oldest of older UFOs. This was the result of a hand piecing class I took in 1993 (?). The delay in finishing this was because I could not make up my mind on what kind of border to add. I love applique and I think the borders have added a little charm. So she is finally sandwiched and I am presently hand quilting it in the evenings. The entire quilt I can say is hand sewn. Now I can finally add the leftover fabrics to my stash (minus the binding of course). She will finish at approximately 28"x28".

 

 

 

 

 

3 - Trail Mix Quilt

This project has really been fun! I love little blocks and this has plenty! All blocks are completed (see stack here) and are now ready to be assembled and sewn together in rows. I tested a temporary placement as pictured. It even has blocks from my number 1 - Blue & Green Quilt still on the design wall. With only the blocks finished, there is a lot of sewing left to do!

 

 

 

 

4 - Grand Illusion 2014

This is an uncompleted mystery quilt project from Bonnie Hunter. I do not know if this pattern is still available on her site but she has many others if you want to check her out. 

Just look at all those pieces!

  I only have 13 out of 25 blocks completed, units for sashings are ready and the border pieces are only cut out so there is a lot yet to do on this but it is possible to get her done before the end of June. At least the top anyway. This will be the fourth Bonnie Hunter quilt I have made. 

I skipped last year's mystery with her because this one was not finished but it is so beautiful! I have the directions downloaded with this on my wish list.

 

 

 

 

 

5 - Woolen Comforter

This top is finally completed after many years in storage. I found a nice flannel from Moda and am using an 80% cotton, 20% polyester Quilter's Dream batting (because it is lightweight). She is all ready to sandwich together, and will be tied and not quilted. I hope to tackle this soon as it will be a warm quilt to work on. 

 

I will be very very happy to complete these five before the end of this quarter. They are probably more than I can accomplish but it is good to aim high, right?

 

I'm looking forward to seeing your second quarter goals for the 2016 Finish-A-Long. If you haven't joined the challenge yet you can link up here. Happy stitching!