Fall 2013 Mystery Quilt

Basted and ready to go, this one sat for nearly a year before I finally figured out how I wanted to quilt it. But, I finally got it quilted and bound in December:

It is the Heather Spence Designs Fall 2013 Mystery Quilt.

The fabrics all came from stash. (Yay for stashbusting projects!) It actually was a lot of fun putting this one together.

On this one I decided I wanted the center to have the feeling of waterlilies or lily pads or somesuch to help tie it and the border together design-wise. I ended up going with this super, labor-intensive approach of using the pinwheels as the basis of a flower, and then, to emphasize it, I did microstippling in the areas between. It creates a sort of trapunto-esque effect.

So. Much. Quilting. I think I listened to two books on CD. So 20 hours or so? Yikes!

Aurifil 50/2 in Light Sand/Beige (2000) throughout the center was perfect-- the 2-ply thread works so nicely for tight quilting.

Then, in the border, I just did some watery wavy lines. I used a slightly heavier-weight thread, Mettler (40/3) in a dark brown.

I do love me a pieced back!

So I haven't put a label on it.... yet. I'm kind of on the fence with this one. I really love the quilting and the overall look of the quilt. But I don't need it and it doesn't really fit with our decor at all. So I am thinking I want to donate it, but am having a hard time letting it go.

I need to give it a wash still. Maybe then I'll decide. :)

Weekend sewing

It was a rather productive weekend! First up:

Another Noodlehead Gathered Clutch! I was not totally diggin' the contrast/strap fabric, but I had already cut it and didn't want it to go to waste. So I decided to try some fancy machine stitching on there to give it a little more oomph. I think it ended up being a really nice detail.

Having made this clutch five times now, I think it is pretty evident that I LOVE this pattern. I also have two more all cut and ready to assemble that I plan to give as gifts this Christmas along with this one.

Over the last week, I managed to get borders sewn onto three projects-- so that's three quilt tops complete! Woo! That meant it was time to start getting backings ready. This weekend, I put together one for my Heather Spence Designs Fall 2013 Mystery Quilt:

It took way longer than it probably should have. But, I successfully put it together using stash and I am actually quite happy with the result. So I guess that makes it worth the time. Now I just need to get it basted...

All about those borders...

Borders for four different projects, all cut and ready to attach:

Gotta get to work so I can get these tops finished!

On the design wall...

So after the frenzy that was Halloween costume sewing, I got a treat for me: a day to quilt! On November 1, I got to attend one of my guild's quilt-the-day-away events. Woo! I was able to complete the center of a small wall quilt (need to get pics of that one) and I (finally!) started to work on my Heather Spence Designs Fall 2013 Mystery Quilt.

That day, I was able to complete 1 of the twelve blocks. I know that doesn't doesn't sound like a lot, but I did have the 48 sections for all of the blocks complete... I just only managed to actually get four of those sewn together to create the one block. Over the course of the last week, I've managed to piece together the rest as well as add all but the final border:

Technically, this wasn't exactly a "mystery" to me, as I had seen many of the in progress pics of other mystery quilters. But, I did go with my initial planned fabrics that I chose way back when the mystery quilt fabric requirements were announced. So even though I had foreknowledge, I didn't cheat! LOL!

Now to decide on my border fabric...

September wrap-up

I am still kind of in disbelief that tomorrow is October 1. September just flew by for me! But it has been a good month. Back-to-school went very smoothly; the new schedule is finally starting to feel "normal" (as opposed to crazed); and I managed to meet my September crafty goals for Carrie P.'s Nothing but UFOs Challenge! Woo!

1. School bag for Little Bear:
   
   
   
   
   The bag was complete just in time for back-to-school (blogged).
   
   
2. Harrington & Hannah:
   
   
   
   
   Not only did I finish the top, but I managed to get it basted. Yay!!!
   
   
3. Spring Mystery Quilt:
   
   
   
   
   Completed and blogged!
   

It feels good to check things off the list. Many thanks to Carrie P. for the continued inspiration and motivation!

Spring Mystery Quilt complete!

My 2013 Spring Mystery Quilt from Heather Spence Designs is complete!

It was a fun quilt to put together, and it was good use-what-I-have project: no fabric was purchased for this quilt!

I used Aurifil 50/2 thread in dove (2600) and rusty orange (2240) for the quilting. I started with the straight diagonal lines using my walking foot. Then I stippled in the open areas of the center.

I then did the inner border in a stacked ripple and each of the cornerstones have a square-on-point outline with stippling in the center (I failed to get a good picture of that though.) The outside border is quilted in straight lines the same width apart as the ones in the center. I used Kona Navy for the binding and finished it by machine, ala Red Pepper Quilts.

I love the pieced back on this. It really works for me. I think the symmetry makes me happy.

This quilt is going to be donated to Camp Korey, one of the local charitable organizations my guild supports. I have no doubt its future will include many snuggles. :)

And, in case the thought of doing a mystery quilt intrigues you-- there is going to be another one starting soon! The Heather Spence Designs Fall 2013 Mystery is starting on October 4th. Sign up now!

Edited to add:

If you like this design, it is now available for purchase through Heather's shop. The pattern is called "Connect the Dots."

September goals

Another month, another set of goals for Carrie P.'s Nothing but UFOs Challenge!

1. School bag for Little Bear:
   
   
   
   
   It is cut and ready to be sewn. Preschool starts on Monday for Little Bear, so this project is top priority!
   
   
2. Harrington & Hannah:
   
   
   
   
   All the blocks are complete (yay!). Now it is time to put them all together, add borders, and get a backing made. It would be a bonus if I could get it basted too... we'll see.
   
   
3. Spring Mystery Quilt:
   
   
   
   
   This one needs to be basted and quilted.
   

Frankly, this month's calendar already looks insane, so I'm not sure how productive I'll be. But I am still feeling the pull of my UFOs and really want to keep progressing as much as I can while the motivation is still there. And I'm actually starting to feel like it might be time to get going on something new too, just to mix it up.

Happy Kitty Heads

One of my finishes from last month was my 2012 Fall Mystery Quilt from Heather Spence Designs. I call it "Happy Kitty Heads" (inspired by the Laurel Burch print I used).

I quilted the heck out of it using Aurifil Mako 50/2 threads to coordinate with the fabrics: dove (2600), bark (1140), and rusty orange (2240).

And my love affair with Angela Walters continues! Once again, her fabulous book, Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters, inspired my background quilting. I used her "Swirled Hook" design through all of the grey areas.

I kind of did my own thing in the orange areas and I think it works pretty well. Then I just did some straight-ish line quilting in the center kitty areas, and feathers in the outer border.

As I have been wont to do lately, I used the leftover fabrics from the front on the back as well as pieces from my stash. I swear, quilt backings are the best stash-buster ever!

Using this Moda marble on the back ended up being a great choice because it really shows off the quilting. Feathers! You can't really see them at all on the front because of the busy print (which was intentional, as I am not-so-confident of my feather quilting skills as of yet)-- but seeing them on the back is a treat since they turned out better than I had hoped.

I used one of the last scraps of the kitty head fabric with my label.

This one is for me!

A not-quite-successful challenge...

It is true. I did not manage to finish a single one of my three challenge projects. Heck, I didn't even manage to do any blogging! But you know what? I'm still feeling like a winner, because I made progress on each of the three projects I chose.

1. Fall Mystery Quilt:

It is now quilted (with some feathers, even!), I'm about 2/3 through the binding, and the label is made. Not done, but very close!

2. Bot Camp Disappearing 9-Patch:

All quilted up and ready for binding (I'm going to use that happy Kona Peacock pictured above). I've also designed the label, but am waiting for our friend's baby to be born so I can personalize it (he's due this week!).

3. Mod Mosaic Quilt:

Once I get the binding on the baby quilt, this one is next in the queue for quilting. But I consider this definite progress. Basting is half the battle, right?

Nothing finished, but a good amount of progress. And if it weren't for the challenge, there is no way I would have gotten this much accomplished. As far as I'm concerned, this challenge has definitely been a success. Thanks, Carrie P.!

Here's hopin' I have some finished quilts to share soon!

Setting goals: July

Back in January, the fabulous Carrie P. of A Passion for Applique issued a challenge: Nothing But UFOs in 2013! Now I'm definitely not that hard core, but I have been spending time this year working on my UFO situation some. So this month, I'm taking the big step and am actually participating in the challenge. Woo!

The idea is to pick three UFOs and show and tell what you need to do to get them finished (quilted, bound and done). At the end of the month, we all share our successes and if you finish at least one of your chosen UFOs, then you are entered into a drawing for fun prizes.

Here are my focus UFOs for the month:

1. Fall Mystery Quilt:
   
   
   
   
   This one has been basted and ready for quilting since April. It is time to get it done!
2. Bot Camp Disappearing 9-Patch:
   
   
   
   
   The top and back are ready and the next step is basting. This is a smaller quilt, so hopefully it will quilt up pretty quickly.
3. Mod Mosaic Quilt:
   
   
   
   
   Again, I have the top and back all set, so the next step is basting. This is a bigger one, but I have a plan in mind for quilting, so I'm hopeful I can get something accomplished with this one as well.

Here's hoping that setting the goals will get me on the path to some finishes!

Attacking UFOs!

Consumed by UFO guilt, I have spent the last week focusing on those unfinished projects. And I've been productive!

I got the borders on my Spring Mystery Quilt:

The backing has also been made and now it is ready for basting.

Still in the UFO spirit, I pulled out my guild block exchange from 2011. For that I had requested everyone make "Mod Mosaic" blocks following Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial. I ended up with 11 bright and happy blocks.

I started by framing each block with a white border. Then my husband helped me tape a footprint on the wall of the intended size of the quilt.

I placed my blocks in the footprint and then started filling in the background (forgive the blurry cell phone picture). Many thanks to Elizabeth Hartman for the tutorial on making a floating blocks quilt!

Woo! Another finished top! I also completed the backing for this, so it too is ready for basting.

Finally, I went ahead and cut 5" squares from the fabric remaining from that project.

I made 9-patches and then did some slicing and dicing.

And now I have a completed disappearing 9-patch baby quilt top! I've also finished the backing for this one, so it is also ready for basting.

Phew!

What to tackle next? More UFOs? Or maybe I should baste 'em up and quilt some of these? Or is my guilt assuaged enough that I can finally start something new? Hmmm....

Dreaming and deciding...

Having successfully completed a couple of projects recently, and also feeling wildly inspired by the diversity and creativity currently on display in Blogger's Quilt Festival, I'm feeling the itch to start something new. And the itch is strong. So yesterday I spent more than a little time in my crafty den perusing fabrics and patterns.

These are the patterns that kind of jumped out at me initially... I guess I'm leaning toward something scrappy and stash-busting? Hmmm...

But then I saw this pattern and thought of all those green fabrics I have from my Jane Stickle quilt. Oh, look... I managed to even put together a nice fabric grouping there too! How cool would this be in greens? You don't need to answer. I KNOW it would be awesome.

But then I remember the projects in process...

...like the the final clue of the Spring Mystery Quilt (pictured above) that I haven't yet completed; the Fall Mystery Quilt that I've finally got basted that needs to be quilted; the final two Harrington & Hannah blocks I have yet to prep; the Jane Stickle that awaits more hand quilting; the fabric I cut for a new dress; the next baby quilt in the queue to be planned; the boxes of projects; the pile of flimsies... you get the idea.

My husband saw me pulling out fabrics and such last night and asked what I was up to. I told him I was thinking about starting something new. He raised his eyebrows at me and suggested that I might be better off working on one of my existing projects.

UFO guilt. It is strong. It is mighty. It is... practical? reasonable? And I really ought to just finish what I started, right?

Sigh...

So I dream of quilts-to-be. As to what I will decide... we'll see.