Cozy Things and Mystery Fabrics

 I finished another Pat Sloan Cozy Things block ... this one is all about cozy sounds... for me, that means purring... love having a happy cat on my lap.

This year's Murder Mystery quilt is all about Pirates and the Caribbean, and these are my fabrics for the mystery:

Can't wait to get started!

Getting Ready for Mystery Season

 December and January are 'mystery season' at my house.  The Bonnie Hunter mystery (this year called 'Grassy Creek') starts on Black Friday, and the Parallel Universe Mystery starts early January.  All my prep for those is done (fabrics pulled and ready to go!).  But in the meantime, I've got to keep up with all the other projects!

Cozy Things designed by Pat Sloan is about 1/2 way done... Here is my block #6, which came out this morning:

 

My first of 12 pairs of Hedgies blocks (a one year long block of the month, that just started last month):

and my test block for the month long 'block of the day' project at Pat Sloan's page.  For that one, I am making the Ripples quilt (a free pattern on the Fat Quarter Shop webpage):

Next week we will be enjoying Thanksgiving with my son and daughter in law (they live with us, so it's all in the family, but we'll still be maintaining some social distancing and safety measures.  Not sure exactly what to be thankful for this year... 2020 has been rough, but hoping things get better soon (at least by the beginning of next year.  I surely wish this one were over. 

Overwhelmed By the Holidays... and it's only November!

 I am already feeling overwhelmed by the holidays and it's really only November 12th.  We are having a very small Thanksgiving this year.  Just me and the hubs and maybe our live-in son and d-i-l.  They might actually be working... we are waiting for them to know their schedules.  I've got all my BOMs to keep up with, my BOWs (like Pat Sloan's 'Cozy Things' - see below), not to mention mystery quilts in progress (Tula Pink's City Sampler), or just starting (Bonnie Hunter's Grassy Creek), or soon to start (Parallel Universe mystery).  Add to that, I've committed to running Rise of the Runelords for my gaming friends - another time sink needing my attention... GAaaahh!

Well, here is block 5 of Cozy Things:

This block was totally fun to choose fabrics for and make.  I keep telling myself I don't need to make more samplers, which is what Pat's quilts tend to be, but I have so much fun with it, and then I donate them to folks in need - usually through one of my guilds' charities.  It's all win-win.  Sometimes I'm so jealous of my friends with grandkids and great-grandkids who have lots of family to gift quilts to as they grow, but I guess I will have to be content to find my blessings in other directions.  

Time to refocus and keep working, keep busy, and stay positive.

 

In the Wake of...

 A sleepless night online with friends last night til 3:30 am.... and fitful and unrestful sleep to follow for a few hours.  I've been up now since 6:30am... and still no answers.  So I took to my studio and made a block, trying to stay busy.

 

This is block 4 of Pat Sloan's 'Cozy Things' quilt design.  A bit wonky, but I was half asleep while sewing, so not surprising... I forgot to reset my stitch length to 2.3 (from 2.0 for applique), so there's a bit of gathering, and I didn't read the pattern thoroughly, so I made the center pinwheel and added the border strips in long strips using partial seam construction (instead of adding 2 pieces of each border to each square of the pinwheel and sewing it together as a four-patch)... I deserved what I get for this one... I really should read the isntructions! 

Shiny & New

Another shiny new project to deflect and distract my mind from the ills of the world.  We all have our own opinions and, as is my general habit, I'm not going to start talking politics here, just suffice it to say that come Nov. 3rd, things will change regardless of the outcome of this election.  I am not looking forward to the backlash either, no matter the outcome.  So... back to my escape:  quilting...

These are the first to blocks in the Hedgies block of the month.  When I first saw these blocks, I HAD to make them.. Just too cute.  Block one is the October block... Little hedgehog with his pet bat.  I still need to give the bat pupils (black french knots in the eyes), and the hedgehog gets button eyes (after quilting, what is showing here are little eyelashes that I embroidered on). 

The pieced blocks are alternate blocks that go in between the hedgie blocks. Below is the first of the pieced blocks. 

I think I'm gonna love this project!  Fun and easy applique (they come prefused and laser cut, though they DO use heat and bond which makes for a stiff quilt imo), easy piecing, too.  The hedgie block is supposed to have teal corners sewn on, but they are using a unitasking tool to make what they call 'folded corners'.  I will wait til I know the correct size of the corner pieces before I piece them on the old-fashioned way.  They call them 2" folded corner pieces, but I'm not sure if they mean 2" finished or 2" cut.  2" cut will make for a smaller corner once the blocks are sewn into the quilt.. 2" finished means I will probably have to cut 2 3/8" squares to have them finish at 2" in the quilt.  So, since the designer didn't actually know when I called her, I will wait and see, so for now, no teal corners... I'll just save the fabric for the corners til the end.  

PS if you like the project and are interested in doing one yourself, google 'Stitches of Love' and look for their 'Hedgies' quilt on their website.