Square Deal, a Mediterranean Mystery

Last September/October (2018), I went on an excursion to London, followed by a two week Mediterranean cruise on RCCL.  It was, of course, a quilting cruise, so on sea days, we sewed.  The teachers on the cruise taught a few different things, but on the way TO Italy, I worked on my own projects (the wonky bear claws and some applique blocks I wanted to surround with pieced borders with applique over them - I did all the piecing on the cruise).

On the way back to Southampton, I actually took the class Linda Ballard was teaching and made this quilt: 

It was offered as a mystery quilt, with blocks based on a traditional block which I don't know the name of.  I have decided to call thw quilt 'Square Deal'.. I changed the cornerstones (they were suppoed to be white square corners, I made them turquiose square in a square corners to match the color of the narrow lines in the sashing.  I haven't decided on binding yet... black, white or turquoise... I'll have to decide soon.  Linda is speaking at my guild in September and I'd like to have this labelled and bound to show while she's there.  Since I am going on retreat next week in Big Bear, taking this along to get the binding on would be perfect timing. 

Mystery Fabrics are Cut

Well, I waffled, then caved and changed one of my mystery fabrics before cutting commenced.  Here are the final 4, all cut and ready for the first month clue in September:

And my latest Harry Potter blocks, courtesy of a couple of ladies on the Facebook group who came up with the original design, then this modification of the original:

I have 2 more HP blocks cut (Luna in solids and Luna in Grunge), ready to sew... the 8th block in the Out of this World mystery is also cut and ready to sew.  I am itching to get to them, but I am gritting my teeth and not touching them because I'm going on a retreat next week and I want to have plenty to do while I'm there.

So far, my retreat to-do list is:  bind one quilt, sew the mystery blocks, sew the HP blocks, quilt  two wall-hangings, and maybe I'll add some more bindings into the mix, also, my month 10 Dear Daughter blocks if that arrives in time to prep them before the retreat (I am NOT messing with fusible and cutting out letters and such on retreat). I think that's enough to keep me busy for 4 1/2 days... at least I hope so! 

A Finish and More HP...

I put the last stitches in the binding on my Wonky Bear Paws quilt... I'm so glad I got this one done, though I don't have a recipient for it yet, I'm sure that will come in time... (At least I hope so!)

STILL working on the endless quilt, the Harry Potter quilt-a-long... Got another two blocks done, same pattern, one for each of the two quilts I'm making... Introducing: (drumroll, please)  potions!:

Still waiting for this week's block to be debuted.  I have a feeling, there just isn't going to be one this week at all, and tomorrow we'll just have a new one (the designer was on vacation, returned last Saturday and said 'two days', but two days has stretched now into a week, and the next block is due to be out tomorrow, so I suspect that is when we will get it, which is fine... a little breathing space is welcome.

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed by UFOs of late, so anything that isn't calling me to finish by a time limit is a welcome respite.  I love sewing and quilting, but I am cautious of getting too far behind on too many things and feeling pressured - it will take the joy out of what I love to do. 

I Love a Good Mystery

I DO love a good mystery (quilt)... I'm not so good with mystery books... I have a tendency to read a chapter, then flip to the end to find out whodunwhat to whom and how... I've been doing that since my Nancy Drew days back in my single digit and preteen years.  Drove my friends nuts!  Anyway... I'm starting a new mystery quilt next month called the Meadow Mist Mosaic Mystery Quilt.  Initially I chose a bunch of cool fabrics and then rethought my choices... I need a break from black backgrounds and the fabrics I chose called for black... so I changed to a dark teal Dimples fabric as my background, with batiks as the A, B, and C fabrics... The instructions simply said that the A, B and Cs will all touch the background, but never each other... so this is my final choice:

The batiks all have some turquoise/teal in them, but each has such a different texture from the others and from the background that they should each stand on their own... I hope it all works... I think the lightest of them will probably be my border as well, though that may change in time when I see the quilt taking shape. (I know I posted most of this in a previous post, but I had to repost to get the right image for a linkup party).

If you're interested in seeing more or even want to get involved with the mystery, here's a link to the Meadow Mist Mosaic Mystery Quilt.

Come play along!

The Quilt that Never Ends...

This Harry Potter quilt never seems to find an end....  More blocks keep getting released... the 'extras'.  So far, we've had the 4 house crests and the Deathly Hallows... and still to come:, another (different) Dobby block (which I probably won't make since I already made one for each quilt), platform 9 3/4, who knows what else might still come... wouldn't at all mind if there were a Draco Malfoy block or a Luna Lovegood block too.  But oh, what to do with them all... I already have enough blocks to make 2 king sized quilts WITH pillow shams. 

Here are the latest blocks I've made for the quilt:

I also 'fixed' the June block for 'Out of This World' which I initially made with a mistake (the star block), and made the July block in the series (the one with the moons):

And I haven't been shirking on my Dear Daughter quilt either.... the latest (month 8 and 9, left and right below).  I am really loving this quilt and can't wait to finish it and present it to my daughter-in-law for her birthday in February. 

I'll be starting a mystery quilt in August, called the Mosaic Mystery Quilt by Meadow Mist Designs.  We only need 4 fabrics for the quilt - background (the dark teal), and three others... I chose a dimpled teal for my background and batiks for the A, B, and C fabrics... Hope they all play well together... The instructions say all colors will touch the background, but never touch each other, so the varied textures and colors should work okay... I hope!  Ah, the uncertainties of making a mystery quilt!

I do love a good mystery quilt... which is weird, because I'm not a fan of mystery books... I read one chapter, get bored, and then skip to the end to find out who did what to whom... then I go back and skim the rest of the book to see what happened to get to that point.  I've always read mysteries that way, starting with Nancy Drew as a child... more weirdness on my part, I guess.  I don't read anything else like that...

While I'm working on all the above, I've got other projects getting left behind in the dust... sigh.  I really do need to get to work on them and finish some UFOs.  But I'm having so much fun with the new Harry Potter game, and still playing Pokemon Go, and they take some time out of every day...  I need some time management skills!  Help!

Rolling Waves

I saw this quilt, called Rolling Waves, on Facebook.... and fell in love with the movement and flow of it.  It took some work to get the pattern (none of the links worked, but I finally got in contact with the magazine it was in and someone kind and helpful in their customer service department sent me a copy of the pattern via email.  Can't be thankful enough...

I was a bit apprehensive of my color choices as there wasn't as much contrast as there was in the pattern, but went with my first choice anyway, as I fell in love with these digital prints by Jason Yenter, one of my fave fabric designers.  One is from his line called Enchanted Garden, the other from the line Diaphanous, and while I'm not generally a fan of floral fabrics, it wasn't an 'in your face' kind of floral, so I thought it would work, and I loved the colors (though I discovered later, that it came in other color waves I liked even better... ah, hindsight)... Anyway, here is the finished quilt top (sans borders):

the finished quilt center is 74'x74".  I'd like to be able to use this on my king sized bed, so it needs about 10-12" on each side in the way of borders... but just 12" of background all the way around would be boring, not to mention unpleasant to look at... and I don't want to make more blocks on two sides, as that might actually make it TOO big.  What to do???  I'm thinking maybe a 3" or so strip of background, followed by a narrow (1-2" strip of the blue, followed by a 6-7" strip of more background, mitered of course... barely better than just all background, but I'm kind of not feeling inspired by anything else just yet...

Ideas are welcome!  Thanks...

I Can See Clearly Now...

Yes.  Yes I can... there is no rain to be gone, but I can still see more clearly than I've been able to in months... Why did I wait so long to see the optician?  And to make it even better, my new glasses are purple... (to match my hair, of course).

So I did get started piecing Dobby, but had to put off finishing him for several days as I had trouble finding the right shade for his eyes... Finally figured out what green I was going to use and finished up putting him together.  So glad I added him to the mix.

Of course, I had to make two, one for each of my Harry Potter quilts... and each one got one odd sock and one striped sock.  Dobby #1 got a dirty grey sock for his odd sock, and Dobby #2 got a yellow polka dot sock as his odd one.

I decided to put Dumbledore on the same level as Hogwarts, which opens up a spot for Dobby among the blocks above... and I will have room for the four house crests somewhere too I hope.... if not, I'll have to rethink my layout.  Maybe only one quilt will be for a king bed and the other won't need the house crests.

I finished sewing the teacups for the exchange, but since it's not 'due' til October, I've set it aside for now.

I received my BOM packet for Dear Daughter #8 today, so I've got one block cut and 1/2 pieced (all the HSTs and flip and clip corners are done and trimmed, just need to be pressed now, and put together.  (of course I have to make 4 of those blocks, but I'm chaining them, so when one is done, all are done).  There are two more blocks in the packet yet to deal with, including some applique, but I will get to them.

Busy week coming up.  Tomorrow morning, I have a guild meeting.  Weds. morning, I have my sewing group to go to, and hopefully finish up a binding I'm working on.  Maybe start sewing another one.  Wednesday night, my other guild meets and I don't want to miss this meeting - Our speaker does applique (all types - machine and hand), so I'm interested in what she has to say.  Wish she was doing a workshop, but this guild rarely books workshops as they always have to be cancelled - no one ever signs up for them - not enough to make them viable financially at least.   Thursday morning, I'm meeting a friend to trade pokemon.  Then, Thursday night is sewing again with my minigroup... Somewhere in there, I've got to get to my quilter and drop off a back for a quilt I forgot a back for.  Hopefully, I can take the quilt back on Weds. between sewing and guild, as I don't want to drive all the way home and back again.  (it's about a 1/2 hour drive each way, so home to sewing, back home, then back for the meeting (same place as sewing), then back home again doesn't make a lot of sense).  Friday, I finally get a respite, and, at least so far, I have nothing planned.

Nothing planned?  Sounds heavenly...