Wednesday, November 4, 2020

It’s November!

Hard to believe that it’s November already and mystery season is almost here!  I recently finished stitching the binding on the 2018 mystery and had hoped to get Frolic! quilted before Thanksgiving but it’s looking like that isn’t going to happen.  I need to spend some serious time on the long arm - I’ve built up quite a backlog of tops!

I managed to get away from work for an extended weekend retreat a couple of weeks ago.  It was wonderful!  I decided to work on simple piecing projects so I’d feel like I accomplished something.  First up was a T-shirt quilt for my daughter for Christmas.  I planned it on the fly and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.  I am a little worried it won’t be as soft as I had hoped.  The stabilizer I used for most of the shirts makes them feel a bit stiff.  It was one I bought over five years ago when I first planned to make this quilt.  I ran out of it as I was putting the top together and ended up purchasing something different that’s  a little softer, but I had most of the shirts prepped by then.  I hope the quilt doesn’t end up stiff as a board when it’s quilted.


I spent a little time working on houses, adding a dozen to my neighborhood.  My friend Pat was finishing up the houses for hers and had them all up on the display wall.  They were so fun to look at!  I can’t wait to see her finished quilt!


Then I started “Take it Easy” from Primitive Gatherings’ Redwork Gatherings fabric.  It went together very quickly from jelly rolls.  I managed to finish the top before heading home Monday.


It’s always exciting when Bonnie reveals the colors for the annual Quiltville Mystery.  I had planned to switch up the colors this year but changed my mind when I saw her choices.  The prominence of the grays intrigues me.  I hardly had any gray in my stash so I had to pick up a few pieces (which somehow ended up being 10+ yards, but I wanted variety!)  


I am going with lighter, brighter oranges and yellows.  My reds and greens are a fairly good match for the paint chips.  I am resisting the urge to replace the warm colors with blues and purples - I need to leap out of that box!  I’m looking forward to getting started.


The toughest part will be finding time to post updates.  It took me over a week to get this posted.  I hate it when work gets in the way of my fun!

4 comments:

Jennie in GA said...

Love your selection for Bonnie's mystery quilt. I am going to pass this one by. I still have one in the wings that I need to finish piecing from a couple of years ago. Love that red and white four patch variation. You just can't beat a red and white quilt. Those little houses are adorable and on my someday list. Lucky you, to get to actually go to a retreat. All of ours have been cancelled.

Susie H said...

I'm not sure how I missed this post but glad I found it. I love your red & white Take It Easy quilt. It's beautiful!

As for Grassy Creek, I love the colors Bonnie chose too and I certainly love your stash! I think this is going to be a pretty quilt and I'm thrilled there's string piecing involved this year!

moosecraft said...

I haven't ever participated in a Bonnnie Mystery Quilt... but, I do enjoy following along with everyone else's progress! Love those grays.... I think this is going to be a goodie!

Zoe Hanson said...

Hi thanks for sharing this