Mystery Quilts?

Do you like making mystery quilts? 

I don't often make mystery quilts because I like to know what the quilt looks like before I put in all the time. However, I do like quilt alongs because of the community they create around doing the same projects. 

I recently joined Cheryl over at Meadow Mist on her new 

Mosaic Mystery Quilt Along. 

The first step was to pull fabrics. I wanted needed to use fabric from my stash so here is what I pulled. 

I'm still undecided on whether to use the dark gray or the pewter for B. I also have not pulled the border fabric. 

Step 2 comes out August 1st. 

Go over to the FB group or to Meadow Mist Designs to see what others are doing!

My first summer finish!

I finally can say that I have a finish this summer. I usually expect to have more time to quilt during the summer months as I am out of school but this year we have been BUSY with vacation and FAMILY! All good things!

I first started cutting out and sewing my medallion quilt in January 2019.

In February, I had the top finished and in June, I finally got it sandwiched before we left for the PNW. So now it is July and I got the quilt DONE! 

Here's is a peek at the planning that this quilt required. After drawing out the pattern on graph paper, I numbered each row. I then counted (and recounted) the number of HST of each color combination needed in each row. 

There are 276 HST in the quilt!

I started quilting in the ditch around each star with gray thread. After they were done, I continued the pattern around the ball of stars in white thread, 1" apart. 

When I finished straight line quilting, I wanted to add some FMQ in the stars. I drew up this pattern using a piece of glass and a dry erase marker. 

I didn't add the inner circles.

The backing is pieced from the Kona pink and gray used in the medallion and a pink and gray floral.  

 I'm calling this quilt 'Great Ball of Stars'. 

It finishes at 60.5" square.

 I'm linking up to Finished or Not Friday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Friday Foto Fun and Favorite Finish Monthly Link Up. 

Updates and a new block!

My youngest daughter's visit ended yesterday. We had a great time together! During her visit, she wanted to learn how to sew garments. She sent me some pictures of a couple of items she wanted to make. Although I haven't sewn many garments in recent memory

(with the exception of some diaper covers for my grandson), 

garments are what I made for many years before quilting. I searched for some patterns that I thought she would like and we settled on and ordered 2 patterns from Wiksten. They arrived on the day she arrived. We headed to JoAnn's for some garment fabrics. There we found fabric for her top and my coat. We cut her top out together and started sewing. She learned quickly.
The next day, we headed to Vogue Fabric (a big fabric warehouse/retail store close by). We spent quite a bit of time looking through many bolts of fabrics. We narrowed our choices and headed home. She got fabric for her jacket 

(and a bit more) and I got the lining fabric for my coat and another short jacket. 

We had successful days of sewing and she went home with sewing knowledge! 

On the left is her inspiration and the right is the one we made.

To add the quilting, we needed to changed the pattern to add a lining and we also slightly changed the sleeves.

I choose to make the oversized long coat. I will add some hand quilting.

My daughter wanted the short jacket and choose to use the same fabric (a light peach linen) for the main fabric and the lining. 

Left is her inspiration, right is her finished project!

Yay, for successful sewing projects!

On to quilting news!

I finished another block for the Quiet Play Pattern Club!

Another text block which I love. Isn't it cute!

Here are the 6 that I have finished so far.

I will be back soon with my next finish! 

I'm so excited to finally have a finish this summer!

A Long Absence

With all the best intentions, I did not expect to be gone from blogging for so long. After school was out, I was excited for summer and time for quilting. I did do some sewing but I also embarked on trying out some natural dyeing. Before I knew it, my hubby and I were headed to the PNW for 10 days. We had a wonderful time hiking in the wilderness of the North Cascade Mountains. 

It is beautiful in the mountains with lush greens and many wild flowers.

After we got home, we had 3 days to get ready for our grandson and his parents to come for a week. We were very excited as we had not seen him in person (Face Time is wonderful!) for a while. 

What an incredible visit we had over the week of July 4th! Our grandson is growing so fast! He is in the stage where new discoveries are happening daily. He is a very curious baby boy!

He loves the water and already takes swimming lessons. 

(with his Morfar and daddy)

We took a trip to the zoo! 

(with his mommy and daddy)

(with his mama!)

Happy boy!

(with me ~ Mormor)

Now I have a few days before our youngest daughter comes home for 5 days. I really needed to get some of the monthly blocks challenge blocks done before I fell too far behind. 

For the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, July's color is pink. Here are my blocks.

Waterfront Starburst

Reverse Star Block 

I'm linking up to Scrap Happy Saturday over at So Scrappy.

I also was able to complete 2 blocks for the Covered in Love Charity. Kat of Kat and Cat Quilts took off May & June to catch up, but the July/August blocks are Red, White and Blue stars. 

These blocks are 12" finished. 

Here are some pictures of the quilt I gifted to this newly married couple on their wedding day. 

Purple Passion

And here is the graduate with her T-Shirt quilt! All smiles!

One last picture because I can't help myself. I just love this little smiley face!

Hope you're enjoying your summer!

Have You Joined the Club?

I had to share my newest blocks for the Quiet Play Pattern Club! This pattern club is the brainchild of Kristy over at Quiet Play. She loves rainbows and paper piecing. Every month she releases 3 blocks to club members that are, of coarse: paper pieced and rainbows. 

One word block, one picture block and a bonus block!

I have fallen a bit behind due to my schedule and other obligations but I love making these cute blocks. The May blocks are 2 of my favorites. 

(yes, there is a 3rd one but I haven't finished it yet)

So without further adieu...

The bee picture block

The word block!

Here, here, here are some of my previous blocks.

Go check out the club here!

A finish and some slow progress

After a very busy end of the school year, I finished the T-shirt quilt that I was commissioned! The top was finished in the beginning of May but then it was on hold for a couple of reasons: I needed to complete the charity quilt for the Hands2Help project that I committed to making, I was waiting on the fabric order for the back and binding, and school was hopping at the end of the year so I was working almost every day!

They chose a grid style quilt. Gabby likes aqua blues so I used those colors for the sashings and border. 

The backing is an aqua batik.

Finished and delivered in time for her graduation party!

Then I realized, it was June which meant a new color of the month. I headed over to So Scrappy to find that dark blue will be the color play for June!

Here is Waterfront Starburst in dark blue with a low volume in blue. 

Here are the 6 blocks so far for the 2019 challenge!

And my Reverse Star block.

And all 6 together! 

Little by little I'll catch up on my monthly blocks!

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday at So Scrappy.

In the meantime, I was determined to do a little bit of hand dyeing of fabrics. I started with some avocado pits. Would you guess they turn your fabrics pink? 

Avocado pits and skins. 

The avocado bath.

The apron I dyed with the avocado bath. 

The pink yardage is a bit lighter.

I have tried citrus peels but didn't get much color. It turned a very pale yellow. 

I have learned that natural dyeing is a lot of trial and error. 

I'll try a bit more but we will see if it is worth the time.

Now I need to catch up on my Quiet Play Pattern Club blocks!
Linking up to Can I get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

Some more catching up

I finally got my 2nd block for May's RSC done! Here is my Reverse Star block done up in Orange.

I'll be linking up to Scrap Happy Saturday over at So Scrappy.

 I also was able to complete my April blocks for the Quiet Play Pattern Club. April's word block was Joy! I used a turquoise color for the background and some Kona oranges for the hexagons. 

The other blocks included this cute rainbow sewing machine and the bunny!

I'm using Kona cotton solids for these blocks.

Isn't this so cute! I think I could like a rainbow machine! It would make me smile!

And how cute is this bunny?

Three more blocks to add to the collection. I'm excited to see how this will all come together!

Now to get to the May block!