Really the mystery continues, even after the reveal!

Bonnie Hunter's 2019 Mystery Quilt "Frolic"...

I am so enamored with it all!!

I am so happy I gave-in to the urge to join in on this fantastic quilting adventure this year.

I did resist. I mean, I already have many projects to continue. The release was the day after Thanksgiving, like it is every year, which just happened to be two days after we moved into our new house.  I really didn't have time or room to start another project.

Curiosity got the better of me.  My quilting friend Judy's enthusiasm was contagious! And I had a quick look at Bonnie Hunter's blog Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!

A quick click on the "Frolic Mystery" tab had me well on my way down the rabbit hole.

The second sentence started with "Texas Wildflowers" and I was completely hooked.

Also, I was setting up my sewing room and was able to pull from my stash as I was taking it out of the boxes to put on the shelves. So convenient!!

I was making my way through the clues slowly but surely. I didn't mind being so far behind those that had started right at the release. I actually liked the lack of pressure to complete the clue before the next one posted. Until clue #4...

it seemed to take F.O.R.EVERRrr...

I think clue #8 was posted when I finally finished #4.

Then clue #5 was short and sweet. And I started #6...

...just in time for clue #9 - "The Reveal" post!!

I read the posting and everything came around full circle!

The whole mystery was so clever!

I am in awe of Ms. Bonnie Hunter.

I am amazed at how much effort she put into giving us this mystery (free for a limited time, I think I read she will be taking it down and making it into a digital download for purchase on Feb 15. But don't wait until the last minute if you want it free!! Go to her blog - Quiltville's Quips & Snips and look for the Frolic Mystery tab!)

 I have been sewing since my feet could reach the pedal from the chair.

I took my first quilting class in 1990.  That's 30 years of quilting!

I have always taken a pattern and converted it to techniques I know work for me.

This time, I followed the instructions, word for word.

I think for the first time EVER, ALL my seams matched up!

I didn't have to ease-in anywhere.

Seams nested where they were supposed to.

That's 64 pieces in this block and they all lined up perfectly!!

 I love my second block even better than the first!

The colors are not captured very well with my phone camera. They are more vibrant than I am seeing on my computer.

I can't wait to see how they all turn out. Each one a little different because I went as scrappy as I could.

really I didn't do too bad. I made it all the way to clue #6 out of 9! 

The reveal was perfect timing for me...

I am more of a whole block maker than a make all the pieces first then make the blocks kind of piecer. 

The next block is laid out on the design board, ready for piecing. I have company visiting this weekend. I'll have to be sure to sneak to my room here and there, whenever possible, to stitch a seam or two.

I can barely stand it. Now the mystery is "what will the next block look like?!"

I want to see this one put together and the next one laid out!

I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!!!

music to my ears

Here's a gentle reminder to clean your machine...

But before you have to clean, learn your machine.  

Listen to it while you're stitching.

Become familiar with the sound of the needle passing through the fabric.

Take note of how the feed dogs move the fabric. Feel it.

Listen to the song your machine sings.

My machine hums, the needle passing thru the fabric is like a melody.

I am the conductor. I signal the downbeat by dropping the presser foot.

My foot taps the beat/tempo on the power pedal.

The song is the colorful chain of pieces sewn together falling behind my machine.

All combined it's sweet soothing music to my soul....

... until I start hearing a "cluck, cluck, cluck..."

it's really "ka-clunk, ka-clunk, ka-clunk..."

This is after I had been ignoring that the seams have started to be slightly off.  The difference is enough to mess up the perfect 2.5" HSTs I've been stitching for weeks! Err to the wrong side. Meaning it's making a bigger seam. Resulting in a half square triangle that's too small, so not even a quick trim can fix it!

I had also been ignoring that the stitching line was feeling thicker than usual.  I tried swapping to a finer thread. Still the stitching was chunky.

A thought echoed in my brain, "It's suggested to clean your machine with every bobbin change."

oh my! I think I had reloaded the bobbin 3 or 4 times since the last good cleaning!

Yep, this chunk of lint was from underneath the bobbin case!

It wasn't a chunk like that. It was a thin layer across the bottom and up the sides of the bobbin case holder. But it was enough to throw the entire performance off.

My machine does not require oiling. I checked the manual (once again) to make sure this is correct.

I finished cleaning, swiping the brush behind and around the bobbin case holder. I dusted out the feed dogs, replaced the bobbin case, and put everything back together.

Once again, I started stitching,

the dropped presser foot signaled the downbeat...

"hummmm..."

the music is so sweet.

It's my symphony! 🎵♪♩
My machine and I could be composing a masterpiece!! 😉😁

Finally! Clue #4 is completed!

Yesterday I had wanted to get clue #4 of the Bonnie Hunter mystery completed.

Instead however, my Sweets had a different project for us to work on.

When we moved into this house, a few pieces of furniture were left behind by the contractor.

Sweets decided she wanted this console for her bedroom, but only if she was allowed to paint it.

And that's exactly what we did. We went to Lowe's for the paint. The paint guy there suggested an enamel paint for the satin finish. We love it! It's rolls on so smoothly! I am 100% satisfied and am tempted to find more furniture to paint up!

Three coats of paint completely covered the previous color. But you can still tell the direction of the grain. I find that so amazing. (I haven't painted furniture in many many years.) LOL I am stoked by how easy this has been!

In this picture, she's still on the first coat.

Painting the detailed lattice was the biggest effort. That was the only part I helped her with.

Yesterday was two coats, Today was the third, Tomorrow we'll put the mirrors back into the doors and move it upstairs into her room.  Maybe I'll get a snap shot of the finished project.

While painting took all day, I did return back to my sewing room after dinner and got the rest of the HSTs all stitched up.  I had to stop at that point. The pressing and clipping of dog-ears would have to wait for another day.

Today, Bonnie posted Frolic's part 9 (the reveal) She also reminded us that all the clues will be removed on Feb 15th. So if you want the pattern while it's free, you better go get it!! Frolic Mystery

.... I was still working on #4! (I also just realized she's been calling them "parts" not "clues".  Same, same, I say 😋)

Tonight, as I write this blog update, I am happy to say....

Clue #4 did not break me!

It's FINALLY completed!!

... with each set in its own bag as suggested! Yay me!! 😆

I think the reveal came at perfect timing for me.

The whole thing about a mystery quilt is that you don't know how the pieces are going to fit together in the end. It's hoping that you picked good colors that will blend just right. Precise piecing is a must because you don't want to chance cutting points off. 

Of course, I've been reading the clues as they've been posted. The biggest hint I saw was cutting the fabrics in sets, keeping colors together, and still I was no where near to "solving" the mystery with each clue.

As I've been working along and reading ahead, I am struck with how ingenious this mystery is. What effort must have been put into it. I bow to Ms. Bonnie Hunter. "Well done!!" 

Then I saw the reveal. I saw what it's all leading up to and I am blown away!

I saw the reveal, and I am compelled to continue.

I saw the reveal, and I want my Frolic quilt completely finished so I can say, "Yes, I made that!"

I am well into the cutting of Clue #5.

Raining Seahorses...with all the angles covered

I was back at it today.

Clue #4 is still on the agenda.

and remains on the agenda.

I'm talking about a clue from Bonnie Hunter's 2019 mystery quilt.  You can have a look on her blog Quiltville's Quips & Snips!! under the "Frolic Mystery" tab.
Two things I noticed as I pieced today.
First is that aqua is one of the colors that Bonnie describes as "April skies!"
I got a huge tickle that my skies are going to be raining Seahorses! 

Second. Bonnie Hunter takes great effort to explain how to get your own personal 1/4" seam. Which starts with the cutting, continues with the stitching, then measuring, and how to correct if necessary
If you have been struggling with your pieces not sewing up into the correct size then I encourage you to have a look at clue #1.  If you follow all her steps, you will understand how each step plays it's own important part in perfect piecing!

The stitching is where I was chuckling at myself again.  Along with the precise cutting, I have my quarter inch foot helping to line up the edge of my pieces.
But as if that's not enough, I also have a piece of scotch tape on my machine with a thin permanent marker line on the edge to line up the corner.

Hahaha, I've got all the angles covered! 

a couple of finishes

My Sweetling and I went to Mississippi for the weekend.  Her high-school has a tradition of inviting the previous year's seniors back for a Senior Tribute event.  Her event fell on the second Saturday of the month, which is also the Saturday that the Possum Town Quilters guild meets. It was a fantastic happenstance! I was looking forward to seeing some of my quilting buddies.

... and then the meeting was cancelled due to weather alerts for flash floods and tornadoes...😭

My quilting friend Judy hosted us for the two nights we were there.  Driving all day Friday and leaving early on Sunday morning meant we were really only there for Saturday. It was a very short visit.

Judy is an accomplished quilter. I wrote about one of her achievements in my blog post Mountain Quiltfest 2019. Judy's Bonnie Hunter quilts were presented as a special exhibition!
Spending this time with her now was inspiring, regenerating, and uplifting.  Sometimes seeing how someone else does things gives us permission to try something different. I know that's a vague statement, I'll get more specific if I go forth with the idea.
But for now, I am feeling a renewed determination!

And my first finish for 2020 was completed at Judy's house!

Butterfly Whimsy (I may rename at a later date.)

19" x 32"

made for the 2020 Mountain Quiltfest Guild Challenge.

PTQ chose a butterfly theme.

Go to my blog update Butterflies!! to see the start of this project.

I stitched and stitched and stitched every spare minute I had on Saturday. I hand turned the binding, attached the hanging sleeve, and put a (temporary) label. The last thread was clipped at 11:30 p.m. I just barely got it done!

I added a little bit of black embroidery down the left inner border seam. 

It's very subtle but it seemed to help balance the piece.

oh yes! looking at the close up of Butterfly Whimsy reminded me of the quilting!

I had so much fun getting reacquainted with the "George." (before our trip to MS.)

And I was proud of myself for being brave enough to free motion quilt butterflies!

I think they're rather sweet myself.

I had forgotten to turn off the desk light when I finished quilting.

This was a comforting sight when I walked back into the room...

"George" patiently waits until next time.

Now we are back home and today I went to the Quilts of Valor Sit and Sew group in Carrollton, TX. They meet on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 10 - 4 at the The Old Craft Store in Carrollton, TX. 

I consider this my second finish this year even though it's just the quilt top.  The top will be passed to a long arm quilter. It may or may not come back to me to get bound.

I started this top on November 12, 2019 (Quilts of Valor group in Carrollton, TX)

It feels good to have contributed to this amazing organization. I plan to continue with this group.

The next presentation of quilts to veterans may be in March. I'll keep you updated when I hear more.

Gosh! Two finishes in January! While it's not a "great accomplishment" I'd say that's a good start considering all things going on around here!

Actually, there's still 2 more weeks of January to go! How about that?!?

Butterflies!!

I believe yesterday's blog update, Feeling Frugal, expresses that I am enjoying participating in the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. I've been working on clue #4 for a while. Longer than I anticipated. Yesterday I finally fell into a groove and was whipping through the pieces.  In the previous update, I claimed Frolic to be my main project right now...

.... so what is this?

My quilt guild in Columbus, MS, the Possum Town Quilters, decided that the theme for Pigeon Forge's 2020 Mountain Quiltfest Guild Challenge will be Butterflies.
Inspiration for this has been long in coming.
I had been on an embroidery kick while I was getting the house ready for the move. Embroidery is an easy pick up and put down needle activity.  It can also be an easy take along project.
Soon after arriving in Texas I found this embroidery book...

There's a sort of folk art charm that I couldn't resist.
And I stitched up just a few of the designs for one of the projects.
But that was as far as it went until today.

I have the opportunity to visit PTQ this weekend. So if I can possibly have this quilt done by Friday, I can hand deliver it. I really do think I work best with deadlines.

I wish I took more pictures of my process. There were a few trial and errors before finding the "yes!"
I thought I had an idea of what to do. But when I put the fabrics out, the bright busy fabrics I purchased for this project left me feeling "blah." It was too busy for the embroidery patches.

But I was not going to give up those sweet embroideries!
I simplified the fabrics. I wanted the patches to shine.
The sage-y green fabric is required.  I didn't like it right up against the denim.

I wasn't really sure if it was going to work.

So practically with fingers crossed, the stitching started...

The black framing made the embroidery pop. I loved it!

of course, my pictures don't show the pop 😜

I love having different tools and rulers. This 6.5" ruler was the perfect size for trimming all the way around. And it made it easier to see the wonky placement.

I got a bit of a giggle because today the butterfly quilt became the main project and the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt Frolic became the leader and ender.  It's so satisfying to be continuing on that project as well.

I had the blue stripe fabric out for the mystery quilt and found out it adds just a bit of excitement as a mock binding around the patches. I'll stitch-in-the-ditch to attach the patches to the sage-y green background and the mock binding will have a bit of a 3D effect.

That's as far as it got today. I'm trying to keep it simple as I only have two more days to get it done in time for hand delivery.

Time for some sleep. I'll update again tomorrow!

Feeling Frugal!

Just a quick update.

I am still working on Clue #4 of Bonnie Hunter's 2019 mystery quilt Frolic.

If you are at all interested, the clues are free while the mystery is being revealed.  On her blog, Ms. Hunter says, "All clues will be removed on February 1st as Frolic will become a digital pattern download for purchase in the Quiltville Store." Her blog is called Quiltville's Quips & Snips!! and until February you can find the mystery in the tab titled Frolic Mystery!

Today I stayed home and cut clue #4 pieces.

When I took a break for lunch today, I had half of the required sets for clue #4.

It's taking me a little extra longer because I'm trying to use up smaller pieces of fabric.

I have figured out that if I can cut two strips from my fabric, they have to be at least 9.25" long...

or if I can cut 3 strips, 7.5" long is enough IF I piece together that last quarter square triangle.

I also had these rectangles that were too short for the quarter square triangles.

I pieced them together to make a long strip and then cut the pieces as per the instructions!

I don't know about you, but I find these pieces perfectly precious!

Now this quilt is truly "scrappy!"

And I'm feeling very happily frugal 😉

Just a few more sets to cut tomorrow and then I'll start piecing the half square triangles!

To Everything there is a Season.

I work on several projects at the same time.  

I have been blaming my attention span and kind of getting down on myself for not having more finished projects. 

However, as I'm unpacking can see some sense to why I have so many projects. The song "Turn, Turn, Turn. (To Everything There is a Season)" starts playing in my head..

I like to keep my hands busy all the time. I want to be productive and have something tangible to show for my time. Since life happens outside of my sewing room, I have projects that do not require the sewing machine.

I always have a project ready to take along on road trips.  I'm not able to hand piece or quilt in the car. There's too much bumping around for me to get consistent even stitches to my satisfaction. So I switch out my tiny sewing needle for something a bit bigger.

At the moment my car project is knitting.  I blogged about this baby afghan when I started it back in July 2019 The end justifies the means...? I've only been working on it here and there, but I'm going to have to give it more attention because baby will be here in February!!

I also have a project for when we're sitting in the living room watching t.v.

I was working on a rug before the move (started in July 2018! Rag rugs... scraps... new-techniques??

Ha! started in 2018?!?  with as much t.v. we've watched I should have had at least two of these made up by now!

At the time I stopped working on this rug, I probably had a more pressing project that had a deadline. The reason I didn't go back to this project was probably more of an unconscious decision. As I unpacked this from the box I was grateful that I hadn't gone further.

See how much it's bowling?

When I was working on it I was not aware this was happening.

When forced flat there is definitely something wrong going on...

The outside rounds had a tighter tension that caused the bowling. It could have been due to life stress at the time or caused by working on the floor and holding the edge up as I worked. Whatever the reason, I knew I couldn't/wouldn't continue the progress with it so obviously wrong.

I unstitched many rounds until it was lying perfectly flat again and started restitching.

That is a lot of fabric twine to restitch.

This is the progress as of today.  There's still a bit of twine to catch up to where it was before.

But at least it's lying flat!!

I also have hand piecing projects to take to Sit and Sews. My son's Double Wedding Ring is the project I take. 

So, let's see... I guess the Bonnie Hunter 2019 mystery is my main project right now. 

The Starflower and the bonus triangle 9-patch are near at hand for "leader/ender" sewing.

Knitting for road trips.

Rug making for while watching t.v.

A hand pieced Double Wedding Ring for Sit and Sews.

There are many more projects, but presently these are the ones I'm working on most. And they are a good examples of why the song comes to mind...

"To Everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under Heaven."

And a New Year starts.

And now it is the year 2020!

Happy New Year to you!

I don't have much to report on the quilting side. Today, I did manage to cut more pieces for clue #3 on Bonnie Hunter's 2019 mystery quilt Frolic. But I didn't sew any of the pieces together. 

I am a little sad about that. Every New Year Day, I try to do those things that I want to be doing for the rest of the year, just in case there's something to that old superstition.

But anyway, having more pieces cut will make it easier to chain piece tomorrow.

Keeping my blog updated is another thing I want to continue through the new year.
(This update won't be posted until the 2nd, but at least I started composing on the 1st!)

Because I need something to talk about, I guess I will admit that on the side I have started another top.

For years, I've been wanting to make a top with the Orange Peel/leaf shape. 

Lucky for me, one of the first books I unpacked was Petal Play

All the projects in this book look great for scrap stash busting.
At the moment, the Starflower Quilt appealed to me most.

It is more of a controlled scrappy because the background is one color and the petal shapes are one color, but the star points are different.

I have cut out all the background.

I am committed to this project.

I will cut the star points as I go.

Because the points are assemble in the flip and stitch flying geese method, it creates those extra triangles that scrap quilters like me just can't throw away.
So I stitch those "bonus" triangles as well before trimming and decided to stitch together a bonus 9-patch block.

Though the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt is the priority project right now,
this Starflower Quilt will be my "leader and ender" project (a term coined by Bonnie Hunter.)

I giggle because I took a picture to show you I make mistakes and how the seam ripper is at the ready. ( I actually have three seam rippers, just in case one gets misplaced.)

Just a few stitches had to be taken out.

And all is well again 😄

Happy New Year!!