Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll progress...

I'm thoroughly enjoying this mystery. Having done two other Bonnie Hunter mysteries from her Quiltville site, I started this mystery with eyes wide open knowing that it would:

1. actually USE my stash;
2. have a lot of small pieces;
3. have some easy blocks and some 'need caffeine and music to distract me' blocks;
4. have colours together that I would never have thought of (she's brilliant!);
5. have a breaktaking outcome.

Here's where I am so far:

Step 1: done on time

Step 2: done on time
(picture shows steps 1 & 2)

Step 3: Interesting -- I was the one who didn't want to use paper as my foundation because of all the ripping and mess! So I found the Ricky Tims Stable Poly Stuff which dissolves in water. To make a long story short - I had a better time ripping off the paper of the first 10 I did that way before discovering the 50 pack of Stable Poly Stuff. We had a memorial service yesterday for my DMIL so I thought before we left I would put the 50 blocks on 'delicate' on a short cycle in the washer to self-dissolve. While it worked I wouldn't recommend it. I have to restitch 3 blocks that were stressed to the point of coming apart on one strip. Also, it looks like I put a full box of kleenex in the washing machine. There is white fluff on my clothes, white fluff left in the washer, white fluff on the laundry room floor, white fluff on my ironing board (I didn't dry them; I just ironed them wet to block them), and white fluff on my dark blue carpet in my sewing room. Moral of the story ~ follow Bonnie's instructions because she has obviously "been there, done that" and found the best way. Bonnie, you rock!! Pardon my laziness and thinking there was a better way.

Step 3 photo:

Step 4: 1 set done just to see. Love it! Now that I'm done Step 3, I will forge ahead and finish the 'easy' Step 4.

Step 5: Using triangulations and got 24 done with one sheet of paper. Love them! Hoping another lesson won't be learned in doing it my own way. So far they look awesome. Only 24+ sheets to go. Better than saying 500+ blocks to go right?

Step 6: Seems way in the future to me but I'll get there.

Guessing at the mystery: Not even close!! I love surprises and it seems Bonnie has really done it this time!

And tomorrow is Friday!  So we'll get the second to last clue.  Aren't we having just the greatest fun??

Until next post...
Mavis

And the quilt goes to....

I usually try and gift a quilt for one person/family per year at Christmas.  This year I presented this quilt to my pastor and his wife (Bruce & Lorraine).

I started it at Quilting in the Trees, my annual June retreat at Pearson College here in Victoria with the Victoria Quilters' Guild.  It was a mystery quilt created and led by Kelly English and Arlene MacKenzie.  We had great fun and the different looks with different fabric choices were amazing.  Some in the class chose to turn the centre block different ways which gave theirs an even different look yet!

My sunflower batik fabric called me loudly from Bib n Tucker Quilt Shop here in Victoria.  We were told to choose a focus fabric plus a dark (my brown), medium (my gold) and light (my off white) coordinating fabric.  All of it is batiks.  The back is the dark sunflower focus fabric.  I think I bought the whole bolt.  This is the result! 

I was going to send it to Arlene MacKenzie (On Point Quilting Studio) to long arm, but the more I looked it the more I figured it would be fun to do some custom quilting on my domestic Janome 6500.  And it just so happened that I had another quilt retreat with my satellite group in November at Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre near Cowichan, up island, so this was the perfect time away to devote the attention and time needed for this project.  I love the result and Bruce and Lorraine love it too.

It gave me great joy to create this quilt for them.  I accompanied this one with a prayer that they would feel the Father's love for them every time they snuggled under it.   I hope they are enjoying it as much as I did during the creation of it.

Now...back to my 2 Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts.  I'm behind on the steps for the Roll Roll Cotton Boll and am anxious to see how all these lovely colours will fit together into the finished quilt top.  And I'm still quilting the Carolina Christmas, last year's mystery.

AND I have 4 days off so I will have some time to play.  Yippee!!

Mavis

Pillowcase Prezzies!

It's safe for me to post these photos because I don't think that any of the recipients follow my blog.  I may be surprised but I am so excited to have finished all of these in record time (aka BEFORE Christmas) that I just had to share them:

I used the "sausage roll" method of making these so they all have finished seams.  Here's a link:  http://www.wendacoburn.com/sausagerollpillowcasefun.pdf

They were a fun and quick present to make.

Now off to finish off a quilt for my pastor and his wife for delivery later this week.  Pictures to follow!

Have a great week leading up to Christmas!

Mavis

Roll, Roll, Rolling along...

I'm forging ahead and almost keeping up with Bonnie Hunter's newest online mystery quilt entitled "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" (www.quiltville.com).

I am currently on Step 3 which is 60 string blocks measuring 8 1/2" square.  I started with photocopy paper and grew weary of that within the first 10 minutes.  There has to be a better way, I said to myself!  Then I popped down to Bib n Tucker Quilting to pick up a book I had ordered and guess what I found?  Ricky Tims Stable Poly Stuff.  That's the real name; I kid you not. I never even knew it existed.  It's like a washaway stabilizer but it doesn't have any glue in it at all.  It dissolves with the first washing of the quilt.  And it was 20% off ~ bonus!!  So it came home with me and I've been happily playing with these string blocks (my first time) and quite enjoying the process now that I know I don't have to tear the paper off.

As I was sewing I was trying to watch the latest episode on The Quilt Show but the volume of my DH's TV made it hard to hear.  He's watching Ben Hur (tis the season you know!) and the sound of the chariots definitely drowned out the sound of Ami Sims sharing about her Alzheimer Quilt initiative.  I can always go back and watch it again.

In the meantime, here's a photo of tonight's efforts so far:

My beginning ones were pretty tame.  As I saw the other ones in the quiltville yahoo group album I decided that I needed to let loose and let the dark strips in too and the uglies and the ones with some colour.  Neutral is an objective term and apparently I'm quite 'reserved'.  I'm so excited to see how this quilt turns out.  I do love a good mystery!!

Now I'm trying to keep my eyeballs open long enough to sneak a peak at Friday's clue.  It's already Friday in North Carolina so I figure Bonnie's blog should be loading Clue 4 before I go to bed tonight.  West Coast time is 9:57 p.m. which is 12:57 a.m. in North Carolina, which is ..... Friday!

Back to do a couple more before I call it a night!

Until next time,
Mavis