Twirl Around, Part 1

Bonnie Hunter's newest book, Addicted to Scraps, has several amazing quilts in it. I remember at one point, either on her blog or Quiltcam, she was working on a block called Twirl Around that I loved--it is in the new book!

You can click on the image to go to the ordering site.

This blog post gives you a look inside the book.

Here is Twirl Around:

No question in my mind, I knew what my first project from the book would be. Being me, though, you know I have to change things! Instead of pink HSTs, I'm going with green, and where Bonnie uses green, I plan to use a golden-rust (I think--still mulling it over).


First step, 7,000,000,000 HSTs. (Well maybe not quite that many!)

They still need to be trimmed, so I have my work cut out (literally) for me.


To be continued . . .

En Provence--Part 5

 This week's clue was HSTs.

I used a couple of fun fabrics in these:

Baby News Stories

Kitty Cats

I love that the mystery this year has been  in smaller steps than last year. I think more people are keeping up, and I think they are enjoying it more. Thanks to Bonnie Hunter for doing this for us.


 
My previous posts about the mystery are here: En Provence--Part 1,  En Provence--Part 2, En Provence--Part 3, and En Provence--Part 4.


I will be linking to Bonnie's Mystery Monday post.

Happy Holidays to all!

En Provence--Part 4

Another week of forward progress on Bonnie Hunter's mystery En Provence!

This week, we did purple  and neutral triangles in a square.

My previous posts about the mystery are here: En Provence--Part 1,  En Provence--Part 2, and En Provence--Part 3.


I'm linking with Bonnie's Mystery Monday post and Fiber Tuesday 91 at The Quilting Room with Mel.


I'm looking forward to next week's clue.

Christmas Carolina Chain

I made this from Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Chain pattern which, at the time, I found in her "Addicted to Scraps" column in Quiltmaker magazine. The pattern is now available in her newest book, Addicted to Scraps.

Christmas Carolina Chain 75" x 88"

I used a constant red print and a constant white print to form the chains and add some cohesiveness to the very scrappy top.

Christmas Carolina Chain (detail)

I set off the scrappy foundation-pieced border with a narrow black border.

Christmas Carolina Chain (border detail)

Black binding and a snowflake-type print for the back completes the quilt.

Christmas Carolina Chain (detail)

This is a Christmas gift for my Mom. I had her open it early, so she could use it this holiday season, instead of having to wait until next year.

Happy Holidays!

I'm linking with The Quilting Room with Mel for Fiber Tuesday 90 and Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress.

En Provence--Part 3

Another week of forward progress on Bonnie Hunter's mystery En Provence!

This week, we did purple four-patches.

This is only a few of mine--as usual, I made way too many (about 100 extra!). Many of these were cut from leftover bits and pieces from other quilts, so I wasn't able to estimate how many strips I would need--that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!


My previous posts about the mystery are here: En Provence--Part 1 and En Provence--Part 2.


I'm linking with Bonnie's Mystery Monday post.


I'm looking forward to next week's clue.

En Provence--Part 2

I had been apprehensive about the triangle-in-a-square unit that I assumed would be a part of this quilt--Bonnie had written that we would be using the Tri-Recs ruler set.


I pulled out a bunch of neutrals--they were still handy from last week--and chose my magenta (I had two contenders!).

Bonnie's instructions and videos were very clear, and I'm happy to say that these went together quite easily!

The introduction to the mystery can be found HERE
Clue 1 is HERE
Clue 2 is HERE

My previous post on this quilt is HERE 

I will be linking to Bonnie's Mystery Monday post. 

I'm looking forward to Clue 3 next week.

Four D9Ps for Donation

I made a bargain with myself--I could start Bonnie Hunter's mystery En Provence, if I made four donation quilts first.


I pulled a bunch of 5" squares from my scraps and made the same pattern in four colorways. The backs are pieced from 5" squares as well. Only one back is pictured (final photo)--the others have the same scrappy piecing. The bindings are pieced from my leftover lengths of binding from other projects.

Brown/Cream Colorway

Black/White Colorway

Blue/White Colorway

Red/White Colorway

Pieced Backing

 I'm going to try to get these washed and delivered, so they can distribute them before Christmas.

Updated to add--they have been delivered and will show up under Christmas trees later this month!

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Challenge and  Fiber Tuesday 89 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

En Provence--Part 1

I'm enjoying the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt process again this year.

I haven't posted my fabric selections yet, so here they are:

Greens, Yellows, and Two Magenta Choices

Dark Purple and Lavender, (and a little of the Green again)

I didn't photograph the neutrals--but I have lots of them! My fabrics pictured above are a bit messy--they really are scraps in most cases, and there was no neatening them up. I'll pick and choose among the fabrics pictured as we go along.



I completed the first clue. I really need someone to count for me--somehow I ended up with 55 extras!

I tried to keep them fairly quiet in shade--we have a bunch of noisy colors coming later. I was on the fence about one of the fabrics, until I read the selvage:

With a name like that--it was meant to be!

Stay tuned to Bonnie's site for more mystery fun.



I'm linking with Bonnie Hunter's En Provence Part 1 and Fiber Tuesday 88 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Trunk Full Of Quilts – 2016

 

Once again, Soma at Whims and Fancies is hosting an online trunk show. It is so much fun to look at and admire everyone's entries--be sure to visit; you will be glad you did!


Though I made many other quilts in 2016, I am proud of having completed five Bonnie Hunter quilt designs this year. Since one of them is a gift, still to be given, I can't show it, but here are the other four.

First: Last year's mystery quilt, Allietare. This was the first of Bonnie's annual mysteries that I made--it certainly won't be the last!

Allietare

Second: I made Jamestown Landing from the book, String Fling. Though Bonnie's quilt features the color blue, I went with my favorite--RED!

Jamestown Landing

Third: Old Tobacco Road was a mystery from 2009. I used the instructions under the "Free Patterns" tab on Bonnie's website to make this one.

Old Tobacco Road

And finally: I just completed Pfeffernüsse, also from String Fling.

Pfeffernüsse

Thanks for hosting the trunk show, Soma. Thanks, too, to all the participants in the show whose work is so beautiful and inspiring.

Pfeffernüsse is Pfinished!

I've made several Bonnie Hunter quilts this year: Allietare, Jamestown Landing, Carolina Chain (haven't shown that one yet; it's a secret!), Old Tobacco Road, and I've just finished Pfeffernüsse. Can you tell I'm clearing the decks for this year's mystery En Provence?

My first post about Pfeffernüsse is HERE.

This was a fun quilt to make--I love string blocks; I love pinwheels; I love multi-pattern neutrals; I love red. (Okay, I don't love making QSTs so much, but they were worth it in this case!)  This pattern can be found in Bonnie Hunter's book, String Fling.

The quilt is nearly 90" x 90"--and backed with flannel, so it was a bit of a bear to quilt on my DSM, but perseverance pays off! 

The photos aren't great--it was a VERY sunny day!

Pfeffernüsse

Pfeffernüsse (border and binding detail)

Pfeffernüsse (detail)

Pfeffernüsse (backing detail)

Pfeffernüsse (fun bread print in the bottom corner of the brown triangle!)

I'm looking forward to this year's mystery quilt to begin the day after Thanksgiving. Will I work on it exclusively? Actually, I've already started HSTs for Twirl Around from Bonnie's new book, Addicted to Scraps. *grin*  Yes, I am a quilt addict (and PROUD of it!).

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress and Fiber Tuesday 87 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

 

Mystery Completed!

I've been a bit slow the past month getting things finished, but I finally am done with this mystery quilt.


I followed a mystery on the Quilting Board forum (thanks, Judy!) to make this. Instead of putting the extra blocks on the back as I usually do, I made throw pillows with them. This will be a gift for our departmental adopted holiday family at Christmas.

It feels good to get a finish! I hope there will soon be more to come.

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 86 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Quiltmaking Withdrawal!

I've been under the weather for a couple of weeks, so I haven't done a lot of sewing.

I have been working around the edges of things, though. I have my mystery quilt top finished--now to quilt it!

 I have a couple of extra blocks which I'm going to use to make throw pillows. I plan to donate the quilt and pillows to our adopted departmental holiday family in December.



I also participated in a mystery block group. Here is my block:

I'm not sure if I will make more now, but I like the block and will use it in the future.


I've also started Bonnie Hunter's Twirl Around quilt from her new book. It will take a while--I need over 700 2" HSTs! Slow and steady...


Now that I'm feeling better, I hope to get moving on my projects--I've missed my fabric and machine!

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress and Busy Hands Quilts:Finished or Not Friday.

Tiddlywinks in Purples and Pinks

I've been working on gift quilts for my youngest nephew and nieces. The quilts are now in their hands, so I can now share my work without spoiling the surprise.


Her mom told me that my youngest niece likes pinks and purples, and I know she likes cats, so this is what I came up with.

It is made with the Tiddlywinks pattern by Roxanne Carter available free HERE. I made this one scrappy with many different fabrics.

The backing is a cat print. It love the print, but I must admit that after working with it, I am less enamoured with the sparkles! They add a nice touch, but my goodness, they are everywhere in my house now!

This is a fairly quick and easy pattern (if you aren't as challenged as I am about layout!), and I've seen it done several ways--different fabrics or different layouts. Jenny Doan did a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial with an attractive layout HERE.


This quilt is in the dryer as I write--with the sparkles that I'm sure will be left in the machine, my husband and I may be looking pretty festive for a while.


I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress Update and Fiber Tuesday 81 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Bright Stars

I've been working on gift quilts for my youngest nephew and nieces. The quilts are now in their hands, so I can now share my work without spoiling the surprise.  


I didn't have a pattern for this one--I just made it up as I went along.

Her mom told me my niece likes bright, bold colors. I think the colors stand out well against the black and white background.

I created the stars based on 4.5" squares with an 8.5" square in the center. The background squares in black and white scrappy fabrics are also 4.5" squares. (These are all unfinished measurements--in the quilt they finish .5" smaller.)

I assembled this quilt in columns (vertical) rather than rows (horizontal). This way, I could work with complete star blocks; this made it easier for me to keep things in order.



Because I wanted to draw the colors of the stars out toward the edge, I made a border of four-patches with 2.5" squares.

I went with a simple black and white backing fabric and a black binding to tie the colors in the quilt together. The quilt finished at approximately 66" x 85".

I like the way this one turned out. Sometimes, you just have to experiment!

I'm linking to Busy Hands Quilts: Finished or Not Friday and Fiber Tuesday 80 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Anvil for my Nephew

I've been working on gift quilts for my youngest nephew and nieces. The quilts are now in their hands, so I can now share my work without spoiling the surprise. 


My nephew enjoys metalworking on his forge. When I decided to make him a quilt, the traditional Anvil block seemed appropriate.

I wanted to make a bold, geometric quilt--not a fussy one. For this reason, I chose to go with only two fabrics on the top--a struggle for a scrappy quilter like me!


The basic units are 3.5" and 6.5"--this creates a 12.5" block.

The block is easy to assemble:

Sew a 3.5" HST to a 3.5" solid light square

Sew a 3.5" HST to a dark solid square

Sew the two units together. You will need 2 of these four-patch units per block.

Sew the unit to a 6.5" HST to form a half-block.

Join the half-blocks to make a complete Anvil block.

In this quilt, I used 36 blocks to create a square quilt approximately 74" x 74" when finished and bound. Even numbers of blocks for each row and column made the overall pattern seem more complete to me. Experiment with your blocks to determine if you wish to make it differently.

Other layouts are possible with this block:

This layout turns all the scrappy anvils in one direction and adds sashing between the blocks. (Click the photo to find the original site of the image.)

Again, here the anvils all run in one direction this time without sashing between the blocks. (Click the photo to find the original site of the image.)

I chose the layout I did because I like the secondary pattern that is created by the light-colored fabric.

I backed this quilt with a fabric featuring American flags.

The binding is the same blue fabric as I used on the front.

My nephew is interested in the Navy, so I thought of using backing fabric printed with semaphore flags. The problem is, I don't read semaphore, so I wouldn't know what those flags were saying.I didn't want to give him a quilt where the flags spelled out "You are a scurvy rat" or "Your granny sucks eggs"!  :)



Thanks for visiting and happy sewing.


I'm linking to Myra's Busy Hands Quilts Finished or Not Friday and Fiber Tuesday 79 at The Quilting Room with Mel.