I had a couple of finishes this week.

First is the latest Bonnie Hunter mystery, Old Town. I changed the colors a little, but otherwise followed her instructions.

Old Town, a Bonnie Hunter mystery 78" x 78"

Old Town (back and binding detail)

I also finished a string hourglass. No pattern on this one, I just needed to use some of my many strings!

String Hourglass 60" x 85"

String Hourglass (back and binding detail)

I'm working on a couple more. Then, I hope to get back to my Sunflower One-Block Wonder.

Happy Quilting! 😸

Support for Ukraine

In 2022, Bonnie Hunter did a quilt-along for Hearts of Hope, a quilt of support for the Ukrainian people. Blue and yellow are the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Bonnie Hunter's pattern can be purchased at her shop:

https://quiltville.com/shop.html#!/Solidarity-Digital-Pattern-Duo/p/471380517

I'm feeling the need to pull out my blue and yellow fabrics to show my continued support for Ukraine. I plan to make a One-Block Wonder panel quilt from this panel:

Sunflowers are key component of Ukraine's economy, and they are considered a national symbol for the country.

Quiltmaking is my art and is the way I best express myself. You may express yourself in a different way than I; crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidering, etc. can have the same effect. We may not be able to effect change on a global scale, but we can find small ways to help manage our feelings about the world around us. 

If you would like to do this, pull out your blue and yellow fabrics/yarns/threads/etc., use any pattern, and pour your love and support into your work. I'd love to see what you choose to create, and I'll be glad to share your efforts on this blog.

Hearts of Hope--A Bonnie Hunter Design 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦

 

Hearts of Hope (55" x 68")

 

This was a sew-along pattern designed by Bonnie Hunter to show respect for the people of Ukraine. I made it in honor of my mother-in-law whose family fled the region ahead of WW2.

 

Hearts of Hope (border and binding detail)

If you have read my blog before, you know how much I love string piecing--so, you can believe that I enjoyed making this one.

Hearts of Hope (backing detail)

I used a lovely sunflower (the Ukrainian national flower) print for the back.

Hearts of Hope Pillow (18" x 18")

As usual, I had leftover blocks, so I put them together into this accent pillow. The pillow is also backed with the sunflower print.

Happy Quilting! 😺

Rhododendron Trail Finish

 Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery this year was called Rhododendron Trail.

I stayed (mostly) with Bonnie's colors--only substituting green for aqua. This is a different quilt than my usual ones; it is much lighter in color overall, but it is nice to make something out-of-the-ordinary sometimes.

Rhody Trail (92" x 100")

Rhody Trail (border and binding detail)

Rhody Trail (backing and binding detail)

A fun project--I love Mystery Quilts!

Happy Quilting. 😸

Summer Sunshine

Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this very blue quilt YELLOW!

Summer Sunshine (AKA Winter Blues designed by Bonnie Hunter)--84" x 94"

Winter Blues designed by Bonnie Hunter

 Click the photo above to buy the pattern from Bonnie's store.

When I first saw this pattern, I somehow KNEW that I had to make it in yellows. Yellow isn't my favorite color (that would be red), but it seemed just right for this.

Yellow, yellow, yellow!

My version is less scrappy than Bonnie's--I used a white-on-white swiss dot, a white-on-yellow polka dot, and a pale yellow sunshine print for the alternate blocks, and I went scrappy for the 16-patches. The border is made of scrappy string blocks (my favorite!).

My friend, Leah, did the quilting for me (Thanks so much, Leah!).

Leah took this photo that shows the quilting pattern.

Summer Sunshine (border and binding detail)

Summer Sunshine (detail)

 

I chose a sunny yellow gingham for the back and a narrow yellow stripe for the binding of this very bright quilt.

As is usual for Bonnie Hunter's writing, this was a clear and strightforward pattern that went together smoothly. It was nice to work on this cheerful quilt during the dark winter days (and the rainy spring ones!).

Happy Quilting! 😎

Grassy Creek [AKA October Picnic] is Complete!

 Every year, I enjoy creating a version of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. This year, her quilt was called Grassy Creek.

Grassy Creek [AKA October Picnic]  (98" x 98")

I used Bonnie's colors of red, orange, gold, and grey; however, I substituted blue for her green. I call this October Picnic because this was my color inspiration photo and the palette I created.

The quilt went together well, thanks to Bonnie's excellent writing of instructions. You can see some of the steps I took by clicking on the "Grassy Creek" label on the right pane of this blog.

I added a few bits of color to the grey string border to echo the colors in the quilt.

Grassy Creek [AKA October Picnic] (border detail)

I sent the top and backing to my friend, Leah, who then worked her quilting magic! I am thankful for her fine work.

I tried to capture the quilting, but it is hard to see. I altered the red backing color a bit as I manipulated shadows and highlights of the photo.

I used a grey striped binding to finish the quilt.

Grassy Creek [AKA October Picnic] (backing and binding detail)

And, of course, I had to throw in a Waldo. 😊

Waldo sighting!

I used many fun fabrics in this one--there is a lot to look at.

Some Dalmatians

 

Frogs and Snowpeople

 This quilt is heavy! A large quilt, small pieces, and string blocks make for a hefty project (another reason I was so happy that Leah quilted this--I dreaded trying to wrestle it through my DSM!). 😉

All in all, I am very happy with the outcome of this mystery quilt. Thanks for the fun, Bonnie, and I look forward to this year's mystery.

Grassy Creek [AKA October Picnic

Happy National Quilting Day! 😸

 

 

Summer Sunshine--continued

 I'm still working on my Summer Sunshine (AKA Winter Blues, designed by Bonnie Hunter).

Got the 16-patches, the alternate blocks, and the setting blocks (except the 4 corners) done. I have a Swiss dot (white w/yellow dots) on order for the sashing.

 

Happy Quilting! 😻

Summer Sunshine

 I'm starting a new project...Bonnie Hunter's Winter Blues.

Don't adjust your screen--it isn't blue!

Conventional wisdom says, "Do not use too much yellow in a quilt."

The Eclectic Abuela says, "Bah Humbug!"

Here is Bonnie's quilt:

Winter Blues designed by Bonnie Hunter

One 16-patch down . . . a gazilion more to go! You may need to wear sunglasses for this one. 😎

Happy Quilting! 😻

Grassy Creek--Part 2

 The second clue of the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, Grassy Creek, came out this week.

Grassy Creek--Clue 2

These are just a few of the units. I'm substituting blue for the green Bonnie used. The blue fabric is a tie-dye type, so I'm getting a bit of color variation in the units. I like that--it adds interest. Below is the photo I'm using for color inspiration:

More to come.  😺

A VERY Full Post

I've been sewing, but I fell behind on my photography, so hold on to your hats--lots of stuff in this post! 😲

First up are two flannel scrap quilts for donation. I wrote about this process HERE and showed my first results HERE.

48" x 62"

Lots of kids' prints

Back and binding (detail)

I have two more nearly done--they are a bit larger at 62" x 74", and they are not made with kids' prints. (I hesitate to say they are made with adult prints--that sounds a bit risque! 😮) I'll post when I finish them.


Next is a mystery quilt. I've posted quilts before made from mysteries engineered by a friend on a forum I visit. (You can see some HERE.) The instructions for this one were designed to make it scrappy, but I've been wanting to use a blue fabric I had in stash, so I went with a more limited color palette.

78" x 78"

Three fabrics (detail)

Back and binding (detail)

I had it pieced for quite a while, but I couldn't decide when I wanted a border on it or not, so the quilt sat in time-out for a bit! I finally pulled it out and finished it. I quilted with straight-line quilting.


Finally, I have finished Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt--Good Fortune. I have done several post about the steps in making this. (If you look in the "Labels" section on the right-hand side of the blog page, click on "Good Fortune," and they will appear on one page for you.)

Good Fortune 74" x 74"

Good Fortune (binding and backing detail)

Wide variety of fabrics (detail)

Even more fabrics! (detail)

A bunny, a goose, kids, peppermints, etc. (detail)

This was a fun project to piece. I substituted yellow/gold for the orange in the original instructions, but all the other colors were the same as the original. The quilting was difficult. For some reason, I kept shredding thread (I think it was the abundance of seams!), and it took a long time to complete. I'm not really happy with the quilting, but as the saying goes, "Finished is better than perfect."


I'm trying to get things finished up before Spring Break because I have a new pattern I want to try... 😏

Good Fortune Clue 4

I was so glad to have a clue involving strings this week from Bonnie Hunter's mystery Good Fortune.


I am substituting yellow/gold for the orange that Bonnie chose.

A goose and a French hen

Scarecrow, pumpkin, and Peeps!

I am enjoying this project--and I've actually been able to keep up so far! 😺

I'll be linking with Quiltville's Mystery Monday.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge--June--Yellow & May--Green

With the flooding cleanup in May, I fell behind in my photography of my RSC blocks. This month (June) is yellow and last month was green. I decided to wait to photograph and post them both at the same time.

Here is a sample of my sunny June blocks:

While yellow is not my favorite color, these make me smile. (Of course, Big Bird, ruby slippers, and a French hen help!)




Here is a sample of my May blocks:

I love all the shades of green included here. I've used a lot of green this year, so the scraps were handy:

Green hourglasses for En Provence

En Provence

Green squares and green and neutral HSTs for Twirl Around

Twirl Around

I'm getting ready to quilt the top I made for April's multicolor challenge. I'm calling it "Stringing Beads":

Stringing Beads

I am enjoying this year-long challenge. Thanks to soscrappy for hosting it.


I'm linking to ScrapHappy Saturday at soscrappy.