Bonnie Hunter Mystery Retrospective

Like so many other quilters, I am looking forward to Bonnie Hunter's Mystery quilt this year. I decided to look back at the ones I have done in the past. The dates refer to the year of the beginning of the mystery.

Allietare (2015)

 My first mystery quilt, Allietare (2015), was serendipitously in my favorite red! I was apprehensive about this one--it was my first BH mystery, and I knew there would be so many small pieces. With the wonderful instructions for each step, I wound up having no trouble at all! I changed the border a bit from Bonnie's directions. This quilt is on my bed each winter.

 

 

En Provence (2016)

The next year's mystery was En Provence (2016)--I wasn't sure about the magenta star points, but I was happy with it in the end. This was a gift to my daughter.

 

 

On Ringo Lake (2017)

 On Ringo Lake (2017) was next. I called mine the "Chocolate Lovers" edition, because my browns were printed with chocolate candies and chips. I made a change in the instructions from aqua to green. It was a Christmas gift to Mom.

 

 

Good Fortune (2018)

Good Fortune began in 2018. I subbed a yellow/gold for the original orange of the mystery fabrics. This quilt lives with my sister.

Frolic (2019)

I'm STILL using leftover units from Frolic (2019)! I seriously overestimated the number of pieces I needed. The quilt now lives with my mom.

Grassy Creek (2020)

Last year's mystery was Grassy Creek (2020). I used a blue constant instead of the suggested green--it looks like a clear October sky.

 

 

Unity (2020)

 

Not exactly a mystery, but rather a quilt-a-long from Quiltville, Unity (2020) was a bonus quilt to help quilters cope with the 2020 lockdown. It is a medallion-style quilt to which rounds were added weekly.

😷😷😷😷😷😷😷

 

 

I've done a few after-the-fact mysteries as well.

 

Old Tobacco Road (2009)

I loved choosing the colors for Old Tobacco Road (2009) from an inspiration photo. The quilt was a gift to my son and his family.

Celtic Solstice (2013)

I changed the colors a bit with my version of Celtic Solstice (2013). It is made with constant fabrics in solid colors.

Orca Bay (2011)

 Orca Bay (2011) was a pattern that intimidated me, but I took it one step at a time, and I succeeded! It is made with Christmas fabrics, and it is mine. 🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄

The colors for this year's mystery will be released around Hallowe'en, and the mystery will begin the day after Thanksgiving (USA), 26 November 2021. Information will be posted on the Quiltville blog.

Happy Quilting! 😺

 

The Dream Quilt (Again!)--Quilting in Children's Literature

As I mentioned in a previous post, there is more than one children's book entitled The Dream Quilt. Today, I'm highlighting another.

Zerner, Amy and Jessie Spicer Zerner. The Dream Quilt. Tuttle, 1994.

This could be classified as a picture book for older readers. There is quite a lot of text, but the pictures form an integral part of the story rather than simply serving as illustrations. It would be a wonderful read-aloud at bedtime since it is divided into six sections each with its own story. The stories build upon one another, but they are satisfying on their own as well.

The book is about the week that Alex spends with his Aunt Rachel in her home by the sea. He is a city child, and he learns about the differences between his urban life and the rural life at his Aunt's. On the first night, Alex is worried that he won't be able to sleep in a new place. His aunt opens a sea chest that had belonged to his great-greatgrandfather, and takes out a quilt which in her words "has been all around the world. Who knows what sights it has seen . . . You'll have a wonderful sleep tonight. It's a dream quilt, you know."

 

The Dream Quilt (back cover)

 

 And he does!

The Dream Quilt (illustration)

 

The Dream Quilt (illustration)

 

The lovely collage illustrations by Amy Zerner capture the detailed, imaginative dreams of the text, and they are fascinating to examine.

This book addresses a quilt as comfort, family heritage, and a springboard for imagination.

Happy Quilting! 😺

 

A reminder--you can find my posts on Quilts in Children's Literature by clicking "Children's Literature" in the list of labels on the right-hand pane of this blog.

NOTE: I found my books used from BetterWorldBooks.com. I can highly recommend this site. Not only do they always have free shipping, but they also contribute a book to someone in need for every book you buy. I was not compensated for this recommendation--I just love doing business with them.

Time for a Baby Quilt!

 My niece has a new (big!) baby boy, so you know what I did--made a flannel baby quilt!

Baby Quilt--36" x 54"

 

The red flannel is printed with a funny assortment of animals (cows, horses, owls, foxes, giraffes, elephants, and dinosaurs--dinosaurs?!?). I think the fabric designer asked some kids what their favorite animals were, rather than sticking with a theme. 😸  I made this as a D9P with green in the center squares. I also pieced the back.

 

Baby Quilt (back and binding detail)

Welcome little one! 👶

More Donation Quilts

I use 3.5" squares as Leaders and Enders which I sew together to create donation quilts.

Donation Quilt (74" x 80")

Donation Quilt (backing and binding detail)

This one will likely be used as a donation for my department's adopted Holiday Family in December.

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

These five will be given to Abilities First, an agency that helps individuals with developmental disabilities.

Donation Quilts (62" x 74")

I use scraps and scrappy bindings for these quilts. It is fun to look back over the projects I've done that year by revisiting the leftover scraps.

I enjoy making these--it helps me feel like I'm giving every time I sit down to sew.

Happy Quilting! 😸

The Dream Quilt--Quilting in Children's Literature

 There is more than one book entitled, The Dream Quilt. After all, quilts and dreams do go together!

Ryan Celeste. The Dream Quilt. Illustrated by Mary Haverfield. Waterbrook, 1999. ISBN: 978-1578562237

 

 

 

This Christian picture book centers on the following Bible verse:

"You, O God, are strong.

And You, O Lord, are loving." (Psalm 62: 11-12)

 

Michael has nightmares. He wakes crying and his mother comforts him and tells him,"When I was little, I had scary dreams, too. Granny Rose would pray with me and cover me up with my special quilt. It made me feel so warn and safe." When Michael asks if he could use her quilt, the two of them went into the attic and found it.

That night, after Michael said his prayers and settled in bed, they played the game that Mother and Granny Rose played when she was little. She asked him to choose his favorite square on the quilt. He chose a blue one. Mother told him to pretend that he was a letter and the quilt was his envelope.

The stamp on his envelope was a kiss. A rhyme repeated through the book is "A kiss for a stamp--and quick as you can, away you go to a bright blue land!"

That night, Michael had beautiful blue dreams.

The next night he chose a yellow square, and the result was a yellow dream night.

When Granny Rose came to visit, she took the quilt home for some needed repairs. Michael was worried that without the quilt his bad dreams would come back, but his mother told him about God's promise in the rainbow, and with a prayer and her kiss, sent him to a rainbow dreamland.

Rainbow dreams

Granny Rose returned the quilt, but Michael "almost never had bad dreams again."

In this book, the quilt is a comfort and a reminder of God's love.

The Dream Quilt

The illustrations in this book are mixed media--some include collage. They are interesting to examine in detail, yet bright and simple enough to clearly depict the story. 

The text is clear and easy-to-read. The vocabulary is limited, and some word meanings can be deduced by looking at the illustrations. The recurring rhyme adds to its appeal as a read aloud book.

Happy Quilting! 😸

A reminder--you can find my posts on Quilts in Children's Literature by clicking "Children's Literature" in the list of labels on the right-hand pane of this blog.

NOTE: I found my books used from BetterWorldBooks.com. I can highly recommend this site. Not only do they always have free shipping, but they also contribute a book to someone in need for every book you buy. I was not compensated for this recommendation--I just love doing business with them.

Bits and Pieces

 

Pink and Blue bits and pieces in a 12" block

 

Brown, Blue, and Green bits and pieces in a 12" block

I'm combining leftover units and parts of units to make an orphan blocks quilt. It's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, except there is no finished picture to go by! 🤪

I'm going to try to make other sizes of blocks as well, so the top will be more varied and interesting.

Lots more fun to be had!

Happy Quilting. 😸

 

Double Disappearing Nine Patch (D9P)

 I love D9Ps, but I hadn't tried doubling the pattern until now!

Double D9P (80" x 80")

 

I had a layer cake of which I wasn't too fond, so I put it to work trying this. A double D9P isn't hard--you just do the cutting and sewing twice. Start with a nine-patch, cut it in quarters, then use those pieces for the corners in a bigger nine-patch, and cut that one in quarters. Arrange in the pattern you prefer. I have some instructions on making a standard D9P HERE.

Double D9P (Backing and binding detail)

 As I mentioned, I am not fond of the print fabrics (I'm really not a low-volume kind of quilter). I also found that starting with 5" blocks in the first nine-patch meant that the second nine-patch that I constructed used very large blocks. The result is that I wound up with more white than I wished in the final quilt.

Next time, I'm starting smaller. If I use 2" blocks to make the first nine-patch, the second iteration blocks will be 3", much smaller than the 7.5" from my first attempt. I could even, perhaps, triple the procedure to see what that would look like.

I see more experiments in my future!

Happy Quilting! 😸