Mar
18

Brown Bag Mystery Quilt – Clue 1

Posted Saturday, March 18th, 2017 in Quilting | Read More

I visited my local quilt shop, QuiltTrends and picked up my first mystery quilt clue and a new ruler. Sue was demonstrating the Creative Grids Quick Trim Ruler and showing how it can be used to make the clue. I have been wanting a ruler to do this step but I didn’t know that one existed. This ruler is used when a square is added to the corner of another square or rectangle. Rather than drawing a line on the diagonal and sewing on the line and then cutting away the excess, it can be made by lining up the ruler with the square and cutting. When it is done this way, all the leftover corners are the same size and can be used for another project. I have always disliked drawing all those lines before I can get down to the business of sewing.

I cut the first corner, sewed it and measured to make sure it was the correct size. It was! I then put a piece of colored tape on the ruler so that I could pick it up and quickly see where to line it up for the next piece. I finished sewing and pressing all 48 pieces for clue 1. Next I sewed all the leftover HSTs and pressed them too. I now have 48 extra pieces to be used for another project.

I know that I will use this new ruler often. Yes, I am a ruler junkie!

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Mar
13

The Next Episode of a Brown Bag Mystery…

Posted Monday, March 13th, 2017 in Quilting | Read More

Sunday afternoon I began the process of cutting five yards of fabric into small pieces to be sewn back together again. How they will be sewn together is the mystery!

Next Saturday I will pick up the first clue to the mystery. Sue at Quilt Trends will demo helpful rulers for making the quilt and also demonstrating how to make the first clue.

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Mar
12

Brown Bag Mystery Quilt

Posted Sunday, March 12th, 2017 in Quilting | Read More

I don’t need another project but I couldn’t help myself! This mystery sounds like fun so I bought a kit at Quilt Trends last week. The kit includes 5 one yard pieces of fabric. They are inside a brown paper bag and stapled shut so you can’t see what you are getting. There are five paint chips tied to the outside of the bag to give a hint about the fabric colors inside. I chose a bag called Pacific Harbour with dark turquoise, gray, peach (or light orange), white and light turquoise paint chips. (I was really tempted to buy a bag with shades of pink and green but the turquoise won the battle!)

Inside the bag is an information sheet with instructions for cutting and and explaining how the mystery works. Clues will be given every two weeks starting on March 18.

This is the fabric from my mystery bag. I was surprised to see that one of the fabrics in the bag is from the same line of fabric I am using in Charlotte’s quilt.  I know I will like this quilt!

I am off to my sewing room to start cutting fabric. Watch for the next episode of the Brown Bag Mystery, coming soon!

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Mar
6

Life in Columbus / A New Machine

Posted Monday, March 6th, 2017 in Quilting | Read More

Since our move to Columbus in 2014, we have been adjusting to city life.  We have settled into a routine which includes watching our oldest granddaughter two days a week.  Sometimes we take her with us to get groceries at Meijer. She shops for “peanut butter sandwiches” (but we haven’t found them on the shelves yet). The shopping trip ends with a ride on the horse named Sandy. Sometimes Sandy is out of order and that requires her to check him out before we leave the store.

She turned three years old in December and keeps us on our toes. She loves to pretend and to act out stories I tell her. She especially likes to hear Goldilocks and the Three Bears every morning while she eats her oatmeal. She also loves to have me tell her the Cinderella story as she acts it out. Her facial expressions are priceless.

For the last two weeks she has been playing with her imaginary friends, Pooh, Tigger ( he bounces!), Piglet, and Mouse. As you can tell, the first three are Winnie the Pooh characters and Mouse is from the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” book. We have to find them when she gets here in the morning and throughout the day. Sometimes Moose from “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” joins us too. She loves to have picnics with them and sets a plate for each one. Sometimes she says she is ‘exdasperdated’ (exasperated) with their antics.

I don’t have as much time for quilting as I had back home. I try to go upstairs to my sewing room for a while in the afternoon to sew when Sami isn’t here. Sometimes the weekend is my only sewing time. I have been working from my stash more than I did before the move. I also found a lot of things that I had started and am trying to finish some of them. I have made several new quilts and find I am drawn to making smaller baby and throw size quilts. My fabric choices are changing also. I am leaning toward brighter colors and more contemporary patterns. I am also trying to use up my stash and scraps. I have made Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilts each year since 2013. (It hasn’t even made a dent in my stash!)

In January, Jen and I joined a quilt guild. We each signed up for a “secret pal”. We are hoping this will help us get to know some of the quilters. I also signed up for the Bonnie Hunter workshop but am on the waiting list. I’m not wishing bad luck on anyone but I am hoping to get into the class. I have started cutting strips from my scraps so I will be prepared if I do get in.

My most recent purchase was a new sewing machine. My favorite machine is starting to have some issues and I had been looking at the new machines since last fall. In February I went to the Viking Gallery at Easton and looked at the models available that have the same features as my Quilt Designer. I found that the Sapphire models have the same features and went back with my daughter to try it out.  My old machine makes a perfect scant quarter inch seam and found that the Sapphire makes the same size seam with the foot from my old machine. All the extra feet that I had purchased for the Quilt Designer also fit the new machine. The extension table that I have won’t fit but the dealer said she would include an extension table for the Sapphire.

My first project with the new machine was to finish the hexagon quilt that I am making with Kaffe Collective Spots Kaleidoscope Hexagons from Missouri Star Quilt Company (more about that later). My next project was to use my Go! Cutter  to cut out Winding Ways blocks from the fat quarters I received in the gift exchange at Piecemakers last Christmas. I used the leftover white fabric from the hexagon quilt to cut the light fabric for Winding Ways. I am still in the process of sewing the blocks but I am getting familiar with using the Sapphire. I am LOVING it! It sews just like the old machine but much quieter, smoother and without the issues. It is also a little bigger than the Quilt Designer.

Sew, that is what has been happening here in Columbus.  Stay tuned to hear about the Brown Bag Mystery quilt that I am starting soon.

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