FNSI and Mystery

Alright sorry I had to rush off so quickly the other day. I have decided that I am trying to do to much. I work a full time job and then quilt for others part time and sew, design, take care of hubby, cook clean (OK so not so much of that) but now I have started going back to gym. OH Lordy what have I done to myself! I ache in places that shouldn't even exist. I tried a Latin Dance class and I tell ya it hurt to breathe. I have the Zumba DVD's but that doesn't mean I try hard at it,but being with others you always try harder and yes I strutted my fat stuff right into dislocating things I didn't have. But I am better now and even thinking that I might do it again. but enough of that lets get onto things you really came to see.
Friday Night Sew In was last night. If you want to check it out go to my side bar and click on the button. I sewed on some snowmen blocks for a swap. Bless Lou Ann's heart these should have been out already but I ummm misplaced mine. I had taken them to my retreat last NOV and no one did the swap so I tossed them, no I laid them in a pile of stuff to do later. Well thinking I didn't make them for no reason I put the swap back up on the group and this time there was one taker. So waiting till the last minute I go get mine and you know for the life of me I couldn't remember what I did with them. I finally found them and only had 6 pairs made. So in reality only 6 for the swap and 6 for me to keep. So I had to get a few more done.

I am sending these off today and now I have 24 for me and I cut enough out last night for 8 more. I really have no clue yet how I am going to set these. I don't think I like them by themselves so I was staring at them and thinking maybe an evergreen in between them. but that will a project for next NOV retreat. Yes you are right no sense rushing in to things. I mean this winter is on the backside and I won't feel like snowmen  in a week or two.
So off to the tote of blocks they will go till I am feeling snowy again. That is all I managed this FNSI but really that was enough, I got up at 5am and worked all day skipped the gym but manged to stay up till 11pm. Wow is that sad. I used to stay up till the hubby got up to go to work at 1:30am. I am either getting old or this working out is wearing me out. I thought it was suppose to make you more energetic?
Next on the list of things is what have I been up to. Well let me post some pics.

This is a baby quilt made for a co worker. Monica is expecting her first, little Alexa. We had a shower for her at work and I found out the week before the shower that her colors were pink, black and white. Well last year some time I did a pink and black block swap. Of course I do these swaps with nothing in mind so the blocks sit for months, Oh lets face it years. I put the blocks on the wall and didn't like them together, just didn't look baby to me.
!Light bulb! I have the accu quilt die cutter and the heart die. Yep looks more like a baby to me. I quilted it with meandering hearts and bound it in a pink/black fabric same as the back. With time running out I wanted to bring the back to the front and bind it that way but never had. So on the phone I went to a friend, Gail, that had demo'd this at club. first she said was to cut the front and batting off even but DO NOT CUT THE BACK So I carefully fold the back away and start trimming up the front and batting. Well you know what I did don't you? Yep I cut the back so quick call back to Gail "Umm thanks but I cut the back!"  So now I had to do it the hand method that I know and this was on MON night and the shower was on TUES got the binding done and at my first break I sewed on the label and wrapped it. DONE and on time!

This is the raffle quilt for one of the clubs I am in. If you have been following for awhile you will remember the other one I put together for a raffle. Well this is for the same club just different year. We were all given fat quarter of this black print. After all the blocks were turned in I took them and had hopes of making two tops for the same year but for some reason I couldn't get the second one done on time. Looking back at this pick I see I would have moved a couple blocks around but you know what they say 'hind sight is 20/20' Not changing it now. I am in hopes of passing this off to the member that has the quilting frame and in charge of getting the hand quilters together, MON night. Whew that will be a relief to have that check mark on the done column.
Check here for the other top I made. Sorry I couldn't find the pic of it anywhere on my pc even did a search for it. Probably another one of those things I lost when the computer crashed. Things that wanna make ya go hmmmmmmmmm.

This quilt was made by Margie. Yes her name comes through here quite often. I love all the different things that she does. Some of us get stuck in a rut but I have never seen two alike from her. Even when she did three fan quilts they were all different. This one I believe is upside down in the pic. She said that she loved the center fabric so much that she couldn't cut it. The simple sqs around the outside in coordinating colors makes a striking quilt. good job Margie!!!!

This is Diane V's this is a free pattern off the Internet and at our last MAR retreat we did this pattern. I believe it is called wicked easy. I am not for sure of anything anymore so please don't quote me on it. But you could search it if you wanted the pattern. I didn't do it so I don't have the patten handy to give you any of the information. The past four retreats that I have went to I have worked on UFOs and other stuff and none of the offered projects. Well this year I want to do some of the projects. Yep there I go again starting things. Yes more UFOs.But back to Diane's quilt. Love those colors don't you? so soft and pretty. I did an edge to edge panto on this one and it turned out great. Sometime I would like to use this panto on one of mine it looked so good on here. Great job Diane can't wait to see what you do next.

So the Mystery is next first I want to say I am going to get things together sometime this weekend so all the mystery can be found in one place.  But for now here goes.Last post I told you to cut 160 2½" sqs. of color 2. Be sure to keep the left over fabric for later.  Take your bckgrd 3" sqs and color 4 or z squares and on the lighter of the two mark a dotted line on the diagonal of the wrong side. Then mark a solid sew line 1/4" on each side of the dotted line. Layer one bckgrd and one color 4 or z  right sides together with your marks on top and sew on the sew line. Do this to all 40 of your squares. This is easiest if you chain sew one side then the other. Clip apart. Cut on the center dotted line and open and press to the dark side. Trim these up to 2½" square. You will have 80 half square triangles. Lay these half sq triangles right side up with the color 4 or z to the top left and your bckgrd on the bottom right. Place a color 2 right side down on top of your half sq triangle. Stitch across the bottom.  Do this to 80 of your color 2 sqs. Put the other 80 aside for later.                                                                                                          

Mystery Time Sewing

Sewing 1

Take your bckgrd 3" sqs and color 4 or z squares and on the lighter of the two mark a dotted line on the diagonal of the wrong side. Then mark a solid sew line 1/4" on each side of the dotted line. Layer one bckgrd and one color 4 or z  right sides together with your marks on top and sew on the sew line. Do this to all 40 of your squares. This is easiest if you chain sew one side then the other. Clip apart. Cut on the center dotted line and open and press to the dark side. Trim these up to 2½" square. You will have 80 half square triangles. Lay these half sq triangles right side up with the color 4 or z to the top left and your bckgrd on the bottom right. Place a color 2 right side down on top of your half sq triangle. Stitch across the bottom.  Do this to 80 of your color 2 sqs. Put the other 80 aside for later.

Sewing 2

Take the 40 bckgrd 3" sqs you just cut and draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side. Then draw a stitch line 1/4" on each side of that line. Layer this RS (right side) together with the Color 4, 3" sqs you just cut. Stitch on your two stitch lines and cut down the center line. Press these open to the dark side and trim to 2½" You now have 80 HST.

Take on of these units and with Color 4 on bottom right lay right side up, take a Color 2, 2½" sq place right side down, stitch across unit so when opened it looks as shown here.

My bckgrd color is the grey looks blue in this pic. Color 4 is the magenta.






Now take the 4½" x 2½" color 2 rectangle and sew it to the unit you made in previous sewing.

Your unit will now look like this. Make 80 of these.

Mystery Time Cutting

No borders are given for this quilt. If youwant borders please get more yardage than it states here.


Mystery Time
Color 1: 1 1/8 yd
Color 2: 7/8 yd
Color 4: 1 1/4yd
or if using  5th color use 7/8
and 5th color is
Color Z: 3/8 yd
Bckgrd: 1 1/8 yd


Cutting 1
With color 4 or if using the 5th color Z use it. Cut 3 strips WOF (width of fabric) at 3" wide. Sub cut these strips into 40- 3" squares. Each strip should yield 14 squares, thus leaving 2 extra squares. Place the 2 extra squares in to a ziplock baggie marked extra. If using color Z cut the rest of the fabric into another 3" strip WOF, leaving a strip at 1½" *, Place both these strips into the baggie marked extra.

Take the bckgrd color and cut into 13- 3" strips WOF, thus leaving a strip at 1½" *. Take one 3" strip and the 1½" * and place in the baggie marked extra. Cut 3 of the strips into 40- 3" squares. Place the 2 extra squares with the other strips you have just cut  for a later use.

* If you do not have 1½" strip don't worry it is not critical. If you have 1" then save it and from now on when I say 1½" just use 1".

Color 2
Cut 10 Strips WOF at 2½" and sub cut these into 160 2½" sqs. Put remainder fabric in your extra baggie for later.

Cutting 2
Color 1 Cut 5 strips WOF at 2½" and  sub cut in to 80- 2½" sqs.
Color 1 Cut 10 strips WOF at 2½" and sub cut in to 80- 4½"x2½" rectangles

Color 4 Cut 3 strips WOF at 3" and sub cut these into 40- 3" sqs.
Bckgrd  Get 3 strips WOF at 3" that has been set aside and sub cut these into 40- 3" sqs.

Cutting 3
Take out the 6 of the bckgrd  3" strips and cut these into 80- 3" sqs
Color 4 Cut 6 strips WOF at 3" and sub cut these into 80- 3" sqs