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 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

Give Aways

I have found a couple of give aways that I like, you know maybe I shouldn't tell anyone about them  so I could have a better chance of winning. Oh well here goes, Stray Stitches is giving away some wonderful fabric. she has a great blog!
The of course you got The veggie Hunter who is giving away some beauties herself. Check em out.

Don't forget the mystery here, couple posts down is fabric requirements. Cutting is coming soon!

It seems that all my sisters have gotten on the band wagon for loosing weight. I need more motivation or something. I have a feeling next time we get together for our Sisters retreat (no not in Sisters OR, We 5 siblings get together for a weekend in MI) I am going to be the fat one!

Mystery Time and stuff

Well here it is the 15th and time for the fabric yardage for the mystery quilt. I have had the grand kids over today so I am late in getting this posted. They are both asleep now so I have a little piece n quiet to do my thing!. You know those little ones wear me out!

I did this pattern last year and I used 4 fabrics. I lost the pattern when my computer crashed so redoing it, I decided to add a 5th color. So I am going to give you the instructions for both but I want you to know that I am adding that 5th color as I go, the official instructions are for the 4 colors. So I will be writing the 5th color additions as I go. but things should be fine. Lets keep the fingers crossed. No I am not a designer, I just dabble and like to share those dabbles.

Also NO yardage is given for borders. I find that I have never liked or done borders from a mystery as stated so I just don't give any on my mysteries. With that said the overall size without borders are:
48" x 60". This is traditional pieced.

Here are the fabrics I used with the 4 way

As you can see I used a black (1) and  tonal black (2).
Then a grey (bckgrd) and magenta pink (4).
Now I am adding a lime green as a zinger (z) this
time around.
If picking for these I would use for 1 and 2 something dark and very close to the same. It doesn't have to be black. Dark browns, Navy, Dark greens .....................
Color 4 is something that will pop against your color 1 and 2.
Bckgrd color is something that shows great contrast with your other fabrics.

Yardage:
Color 1) 1 1/8 yd
Color 2)  1 yd
Bckgrd)  1 1/8 yd
Color 4)  1 1/4 yd          if using 5 colors 7/8 yd and then color z) 3/8

Now you have a couple weeks to get the fabrics and then the 1st I will post some cutting. Any questions post comment here (just in case it might be helpful to others). Thanks

Now lets see some eye candy

 This is Margie's I believe she called it Think Spring. I know some of you are ready for spring but I love the snow and cold. This is a beauty though. Margie always does so well with colors. I will say that Margie starches all her fabric after she pre washes it. So her quilts are wonderfully square. The first time the hubby saw some of the excess starch on one of her tops he thought he had done something to it. Oh he puts on the tops on the long arm. Isn't he a sweetie. Well anyway it was funny to me to see him a little worried.  I love the fabric in this top and I really enjoyed the color combinations that Margie used. Once again Miss Margie great top!

Just a pic of the back to show the quilting.













See ya later

Mystery and old bag challenges

Hi all it has been awhile! I hope every ones Holiday was just the bestest ever. We had a very Blessed time here in IN. My family in MO always has Christmas the week before, I was unable to go but I had my kids here that day so we could participate via phone. I bought a couple items off the family auction (which reminds I must get the check in the mail). My sister in KS bought the zebra quilt that I sent down.

My son who is going through a Divorce finally got a court order for visitation on the 23rd. So with very little notice he got the kids on Christmas night till this past Thursday. Well you know he had to work so guess who got the kids! Yep grandma got grandma time. I am worn out, I had such grand plans of quilting but!!!
 I would watch the kids through the day and then he would either come her or I would drive them to his house so he could spend the evenings with them and then they would sleep at my house. Yep I know why we have kids when we are young!

I wanted to start the mystery but with them here plans have changed. Starting JAN 15th I will start posting the mystery.
JAN15 fabric requirements
FEB1 Cutting
FEB 15 Sewing
MAR 1 Cutting
MAR 15 Sewing
APR 1 Cutting
APR15 Sewing
this mystery is traditional pieced and is a 2 thimble in difficulty out of 3. (ya like that terminology)

I did go through some old floppy discs last night and found some pics of quilts I thought I would share. These three tops were  bag challenges. This first one Judy sent me a bag of scraps with a bit of yardage. I had to make something out of it and this is what I came up with. This is off of a pattern called Message in a Bottle by  Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. I of course made the border different.

This top Mary sent me these diamonds or were they in the strips.Oh who knows. Mary would!  I really wanted to do something different. My thought was to make them look like they blew up  but they ended up just looking like they are falling or blowing in the wind.

This was for Teresa, she sent me the Ohio Star blocks all made up she had gotten them in a swap and then she had the 9 patch squares made up in matching fabrics. Se then sent matching squares and yardage in a coordinating print. All this made me nervous, like she already had a plan and I better figure it out. I never did hear if she like the top for her life to a sudden change and she has been off the net shortly before receiving this back. But I loved how it turned out.  Just hit me I should have done this for the mystery. Well guess maybe I should write up a pattern for this one, just in case later down the road.




Ok so that is it for now. Don't forget to check back in for the mystery.

Just wanting to say I will be back

Sorry for being AWOL, I have had my parents here and then went to take them home and came home to find that my puter was dead. Left the grandkids here on it. Wonder what they have done now. Last time the granddaughter was on it she lost my wallpaper and I was trying to add comments to some comments on one of my blog entries and it dissappeared too. Now this time the whole computer is black. So we took it to the shop and I am on the hubbies laptop. When I get the puter back or a new one I will get back to the mystery that I just couldn't find the time for with my parents here. Sorry to anyone who was waiting on it.

It's been a crazy couple weeks

The online Quilt Festival was a blast. I didn't get to everyone in that week but I tried. Lord knows I spent way to much time on here surfing and not quilting. I have had to clean my spare room up. Now mind you this was where I would throw just about anything. Of course most of it would be sewing related. But my parents who live about 750 miles away are coming to visit. I have an old house and the stairs are steep and I just didn't feel that at 85 and 80 going up and down these things would be the best for them so I had to make them a bedroom downstairs. That of course is my junk room. Which I knew for resale value of the home a down stairs bedroom would be great. So the venture started and now has ended (so to speak)

Quilt frame and boxes full of YARN! White rubber drawers full of fabric and old hankies. From this to that. Walls are not done but atleast it is cleaned up. Antique dresser with antique dresser scarves and anitque gas lite. (Perry's grandmothers)

That is one corner of the room as you walk into it from the bathroom yes this room will get to use the new bathroom and I will go back to the old tub n shower bathroom across the way so I  won't (possibly) wake the parents when I get up to go off to work.

Now this is looking into the room form the living area, before and after. Perry is trying out the bed after I made him set it all up. Please don't get the wrong impression I didn't make him carry all the boxes out. He only took the stuff down to the basement. Yarn and fabric had to stay inside and upstairs. see you have to go out side to get to the basement and that would just be to hard for me (ok out of my way) to go get something if I needed it. so I took boxes of it upstairs to the closests, and other areas that weren't being used. I wish money would have allowed for us to really do something with this room but.... still paying off the bathroom make over and until it is paid off I will have to make do with this.

The Mystery wow I have almost forgotten about it. I do have a pic of my fabrics and in the process of cleaning out the spare room I have shuffled other things around so give me a few days to get it together I know I had the instructions laying here but right now I can't seem to locate them.But here is a pic of my fabrics.

As you can see I have 4 fabrics. Solid Black then a Black with grey. Then a grey and a magenta. To make a queen size quilt pick fabrics that you have at least 3½ yds of each.  With out my directions exact measurements are just a dream. What could I have done with them??? Finding them is on the top of my list!

Mystery! Selvage, Anniversary

Well the Mystery is ironed out and I think I will start the 1st of JUN posting it here. This is a traditional pieced that is simple enough for a beginner but yet interesting enough to keep the advanced quilter intrigued.

So JUN 1 I will post fabrics requirements and then the first of the month there after I will post steps. I will leave the steps here on the blog for a couple of months only.

Well the selvage wall hanging  is growing. I have decided to use all the different colors of poly cotton blends that I have and do a set of four of these blocks and then just see what this turns out to be. I think it will be a beauty, but sometimes what I think I see is not what it turns out to be at all. BUT with just this small sampling I think I am going to like it. I have found (of course there may be more hiding) 5 other different colors and then some colors have slightly different shades and I haven't decided if I want to use them or just stick with the one shade. I guess I will take it one set of 4 at a time.

It was my anniversary this past weekend! Perry sent me these gorgeous roses at work. I counted them and there was 9, I thought how odd, we have been married 10 years. but then I decided I couldn't fault him I mean he did remember without any prompting from me. In fact he reminded me. When I got home from work I left them downstairs and went up to the family room to see him and thanked him for the roses and casually asked him how many years we had been married. He stated 10 so I just had to ask why then 9 roses. It seems the florist shorted him one rose. The receipt was for 10 so they brought me one more.   Yep I got a good one!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got the last one of the year done

Here is one of my quilts. I taught a mystery at a retreat and this was it. This is one block and just one way of setting it. By twisting and turning the block you get other settings. I will post another one as I get it done. I plan to give this one out for a baby quilt. Who to not sure.

I hope everyones Christmas was bright and cheerie! We had a great time here. The grandkids came over on Christmas eve and we opened presents then. It is always so nice to see the kids with there honest faces and expressions. When Savananh opened the baby doll you would have thought it was her first baby doll ever. She shook with excitement. Devon loved his camo jacket and cried when he saw it. Kyler was just excited about all the remote cars he got and we spent the evening dodging the cars as he sped them past. Christmas day was very quiet with just the step son and father in law over. We had the left overs which was still a splendid meal in its self. Now it is time for piecing and trying to get all those small projects caught up before they are due out in the mail for swaps I joined. Today is football!! My beloved KC chiefs are on TV here and I get to see them play. They maybe a loosing team but they are still my team and will have them on while I piece away the day. So now off to the machine