En Provence # 8

 I am going to show you where I am up to on the En Provence quilt.I am a little disappointed that I am not further along but there hasn't been a lot of sewing time lately.

So here we go, after stitching the first couple of blocks together I decide 6 blocks would be enough for this quilt. Knowing sewing time has been and will be short until April I think a smaller quilt will hopefully help me get closer to a finish than a large version. I counted out the blocks I had already made and set about making the balance needed.

The sashing strips will look a bit like this once I sew them together.

The plan is to finish the last two blocks then start on the sashing.
Until Next Time
Keep Stitching
Cynthia

En Provence Post #7

I had a little sewing time to work on my En Provence quilt. The last two clues still needed to be made. So I made some of each because I wanted to sew one block together. What I have so far. There is some trimming still to do.

Look my first block made up. Now to work out how many blocks I can make from what I have made.

My sashing strips will look like this. I ran out of time to sew one together.

Now I have to decide how many blocks I want to make. I have  enough to make four blocks so far. I am thinking 9 or 12 blocks.
Until Next Time
Keep Stitching
Cynthia

En Provence Post #5

We had a little head start this week with Bonnie releasing the clue early for us Aussies so we had the clue on Friday. Guess what we have to make this week. Just a few half square triangle units.  They seem to pop up in all sorts of projects. After just finishing piecing a quilt full of these unit I am wondering how many HST units would I make in a year? I might have to count them up in 2017 and see how many I make in a year.

Still have a few more to complete and trimming to do.

Still we haven't touched our green or yellow fabrics I was sure this was the week for them. Never mind it will happen when Bonnie wants it to happen. Enjoy and check out the progress others are making on their En Provence.  

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

En Provence Post #3

I am still working on clue #2 but clue #3 has been released, so what do I do. Start clue #3 while still working on clue #2. Nearly done with clue #2.

Now onto Clue #3 and out comes the purples.
This is my first batch of purple four patch blocks. There will be more to come but sewing time has been limited this week. Maybe next week once I am on holidays.

Once again I have linked up with Quiltville to share my post so click on this link to see how everyone else is going.  A big thank you to Bonnie Hunter for creating this project for us.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

En Provence Post #2

We are up to Clue #2 already. After last week easy  four patch clue Clue #2 needs a little more care  in getting it right. Then again anything that has a left and a right in a block requires me to take extra care.
Now since the clue was released I haven't had any sewing time, so while watched the rerun of Quilt cam tonight as I missed it live due to having to go to work😢 I cut a set to make a test block and check my sizing.

All good so I started cutting a bunch more ready for me to sew Tuesday night when I get in from work if I'm not too tired.

Maybe I might even get a few more Four patch blocks done.
Now there is a whole bunch of us sewing along with Bonnie's mystery quilt check out their progress here.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

En Provence Post #1

It is that time of the year where we have our fabrics selected and we are all ready to start Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. This year it is En Provence and here is my fabric selection for this year mystery. I am working with my batik stash this year. I haven't work enough this year with batiks so it is time to pull some out.

Clue 1 was released after Thanksgiving and we get to start with our neutrals and make lots of neutral four patches.

Some strip cutting. They are all different lengths but I will pair the strip with similar lengths together.

I am having a go at spinning my seams too. So far so good.

Here is the first batch of neutral four patch blocks. Not sure at this stage how many I will be making as the plan is to make mine a little smaller than Bonnie's. It will all depend on the layout. So I will be making fewer block each step and after the reveal I will make the balance of what I need.

Now it is not too late to join in. Here is the link to Bonnie's post on this year's mystery, where you can find the details to get you started. http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/p/en-provence-mystery.html
Until Next Time
Keep Stitching
Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt #8

I have reached my final goal of 20 blocks, no more will be added as there is too much work on other projects that needs to be done.

Now that was what I thought at the beginning of my day as I planned to sew my set in triangles blocks. Boy did I get it wrong. What happened I can't say, beside the fact I should be working on something else. I should know better, it is not the first time I have set blocks on point. So what could I do?
As far as I could see there was two options for me. First option is make a skinny quilt, which meant I had enough blocks but it just didn't look right. The second option is to make more blocks and really it was the only option I could live with.

 What got me was I had cut enough for the set in triangles for the larger layout without realising I had stuffed the amount of blocks I needed up. So it was meant to be this size. So now I need to make 5 more blocks to complete this layout. Then I will be able to sew the blocks into rows.
                                          Until Next Time
                                          Keep Stitching
                                          Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt # 7

There has been lots of finished tops and quilts posted. Where do these quilters find the time to sewing so much. I wish I could report more progress here but it just hasn't been possible with returning to work last week and the other stuff that need to be done. I did manage to get 4 blocks sewn together by Friday. I really wanted to see what the blocks were going to look like together.

Hopefully I will get some blocks made. There is some UFO projects that need my attention. I want to get a couple of projects pinned and quilted before February Project Uninterrupted session on the 6th February. One is my Grand Illusion quilt. It will be a challenge quilting it due to the size but I am ready to do it.
I wrote this a week ago. Too much to do and not enough sewing or blogging time. I sat down at the machine on Friday night for some sewing.
By the time I was ready to published this post I have finished  6 more blocks. The plan was 16 blocks for my Allietare quilt but I ready like this pattern and I now find myself considering an extra row.

Until next time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt #6

The big Reveal happened this week just as I caught up on the last clue. So I was a happy quilter knowing I had some of all the clues to make up the blocks. The last clue made up.

I have been seeing so many beautiful versions of this pattern and I have loved them all. I was very happy with this reveal and if I can get it all together nicely it could be my favourite Bonnie Hunter pattern for a while until the next one I make.
So I did lay out the two blocks so I could see what they would look like and hopefully I can find some time to sew them together before the link up but it wasn't possible with Project Uninterrupted starting and work on the Cynthia's Ark Christmas Reproduction Sampler. Time was disappearing fast over the last week. At least you can get some idea of what my blocks look like.

I was never going to get my top completed before today anyway as I think I will need to go shopping for the black outer border as I don't think the large piece of black in the project box is big enough. As I am typing this I justed looked up at the fabric shelf and spotted a bolt of black that has a little red and blue design over it. I can't believe I hadn't spotted it before, maybe it was destine for the outer border and not the blocks as it is a larger piece. So I will check it out later.
Here is the link so you can have a look at all the beautiful Allietare quilts in all the different colourways and I can't believe how many have completed their tops already. Hopefully I can finish mine sooner than later this time.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt #5

We are up to Clue #5 and I am still a week behind. I know last week I was going to try and catch up but somehow it didn't happen. So with one more week off from my day job I am hoping to catch up this week. Here is Clue #4 there is still a few more sets to go but they are cut ready for sewing.

I have linked this post to Bonnie's linky party so pop over and have a look at what others are up to.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-5.html
I love a good mystery and I can't wait for the big reveal.
Until Next Time
Keep Stitching
Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt #4.

We are up to Clue #4 which means I am working on Clue #3  They are Four Patch blocks but I still have some of Clue #2 to finish as well. Now that I have finished my day job for the year I have a few days planned to finish a few projects and catch up on some and this is one of them. With the weather in the mid 40's  (100 + for my US readers) here in South Australia it has been hard to find the motivation to do much of anything. I did spend a couple of hours on the sewing machine to piece the backing for a table runner and finish sewing a matching quilt top after I had to unpick the last seam because I had pinned it wrong big time. With this happening I was able to complete my Four Patch blocks so I now just need to complete the last of Clue #2 and I can start on Clue #4 which looks interesting.

I am using blue instead of the gold. Not a big fan of yellows/gold, so there is very little of that colour in my stash. That is the only colour I changed.  I promised myself to working from my stash and the only fabric I bought was the yardage for the grey as it was the constant fabric.

 Hopefully I will be caught up by the time Bonnie releases Clue #5.
Here is the link to see where everyone else is up to.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/sewing-parties-are-best-kind-of-parties.html

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt #3

We are already up to clue #3 in Bonnie Hunter's Allietare Mystery Quilt.  Unfortunately I am still a clue behind most people but I hope to do two clues over my Christmas break and catch up with the main group. Clue # 3 is four patch blocks so they should easily get completed but not before clue #4 is released I am thinking but I should get some cutting done so I am ready for sewing.
So here is what I did get done on Clue 2.

At the moment I'm not sure exactly how many I will need as I am doing a smaller version of the quilt. So I will make some of each clue and once we get the big reveal I will them top up my blocks to the numbers I need. A few more set by my machine ready to sew when I get 10 minutes.

Here is the link back to Bonnie's post so you can take a look at some more versions of this project.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-3.html

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt #2

I can say I have started this year mystery. I went with the light grey but don't worry the darker grey has found a project already. I cut the HST units during the week knowing I was going to have a sewing session on the weekend. I have been doing this lately trying to maximum my sewing time. It is easy to spend 10-15 minutes cutting when I find a little time so when I can get to the sewing machine I am sewing rather than cutting.

 The beauty of these HST unit was I could use them as leaders and enders while finishing a few loose end off on another project. I was able to finish piecing my Random Ohio Star blocks together then add the borders to it and before I knew it I had my HST unit made and a quilt top ready for quilting.

Now I just need to start cutting Clue 2 blocks. Hopefully I can cut and sew some of these unit as there won't be any sewing sessions over the coming weekend.
If you want to join us on the Allietare mystery, there is a link on the right hand side of my blog.
Plus if you want to see where everyone is up to here is link for the Linky party

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Allietare Mystery Quilt # 1

It is that time of the year when we all dive in to Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt over at Quiltville.  This will be my third time for me and I am still looking for my happy medium when it come to being scrappy. The first time I selected one fabric for each colour in Celtic Solstice in my colour selection which I love. Last year I went totally scrappy for Grand Illusion and I wasn't as happy with the results. Nothing really wrong with it but a little too busy. So this year I am aiming for something in the middle.
I am changing only one of the colours and that is the gold to blue. Why you ask? Mainly because I have plenty of blue in my stash compared to golds. Plus I'm not a huge fan of gold and yellows. The other colours are staying but I am going to use less variety in each colour group. There will be some variety as you can see but I hadn't taken any out of my scrap bin of small pieces.

 I love the grey I have selected but looking at the picture here I am wondering if it is  little too dark. I wonder if I remove some of the darker blues would it make a difference or maybe I need to look for a lighter grey. So no cutting for me yet due to the grey dilemma. May have a look at what others have selected as their grey.

On the left is a possible second choice for the grey. The original choice is on the right. Tell me which one you like better and help me decide which one to use so I can get started. There is an Allietare button in the right hand side toolbar if you want to join us.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Random Ohio Star Quilt #1

I am a member of the 2015  Australian Mystery Quilting group on Facebook where we have been sewing our Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion Mystery quilts. As the mystery has been reveal and a number of quilts have been completed (not mine but nearly there) a group of us started a new project, Bonnie Hunter pattern Random Ohio Stars. My aim is to use up more of the leftovers from  My Farmer's Wife project and my Wishes project. Both were large quilts and are still waiting on quilting. I must do something about that. In the mean time here are the first  three 12' blocks I have completed.

There was a fourth block but I twisted one of my hourglass blocks the wrong way and it needs to be unpicked then sewn back together.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Idaho Square Dance Block

I found this block in Quiltmaker magazine May/June issue in Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps article and it uses lots of 1 1/2 inch fabric scraps. Now I have been using lots of my larger scraps leaving me lot of scraps under 2 inch in size. So after reading the Addicted to Scraps article I thought I would look at what there was in that size in the scrap box. I started with my little cutting table scrap box which was full and needed to be sorted and this is what I ended up with. It's a good start.

 I started the cutting process to see what I got out of this lot before I attack the main scrap box which has more pieces that are larger. So far I am halfway through the 2 piles. Some just didn't quite make it as they were a fraction smaller than 1 1/2 inches so they were returned to the scrap box for another time and some went into the bin as they were way too small. Why did I keep some pieces that were barely 1/2 inch square in size (one piece was barely a 1/4 ' wide, so what that it was 4' long. What was I thinking!) The good thing the cutting table bin is now only half full.
I stopped cutting so I could sew a test block. Any excuse to sew, hey. Here it is and it measures the 7 inches stated in the Bonnie's column so I am happy. I don't know how many blocks I will make. We will see where I end up.

 I think I will use the little four patches as Leaders and Enders to build them up and my centre squares are all going to be this hexagon print which is my favourite at the moment.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt #8

I have made my decision to stop at 16 blocks for my Grand Illusion quilt and that is still going to be a good sized quilt once the borders are added. So this week I have been working on joining the rows together and make more of blocks for the sashing strips to join the rows together. 

This project has been a real challenge for me as I struggle with doing scrappy. I think I still prefer my controlled scrappy where I only use 2-3 different fabrics per colour but that doesn't mean I don't like total scrappy as I do appreciate the work and design effects of a total scrappy quilt but I like to have some control fabrics in my scrappy quilts. So here is the blocks and sashing all joined together and now I am ready for the borders. 

Why do I find the mistake after I sew all the blocks together?  Grrr. Oh well the quilt is really scrappy maybe no one will see it. Only we will know I made it.

At least I am well ahead this year on the mystery quilt this year. Last year  I was at this stage in June. So I am very happy on that point. Now on to the borders.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt # 7

Where am I up to on our Grand Illusion mystery quilt? I had six blocks completed last week and I have continued making blocks until I ran out of my clue 1 and 2 units. So I ended up with ten blocks completed.

I know in my picture there is only nine blocks but there was an accident. You may notice I lay my blocks out on the floor to check the layout and take photos. I also like to leave them on the floor.

This little fellow is Robbie my robot vacuum. He sweeps my floor once a week and it only takes me a minute or two to empty him so I have more time for sewing. Well the other night we had a thunder storm during dinner. When the power return I went out to the sewing room to get an hour of cutting and sewing done. There was Robbie in the middle of the room with one of my Grand Illusion blocks stuck in him. He does turn off if he gets stuck luckily. Obviously when the power goes off and returns it set him to do a run rather than at the schedule time he was set for. No more leaving my stuff on the floor just in case. I don't want to ruin something. When I removed my block from Robbie, it was dusty so I had to wash it. I am just drying it and I will add it to the others.
I need to make more of clue 1 and 2 blocks so I can continue. Clue 2 was a problem last time so this time I thought I would use the other method suggested to make this block, just using the squares and rectangles rather than using the template and Easy angle ruler. My block were a little out of shape dealing with the triangles.

So I cut and made one unit up to check it and I was lot happier doing it this way. In my quest to test different methods to make the same block, the second method was the easier method for me so I will continue with that method for the rest of clue 2.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt Reveal # 6

                                                             
With the new year breaking Bonnie released the big reveal on our mystery quilt Grand Illusion. Now we all know how those blocks we have been making go together. I have already seen a few complete top.
I still have more blocks make so it will be a while before I finish. With the reveal I had to make a few blocks up to see what they were going to look like. Very scrappy for me.

 I am thinking I may not make mine quite as big as Bonnie's but then again if I get carried away it may be the full size.My first six blocks made. I ran out of block 1's. That is the only reason I stopped. We won't mention the mistakes that I made and have to undo and fix.

Here's the link to see how everyone else is doing.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/mystery-monday-link-up-part-6.html

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt Clue #5

We are at clue #5 this week. I am about halfway through each of the clues except #2  which I am only about 1/3 away through those blocks but I will get there. I may redo some of them that I am not happy with, but we will see. This is what I have completed so far.

Now Clue #5 is a nice easy one and I can say I have completed all the blocks for Clue #5.

 The only clue completed so far. My aim has been to get as close to the halfway point as possible before the next clue is released. With clue #5 completed I can go back to Clue #4 and continue with that one as I have a number of blocks ready to sew together then I will have to go back to cutting.

Here is the link for the link up so you can have a look at how everyone else is going on their Mystery Quilt.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-5.html

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia