UFO Domination begins

I mentioned a few posts ago about the Confused Quilter's UFO Domination challenge.

Visit her blog or Flickr group to join!

I was intending to start once I'd finished piecing the top of my Roll Roll Cotton Boll Mystery quilt.  No such luck.   I'm massively behind in the RRCB and with the flooding in Queensland, charity quilts are needed now.

I promised DH I wouldn't start on any til I finished DS Dino quilt and the quilt that's supposed to cover one of the sofas.  They're both on the UFO Domination list so that's excellent and I have 2 more UFOs which I wasn't planning to finish this year as part of the challenge but I think I will since they were supposed to be charity quilts all along.

So...I've quilted another chunk of the dino quilt. It's taking sooo long!

Here's a progress report

My quilting is very wonky and wobbly because I seem to have lost the ability to smoothly move the quilt around while I freemotion the design on.

I simply don't get it. I'm sure I could do it a few months ago when I last worked on the quilt. I double checked that the feed dogs were down.

My wrist is getting stronger not weaker since my last surgery in September so it can't be that but if I have slightly wet hands it seems to help. Maybe I should try those quilters gloves?

Right now I'm just grabbing handfuls of quilt and pulling it around. It doesn't make the quilting look any good. Any thoughts?

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Step 6 (Spoiler Alert)

I know I know - this step came out over a week ago and has since been replaced with step 7!  The delay in posting and completing this step is partially due to all the re-organising and spring cleaning  I've been doing and partially being unsure how to proceed knowing I wanted to make the quilt a bit longer and not wanting to wait til the end to make extra units.

Step 6 added to my suspicions about the possible layout.  I can now post these because Bonnie has revealed the block in step 7.

These were my suspicions (which I'm very pleased to say were correct!):

The first part of Step 6 has us stitching last week's HSTs into strips of 5.  I think I'm seeing a pattern emerging which is giving me a clue as to how many extra units to make.  If 4 strips of these HSTs make sashing or borders for one block, it makes 30 blocks.


Step 4 has us making 30 sets, the other HSTs in step 2 are also divisible by 30 - again 4 per block.


The 60 string blocks from step 3?  2 per pieced block?  Perhaps cut in half diagonally and used to set the pieced block on point??


So...IF we are indeed having 30 blocks it would make sense that they might be set 5 across and 6 down to vaguely resemble the rectangular queen sized quilt Bonnie has in mind.


This still doesn't factor in the units from Step 1 which in step 6 require triangles added on the ends to make parallelograms.  They just don't seem to fit in anywhere!


I decided to trust my guess and make enough units for an extra 5 blocks from the units that give me a clue as to what's going on and I'll wait and see as to the rest.  I needed 5 more sets of Step 4 and 100 more HSTs from Step 5.  I already made enough extra Step 2s.

I wont make any extra Step 1s til I see the border design altho I think from memory there are a few extra.

So...here is what part 1of step 6 looks like: (I haven't sewn them togeter since I'm still pressing and trimming)

And part 2: (haven't sewn them til I know how many to make but I did cut pieces)

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Step 5 (spoiler alert)

I finshed the piecing of this rather daunting step last weekend/earlier this week.  All that remained was to cut apart the squares (I used the 8 in one speed piecing method) and worst of all - pressing and trimming down 600 2" HSTs!!! (and some extra plain squares)

I used 2 types of green in place of Bonnie's constant red fabric.

Here are just a few units but I promise I've made them all!!

I pressed about 25% last night and hope to finish today...or I'll wait until I need them and press/trim as I go.

I've hardly done any sewing in almost a week.  We have been decluttering, reorganising and maximising  what little space we have (Thank you, Ikea).  For the first time in 2 years I'm (relatively) pain free and able to do things like spring cleaning etc.  It's a great feeling!

I'm so unfit as a result because for the longest time even walking was painful as each step would jar my wrist so it's exhausting but I hope to get my energy back soon!

So back to RRCB...I still have 30 string blocks to go along with trimming down the HSTs.  I'm still no closer to figuring out the layout which is one thing I especially love about this mystery.  It's really exciting!

I'm hoping to make the quilt a little longer so if I add more blocks I'll need more of each piece but not knowing how they will be used means I can't be sure how many extra to make.  Maybe I can simply add an extra border at the top and bottom??

I'm desperate to know so I can plan ahead!  Clue 6 comes out tonight and i can't wait!!  I know I'm going to love this quilt.  I already love the units and colours and fabrics and the scrappiness of it!

December Friday Night Sew In Session II Results

Overall a very productive evening.  I planned to keep plodding on with my string blocks and maybe deviate to Step 5 of RRCB once it was auto published.

That is until I saw it.  Click the link if you dare but I don't want to talk about it!

I did cut the fabric for this step though:

 

I also made 10 more string blocks which now brings my total to 30.  I'm halfway - 30 more to go!

I would have liked to  pull an all-nighter but my wrists ached and if not for all the metal holding my left one together I'm sure it should have fallen off!

Also DH came home with my yummy Lay-By from Lorraine's Shop. 

Now I'm itching to snap up whatever she has left of her little bundles of Farmer's Market and Mezzanines fabric!!

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Step 4 (Spoiler Alert)

This was a nice easy step which has allowed most of us to catch up with Step 3.  Not me.  I still have only 20 finishes string blocks and another 5 half done.

Step 4 saw us pairing a neutral strip with a green one (or aqua in my case) and  cutting 4 x 2 patch units along with an extra 4 matching aqua squares.  This step could be done scrappy but I followed Bonnie's lead.

We needed 30 of these sets.  I chose 15 of the slightly more subdued neutral and cut 2 strips of each to try to tone down the wildness of some of the string blocks!

December FNSI Results for Session 1

I definitely didn't do as much as I thought but I did get 5 more string blocks made:

 

That brings me to 20/60! Still a long way to go!

Here is a pic of all the finished tissue holders for Max's teachers.  he gave them out on thursday which was his last day of school.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Step 3 (Spoiler Alert)

I wasn't sure how I felt when I first saw this step.

It's not that I don't like string pieced blocks - I love them and have been saving strings to make a string quilt - one day.

I just didn't feel ready YET and here was Bonnie wanting us to make 60 of the things using foundation paper and everything!

Given we were told the blocks had to be 8.5 inches I thought I could just cut squares from all my background fabrics...or as a compromise make 4 patches or 16 patches or hourglass units or something else less fiddly.

I only needed a few minutes to come to my senses (along with a good slap upside the head).

WHAT exactly was the problem?  (aside from needed to cut strips from yardage).  I decided given how flat out I am with projects NEEDING to be finished it would really justify taking time out to make this mystery if I had my first attempt at string piecing - with paper at that!  And who better than with Bonnie?

So...here's how I lost my string virginity:

First step...stripping!

Kindly mixed up by the quilt inspector

Foundation paper aka Yellow Pages Circa 2008

Who knew scrapbooking and cardmaking tools would come in handy for quilting too?

 

Adding strips one at a time...

A bit messy looking but one block done!!

The finished products trimmed to size!  

LoveLoveLove them - even tho they're supposed to be neutrals but Bonnie said to be adventurous with fabric and I was!

Now I find myself completely hooked!  It's so satisfying - much more so than normal piecing.  maybe because you get to see each block coming together whereas in usual piecing you stitch 2 bits of fabric together and get...2 bits.  Then you rinse and repeat a great many times before it resembles a block.

Today I discovered I can completed 5 block in 2 hours or so if I chain piece them.

That brings me to a total of 15.  Only 45 more to go!

Nemesis update

I just got back from my check up with the surgeon.

All going as well as can be expected.  I'm still sore and he warned me to expect it (like I don't know the drill by now!!) since the scar tissue inside and out is still settling down and my body is getting used to yet another new joint.  Usual spiel - no heavy lifting, straining, football (??!!) etc.

I'm having terrible trouble with both carpal tunnel and ulnar nerves but there is no way I'm willing to have anymore surgery...for a really long time...unless it's IVF related.

He said given the improvement he's "fairly sure" it's not an infection...ummmm...I thought we established that 2 months ago???  I know what he means and unfortunately pathology can be wrong so only time will tell which doesn't help when you want a clear cut definitive answer but time isn't the worst thing.

We need a good 3 months to get healthy (which means less booze for hubby and less weight for me), vitamins and supplements for both of us, acupuncture for me and police checks for both of us (lovely, right??!).  Oh yeah and money. 

Sooo I'm cautiously optimistic that come march 2011 or thereabouts, my doctor can start trying to knock me up.

I bumped into a friend I haven't seen in ages and she's due with her 3rd in march 2011 so there's something in the water (and visions of really cute baby quilts waiting to be made!)

On the crafty front, I've been plodding on with quilting Max's dinosaur quilt.  It's taking FOREVER!

I'm avoiding doing the Mystery Quilt clues until I get this quilt finished otherwise it'll never get done and I'm dying to get a move on with the 2 mysteries.

I'm also 1 flower and 2 leaves away from finishing the centre applique of Lizzy mae's Medallion.  Woohoo!  Final class for that is next week.  I'm LOVING all the fabrics and can't wait to put it together but gotta finish these dinosaurs first!!

Half Square Triangle Tutorial

This little tutorial is for other ladies not using the EZ Angle ruler for making half Square Triangles in Step 2 of Bonnie's Roll Roll Cotton Boll Mystery.

Bonnie wants the units to finish at 3" - this means they'll measure 3" in the finished block so they will need to be 3.5" raw edge to raw edge.

Bonnie made hers in sets of 4 so I speed pieced mine in 4s using the standard formula for making HSTs.  This meant cutting rectangles measuring 3 7/8" x 7 3/4" and a very scant seam allowance.

BUT I feel the seam allowance is a little too scant so I suggest you cut your rectangles 4" x 8"

Next mark your rectangles on the wrong side of your fabric as I've done below - at the 4" mark and then lines extending to the top diagonals.  These will be your CUTTING lines.

Next, pair your pink and brown (or whatever colours you're using) rectangles, right sides together and sew a scant 1/4" seam along either side of the diagonal lines as shown below.

Cut along the ruled lines and you get 4 HSTs

The HSTs should measure 3.5" raw edge to raw edge.  If they're a little large, trim them down slightly.  They should not be too small.  If they are then your seam allowance is too big.

Please email me through my profile or leave a comment if you have any problems.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Step 1 (Spoiler Alert)

Late friday afternoon I kept checking Bonnie's blog  for the first clue which she promised would auto publish and there it was!

Much smaller and simpler than I thought and not too typical of Bonnie's usual clues I'm led to believe according to the comments on Quiltville Chat!

Here it is - 172 of these little units made up of 2" strips.

While slicing up the pink strips I kept thinking about all the other pinks I have but didn't use in this quilt.  Oh dear - I think I'm a bit obsessed with pink!  I do plan on using them for a monochromatic scrap quilt one day.  I have the very pattern in mind and everything.

I'm eager to see more of this mystery since step 1 doesn't give anything away!  If these were to be 9 patches, she would have had us do the blue/pink/blue strip as well...or would she?  But if the clues were so small we'd never finish a queen sized quilt in 6-7 clues which are Bonnie's usual style.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Fabrics

Well I think I can say that I have all the fabric I need for Bonnie's Mystery!

She said a wide variety of neutrals was needed so I had to go through my stash again and pick out almost anything with a white or cream background.

Bonnie's example on her blog had a very varied mix of fabrics. 

Bonnie's other colours are pink (which I'm also using)

Green (I'm using Aqua)

Brown (I'm using purple)

And a constant red fabric (I'm using 2 greens instead).

9 days to go!!  I better make some room in my sewing corner!

Lizzy Mae's Medallion Month 3

I had the class at Quilter's Bazaar yesterday.

The great thing about this quilt is that it doesn't have to be assembled as you go so missing month 2 hasn't made any difference.

I have my fabric pack and some extra instructions from Lorraine.

Month 3 was supposed to happen last month and month 4 is in 2 weeks so it's a very busy month classwise!

We made the double X block which came together much more quickly and easily than I first thought due to Lorraine's piecing and cutting shortcuts!

Due to my still fairly fragile wrist I only made one and a bit blocks in class but I'm psyched to get cracking with them.

I can't believe how small they are!  They will be 5" finished so a bit bigger than Dear Jane and a bit smaller than Nearly Insane!  It's good practice for whenever I get around to these quilts I guess!

I'm getting that slightly overwhelmed feeling.  I want to work on Lizzy Mae, I have one Mystery quilt in progress and another to start shortly yet I have 2 quilts tops that REALLY need basting and quilting!!!!

Changing feet on the machine and lugging it to class every few weeks really interrupts my mojo.

I think I'll indulge in my craving for speed piecing at the moment and try to get Lizzy Mae done asap.  I may leave off doing a few clues of the DaChintzy Code and do them all in one go.

Not sure about Bonnie's Mystery.

I'd like to have one quilt basted and quilting underway by the end of the month.  I wonder if it will happen?

I haven't done any sewing today.  I did lots of cutting and pinning last night but the sewing machine is still rolling around in the boot of the car and I have a thumping headache.

On a more positive note, I'm pretty sure I've collected all my fabrics for Bonnie's Roll Roll Cotton Boll Mystery Quilt!

DaChintzy Code Mystery Clue 5 (spoiler alert)

Clue 5 consisted of 2 steps.

Step 6 (counting from the beginning) looks like this:

 

There are 2 of the top and middle units and only one of the bottom ones (the bottom unit has 4 rectangles but I cut one out of the photo).  At first I thought it might be sashing with cornerstones but the quantities and sizes of the units don't add up for that.

Step 7:

My piecing of the hourglass units id depressively wonky so I hope the quilt will look good enough to donate.

I'm speculating that these units look very like the top and bottom of an ohio star block!  Only half the hourglass units were used in this step so there are enough left for ohio stars...maybe with feature fabric in the centre???

HELP NEEDED FROM ALL AUSSIES!!

Hi ladies

In the previous post you've read about my fabric dilemma.  I have only 2 metres and I need around 4.5 for Bonnie's Mystery.

Larain suggested I post a pic and see if anyone has it in their stash.  If you do and are happy to part with it I can either swap fabric or magazines for it or buy it from you for whatever you're asking.

I'm not massively fussed if I don't find it.  My back-up plan is not to use it at all in the quilt except maybe as a border.

It's not a "proper" quilting fabric so there is no information on the selvage.  I'm pretty sure it's from Spotlight purchased about 2008 (possibly earlier since it was on clearance via an Ebay seller when I got it).

Thank you for looking! xxx

Fabric Dilemma!

Bonnie Hunter has posted the fabric requirements for her new mystery quilt and my biggest fear has been confirmed - I don't have nearly enough fabric for the "neutral" requirements - at least not of the fabric I hoped to use.  It's not formally quilting fabric and I bought it cheaply on Ebay a few years ago.  This totally disrupts my colour scheme!

I'm pretty sure it was originally a spotlight fabric but I doubt it wo0uld be around anymore.  What do I do?  I had a look on Ebay and it isn't there - not that I expected it to be.  Hmmmm...

Bonnie's quilts are naturally scrappy so I use what I have of the background fabric and add others to it or choose a different neutral altogether.  I have lots of small scale floral-on-whites.

The problem is my original choice for background would have tied in my 4 colours.  Maybe I can use what I have of it and throw some other whites in or do I save it for another quilt?  I have about 2 metres and the instructions call for about 5 yards.

Suggestions anyone?

DaChintzy Code Mystery Clues 3 and 4 (spoiler alert)

On Monday night I was so keen to get on with the mystery that I marked up all my squares for Clue 3.

Clue 3 consisted of 2 steps - making HSTs with the fabric 4 paired with fabrics 2 and 3.

When I woke up this morning I felt so sore and swollen.  The plaster is rubbing against a particularly irritating spot and I'm all out of strong painkillers.  At least DH got me more Diet Coke so I forced myself to proceed, knowing I'd feel better once I got my fingers moving and I did.

Clue 3, steps 4A and 4B:

Since sewing them together was so quick i proceeded directly onto Clue 4. 

This involved pairing up the 2 units above and doing the same thing as before to make little hourglass units. I tried to keep the seam allowance as scant as possible but I have grave concerns for the health of this quilt.  My units are not even close to square and the seam allowances wander somewhat.

Clue 4, Step 5:

I spose it's not bad considering how plastered I am. :-P

I must say I love how it's all coming together so far!  This quilt will be a charity quilt but it'll be hard to give it up.  I've wanted a lovely pink girly lap quilt to snuggle up with for a while and been on the lookout for the perfect pattern or fabric.  Lucky for me (and the recipient of this charity quilt!!), my Block Swap friends have taken care of my "ME" quilt so provided this one doesn't look too sloppy it'll go to a good home.

I have a few tops for charity waiting to be quilted but I'm not sure when this will happen.  It will depend on what happens after my plaster comes off.

Clue 5 comes out in about a week.  That's probably a good thing since I need to finish off my table mat and bind my french braid runner and work more on Lizzy Mae!

The DaChintzy Code Mystery Clue 2 (spoiler alert)

Yesterday I worked on Clue 2.   I really don't know what I expected when starting this quilt but certainly not these clues!

I never expected the pieces to come together in the way that they have been and haven't the feintest idea how they will all come together but I do like the way fabrics 2 and 3 are looking with fabric 4.

Clue 2 had two steps which involved thin strips, big triangles and bias edges!  I was more than a little nervous to tackle it and was all out of Diet Coke so I had to tackle it stone cold "sober".

Step 2, Clue 2

Step 3, Clue 2

Only 2 more clues til I've caugh up to everyone else.  I'm not sure how many clues there are in total but they come out fortnightly.  Clue #5 is due late october I think.

The DaChintzy Code Mystery Clue 1 (spoiler alert)

I've spent the weekend cutting up the pieces according to the instructions and finally on Sunday night I opened the first clue and completed it!

I was so pleased that I was able to machine piece that I wanted to do some more!

It was only a small step and simple enough although fiddly to do in plaster.  I was eager to get on with the mystery and catch up to the other girls who are onto Clue 4.

Step 1 involved stitching a small square onto the corner of a larger one.  As usual (in the true hoarding quilting spirit I like to save as much fabric as possible) when I make units like these I stitch a second line 1/2" from the first and chop between them getting bonus HSTs.

These ones are teeny tiny ones!  I stitched them together into very wonky pinwheels.  They have a cute charm about about them because of the severity of misplaced points, uneven seam allowances etc.

The pinwheel blocks are about 2" raw edge to raw edge and that's after using a 1/8" seam allowance!!  SO fiddly to handle but I couldn't bear throwing them away.

I hope to get onto Clue 2 later today!

Not quite as planned...

Last night I didn't end up going to Gisborne Quilters.  My left underarm is really sore.  I have no idea why!  The anaesthetist did mention something about arm block anaesthetics having temporary or permanent complications.  Maybe it's to do with that but after 3 weeks?  Anyway I'll give it a few days.  It's just annoying more than anything.

Then this morning I got an email from Hawthorne Threads saying the fabric I thought I just managed to get enough of is VERY short.  I had to change my order a little but no big deal.  I got a few extra pieces just to be SURE I can get the fabrics to all play together nicely ;-P

I highly recommend Hawthorne Threads.  Wonderful friendly service and great prices too compared to other online stores.  I can't wait til my fabics arrive!!

I have also decided to participate in Bonnie Hunter's newest Mystery Quilt!  Her mysteries lend themselves to stashbusting and scrappiness which I need if I'm going to avoid buying more fabric.

It needs 4 colours and a neutral/background.  I've picked the background which is white with some basic daisy print in various colours.  I'll pick the 4 colours from this print and use it to tie them all together.  I'll work out to be semi-scrappy in that the background will be the same but the rest scrappy.

She will post fabric requirements and yardages on 1 November so my only concern is that I have enough of my background fabric.  There is a good chance I wont and it will mean I have to change my fabric choices.

Meanwhile I really should start my DaChintzy Mystery.  I haven't been peeking at the clues posted on About.com so I should get up-to-date in no time. I haven't been brave enough to try machine piecing with my plaster yet but tomorrow is FNSI and I plan to try then! :-O

New Fabric Choices...

I've changed my mind about my DaChintzy fabrics in consultation with the mystery host.

Here are my updated choices.

Boy quilt:















Girl quilt:

I haven't got nearly enough black but Spotlight is having a sale and I know they have a black and white spotty print reduced!!