What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

This is what I'm calling "Confetti Chain",  as it stands right now, 24 blocks. I hope to add the same number more; making it a generous 60" X 80" quilt. Eventually.Here's the basic block unit laid out. Each block has forty three pieces! I can't remember where I ever saw this and I can't find a source. My version uses lights and darks out of the 1.5" scrap bin for the 4-patches. The

This is what I'm calling "Confetti Chain",  as it stands right now, 24 blocks. I hope to add the same number more; making it a generous 60" X 80" quilt. Eventually.Here's the basic block unit laid out. Each block has forty three pieces! I can't remember where I ever saw this and I can't find a source. My version uses lights and darks out of the 1.5" scrap bin for the 4-patches. The

During my bone-mending "sabbatical" from this blog I have been stitching away. Smaller, close to my body movements such as cross-stitch and piecing didn't over-reach my capabilities. I HAD to do something other than sitting still and reading! This Blackbird Designs sampler spoke to me. I'm drawn to "bee" patterns especially, maybe because my first name is actually Hebrew for bee. This

During my bone-mending "sabbatical" from this blog I have been stitching away. Smaller, close to my body movements such as cross-stitch and piecing didn't over-reach my capabilities. I HAD to do something other than sitting still and reading! This Blackbird Designs sampler spoke to me. I'm drawn to "bee" patterns especially, maybe because my first name is actually Hebrew for bee. This

I'm looking on the bright side these days; if I didn't, the whole situation of living in a construction zone would drive me over the edge. I knew that I had to shift the focus to that which I could change for the better. As someone who craves order and tidiness I am faced daily with my biggest enemies: disorder, clutter, chaos and dust; piles and piles of it! My challenge is to deal with all of

I'm looking on the bright side these days; if I didn't, the whole situation of living in a construction zone would drive me over the edge. I knew that I had to shift the focus to that which I could change for the better. As someone who craves order and tidiness I am faced daily with my biggest enemies: disorder, clutter, chaos and dust; piles and piles of it! My challenge is to deal with all of

 I finished a new crop of quilts for donation.

Four Donation Quilts (3@ 60' x '72" and 1 @ 60" x 78")

I make these using 3.5" squares as Leaders and Enders. When I get a bunch (usually a couple of times each year), I put them together, and voila!--I have quilts that I sewed between the pieces of other projects.

Here are four I put together recently. As I assembled them, it was fun to see squares from scraps of fabric I used in other quilts in the past year. The squares are arranged randomly, and I used ...

It is that time of year again--Mystery Time.

Maymont--A Bonnie Hunter design--80" x 92"

Earlier this summer, I began Maymont, a design by Bonnie Hunter. That post is HERE.

This quilt is a hodge-podge of fun fabrics.

Maymont (fabric detail)

Maymont (fabric detail)

Maymont (fabric detail)

I backed it with a favorite floral--to me, these look like the painted roses in Alice. I was fortunate to have a binding fabric that complemented the backing--the shades of color are almost identical!

Maymont (backing ...

Hearts of Hope (55" x 68")

This was a sew-along pattern designed by Bonnie Hunter to show respect for the people of Ukraine. I made it in honor of my mother-in-law whose family fled the region ahead of WW2.

Hearts of Hope (border and binding detail)

If you have read my blog before, you know how much I love string piecing--so, you can believe that I enjoyed making this one.

Hearts of Hope (backing detail)

I used a lovely sunflower (the Ukrainian national flower) print for the back.

Hearts of Hope Pillow (18" x 18")

As usual, I had leftover ...

 A new grandniece--a new quilt!

This is a bright and happy flannel D9P (quick and easy).

I made a quilt for one of my grand-nephews.

Here is his baby quilt.

I try to make a flannel baby quilt, then a regular cotton big-kid quilt for kids in my family. This way, when they move from a crib to a big bed, they have a quilt that will fit.

This time, I went with a string quilt. I made 4.5" HSTs with strings and a neutral background. I arranged them in a layout I saw HERE.

Here is my result.

String Squares (76" x 94")

String Squares (binding and border detail)

He likes a series of ...

 Maymont is a Bonnie Hunter design. I've just started it as a new project.

Maymont by Bonnie Hunter

So far, I've only made a couple of test blocks from scraps I had lying about, but I'm sewing strips now! :)  I'm planning to make all the centers and cornerstones in red fabrics. 

More to come . . .

Test Blocks for Maymont

Happy Quilting!

 Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery this year was called Rhododendron Trail.

I stayed (mostly) with Bonnie's colors--only substituting green for aqua. This is a different quilt than my usual ones; it is much lighter in color overall, but it is nice to make something out-of-the-ordinary sometimes.

Rhody Trail (92" x 100")

Rhody Trail (border and binding detail)

Rhody Trail (backing and binding detail)

A fun project--I love Mystery Quilts!

Happy Quilting.

 I haven't been posting much lately, but the quiltmaking continues!

This is a flannel couch quilt. A dear friend gave me some flannels, and I added a few of my own to the mix. I backed it with a piece of fleece I had on hand that happened to be exactly the right size!

Old-Style Winter Print Flannel (60" x 71")

Old-Style Winter Print Flannel (detail)

Old-Style Winter Print Flannel (backing and binding detail)

Next up is a Hallowe'en Trip Around the World. I know it is out-of-season, but next October, I'll be ready!

I saw a pantograph that I really loved and had to have; in true "one thing leads to another" form I found myself ordering more than one once I had logged onto the website, a dangerous place for me to spend too long! Anyway, one of these new (to  me) pantographs, that I didn't even know that I needed, is "Malachite". I'm excited about the resulting texture on this scrappy Maze quilt that I had

I saw a pantograph that I really loved and had to have; in true "one thing leads to another" form I found myself ordering more than one once I had logged onto the website, a dangerous place for me to spend too long! Anyway, one of these new (to  me) pantographs, that I didn't even know that I needed, is "Malachite". I'm excited about the resulting texture on this scrappy Maze quilt that I had

 The end of the year is a good time to look back at what we have accomplished in the past 12 months.  Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs hosts and annual "Best of..." party and so I will be linking this post up to her blog.  I have done lots of machine sewing, hand stitching and knitting this year and it is hard to pick out which projects were my favourites.  Here is my best effort!

1. My favourite hand stitching project was "Love Birds"--a counted cross stitch picture that I made for a friend's daughter and her husband ...

Every year, I look forward to Bonnie Hunter's Mystery quilt which begins the day after Thanksgiving here in the US. It is fun to quilt along with so many others from around the world.

I've completed Clues 1 and 2 of this year's mystery--Rhododendron Trail.

Rhododendron Trail (Clues 1 and 2)

I'm looking forward to seeing how this mystery comes together. 

If you would like to participate, it is easy! Simply visit Bonnie's blog and click on the Rhododendron Trail tab at the top. All the instructions will be posted there each Friday. There is ...

As I was looking back at my Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilts (see previous post), I thought it would be interesting to remind myself of the other BH patterns I have made. I have included  Bonnie's name for the pattern and my name for individual quilts [in brackets], if they differed. The year indicated was the year that I completed the project.

Carolina Chain (2015)

Patches and Pinwheels (2015)

Bricks and Stepping Stones [AKA Autumn Path] (2015)

These were three of my first efforts. I was afraid of the small pieces, so I made the units a bit bigger than ...