Over the last two weeks I have been trying to solve a mystery…..a mystery quilt.  Bonnie over at Quiltville has been entertaining me with her free online mystery quilt, Carolina Christmas.  It was designed to be a Christmas quilt but I opted out of the Christmas version as I am not a fan of the color green so I don’t have many green scraps.

The photo shows some of the blocks lying out on my design wall  floor which has shrunk considerable since we put up the Christmas tree.  All of the blocks won’t fit in the space so it will be much larger than shown here plus I don’t have the pieced border yet either.  Where Bonnie suggested gold, I used a Civil War cheddar colored fabric.  Where she suggested green, I used dark blues and some purples. 

This quilt has been a HUGE challenge for me.  I am a person who usually doesn’t rip out my stitches but for this quilt, I ripped out a LOT.  On the first page of instructions, Bonnie said it is really important to check your seam allowance…I didn’t.  UGH!  I sew on a Bernina that has a quarter inch foot with a side bar on it.  I had just made the assumption that if I butted the fabric next to the bar, I was sewing at a quarter inch.  WRONG!!!!  I actually had a larger seam allowance which does bad things to the diagonal of a triangle.  At first, I let a few less than perfect points slide by…but then I decided…I am old enough to know better…and old enough to learn from my mistakes so, I took seam ripper in hand and started fixing things. 

Right now, the quilt looks pretty busy to me.  I am hoping the borders calm it down…Bonnie has suggested that the next part of the mystery will be reveiled this weekend and so my mystery continues…..

Today is my birthday….44 and still counting.
For the last few years, my hubby has taken me on an overnight trip on the weekend closest to my birthday.  This past weekend was my weekend….and I had a GREAT time.  I forgot my camera (again) but I’ll add some internet sites you can check out to get an idea.

He took me to Country Threads Quilt Shop in Garner, Iowa.  It is my favorite shop of all time.  I absolutely LOVE it.  I bought this pattern….It uses 1.5″ scraps and I have a big drawer of them.  I also got some new fabric too!

If you have never been to Country Threads and you are a quilter, you need to add it to your bucket list.  It is definately an experience.  If you love antiques and a rustic country look, you will be in love.  The shop is located at a hobby farm in the country.  Visitors can check out the animals while they are there and enjoy a very laid back atmoshpere. 

We stopped at a few antique shops and I found three oval domed glass pieces for picture frames I had of my grandparents that  didn’t have glass…that was a great find, and a great price.  Country Threads is real close to Clear Lake, Iowa, and there’s lots of antique and gift shops there.

Then we stayed at the Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast in Fredricksburg, Iowa.  (Go over the their website and check it out)  Even though the B&B is only 20 minutes from our home, we love going.  The owners are great.  The B&B is on a real working farm.  Loren lets guests come out and help with the cow milking if they want.  He freshens heifers on the farm so visitors can often watch a calf being born.  They get LOTS of families who come for a stay to show their children about farming.  There’s fishing in the area along with walking trails.  The owners also have a vineyard and make their own wine….which is good too.   The food is awesome.  There are truffles made by a local lady in the gift shop and they are to die for!  The rooms are decorated in antique Victorian.  (check out the website just to see the AWESOME furniture)  You can’t meet people who are any nicer than Diane and Loren.  It can be a VERY family friendly place, a romantic get away place or anything you want it to be.  The rates are great too.

Spending time with my hubby, my favorite quilt shop, an overnight stay at a best B&B, coming home to a clean house, happy children and a birthday cake on the table….plus an evening of sewing…It’s been a perfect birthday!