Over the next few weeks I am hosting a UFO Challenge. Everyone who participates picks a UFO that they have and they try to finish it before Bonnie Hunter’s new mystery quilt comes out on the Friday after Thanksgiving. If you stop by on Wednesdays you can see everyone’s progress…and by the way, it’s not to late to join us.
I’ve continued to march along on my UFO. Â Friday I had it on the quilt frame and now over the weekend…I finished the quilting.
I was hoping to fall head over heels in love with it while I was quilting it. Â That didn’t happen. Â I like the quilt but for me, it’s a little busy. Â I think maybe this design just wasn’t good for Civil War reproduction fabrics. Â Bonnie’s in brights seems to color wash a little more and I like it better.
I have lots of quilts in my home and only have room to keep only the quilts I really love so this one…it will likely be donated for a fundraiser at some point.
How are you coming??
I have to bind it yet. Â I’m hoping to finish it on Friday. Â That means I need another UFO. Â I’ve been kind of working on Wild Child and kind of been working on Santa Fe String Star. Â Stop back next week on Wednesday to see which UFO wins #1 stop in the queue and which quilt is going to get closer to a finish.
To be honest, I haven’t seen this pattern made in any fabric that looks really good. My personal feeling is it is just too busy. To me, the whole looks like blurry. I know of several people who started this quilt and either quit or else finished sewing it and then gave it away as a charity quilt because they didn’t like it. I don’t participate in Bonnie’s Mystery projects. I want to see what the quilt looks like before I spend all that time sewing something I don’t like. Most of her mystery quilts are lovely though and I can’t imagine how she has time to think up and make a mystery quilt with all the traveling she does.
I made my Grand Illusion with civil war fabrics, too, and I’m not happy wit h how mine looks either. I used a cheddar for my constant fabric, and it is too much…over powering! Congrats on another finish.
I’m just not a fan of Grand Illusion! Yes, I made it! It’s finished and already gifted… but as much as I LOVE BH quilts this one just didn’t do it for me! I think it was the disconnect in the pattern between the different sizes of the blocks vs the sashing. Does that make sense? It does not change my love for BH, but I don’t see me revisiting this one any time soon!
My Grand Illusion is bright, busy and not my favorite either. But my aunt and cousin loved it! I think it is just a matter of taste. The good thing is you have used up a bunch of scraps, and someone will love this quilt. Also, I think my piecing skills (speed and accuracy) have improved since I started doing Bonnie’s mysteries. I’m ready to jump into the next one.
I finished my Grand Illusion in May. I swapped fabrics with friends so had to use the colors Bonnie chose and in the end I really like it. I think it looks just like the decor at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island which is bright, busy and over the top. Since we honeymooned on Mackinac Island I had to make the quilt but if you aren’t familiar with the Grand Hotel I can see why you aren’t sold on the design. I’m really happy I used the hotel’s colors because I think it works much better in them than in my usual reproductions.
I did mine in Bonnie colors, and it is on the bed. The more I see it, the better I like it. Every time, I see something new. I have not liked a quilt all the way to the binding. Then, magically, it is wonderful. I so enjoy your choice of colors
No progress for me this week. I’m vacationing with my grand babies in Arizona. Maybe next week I’ll have a few blocks together and will know more about whether or not I like it. I think I am going to like it but I did mine in Halloween colors so I most likely keep it either way.
I just put my blog up, will need to blog my progress on GIMQ.
Soon… Really would love to finish it up.
It does seem like the fabrics determined if a quilter fell in love with Grand Illusion. I made Grand Illusion in the original colors, and my daughter and I really like it! It’s on my daughter’s bed, and she’s 14, so that tells you how wild and crazy it truly is. :) I am happy she likes it because it felt like far too much work to sell or give away.
I learned a few years ago that I am happiest when doing Bonnie’s quilts if I use more constant fabrics, so usually I pick at least two colors and use one fabric for those and then I like the quilt more… it’s all personal taste. But it sure is fun to do !
This was my first BH MQ and I was disappointed. The quilt is too busy for me. It has been hard to be motivated to work on it. I haven’t liked it in any fabrics I’ve seen it finished in. My quilting friends that did finish their MQ gave them away. We decided from now on we will collect the MQ instructions and wait for the reveal to decide if we want to make it or not and if we want to change the pattern.
I haven’t worked on my Grand Illusion much this week as we are having unusual weather and have been working outside while it’s nice out. Like most of you, I didn’t care for mine either but now that I’m quilting diagonal lines on it, I feel like it’s tamed down some. It’s going to take me a while yet to finish the quilting though.
I am on the side of not caring much for the pattern either. I have made 2 BH MQ. I loved the 2013 one-changed the color to gold, barn red, hunter green and black. I will keep doing them because I will only used stash fabrics for them. Will see how that goes, lol.
I’m not a huge fan of Grand Illusion either–maybe because I swapped out a couple of colors and it just didn’t work with my new colors. I have loved all her other mysteries, and am excited for the new one. I finished the center of my star struck top this week–on to borders! I’m going to set it aside this week, though, since I finally finished un-quilting the charity quilt, so my plan is to quilt and bind that this week.
I have to be honest too, and of all of Bonnie’s quilts, Grand Illusion is my least favorite. It’s so busy my eyes have nowhere to rest, no matter what the colors are. I’m participating in this new Mystery, my first, so I have selected her suggested colors; I think they are very pretty.
I’m spending the weekend with Lori, Nell, Loretta and a bunch of other quilters and I hope to finish BH pineapple quilt (not the tiny tiny one but the big one) and both of your quilts that we started in West Union this past summer. Wish me luck.
Grand Illusion is far too busy for me. No matter what colors it is done in. But in Oct I did a retreat with Bonnie and there were a lot of show and tells with GI. The ones that got the big oohs & ahhs were the ones that calmed it down by doing plain sashings, and the ones that got rid of the 4-patches and just used a plain square in it’s place. The remedy to Bonnie’s mysteries is to print the whole thing out, then make your own decisions on how to calm it down. Sometimes it only means not doing total scrappy
Tumalo Trail is hopefully going to be a top by the end of the weekend. . . retreat starts TONIGHT after work! YAHOOOOO! Have some other things to leader and ender. . . hoping to make some serious progress in between sewing.
Great going you FINISH…..it is extra hard to continue to work when not in love with the quilt,,,,, but you did it!
I finished! I linked up my Random Ohio Stars–thanks, Jo, for the encouragement to get it done!