I’ve had a few days off over break and it’s been fun. Â I’ve tackled a few projects and goofed around some too. Â I’ve had a few quilts on the frame that I can’t show as they are heading out for publications. Â Kelli’s been home and sewed a couple days and that’s been fun too.
I can tell you that I spent the entire and yes I mean entire day of January 1st sewing on the mystery.
First off…I love the mystery quilt. Â I love the colors lots.
I decided to make a couple tweaks to fit my needs though….
I added more blocks to make it a 6 x 6 layout. Â That took longer than I expected. Â To do that I needed to make an extra row of blocks meaning 6 more star blocks and 5 more of the other blocks. Â I couldn’t believe how long it took to make the blocks when all the units had to be made from scratch.
I am currently on a “skip the border” type kick so I’m skipping the borders…well kind of. Â I am just adding a small red border around the outside. Â It’s working for me. Â This will bring the quilt up to about 91″ x 91″. Â I like my quilts bigger so this is perfect for my needs…I have the plan. Â Now I just need to squeeze out a little time to get that done.
Kelli and I ordered some fabric from Whittles Fabrics (you might remember them as the ones who put together the awesome fat quarter bundles that went with the mystery) well included in the order is some backing fabric for the mystery. Â Who can pass up $5 a yard fabric for a backing?! Â Once the fabric is here and the quilt frame is free, I’m going to quilt this one up. Â No reason to let in languish on the quilt top pile.
The mystery continues to be highlight of my holiday season. Â I hope that Bonnie continues to do it. Â It has to be a stressful experience to put herself out there like she does and to hear so many comments. Â I don’t think I could do that….I appreciate the fun free pattern.
By the time I check in next week I am hoping to get a few quilts off the binding pile..and to get border on this.
To see what others are working on, check out Patchwork Times and Quiltville.
I love your mystery quilt. thanks for sharing!!!!
Your mystery quilt is beautiful. I can’t wait to start putting mine together.
Thanks for the info about Whittles. I ordered some of the packs from them and was very happy with their choices. Nice variety. I was thinking about adding another row basically to avoid the scalloped border, but I think I’m going to challenge myself and do it.
Jo, this quilt you made is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen! It makes me smile. I see big bright, pulsating suns! WOW! I think you should keep this one!
What a great quilt! Can’t wait to see it finished.
love seeing how your quilt is comming along!
Wow! You quilt looks great. I was thinking about adding more blocks just like you suggested. Time will tell if I actually do it.
Wow, wonderful progress! amazing…Bravo.
Love your MQ, the colors are luscious. I am going to add some extra border on mine, I am thinking four patches. This may be my all time favorite design.
It looks great. I too hope Bonnie keeps it up…it allows me to make a complicated pattern simply. The steps make it seem much easier than doing a pattern out of a magazine!
It looks amazing. Can’t wait to see it finished.
Beautiful result! The mystery is a special gift Bonnie gives us each year. I hope she can keep doing it, because she spreads so much joy around the world.
Yes, it is hard to put yourself out there and to hear comments about the patterns you’ve designed, but I’m so glad that Bonnie does it because her quilts are sooooo gorgeous! Your version is really lovely and I hope you have fun quilting it. Can’t wait to see the result!
Yours looks great. The steps / clues do make the final block construction SO easy! I felt like it was just “building 9 patches” when it came time to assemble and did a lot of chain piecing. I’ve been thinking about that “extra row” and decided to forgo for now. I am still in the row building stage, on row 3! I love the way the excitement of the mystery helps with an otherwise difficult holiday time for many people. Bonnie is the best!