Christmas Quilt-a-long Quilt Finish

Hello there!  Today is my DD's first day back to school.  Right after she boarded the bus I ironed the fabric I'd been planning to use for the binding of the Christmas Quilt A Long Mystery Quilt.  Clearly by now the cat is out of the bag.  But I have a little surprise.  I made mine reversible.   Then I quilted it so that the back was on top.  Now the binding is all attached and I am very happy to claim a finish.  This year has been speeding by so fast I really haven't had the number of finishes that I expect of myself, but we all have our limits so I will be happy with what I have. 

Christmas Quilt-a-long Mystery Quilt Front

It took me a while to sort out how to make this Christmas Tree.  In the end I opted for making it the width and height I needed and allowing the angles to resolve themselves.  This method did create more waste but I believe the results are lovely.  The packages underneath the tree where something I hadn't planned to add but the tree with it's star on top just cried out for gifts.

Christmas Quilt Back

The quilting is stars and loops around the yellow star.  I quilted it to look like a night sky where you have to look just a little to see the additional stars.  While I did stitch in the ditch around the star I did not quilt on the star itself, I wanted it to poof just a little bit. Around the tree on the brown background fabric, I quilted swirls to resemble the air movement and wind blowing around the tree.    The two darker brown strips each have a strip of stars quilted onto them.  The tree was fun to quilt with hanging loops shaped to resemble hanging ornaments.  Sometimes I added little wiggle of a quilting line to change things up, just like you would see on a tree in your home.  The presents, considering I was dreading making them I am very pleased with how easily they went together and were quilted.  For the most part the packages are quilted with metallic gold thread.  Into the packages I stitched my quilt label, so unless you are looking you simply don't see them.

The binding is a red that I had planned for one of the main colors in Sue's mystery side of the quilt, but I felt the red just wanted to conquer the teal.  A shopping trip found new colors that suited the entire quilt beautifully.    Sue suggested  I save the red for the binding.  As I was sewing on the binding thrilled to see how well the brown accepted the red.  It sure gives everything a little pop. 

Have you been up to anything good lately?  

A special Thanks to Tiny for being my model today.

Christmas Quilt-a-long July

Crud, I forgot today was our Christmas Quilt-a-long day.  I just happened to look over and see my top all neatly folded and it occurred to me "isn't CQAL day the weekend after the Lone Star QAL weekend?" I don't have a very good excuse either, other than I'm under orders to take it easy on a recently dislocated knee and sprained ankle, and I was so busy not doing much of anything that I just plain forgot.  Perhaps the huge mess in the sewing room was a contributing factor?  In case you're wondering the injury was stupid.  I turned to look for my glass of tea and that was what did it, this is the good knee that's gimpy so I'm scooting along.  Trust me it doesn't hurt nearly as bad now as when I did it on Thursday!

So since I was late on last months quilt a long, here is my top put together awaiting the beautiful border Sue planned.  Goodness gracious but I hope this doesn't happen in October when it's my month to be the hostess!  I know, I'm surely prepaid now.

Christmas Quilt-a-long June's Caught Up

CQAL Mystery Quilt Center Sewn

I just finished sewing the center of the Christmas Quilt-a-long Quilt.  Selecting a layout was tricky, I took pictures of about four different layouts (so if you're cruising the CQAL posts to find alternative layouts comment that you'd like to see my extras and I'll email them to you).

This was the one Sue showed as an option, and I just decided to go with it.  I'm sure the final quilt will be beautiful.  I believe next month we'll be working on the border.  Sounds like time to buy batting to me!

DD is our model today.  The cat's couldn't be bothered - Tiny said she did plenty of modeling when I had it spread out while the camera was put away.  The t-shirt she is wearing I added the rhinestones to last night.  She had two shirts that were plain and needed a little something.  But I guess you can't really see the butterfly in that picture, oh well at least you can see her pretty smile.

Christmas Quilt-a-long June Catch-up

Christmas Quilt-a-long
Mystery Quilt Layout Option

Would you believe I have so many things that I need/want to sew that I made a list?  I sure did.  I was tired of keeping track of priorities in my head.  As I'm about halfway through with the list I made on Saturday, that's pretty good.  Though I've thought of at least two more things to add to the list.  Oh well so we sew right?

Today's catch up is for the Christmas Quilt-a-long Mystery Quilt, the directions for this month show how to finish the block and then to sew all blocks together as desired.  Yep, got to love Sue for that.  It's getting late at least for me and I have been envisioning a design within a design for this quilt, so I thought I would try out my favorite layout of the ones Sue showed on Saturday.  Here it is in my blocks.  They clearly aren't sewn together.  I figure this way I can first see them through the lens of the camera and then tomorrow look at them all spread out on the sewing table and see how I like it.  As for me right now I'd like nothing more than to go curl up in bed with a book, which I'll be doing here in about 15 minutes.

Opps, I had a block turned wrong for this layout, can you spot it?

Christmas Quilt-a-long Year 3 May Evening Check-In

Good Evening.  Who here wants a nightcap?  I personally finished a Mudslide with dinner, DH had a craving for Spanish food so I was able to try something new that was yummy, sorry no leftovers.  As for the Mudslide, it had been in the freezer for several months, so I handed it to DH and told him to "fix it" which of course he did and after he was done I went and "fixed it" some more.

We had a wonderful day out.  My horoscope said I'd been to busy lately, so I should relax and work on something I enjoy this afternoon.  How about that for a surprise?  Considering I hadn't checked my horoscope since the New Year I felt that one was nice to read.

This evening I have all of my HST's made and pressed open.  I will save squaring them to 3.5" for another day, I used Sharon's tip for cutting first instead of drawing the line and I think it did save time, though I'm surely more used to the other method. Now, I'm certain all of you have a large mountain of things that you made today and I know I'm going to have a blissful time in the next two or three days catching up on what I missed out on in blog world today.

Naughty Sue has been having my goat about this Mystery Quilt and my yearning desire to know what it looks like.  I can't help it I plan the quilting while I piece!  Without that to keep my mind busy, instead while I was working on our assignment for this month, I daydreamed about what our quilt might look like and this is the quilt that popped into my head.  This isn't our quilt though because the numbers of what we have don't work with the numbers this quilt takes.  Though maybe if I'm close Sue will tease me some more.  ;-)

Christmas Quilt-a-long April Afternoon Check-In

Okay I have all of this month's Mystery Quilt Assignment done!  Are any of you longing to know what this will look like?  Well I'm stumped.  Sue made a comment last month about seeing who would catch on first.  Well it's not going to be me.

I think I must have been on a roll when I was cutting these because I was supposed to end up with 20 of these triple sets, but I have 21, plus the little guy on the right.  Anyone want to tell me how you over cut fabric the same number of squares in both colors?  Perhaps I can make something happen on the back with those extras.
The Kindle cover will have to wait until another day because while the pattern doesn't call for the interfacing I know I'll be unhappy if I make it without it. Besides I think I hear the turtles calling me.  I wonder what that would sound like - turtles calling that is.  Blup, blup?  Bubble, Bubble?  Considering I had to rip out an hour's worth of quilting yesterday (it took two hours to rip it out mind you)  I think the Bubble, Bubble is surely right.  Yep, Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Turtle Trouble!

Christmas Quilt-a-long Year 3 March Dinner Check

Hi everyone!  I just finished up the 48 little four patch blocks for this month.  Sunny is surprised to model them for you.  I wish I could have had the camera in hand as I set them down, he looked at his feet as though he'd somehow grown those blocks from his very paws!  Even in this picture his surprise still shows.

At the risk of sounding like a party pooper I think I'm going to call it a day here in the sewing room.  Everyone is home today and I'd like to go rustle up a bit of family time.  (evil laugh - they so don't know what they're in for!!!)

Looking forward to seeing you next month!

Christmas Quilt-a-Long Year 3 March

Jeeez, I'm still reeling that it's March already.  This month our hostess with the most-est is Joanna of Needle, Thread, Happiness.  She says she's all set and ready to go and I'm looking forward to visiting her as our Miss March.  More to the point, I am can't wait to get my hands on to the first set of sewing directions for our Mystery Quilt, I switched out my red fabric for a luscious green one and will reserve the red for the binding which should be enchanting.  Just like you hang out your stockings at Christmas Time I have my fabric all cut and my thread selected, I couldn't believe I had such a perfect match.  

That brings me to a question, do you match your thread to your fabric like a seamstress or do you go with shades of gray?  Honestly I'm a thread color matcher myself and yes that means when I switch fabrics I switch colors too.  I just can't seem to help myself.  So I'm all ready to sew.  If you're not quite ready yet, that's okay you have until Saturday and then we never mind a straggler or two, it's your quilt and you'll make it at your own pace.

So grab a cup of hot chocolate (I know you have some left!) or a spot of coffee and join us this month.  We'd love to have you.

Mystery Quilt Cutting

I'm all caught up on the fabric cutting for the Mystery Quilt.  I have to say I have no idea where Sue is going with these pieces.  Though I'm sure it's going to be lovely.

The next set of instructions will be a week from Saturday.

Christmas Quilt-a-Long Year 3 Evening

Fabric for Christmas Mystery Quilt

Okay I didn't go back to bed like I was supposed to.  Hopefully my leg wont punish me over the lack of rest.  Instead I combed through my fabric and look what I combination I came up with? Now last year my Christmas Quilt-a-long Quilt was the opposite of Christmasy, but this year, I'm changing that up - full circle.

The ornament print is clearly my background fabric, the white my light, the blue my medium and the red, the one I missed completely when reading through the list the first time, the dark.  So now I really am going to go rest.  Take care and I'll be looking forward to seeing you again next month.