Saturday, October 26, 2013

Some fabric choices

My new kindle arrived this week!   This one has a camera feature, but there is no viewfinder.  It was a bit of a challenge for me... there must be some techniqe to taking pictures with it, but I found it very difficult to use.  If I was into taking "selfies" it would be perfect... not so good at taking pictures of something else.  There were multiple failed attempts before I finally came close to centering the picture.   I can't wait for my camera to return from the repair shop!

I had some free time today while waiting for my grandson to arrive so I sorted through and organized my Goodwill shirts by color. 

I've got a bunch of neutrals deboned and ready to cut to size. I didn't bother to try struggling to take pictures of them!

I picked up my  paint chips the other day so now it was easy to go through the boxes and pick what I needed to match.  Some of the colors are too dark or too light, but it's the best I could do for now.  Hopefully these will work.


Tomorrow is $.99 day at Goodwill so I'll be stopping by again in hopes of finding more and better matches.  

My spare time for the rest of the month will be spent deboning these colors, and maybe some extra neutrals too.... Bonnie says you can never have too many neutrals.

 

Friday, October 25, 2013

OBW Challenge

OBW = On-track with Bonnie Wednesday.

There are many Bonnie followers (including me) who have started but not yet finished some (many) of the patterns Bonnie shares with us, both on her blog as free mysteries and in her books.
  
With the start of Bonnie's new mystery looming on the horizon (November 29) a challenge has been issued to make a list and finish up at least one current Bonnie project before the new start.

So here is my list of Bonnie Projects:
  • Cheddar Challenge
This was Bonnies leader/ender challenge that I believe she issued summer 2011.  I first had to search for the cheddar fabrics and once found I started it as a take-along hand sewn project as I headed to California in November with Mom for a last visit with Uncle Tom. I carried it around with me and worked on it all through 2012 completing only this first quarter of the planned quilt.  I think I've sewn only 6 blocks this year.  I really need to start taking it along with me again and make some progress.

  • Talkin Turkey
I started this in class with Bonnie august, 2012  Qultmakers Block Party in Williamsburg.  I love these French General fabrics that I pulled from my stash.  I'm not sure what project I had in mind when I bought these, but I think they are perfect for these blocks and look forward to getting it done!
  •  Winston Ways
This is the second of the three classes I took with Bonnie in Williamsburg 2012.  They are made mostly from Goodwill shirts with only those white triangles coming from yardage pulled from my stash!

  • Midnight Flight
This was the third class I had with Bonnie that weekend in Williamburg 2012!  These fabrics were also yardage and Goodwill shirts pulled from my stash.
I think I was nuts to start all three the same weekend.  I was a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by the time I got home...but it was so much fun!  All the fabrics and pieces just sit in their crates waiting their turn.
  • Orca Bay
This was Bonnies 2011 Mystery Quilt.  At the time, both my daughters were going to TN Tech here in town so I chose the school colors purple/gold instead of the black and white.... and the blue/red were the colors of their high school so I thought it was a perfect match.  Unfortunately, they both decided college wasn't for them and I lost my motivation to get this done.  I have used it as a leader/ender as I worked on Easy Street and Florabunda.  I have all the Ohio Star blocks and several of the Flying Geese string blocks completed. 

This is what I hope to finish up for the challenge before the new 2013 mystery, Celtic Solstice begins. 
 
Just so you don't think I'm a total slacker and never finish anything Bonnie, here are some Bonnie projects that are complete!
  • Oklahoma Backroads
This was begun March 10, 2011... I remember this one specifically because it was my birthday present to myself... an early morning drive over to Pidgeon Forge and my first class with Bonnie.  I made this into a small wall hanging as a Mother's Day gift for my Mom.  Completed May 2011
  • Roll Roll Cotton Bole
This was Bonnie's 2010 Mystery... I watched as the mystery progressed, but because I was busy with other things, I didn't start until January 2011, after the reveal, when my niece announced her May wedding and I needed a pattern.  She told me she wanted something blue, green, purple and I could choose the pattern. I figured if so many could get it done in the 8 week mystery time-frame, I could get it done in time for the wedding.  HA!   this was my first controlled scrappy quilt.  I used yardage for the colors and Goodwill shirts for the neutral strings.  I really loved the finish and almost hated to give it away!  I tried to finish it in time for the wedding, but too many of life's challenges got in the way.  I completed it in July.. and with my nieces permission since she wouldn't need it til the cold weather hit, I entered it into competition at the fair and FCE cultural arts and came home with a couple ribbons! Completed July 2011

  • Florabunda
This is one of Bonnie's free patterns listed on her blog.  I was gifted the floral material, the yellow fabric was left-over from a quilt I made my SIL and the red was from my stash.  With Bonnie's permission I cut up some block kits to teach at an FCE craft day July 2012... but I cut way more blocks than needed and this quilt was the result.  Completed September 2012

  • Easy Street
This was Bonnie's 2012 mystery... and I kept up and followed along until the last two steps were revealed back-to-back just before the New Year when I had to travel.   Bonnie made hers in tropical blue, pink, purple and greens... I used my Civil War reproductions.  This quilt was for me and my queen size bed so I took some extra time to add an extra square-in-square border and it finished at 108x108!  It's a bit bigger than I expected, but I absolutely love it!
Completed July 2013

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Mystery Time Again!


It's that time of year again!   Bonnie has just begun the release of her mystery for 2013.... Celtic Solstice!

CelticSolstice 009


Pictures and colors on screens don't always show the true color, so Bonnie uses paint chips to show us the colors that she is using!  What a clever idea!  

Read all about it on her blog here:

Quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-mystery-time-introducing-celtic.html

I am off to Lowes to get my paint chips and then sort through my stash!