Winter Mystery DONE!

Jolene finished assembling her Winter Mystery and sent this note:

"I made my top one row longer so it will fit a twin bed. Each of the scrap fabrics is used only once in the large patches. I used a really eclectic mix of fabrics. I decided anything goes! The 11/2" squares were leftovers from a postage stamp quilt I recently made. I may add a border but I have to set it aside for now while I make a baby quilt.


I enjoyed taking a break with some simple piecing as I have been doing more complicated projects lately. I love how it turned out, so bright and cheerful!"

I love it!  It looks great with "anything goes".  Adding another row, and possibly a border to fit a bed is a great idea.  This looks like something that is going to be used and loved for many years to come.

Winter Mystery Step 4

I'm sure by now you have figured it out! 

Janet Aradine was able to guess the next step correctly.  She sent several photos of her progress along the way.

Follow the steps below and the mystery will be solved.  EASY!  Now I only wish that converting photos from my email to my blogger account so that I can share them with you was as simple.  It seems that if you send them as an attachment I can grab them and share.  If you imbed them in the message it seems impossible to transfer them to Blogger.  I'm enjoying seeing Tracey, Jill, Ann, Lisa, Cathy, Donna and Carly's photos.  I will see if I can get some technical help to share them with you.

Terry Faust sent me not only this very organized photo of step 3, she also included a photo of another quilt that is absolutely beautiful!  Great job Terry!

Time for everyone to catch up!

STEP 4 OF 4

1. Collect the remaining 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch accent strips and the scrap fabric rectangles.

2. Working with each individual block create a unit of two rectangles and one accent strip between them, matching the rectangle fabrics to the squares that are already assembled in the block. You will need to create each unit according to the fabrics in the individual blocks. No chain piecing here! Press the seams toward the scrap fabrics.

3. Stitch the units to the sides of the blocks matching the fabric scraps. Press the seams toward the outside edge of the block. These blocks will measure 9 1/2 inches including seam allowance.

4. Arrange the blocks in 8 rows of 7 block each. Alternate the direction of every other block so that the only the sashing seams align. If you pressed correctly these seams will nest.

5. Stitch the blocks together in rows. Pressing the seams in opposite directions in each row. Stitch the rows together to form the completed top.

6. Take a photo and send it - as an attachment to me at karen@thequiltcompany.com!

7. Layer the quilt top with the batting and backing and quilt as desired. Trim the batting and backing even with the top.

8. Cut 7 strips 2 1/4 inches by the width of the fabric. Stitch the strips together end-to-end on a 45 degree angle. Fold and press. Pin the binding to the edge of the quilt with the raw edges even, mitering the corners. Stitch in place by machine. Fold the binding over the edge to the back of the quilt and stitch in place by hand.

 
Enjoy!

Now that the mystery is over, it is time for me to get packing.  I'm on the "road" again, teaching on a quilting cruise for Stitchin Heaven for the first 10 days in March.  I know, I know, tough job, but someone has to do it - why not me?

I expect all of those Winter Mystery projects to be finished when I get home!

Winter Mystery Step 3

Are you keeping up?

Have you adding your sashing to the 9 patch blocks?

A few people have mentioned that they thought the pieces were a bit small (I warned you) so they have decided to double them in size.  Pam one of our employees that hates to follow instructions is one of those "biggeer is better" people. Hopefully those that have decided to make things larger are making fewer blocks as well or they are going to have a REALLY, REALLY big quilt!

I will post photos of Pam's variation when she finishes hers.  If you have photos you would like to share of the piece you are working on, email them to karen@thequiltcompany.com and I will share them with everyone.

STEP 3 of 4

1. Collect all 224 squares of scrap fabric measuring 2 1/2 inches and 112 of the accent strips measuring 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches.

2. Stitch one accent strip between 2 random color squares. Any two random color squares can be stitch in the same unit with an accent strip between them. Avoid having 2 of the same color squares stitched to the same accent strip. Press the seams toward the accent fabric. These units will measure 2 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches including seam allowance. Make 112 units.

3. Stitch a completed unit to opposite sides of each Nine Patch center. Stitch the units to the same sides that have the smaller sashing pieces (that is the side with 2 seams). Each Nine Patch center will have 2 units added to it. Avoid putting the same scrap color on the same side of the same block. Two corners of the same color are ok as long as they are opposite each other and not on the same side of the block. Press the seams toward the outer edge of the block. The blocks will measure 5 1/2 inches by 9 1/2 inches including seam allowance when completed.

Make 56 blocks.

In this arrangement notice that the new units are being added to the top and bottom of the center unit.  Those are the sides with the smaller sashing pieces.    I am also adding pink blocks to 2 of the corners, but one is on the top left and the other is on the bottom right.  That works! (the bottom left might look pink, but it is mostly gold and orange!)

WINTER MYSTERY CLUE #2

Busy weekend here at The Quilt Company!  We are hosting Debby Brown, certified HandiQuilter Educator for 2 full days of classes.  How fun is THAT!  Therefore the mystery step had to be simple.  Sash the blocks with your accent color.  Now you know why I called it both accent AND sashing!

WINTER MYSTERY


STEP 2 OF 4
1. Collect the 112 rectangles measuring 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 and the 112 rectangles measuring 1 1/2 by 5 1/2 cut from the accent fabric. You will also need the Nine Patch blocks that you created in Step 1.
2. Stitch the 3 1/2 inch sashing strips to the top and bottom of each of the Nine Patch blocks. Press the seams toward the sashing strips.

3. Stitch the 5 1/2 inch sashing strips to the left and right side of each of the Nine Patch blocks. Press the seams toward the sashing strips. These blocks will measure 5 1/2 inches square including seam allowance when complete.
Make 56 blocks.

WINTER MYSTERY CLUE 1



These scraps should brighten up our grey winter days!

 Are you ready?

Have you collected your favorite scraps and done a little cutting? 

If you need the cutting instructions, scroll back a few posts or just work along with the steps each week.

Read all instructions before beginning!

WINTER MYSTERY

CLUE 1

1. Collect the 448 assorted 1 1/2 inch squares and the 56 accent squares that measure 1 1/2 inches.

2. Randomly stitch the squares together to form a Nine Patch block positioning the accent square in the center. These blocks will measure 3 1/2 inches including seam allowance when completed.

Ok, I'll fess up. I cut my scraps into 1 1/2 inch strips of a similar length. I stitched those strips together in sets of three before cross cutting them into the 1 1/2 inch segments needed for the block. For the strips with the accent fabric in the center, I cut the accent strip to fit my scraps. My quilt will have 5 or 6 identical units

Make 56 blocks

Tips:

• If you have selected a light color accent, press the seams away from the accent block.

• If you have selected a dark accent color, feel free to press the seams in any direction you like - but be consistent! You or your machine quilter will be grateful later.

• Because this is a scrappy quilt, there is no "planned" color arrangement for the 8 squares that surround the center accent block. For those of you that have a dominant anal retentive gene (you know who you are) feel free to organize your blocks with darks in the corner or a specific color you happen to own more than enough of in a consistent position. If you are using a rainbow of colors you might want to arrange the squares in red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple order around the center square just for fun - but you don't have to!

This is scrappy!

Las Vegas in the Rear View Mirror

This time last week I was sewing like a crazy person with 53 others in a ballroom of a Las Vegas casino and loving every minute of it. I was attending the Kaye England Seminar for Shop Owners. This seminar is part fabulous creative retreat with a little expensive Boot Camp mixed in. Kaye is wonderful, gracious and hysterically funny. If ever you have the opportunity to enjoy her in person, jump at the chance. You will learn much and laugh lots. My customers will have that very special opportunity next December and I hope each and every one of them squeezes into the room so that nobody misses out on a really good time.

Although the schedule is casual, the chance to sew, get samples made and be the student instead of the teacher is rare in a shop owners world. Kaye fills us with fresh coffee and inspiration each morning and lets us do our thing. That might not sound to inspiring, unless you consider that the 53 others working around you are doing some pretty cool stuff - and you want to see and share what they are doing too.

These are my tablemates. Deb from New Jersey and Sue and Lori from Canada. Sue is chatting with one of the other Canadian dealers and one of the owners of Quiltique the shop in Henderson NV. The 5 of us managed to get away one evening for dinner on the strip but other than that, we sewed.... and laughed and tested our skills.

Others might not have considered it much of a test, but Kaye and I have polar opposite opinions on just about everything. Kaye is into reproductions. I'm not. Kaye never presses as she pieces. I press every seam as I sew - sometimes twice. Kaye loves scrappy everything. I plan. I design for Creative Grids, Kaye designs the Nifty Notions ruler line. Neither of us are wrong, we just do things differently.

When in Kaye's playground, I play by Kaye's rules..... for the most part. I work scrappier, I try-out her rulers. I learn from her color sense and I attempted to avoid pressing.  To be honest, I can't do it - the pressing thing. To quote Kaye "Quilting is like sex. If you aren't enjoying it, you are doing it wrong." If quilting is like sex then I see nothing wrong with making it hot and steamy.

Doing something differently, even something as simple as working outside your comfort zone is good for the soul. It expands your perspective and helps you confirm your beliefs. One of the things we laughed about last week were the comments on this photo I posted on the shops Facebook page. I wondered if I should add another border.  The pattern for this quilt is in Kaye's Hens and Chicks book.  In the book it is done in 30's green and reproduction style prints.  Several people that I know own the book wondered where the pattern was from.  Mine looks so entirely different, but we still found that amusing. 

Kaye appreciated my batik selection and helped me decide on the sashing fabric.  I really think it needs another border and I've decided it will be black, but I didn't have the fabric with me, so I moved on to another project. 99% of the Facebook comments were favorable until comment 31 which said:  "A black border would make side cornerstones not match. I would not have used that fabric for the sashing. Just my opinion, one out of 30 ain't bad !"  What made that comment funny?  It came from my Mother.

You can design fabrics and rulers, run a successful quilt shop, be the author of one of the top 20 best selling patterns and have your work featured on the cover of magazines and still not make your Mother happy.

Oh Those Frenchmen

Can you guess what this is?



It's a pattern in the snow made by a man walking in snowshoes.

No kidding!



He does this for exercise.

The finished designs are often the size of 3 soccer fields.

We still have plenty of winter left here in the north east.
Anyone want to go for a walk?

You can read more about him here:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/simon-beck-snow-art