Labels and Block Play

What is your favorite part of quilting?  For me, it's piecing and the search for new quilting patterns is my second favorite.  For others it may be the quilting / longarming aspect or possibly binding. This week I indulged in my next fav - LABELS.  I finally found iron-on printable fabric. Eureka!

I used a Word template which divided a sheet into six labels, then added graphics and text boxes. OMG - this was so much fun!  It was hard to believe I had NINE quilts that were not yet labeled. Well, I remedied that.  I also created a couple labels for quilts that will soon be finished.  The Dritz instruction sheet suggested rounding the corners to help the iron-on resist separating. I trimmed the corners, removed the backing, arranged the label on my quilt, covered with a scrap piece of fabric, then ironed atop a piece of wood (normal ironing board is too padded).  It worked like a charm!

If you have experience using this Dritz product, please comment on its colorfastness and adhesiveness.

Other accomplishments:

• Finally finished cutting fabrics for Kevin's clue #3 for his Sapphire Stars mystery quilt. Now I need to sew the wings on those triangles.
  
• Sewed two test blocks from Bonnie Hunter's Sugar Bowl block instructions. She included pressing directions which helped immensely. I would love to see her add pressing tips for her Floribunda pattern. I'm a bit afraid of what mess I will find when I finally get around to assembling my older and newer Floribunda (aka Colorado Sunshine) blocks. Anyway, these Sugar Bowl blocks were so much fun to make. This gives me a THIRD block design to use up my plaid scraps. The other two are a double pinwheel and Bonnie's Moth in the Window block.
  
• Began FMQ on the Super Star baby quilt. My Machinger gloves got lost during our household move (who knows which box they ended up in) so had to go out and buy new ones. I know better than the FMQ without them!  They really help me keep tension on the top layer and move the quilt around.

What are you working on?

Mystery Quilts Progress

Am I crazy for participating in four and a half mystery quilts all at the same time?  The extra half is my ongoing En Provence mystery quilt of fall 2016 from Bonnie Hunter for which I am still sewing parts and assembling.

1) Alycia Quilts "Big Star Country" - Flimsy is together and ready for longarming if I can find a backing. My sewing machine died in the middle of the assembly, so I had to suffer through Sewing Withdrawal Syndrome (SWS) for a week while it was being repaired. As soon as it came home I finished up this flimsy.

2) Kevin the Quilter - Ready for clue #3 to arrive next week.

3) EvaPaige Quilts "In the 'Hood" - Final reveal came today. I cannot post the final block design until Beth reveals it on August 25th.  Cute blocks!  Update: Beth also shared my pic on Facebook! 

4) Meadow Mist Designs "Magnolia Mystery" - The fabrics I purchased originally just didn't excite me. Instead I found a black print (not the solid shown below) and some leftover blush-colored print to mix with my teals and background white-on-white print. There are lots of others who posted their fabric selection on Facebook which make me second guess my own. But I decided these colors felt right and I went ahead and cut my fabrics.

4.5) En Provence - Lots of quilters have posted their final versions which gave me ideas on how to alter the design slightly to make it my own. Here is a view of how my version is progressing. I am planning on 12 of the large blocks and will put solid pink centers on the stars to make them stand out. Bonnie Hunter designed this quilt and I really like it. But as you know, Bonnie's quilts require a LOT of sewing!

And I assembled a quick baby quilt for a friend. It's quick and easy! I'm planning on a fairly simply FMQ of half-inch spaced lines with an occasional daisy.

What projects or mystery quilts are you sewing?