Cocoa Craze

While working ferociously to finish Celtic Solstice before Bonnie's next mystery begins, I took some time to assemble the Mocha Swirl blocks into a top. Then last Saturday I went shopping at Quilt Ledger, a small quilt shop about 15 miles away in the little town of Christiana, Pennsylvania. Leslie, the friendly owner, pointed out some fabric on sale. Lo and behold I found a great border print for Mocha Swirl --Pushy Paisley from Hoffman Fabrics. Now Mocha Swirl is a flimsy and renamed "Cocoa Craze".

For those of you interested in trying this easy pattern (I highly recommend it!), buy "Scrap-Basket Surprises" by Kim Brackett. http://www.amazon.com/Scrap-Basket-Surprises-18-Quilts-Strips/dp/1564778908/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1415548272&sr=1-1


I have made two quilts from this book and am contemplating a third - "Christmas Ribbons". Another quilter had used this pattern with pink scraps over a black background. It looked great and could be a thoughtful gift for someone who is struggling with breast cancer.

I may even whip up "Summer Breeze" as a baby quilt.  "Monkey Business" would be great in bright batiks. "Pinwheel" would be nice in a controlled color palette. Good job, Kim, on designing easy quilts that look more complicated than they are. Evidently we quilters like your designs because there are certainly a lot of images of finished quilts proudly posted on the web.



On a higher note, I got in some flying yesterday. It's a pretty autumn weekend with cool air to boost engine performance and clear skies which make the colorful trees sparkle in the sunshine. The picture below is Poconos fall foliage from coreyhilz.com. This is what I see all around me right now!

Regarding the college search, my daughter did well on her last SAT and the acceptance letters are starting to arrive. Whew! She has not declared a major although is leaning toward pre-law. Hmmm, I'm not too sure about that, but it is her choice. If that's her passion, so be it.

Catching Up

Sorry it's been a few weeks since I last posted. Like you, I've been busy with work and various projects. You may recall I have been working on two complex, time-consuming quilts - Blueberry Hill (Jamestown Landing) and the king-sizing of Celtic Solstice. I tend to get bored easily and decided to take a break and do something different. I started TWO quilts!  I know, I know. My UFO list is extensive, but I just HAD to begin a new project (or two).

The first one is an easy pattern that I have had in mind for a while. This is a Kim Brackett design called "Mocha Swirl".  I think chocolate and caramel when I see this quilt. Chocolate is one of my basic food groups, so this definitely spoke to me!  I already have one third of the blocks done and plenty cut for the remainder. Do you have any suggestions for the border?

The next quilt is from this month's issue of Quiltmaker magazine. It just called to me. And I hate orange! Go figure. I bought fabric from Connecting Threads during their recent Basics sale and have begun cutting.

Exciting news arrived this morning. My Chunky Churndash quilt is ready for pickup from the longarmer! I will post pictures once I have it home and bound. [Jumping up and down excitedly in my mind].  So I am seizing on this as my justification for starting a new quilt. When the longarmer finishes my Bittersweet Beauty, I can justify the fox quilt, too. I will probably drop off Royal Flush with her, so I might actually reach my goal for reducing my UFO list.

On a higher note, I put in nearly three hours of flying this past weekend. I got in some short-field landing practice Friday night, then flew to a friend's home strip off the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland on Sunday. It was nice to 'leave the bounds of earth' for a while and watch the sailboats from above.

2014 To Do List

As stated in my last post, my 2014 word is FOCUS. I have too many unfinished quilting projects, also known as UFOs.  I am focused on finishing these … so I can justify starting new ones!

Here is my list:

Ready for ME to Quilt (flimsy finished, backing prepared)

1.   “Autumn Leaves”  (Quilters Club mystery sewn in 2011) - COMPLETED

2.      “Halloweenie” (Connecting Threads 2013 mystery; had extra fabric so made it bigger). Need to prep the backing and deliver to longarmer.

3.      2012 Craftsy Sampler (lots of FMQ which is a bit daunting). Needs more 'oomph' in the border. Considering adding more white space between blocks and multi-color band, then finish with white outer border, then binding in medium brown.

Ready to be Longarm Quilted 

1.       “Chunky Churndash” (design by Bonnie Hunter) begun in 2012 for a bedspread.  COMPLETED

2.      “Bittersweet Beauty” (Quilters Club 2012 mystery) COMPLETED; gifted to cousin.

3.      “Bright Bali” (design by Kim Brackett) assembled in 2013. COMPLETED

Finishing Touches Needed (border / backing)

1.        “Crabapple Trees”  (adapted from Bonnie Hunter design, destined to be a wall hanging) begun in 2013. Checkerboard border is done, but needs outer border and backing.

2.      “Celtic Solstice” (Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt of 2013) needs borders & backing HUBBY wants larger size, so need many more blocks and border pieces!!! As of now, need 4 more stars, 11 more chevron blocks. Am switching the border to orange diamonds rather than arrows (saw great example online).

3.      “Sweet Dreams” (former Quilters Club mystery) sewn in 2011, need to piece a backing.

4.       “Mother Earth” (adapted from Mary Koval design) begun in 2013 needs borders, backing on hand

5.       “Beginnings”, my first quilt circa 1988, need to change the ugly corners and select backing.

Blocks Finished, Need to Assemble

1.       “Royal Flush” (Baubles & Beads design in purple) sewn in 2013, backing on hand (inspiration http://babyboomerquiltingbee.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-tiger-by-tail.html)  COMPLETE

2.       “Red Cross” (Greek cross in red and gray) sewn in 2013, backing ready (inspiration http://www.okcmqg.com/2013/01/win-red-cross-charity-quilt.html) QUILTING HAS BEGUN

Make More Blocks

1.       “1860s Revival” (goose & goslings block with retro zigzag setting; started in 2013) need 8 more blocks, toile backing on hand BLOCKS DONE - Need to assemble

2.      “Blueberry Hill” (Bonnie Hunter Jamestown Landing design) started in 2013, assemble remaining 11 rows and  border; need to decide on backing. Need 50 more string blocks, about 50 more Broken Dishes blocks, then it's time to begin the border.

3.      “Colorado Sunshine” (Bonnie Hunter's Floribunda design) started in 2012. Need 7 more blocks and a bit more border; need to decide on backing. Will use soft green between center and checkerboard border.

4.      “Pine Trees” (old Dimensions pattern now missing) started around 1988, need to count blocks and plan the finishing touches, need to decide on backing

5.      “Queen of Hearts” (disappearing 4-patch in red/white) started in 2013, need many more blocks, backing on hand

6.      “Lady of the Lake” (Bonnie Hunter design “Lady of Lake Erie”) need many more blocks plus backing

7. "Cocoa Craze" (Mocha Swirl pattern by Kim Brackett) NEW 2014 PROJECT. Need to find backing and send to longarmer.

8. "Sly as a Fox" (Quiltmaker - June 2014) NEW 2014 PROJECT; Ready to quilt!!!

 

9. "Broncos at the Crossroads" in blue & orange (Carolina Crossroads design by Bonnie Hunter) - Began Sept 8 2014 - Delivered to Longarm Service - Oct 21. Talk about power sewing! Back from longarm service Dec 11. Need to finish the binding and it's done!

.

Gathering Fabric for Future Quilt (start only after finishing up several of the above quilts)

1.      “Road to America” (Bonnie Hunter design “Old Tobacco Road” in red/white/blue)

2.     “Smith Mountain Morning” (Bonnie Hunter design) – it’s not too far away, so maybe I will visit the actual site for inspiration and motivation

3.      “Double Delight” (Bonnie Hunter design)

4.      Kaffe Fassett 6” roll “Fire”; border with shades of teal

5.      Bright Christmas fabrics for Anita’s Arrowhead blocks

6.      Jewelbox blocks sewn in bright batiks and cream – started
7.    Carolina Crossroads (Bonnie Hunter design) - blue/orange combo
8.   Texas Tumbleweed (yet another Bonnie Hunter design)
9.   Bonnie's 2014 Mystery Quilt Grand Illusion (began Nov. 28) - started
10. Moth in the Window (Bonnie Hunter block) in plaids and solids.

Whew!  I finished 10 quilts in 2013, so hopefully I can do the same volume or better this year. Wish me luck!