Say it isn't so

Full of energy and resolve, I began assembling KSCS (king-sized Celtic Solstice). Wow, that's 121 blocks to sew together, plus three borders. Okay, I can do this.

Goodness, this quilt is wide. It stretched across the entire open area in my bedroom. Each block is being placed so that the dark corners are different blue prints. Looking good!

Had to take a break and see what it looks like with the modified orange triangle border. The green squares look like crystals, so I wanted the orange border to appear crystalline, too.  

Continuing the progress. I'm excited!  I'm finally getting this one done! Just a few more rows to go.

Oh no!  I only have five more crystal blocks but around 15 more stars. Where are the rest of my crystals? Could I have miscounted? Nooooooooooooooooo!  

After a frantic search and wallowing in mixture of disappointment and despair, I decided to persevere. Yep, my word for 2015.  I have eight full rows ready to sew together, so that's what I did.

Now I am resigned to digging out all those remnants and *gulp* make 10 blocks with chevrons and birds-in-the-air units. That's 80 half-square yellow/orange triangles, 40 chevrons, 40 birds-in-the-air, My hubby's reaction? "You've made them before, you can make just a few more." He is still alive. 

See that blank corner? I'm thinking I want an orange square on point with blue corners. Or maybe a little star made of several orange prints. We'll see what I am in the mood for, after making those last 10 blocks. Perseverance.

Beginning my own RSC

As a break from assembling these large Bonnie Hunter quilts, I decided to start a RSC15 quilt (Rainbow Scrap Quilt from superscrappy). Each month we will make blocks in a different rainbow hue and play with a different mini-block pattern for the center of the stars.

Check out my January blocks:

These are SO much fun!  This month's color is blue and I opted for navy blue. My plan is to use solids for the Sawtooth Star points and prints for the mini-blocks inside the star. Make this quilt with me!

Testing a new sashing

Thanks to suggestions from fellow quilters, I tested a light green in the Grand Illusion sashing, rather than the dark green I originally chose.  What do you think?

I prefer the deeper green as a color, but in this pattern I think the lighter green will allow the pattern to flow without confusing the eye.  That means my seam ripper will be busy.....

but I will be MUCH happier with this quilt. I will have to augment my light green fabric selection, though. Most of my stash had been used up in the Celtic Solstice chevrons.

Fireside Chat

Baby, it's cold outside!  I know, I know. It's even colder in Wisconsin and the Dakotas. It's all relative, though.  I am dreaming of summer vacations and weekend trips to the beach. Instead, our fireplace is being used every day. It's warm next to the fire. Our tabby cat K.C. (for Kitty Cat), also known as Run KC, likes to stretch out by the fire. Unusual that he was not hanging out there when I snapped this pic.

After spending Saturday cooking and cleaning, including a sock drawer purge, my Sunday was clear for some power sewing. FINALLY finished the last 11 blocks for Celtic Solstice, as this king sized version has a total of 121 blocks !!!!

Here is a view of my Celtic Solstice with the inner and outer border. Oh no, can you see the flaw in the top row?  I will fix that - my seam ripper has been working overtime today - and begin assembling this week. Yes, I have the orange triangles ready to go, just forgot about them for the picture. Yesterday the backing was ordered from Connecting Threads, along with the backing for Grand Illusion.

Speaking of Grand Illusion, I made three more flower blocks, assembled the border, and laid out the pieces to see what it looked like. Hmmm....

If you squint to make the picture blurry, you can see the black grid pattern. I think my green is too dark to make it pop. I need your opinion, dear reader. Should I redo the checkerboard sashing with light green, or should I just put it together as is? Or should I substitute with solid yellow or neutral? It just isn't singing to me right now. The colors are so wonderful, and I really want to like this quilt. Not happening the way it is, though. Please, please, please add your comments to this post. I need your help!!!

Grand Illusion Progress report 5

In spite of spending nearly all day Saturday at a car dealership, I was able to fit in some sewing time this weekend.  My version of Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion mystery quilt is coming along nicely. Click on this link and you can see the color choices and slight variations of other quilters.

Step #1 Broken Dishes 1 - have 75, need 25 more

Step #2 Double Diamonds - have 58 need 42 more 

Step #3 Checkerboard - have 101 need 19 more

Step #4A Broken Dishes 2 - DONE

Step #4B Broken Dishes 3 - DONE

Step #5 - Four Patches - DONE

Fellow quilters, did you have problems turning the border blocks correctly?  Check out my initial attempt at the border. Something doesn't look quite right.  And I didn't figure it out until I laid it out with some blocks. The white triangles were supposed to be on the same 'row' as the black squares. I pulled some more blocks to make the sample above and will take the seam ripper to this one below.

Andee at Modern Diary blog called this pattern "busy" and it definitely is. Although to me, it reminds me of a painting. Up close the blobs of paint seem ugly, but when you step back you see the whole picture and the painting comes to life. That's what I think of Grand Illusion. As I followed along with each step, I would have sworn Bonnie was planning to use the yellow as the strong graphical element, but instead she surprised me by using the black to lead our eyes across the quilt.  You cannot see it up close, only when the blocks come together. Amazing!

Are you wondering about that car dealership visit? We finally bought a replacement car for my daughter, You might recall she was in a terrible accident just before Thanksgiving. She and my husband picked out a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. Oooh baby!  I drove it tonight and it was sweeeet!  Let's hope this one lasts longer than her belated Kia Rio (3 months 22 days).

Grand Illusion and Broncos Crossroads

Thank you, Bonnie, for an easy step #5 to your Grand Illusion mystery!  I quickly finished those four-patches and started trying to catch up with the remainder. I'm joining in her Linky Party today. 

I took inventory and discovered I have a lot more to go on this quilt.

Step #1 Broken Dishes 1 - have 40, need 60 more

Step #2 Double Diamonds - have 44 need 56 more 

Step #3 Checkerboard - have 50 need 70 more

Step #4A Broken Dishes 2 - have 23 need 17 more

Step #4B Broken Dishes 3 - have 5 need 35 more

Step #5 - Four Patches - DONE

Those double diamonds seem to be the set I feel I am really dragging on, even though my inventory shows I still have a lot more broken dishes sets to go. The piece is not that difficult either, but seems to be the most time-consuming.  With Celtic Solstice, it was both the chevrons and the birds-in-the-air pieces that were the last ones I finally finished.  (And they are DONE finally!!!)  What has been the most challenging piece for you?

Also.....Broncos Crossroads is finished!!! The binding and label were completed last night.  I intended this quilt to be a gift but I like it so much that I may just keep this one. It is also the fastest quilt I have ever done (three months).  I love all those blues. The quilting motif is swirls with an occasional star in a medium blue thread. It makes for great texture and touches all those tiny squares.  This is the first time all four corners of the binding came out perfect. Can't believe it took me so long to figure out the trick - pinning and no stitches at all beyond the 1/4 inch edge.

On a higher note, my hubby and I went flying on Saturday. The skies were clear blue and the windsock was completely limp. It felt fantastic to be back up in the air! I had been feeling down lately and after a little airtime, my mood was considerably lighter (I was feeling UP). It happens every time. Flying to me is being in that top triangle of Maslow's heirarchy of needs. Flying is my flow (look up Mihály Csíkszentmihályi).  After a nice burger at a nearby airport, we breezed back home. Aaah, it was a good day.

Grand Illusion progress report 4

Santa's quilting workshop has been busy! I haven't made quite as much progress as many others on this mystery quilt journey, but I AM making progress. I am linking up to Bonnie Hunter's website. Here's what my table looks like right now:

According to my calculations, our last step will be revealed this Friday. I am SO curious about all those broken dishes blocks, how they fit together and how more yellow will be incorporated into the design. The green checkerboard pieces must be the border, I think. Oooh, the suspense is killing me!

Wait a second, I just figured out that I haven't made any of the broken dishes #3 block. What I thought was #3 is actually #2 turned a different way.  Maybe I should pay more attention to the layout. At least I didn't make too many of them.

At the same time I am trying to finish last year's mystery Celtic Solstice. Only 11 more crystal blocks to go and I can start assembling my KING size version.

On a higher note, the weather outside is frightful and the fire [inside] is so delightful. I should have gone flying yesterday, but I decided to cook Runzas (meat-filled biscuits) and Penne ala Vodka. Yummy!  Hope you are enjoying good food with family and friends, too!