Monday, December 31, 2018

Good Fortune Clue #6



This week was clue #7 in Bonnie Hunter's 2018 Mystery Quilt, Good Fortune. There were three ways to achieve this step - string piecing, strip piecing, or solid pieces of neutral. Those that chose the third option - using only one neutral fabric - were told not to cut anything this week and skip this step until later when they would be told how to cut their fabric. I chose string piecing and finished the same day as the clue was posted, last Friday.

We should be getting close to the end and the big reveal. Bonnie has said to stay tuned because clues may not be posted when you are expecting them to be.

To follow along and see all the other color choices that people are using, click here for Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 6!

Monday, December 24, 2018

Good Fortune Clue #5

Merry Christmas to all! Every week we are getting closer to the big reveal in Bonnie Hunter's 2018 Winter Mystery. I was able to complete clue #5 with no problems on the day (evening, actually) that the clue was revealed. I wanted to use the Essentrial Triangle ruler, but couldn't find it so I resorted to the "old school" method of using the Easy Angle and Companion Angle rulers. It worked out fine. I am subbing yellow to gold fabrics for the orange that Bonnie is using and dark green for her blue. I am hoping for a quilt with a Christmasy vibe. Here is my completed clue #5 shown with the other four clues. I am pleased with the colors. This should make a nice Christmas themed quilt.


I am linking up with others who are posting at Bonnie's web site. Click here to look at what others have accomplished this week.

I continue to make blocks for the Virginia Bound quilt being made for a relative, using shirts from her late husband. It is an easy process to make these blocks, albeit not terribly fast. Now that there are six stars completed, the secondary pattern made by the light triangles has appeared.


This pattern is in Bonnie Hunter's book, Scraps and Shirttails (the first one, not Scraps and Shirttails II), and is the very first pattern in the book. The second pattern, Cactus Patch, has also captured my eye and I am getting sucked into making that next. I sewed up a test block last night to see if I like it and I do! The centers of the blocks are 4" finished scrappy string pieced blocks. After the Christmas festivities are over  I will pull out my treadle to complete the blocks needed for the quilt. Last night I used the Pfaff sewing machine to make 8 of the 4" blocks which work up very quickly. I really enjoy treadling, so will put off making the remainder until Wednesday when I can use the treadle and not worry about the mess that will be made in the living room, where the treadle lives. Here's the "test" block.


I haven't seen this pattern shown in Bonnie's Show & Tell sessions at the various places she has taught workshops. Pinterest only has a few pics as well and several of the photos are actually from Bonnie's web site or book. There hasn't been many (if any) requests for workshops for this quilt either. At least that I can find. Maybe it's not one that Bonnie offers for workshops.I did find a few references to this quilt on Bonnie Quiltville blog, including the original antique quilt that was her inspiration.

Bonnie's instructions indicate the the half square triangles can go any which way. That combined with the string pieced centers make for a relaxing project. Her instructions call for the conventional method of add 7/8" to the finished size for cutting the strips to make the half square triangle patches. Using her updated way of making these, I was able to use strips cut 1/2" larger than the finished size and cut the triangles with her Essential Triangle ruler.



Saturday, December 15, 2018

Good Fortune Clue #4

This week's clue in Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery quilt can be done four ways. I chose the string piecing method, since I really like string piecing. I found a phone book that was relatively large, so I was able to get four blocks from each paper foundation. The pieces flew through the sewing machine and I was finished in record time.


I am using yellow to gold fabrics in lieu of orange, as in Bonnie's palette. To see what others are doing, click https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2018/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-4.html

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Good Fortune Clue #3

I was really dreading the chevron blocks that Bonnie had for us in clue #3. I had made these blocks in previous years for her mystery and it was a sad tale indeed. Mine were quite wonky in many cases. However this time I used her Bonus Buddy ruler according to her directions and was amazed to find that all of the chevrons and bonus half square triangle blocks came out spot on. Almost no trimming - except for dog ears - was needed. I am a happy camper.

I am using grass or lime green for the darker green that Bonnie calls for. I substituted very dark forest green for the blue called for in the pattern. My intention is to make a Christmas quilt and with any luck these substitutions will work. To see all the other wonderful color palettes, head on over to Bonnie's blog.


I am going back and forth between Bonnie's mystery quilt and Gyleen Fitzgerald's Bricks, Cobblestones and Pebbles QAL on her Facebook page of the same name. Bonnie's clues are posted on Fridays and Gyleen's on Tuesdays. So far I have been able to finish the mystery clue well before the following Tuesday. I am now in the process of seaming together the QAL blocks. It is a bit of a puzzle as there are several partial seams required to put the top together. I am methodically working through Gyleen's instructions after first thinking I could just wing it. It's a little more complicated than that.


The colors look washed out in this photo. Next time it should be all sewn together and I will attempt a more saturated photo that shows the colors better.


Sunday, December 2, 2018

Good Fortune Clue #2 & Monday Link-Up

Bonnie Hunter's 2018 mystery quilt, Good Fortune, is on the second week of clues. I finished clue #2 yesterday evening. The task was to make a slew of half square triangles. I used paper foundations found online at Quilting and What Not. Each sheet makes multiples of half square triangle units which allowed me to complete the clue in record time. I have substituted dark green for Bonnie's chosen color blue since I am making a Christmas quilt.


Here are four of this week's units arranged as a pinwheel and paired with the four patch units from last week's clue #1.


To see what others are doing, check out the Monday Link_up over at Bonnie's blog: Monday Link-Up.

I am also working on Gyleen Fitzgerald's Weaver QAL on Facebook. This is a preliminary arrangement of the blocks completed so far. There will be lots of moving blocks around as I make more. I chose the Kaffe paperweight fabric in pumpkin as the unifyimg fabric but now I am thinking it would have been better to choose something brighter and less busy. Live and learn.