On Ringo Lake! The Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt, 2017

Here we go again!

Here are my cute little 9 patches, step one of On Ringo Lake.

I was only going to do half the blocks but after cutting strips to make the 9 patches I had more than enough to make them all...so I did.

I'm looking forward to seeing the blocks from some more of her followers on Instagram and her blog 
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2017/11/on-ringo-lake-mystery-monday-link-up.html


I'm attempting the link-up with Bonnie and her other followers this year...

 Some people have such a great color sense and change things up a bit.   

I am using black in place of the chocolate brown Bonnie used.  

I have tons of black, but little to no brown. 

I have my sewing space all cleaned up and I'm looking forward to clue #2!

S

Prepare....To have your MIND blown!

This one is for you, Quiltnbe!

This will make 4 days in a row that I'm posting.

Don't ask why.

This could end just as abruptly as it all began.

First Up!  
A pair of pillowcases ..a gift for a recipient who won't be named at this time lest they discover these are for them.
I believe I bought the kits from the AQS Grand Rapids show this August.  They have been completed for awhile now, and hanging out in the gift box in my secret hiding place.

   

And then there is this little quilt top, currently on my design wall and waiting for it's borders.
My scrap box is never ending, and even though I had plenty of UFO's waiting to be worked on I decided to put this together near the end of summer when it was too hot to go outside.
The pattern is from www.quilterscache.com,
and it is referred to this as the Helter Skelter version of a Spiderweb quilt..
There are 8 sections to each block, and I have enough scraps that I could have made this larger but I found myself losing interest after making 72 sections.
I used a couple selvedges in the piecing, and wish I had used a few more.
Before borders it is approximately 30"x40".
I have no idea what I will do with this quilt, but for now I enjoy looking at it while I'm on my treadmill.

S

Instant Gratification

I've had this project in my head for quite awhile, 

ever since I made my first quilt with thrifted shirts.

One of the shirts had a U.S. Polo Assn tag on them.

For some reason I had it in my head that that was connected to Ralph Lauren,

and someone I know works for a R.L. company.

So I made this little mug rug for them to use at work.

(I thought I was being so clever!)

Just before I mailed it I did a little quick research.  I'm not sure why I started doubting myself but I'm sure glad I did.

I discovered that U.S. Polo Assn had absolutely nothing to do with Ralph Lauren.

So now I had a dilemma. 

 Do I not send this to the intended recipient?

Or do I send it with an explanation.

I chose to send it with an explanation.

I'm hoping they got a little bit of a laugh at my ignorance.

S

Just tying up loose ends...

I wanted to show that I did finish that crazy Hibiscus quilt.

This was NOT my best effort.

(I didn't even try very hard on this photo..the colors are actually much more vivid!)

If my kids want to use it some day for a moving blanket, or a dog crate cover, I'll be fine with that.

S

Almost off the needles...

Another Maeve Cowl
Pattern by Vanessa Knits

This is the second one I've made from Cascade Sierra Quatro,
(the last was yellow)
A cotton and wool blend yarn.
I needed a easy, portable project and this fit the bill.

I see that it has been MONTHS since I've posted.

Life just seems to get in the way the last couple of years.

I can say that I'll try harder to post more often...

But I wont make any promises!

S

Signs of Spring

It's been raining like nobody's business here, but thankfully the high winds that have gone along with some of that rain haven't wiped out the lilacs, and so this morning I went out to pick some....

They never last very long once they are cut, but the color and scent is amazing!

I finished this quilt last week.

I bought the fabric as a kit from The Ice House in Grayling, MI in 2005.

I sewed the top together in 2012.

Quilted and bound the top in April 2017.

I had my mom model the quilt...she's always willing to wrap up in a quilt because she is always cold!

Mom's Quilt

It's finished!

Almost Famous

I was watching Bonnie Hunter's Quilt Cam last night while I was working on loading my moms quilt top...with some urging from Faye I sent Bonnie a pic and told her what I was working on.
Faye sent her the project that was occupying her as well.
Faye's project made it onto Quilt Cam last night....
And mine made it into Bonnie's blog post this morning.
(Special thanks to my technical team for providing me the screenshot!)

Still Here...

I didn't fall off the face of the earth, but there are times I feel like I have, or wish that I had....
But I'm still here.
The Hibiscus quilt from last year is quilted, finished and stashed away.
Not sure, off the top of my head, what quilts I have finished since then but I have done a whole lot of knitting in the last 6 months or so.
Here's my latest finish:
The Maeve Cowl by Vanessa Knits.

No surprise that I cannot flip this thing around...but hopefully I'll get a chance to edit and make that happen.
I used Cascade Yarn Sierra Quatro yarn.  Its an 80% Cotton/ 20% wool.
The color is prettier and more vividly yellow (think corn on the cob )..
I do not enjoy cotton yarn at all---it's too hard on my hands...but I loved the color.
The fact that I got it for $4.75 on sale made me like it even more!

I also made these Toast Mitts (one of 3 pair knit this winter)...pattern by Leslie Friend @A Friend To Knit With.  The yarn is by Berrocco and I've had it stashed for quite a while!  This pair was sent to Elle in NYC.

And this is The Photographer Hat...I'll have to look for designer.  Made with some (very difficult to photograph) wool from Purl Soho that I picked up while visiting in February.  Super easy knit!  And as you can see, the girl likes it.

All super simple knits....which is why they are done.  I have a couple slightly more challenging projects still on the needles...and hope to have one of them done soon and ready to share.

S