Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt Update

I have been steadily and industriously working on Bonnie Hunter's latest Mystery Quilt, Grand Illusion.

I have completed all of the parts!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6 will be out on Friday this week, the first day of the Post Holiday Quilters' Retreat!
What perfect timing!

I hope the next clue is something I can diligently work on over the weekend.  But, if not, there is always Celtic Solstice to finish

Stay tuned....

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt -Part 1

The day arrived and the cutting and sewing began.  After six weeks of waiting, the day was finally here!

I cut at home and began to piece at the studio classroom.  As of this writing, I have all pieces cut for part 1, all triangles pieced and four units assembled.

I will try to do more today!

Mary's units- totally out of her color box!

Can't wait for Part 2!  This quilt is going to be another awesome Bonnie Hunnter design, I can just tell!

Thursday PM Update!

All units are completed!

80 plus half square triangles are completed!

Waiting for Part 2 to be released in the morning!

  

On Retreat - Day Four

Just finished lunch and we are completing our packing.  The room is empty and we are the last to go.

Kathleen finished her wall hanging and showed it this morning.

Judi finished her tree skirt and showed it at show and tell last night.

It has been fun as always this year.

Until next year, good bye from Troy New Hampshire!

On Retreat - Day Three - What We Are Doing

Also known as a show and tell of the projects going on at retreat.

Although this is not the official show and tell of retreat, you can see some of the projects going on here in Troy, New Hampshire this weekend.

Kathleen just finished this little wall hanging. 

Linda finished this lap sized quilt at 3 AM last night or more accurately this morning.  I took this picture at ten before I gave up for the night.

Another of Linda's creations without the final border, which I understand was left at home.

Nancy's paper pieced pattern, Raindrops, by Judy Niemeyer.  

A section of Nancy's project up close on the ironing board.

Marian has been working on this project, using her new Pfaff sewing machine and its various stitches.

I think this is the back

And this is the front.  It is the project where you have two fabric circles and batting and you sew the three pieces together.  At the very end the quilt is completely finished.  I know this was not a good description of the process and I can't remember the name of the project.  When I do I will let you know.

Mary has been working on her "Twirling Stars" quilt from the Kimberly Einmo workshop we took at "The Gathering" a few weeks ago.  The border took her a bit of time but the piece is now finished.

I pieced together five sections of my Scrappy Bargello. The last one,the sixth, is going the wrong way.  It will become the beginning of the next scrappy quilt. When I get home I will need to make one more section so the quilt will be the size I need.

Another view

I also Finished the final border of this "Blooming Nine Patch" which has been around for awhile.  Another UFO bites the dust.

Sewed a few sections of the newest Strip Twist

And have made two more scrappy blocks for a total of six thus far.

I am hoping to sew the final blue borders on this mystery quilt before 4 PM, but considering it is 3:58, I doubt that it will happen.

Four o'clock is time for cocktails and hor devours (or snacks since I don't think I spelled that correctly!)

I doubt that too much sewing will happen tonight!

One more day before retreat is over.  I still have so much more to do!

Ps. The view from my balcony window, Mount Monadnock in the late afternoon.

Have a great evening!

On Retreat - Day Two PM update

The afternoon retreat update is all about shopping!  We visited Bittersweet Fabic Shop in Boscawen, New Hampshire and Quilted Threads in Henniken, New Hampshire.

Dave LaValley owns and operates Bittersweet Fabric Shop.  They have a full line of Janome sewing machines.  Dave also collects old machines, Featherweights and older Singer Sewing Machines.  It is great to look at them displayed.  He also has a nice assortment of fabrics.

Quilted Threads in Henniker, New Hampshire is a full service shop.  It is a new shop addition to the Schoolhouse Shop Hop held at the end of March.  Our bus trip will stop here, so Mary and I visited while we were in the area today.  If you are going on the Shop Hop you will enjoy this shop.

Evening activities included the chocolatier and wine party.  A little bit of sewing was accomplished but not much!

Four scrappy blocks 

And some four patches for Mary to sew into the 64 patches for her blue postage stamp quilt

Were about all the sewing that was done tonight after dinner.

It has been a long day, so I am going to call it a night!

I will let you know tomorrow what the day will bring!

On Retreat - Morning of Day Two

This morning I am working on my blocks for "Fair and Square", a pattern from Bonnie Hunter's book, "Scraps and Shirtails II". I have sashed all of the twenty blocks,

and will finish the morning with trimming the string pieced alternate blocks.

Then it will be on to another project after lunch.  I need more string pieced blocks to finish the rows of this diagonally pieced quilt.  Somehow I missed that I needed those pieces to finish the rows!

There is a checkerboard border that is in progress at home which will be applied last.

Fun times from Troy New Hampshire!

On Retreat - Day 1

On Retreat in Troy New Hampshire, sewing and sewing for the next two and a half days.  Look at what has been accomplished so far today.

And what is left to sew.

One empty spool of thread so far and another not too far away from bring finished.  Tonight I plan to sew the rest of these units, but who knows if I will be able to stay awake that long!

Yes there is always tomorrow!  But I have plans for that!

Stay tuned to see what happens on this quilty weekend retreat.

Wednesday update

Another warm day and the back door is open while I sew.  With a 72 degree temperature outside,no need to keep myself closed in today.

I am finishing section five of my Scrappy Bargello quilt.

  I might finish it today if I work really hard and do not get distracted.  However. with this lovely weather, distraction is a definite possibility!

An update on the studio classroom doings.  It has been a busy place this last week!

Marie has been extra busy.  She finished her Christmas tree skirt and a tote bag.

   

Mary worked on E's costume one day and Carol is still working on her Disappearing Hour Glass Quilt.

I have been straightening out scraps and deciding if I need to change anything in my Pineapple Blossom Scrap Quilt.

Mary thinks the lime green sashing strips jump out a bit.  But she also acknowledges that lime green is one of my colors.  She could be right because for me the gold and the print sashing strips stand out, not the lime green ones!

Tonight is the NBQA November Block of the Month construction night.  Maybe I will see you at the classroom?

Enjoy the nice day!

Friday in the Studio Classroom

This posting is a quick show and tell about the activities in the studio classroom today.

Suzanne's tote bag was completed and she began working on the binding of her Log Cabin quilt.

You've already seen Suzanne's tote bag but here it is again.

Somehow I did not get picture of her quilt!  It is awesome and is her first effort!  I will get a picture the next time I see Suzanne.

Marie's quilt, a modified version of a pattern by Sharon Mayers of Piecing with Poppers.

It is a queen sized quilt that Marie made during several Open Sew sessions.  This is the second quilt Marie has made.  It is much brighter than the picture is showing.  We had a difficult time finding a place in the classroom with good light for a full picture of this very large quilt.

Finally, on the design wall...

"Pineapple Blossom", a free pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com. The border still needs to be completed on the right and bottom.  I am just so pleased with how it is going that I couldn't wait to share!  Thanks to Sue for putting this up on the design wall while I assisted Marie with her tree skirt snd Suzanne with her tote bag.

A great session today at the studio and classroom at the Piecing with Popper's Quilting Center where I have my quilting studio and teach Open Sew classes on Thursday and Friday afternoons and Monday evenings.

Have a great weekend!

Today in the Studio Classroom

At the Piecing with Poppers Quilting Center...

Student Carol and I worked on her Disappearing Hour Glass Quilt.  We have 12 blocks completed so far.  But it is a visual challenge to make sure that nothing gets turned around.

Looks like we failed on one block. Can you find it?

We will have to take it out during our next class.

This quilt uses two layer cakes, one print and one solid.  Of course, you can use yardage, but layer cakes are so easy.  Hop on over to you tube and check out the video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Jenny Doan does a great job, as usual, explaining how to make this block.

Just be careful not to switch a piece around!

October 15, 2014 and The Endless Summer

At the risk of sounding like the weatherman, I am going to comment on the weather again today.

At 3:43 PM the temperature in my home town was 75 degrees Farenheit!  In Mid October!

I spent the afternoon with the windows and screen door open, trying to catch the breeze as I did a bit of sewing.  Once again, it was too breezy to stitch on the deck, so this arrangement was appropriate.

I did not accomplish as much as I had hoped to be able to do.  But anything finished is a good afternoon sewing, 75 degrees or not.

One tote bag completed.  

  

To "match" student Suzanne's creation from last week's open sew class on Friday.

Stop by and visit some afternoon during open sew.  You will be able to see my tote bag made from my decorator friend's last season's sample catalogues.  Remember the classroom is open to all sewers and their UFO's and assorted projects on Monday evenings and Thursday and Friday afternoons.

I also worked on a very wide strip set which will go into my Scrappy Bargello quilt.  This pattern is another freebie from Bonnie Hunter and can be found under the free patterns tab on her website at Quiltville.com. Not too much left to do on this quilt.

Until next time....