New Years Day Mystery Quilt

Yes, I am extremely tardy in posting this but some things can't wait and some things can. 

I love doing Mystery Quilts, which is when you are give quantities and instructions periodically in steps but you have no idea how the quilt will actually look when its done. Mostly, you just pray for guidance and hope for the best.  Sometimes you win, and sometimes you just aren't sure.

When given the quantities for the New Years Day project, which was intended to be finished in one day, I looked through my fabrics and picked a fabric that I really just wanted to use up.  I looked around for bits and pieces that I thought would coordinate well but was well aware that some of the quantities were only marginally enough based on the information provided by the quilt designer.

The main fabric that I wanted to go was a bit of My Little Pony fabric that was leftover from what, I have NO idea...  it had been that long.   I had my pile of fabrics and considered them long and hard before beginning.  I decided that I chose it and I was going to go with my gut.

Near the end of assembling the blocks, I knew I was running dangerously low on some of the fabrics... especially the bold turquoise but I forged forward and made sure I cut carefully and made no mistakes.

Not knowing how a quilt will look in the end really hampers me in trying to predict the final outcome of the fabric choices.  Its all about balance but there is a learning curve in predicting balance.

The blocks were finished and the turquoise was used up and I was pretty happy with the quilt but the size was a bit small.  So I tried to make it larger....

That's where I think I made my mistake:   I added a border of My Little Pony on each end and then threw in a row of flying geese and another row of the Pony fabric. 

I think it really needed a bit of turquoise between the geese and the Pony fabric but there was no more and I really wanted to use up the Pony stuff.



I used the striped fabric for the binding and while its not really ugly, it could be a lot better if I had used some yellow to warm it up and more turquoise because the overall color palette is cool.



It still needs to be quilted and it will get done...  hopefully this summer...  when its hot and I spend all day in the studio (which is no different than any other day I can sneak away for a studio day).

They say there is no ugly quilt so I suppose the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I am sure that someday, I will meet some little girl who will think this is just the cat's meow!!

If you meet this little girl, send her my way !!!

Make someone's day !!

A few months ago, I finally gave in and decided that a monthly housecleaning service may be just what the doctor ordered for us....  and I have to say that with the advent of a housecleaning service, I find that life has become far more joyous!

You know how you think about all the household chores that need to be completed on any given day?  And as you ponder the list, you decide you don't want to do any of it and go work in the yard instead?  And nothing on the list gets done. 

So the next day, you ponder your household to-do list....  and decide to finally paint the chair that's been waiting for some love...  and nothing on the list gets done again.

And so on....  and on and on.

Well, let me tell you what happened when we hired our housecleaning service.  They cleaned our house!   All of it...  all at once.  So when I ponder the household to-do list, there is nothing on it and I no longer have to make those passive aggressive yardwork or painting decisions to get around the to-do list.

And the bestest joyous part it that I get to do fun stuff like sew!  And I have a very LONNNNNG list of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) to do.

To celebrate my freedom from the housework mind-freeze and kick off the UFO finishing, I invited a friend over for 4 days of non-stop stitching and, while I won't swear to it, YouTubes of the Midnight Quilter and some quilter's juice created just the atmosphere I needed for my crazy "get 'er done" push on the UFOs that were clogging up my brain.  (Please know that the block border for the My Blue Heaven quilt was not injured in association with the taking of this photograph.)

None of the quilts represented here are truly completed but I am thrilled that so much progress was made on so many quilts - and all due to the mental relief provided by the housecleaning service (doing a happy dance AGAIN). 

The Serendipitous Quilt below started as a gifted block that I received (along with maybe 10 other blocks) from a fellow quilter, Celeste. 

The original block is the part in the upper right portion of the quilt top that is bordered by strips of yellow/light/blue on all four sides with light dusty blue squares in the corners. I dug through my scraps for all blues, lights, and yellows that matched or coordinated and simply started sewing parts and pieces onto the original block until it was large enough for a baby quilt.   I have no idea why I decided to add on in an asymmetrical fashion but I did!  I hope to get it quilted in March (February is pretty full already) and squirrel it away until I feel compelled to gift it or donate it.

I was able to complete some of the many team themed Mug Rugs that I started months ago - I decided it was time to get them finished and off my UFO list.    I will be offering them for sale with funds to my favorite charity, Angelgownsbyjacki.  Iowa State, University of Iowa, and Arizona are currently available.

This is a quilt that a 2017 New Years Day Mystery Quilt that I finally finished.

A mystery quilt is when the designer offers a list of fabric amounts needed and periodically offered sewing directions throughout a pre-determined amount of time - sometimes hours and sometimes months - and you make the quilt without knowing how the final product will look.

I had chosen a fabric from my stash that I felt needed to be used up (the My Little Pony fabric) so I dug until I found coordinating fabrics and away I went.  The final four blocks in the center turned out ok but was not big enough for a quilt so I added on to opposite ends to reach the measurement I wanted.

However, as I used what I had, fabric was very limited at this point so I did the best I could with what I had.  And I did achieve my goal on this one - all the Pony fabric was used up in this quilt...  every last bit !!!  This is another one on the March hopeful for quilting list.

Below is the start of a quilt for a very good friend, and known as a BFF Quilt. 

This quilt drove me completely bonkers BUT turned out simply amazing and just the way the customer wanted.  The king quilt and two king pillow shams are fully pieced and quilted but all three pieces still needs what seems like miles and miles of binding.  The final quilt will be shown after the BFF has received it...  after all, there must be SOME mystery, right?

I also worked on My Blue Heaven by Quiltville and Bonnie Hunter.

  
While I didn't get the additional borders on it to expand it from fits current queen size to a king size quilt, I did get the borders done...  now to attach them and get it quilted in February as its intended recipient has a birthday in March.

I also completed this Meadow Mist 2016-2017 Mystery Quilt, which I just started last week while I was quilting the BFF quilt (shown above). 



Unfortunately it was completed with two errors.  I will repair them before I quilt it...  and its on the April or May quilting list.

Playing with Jacks still needs borders but, for now, it's time under my needle is over. Borders will be another day. 150 blocks with 15 pieces in each block and its a beautiful piece.  It's also from Quiltville and Bonnie Hunter.

I also FINALLY finished this 2012 Block of the Month from 35th Ave Sew and Vac known as Kaleidoscope of Kolor.

I worked on a few other small projects but didn't get them assembled so I will wait to photograph them. 

And I was able to work on my Angelgownbyjacki on my regular schedule!!

And I started a edging project in the yard...  but I will save that for a later post.

Life is good here at the compound, I am on a roll, and I do not intend to slow down any time soon because, frankly, the UFO list is STILL too long !!!  oh, and there IS that yard project that needs finished....