Saturday, February 28, 2009

Retreat projects report #1

This is one of the first projects I wanted to finish at retreat. In my previous mini class I taught the wheel of mystery a.k.a. winding ways (you can see my first quilt here). The pattern is from the EQ5 block called "four leaf clover". I thought it could be easily changed to this variation of the design by drawing heart lobes on each petal and it could become a Valentine's mini. I had finished most of the applique by retreat, so I just had to stitch in the ditch, buttonhole stitch around the hearts, bind, and sew on the buttons. I think the bias binding gives it a nice edging. Blcoks are 3" and the quilt measures about 9.5".
Warning...mystery spoiler ahead!
I must have been still thinking about Valentine's day because my next project turned out to be more of the same theme! I had printed out the mystery block from Paper Panache and gathered the fabrics a while ago, but didn't have a chance to get to it until retreat. This is what the pieces looked like from the front and how the block pieces fit together from the back.

And this is the finished block...a Valentine's rose.
The process of these mini paper pieced mysteries is truly one of my favorite quilting activities...not too time consuming but complex enough to be a challenge. Thanks to Linda who has been providing these delighful free mystery blocks for years ( I have made 7 of 50 her mystery blocks).







10 comments:

Greenmare said...

oh my gosh that looks fabulous!!!! I don't suppose you want to make about 81 more of those huh?

Becky said...

What nice looking projects! Your Valentine's mini is stunning.Nice job!

sewnut said...

That is a great PP pattern. The rose is very pretty.

Andrea said...

Wow - I love that rose. I have just printed it off - gotta have a crack at it. And the little red and white quilt is just beautiful too. Wish I could come on retreat with you :-(

Jean said...

I printed off the rose too...omg...it is gorgeous when you do it, but those are a lot of teeny tiny pieces...since you did such a good job, maybe you would just like to make mine to? lol

Libby said...

I love bias binding . . . . the look of it is really worth the extra bit of effort to put it together *s*

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Beautiful paper piecing...It's lovely!

Tanya said...

I have enjoyed Paper Panache too in the past and have made a couple of her blocks. Sometimes they even get made into a little wall hanging, but many of them are still just lying around somewhere. Your rose is a beauty!

Jeanne said...

Great projects, Kathy! Is the Valentine mini made with some of the fabrics you bought here? Love the rose, too. You were very productive at your retreat!

Diana LaMarre said...

I am so very happy to see that you posted about the mystery block!! I just finished the same one and posted it today.

It was such fun. It wasn't all the easy fitting those leaves together (at least for me).

I think it's a beautiful design.