Design Wall Monday

I'm so excited to share my Morewood Mystery quilt top! I chose bright colours to keep me going with this project through the winter. Here it is on the design wall - I hope I have all the blocks correctly oriented! It was really fun to put together with very little seam matching to be done.

One helpful hint in mystery quilt construction is to not use directional fabrics because you never know how they will end up. I did use a directional text fabric in this quilt and put it in the centre of the orange blocks, not knowing how they would be oriented in the final layout. But it all worked out perfectly which was lucky! I was prepared to be happy with it even if the blocks were every which way.

And here is the fun outdoor shot with true colours.

We have a lot of snow and are getting more this week, so it's quite an undertaking to get good outdoor shots with natural light.

I'm very happy with how my quilt turned out and am excited for the quilting stage which will likely consist of diagonal lines in keeping with the design. Thanks to Cheryl for another wonderful mystery adventure!

Linking up to Small Quilts

Mosaic Mystery on the Design Wall

The mystery quilt at Meadow Mist designs has come to a conclusion. 
The quilt is called Mosaic Mystery and this is how my version looked without borders. I wasn't very happy with it because one of the main design elements (the diagonal chain) was too light/yellow to provide some good contrast in the quilt. (This photo was taken at night and doesn't show the true colours.)

I auditioned many fabrics to figure out what this quilt needed to help me like it more.

Finally I found the sunflowers and birds strips in a very busy print. I fussy cut the strips for the top and bottom borders and pieced them together. 
And now I love it!
Hop over to the link up party to see over 100 versions of this same design. It's amazing how people put colours and fabrics together. All the quilts look alike, but each one is unique!
Linking up to Small Quilts and the Mosaic Mystery party.

Mosaic Mystery Update

It was fun sewing this month's step in Cheryl's mystery at Meadow Mist Designs. There was nothing fancy or difficult requiring use of the seam ripper, which made it fun to sew.
My bright colour choices are bringing some sunshiny cheerfulness into the sewing room.
Don't they make their own sweet  little spring time quilt!?
I enjoy the pace of a project with a bit of sewing each month. It's fun to pull out the fabrics, sew a few blocks and then put them back in the box until the next month. Eventually it will magically become a quilt with seemingly very little effort!

Hop over to the Meadow Mist link up and see the variety of colours and fabrics that quilters are using to make these same diagonal blocks.

Meadow Mist Mystery Update

Step #2 of the Mosaic Mystery Quilt was posted last week and it's a "square in a square" block, which is one of my favourites! 
I pieced the blocks on my Sweet Baby Jayne 1964 featherweight and they came out the perfect size with very little trimming required.

These blocks are:
7 fabric A and background fabric
and 8 background and fabric C.
It's a fun and easy step this month.

Click here to visit the mystery link up and see all the wide variety of blocks being sewn this month.

Mystery Updates

I must admit that I seem to be addicted to mystery quilting. It is rare for me to be able to pass up a mystery quilt adventure. Every mystery quilt pattern writer has their own unique style and I love them all!  It's so fun not knowing what I'm really making or what the project will end up looking like. 
Today is an update on the three mystery quilts I am currently working on:

Mosaic Mystery step #1

1) Step #1 of the Mosaic Mystery quilt at Meadow Mist Designs has been posted. It was quick and easy sewing but doesn't look very exciting on the design wall.  

Are you someone who worries about how your fabric choices will work out and hesitate to join in the fun? For this mystery you just need 4 fabrics and Cheryl shared lots of tips on the fabric selection process - click here. And then hop over to the September "House Block" link up to see all the finished blocks. It's so fun to see the variety of fabrics that people are using. There are no wrong choices!



And of course I sewed the second line on all the corners of these blocks to make the baby/bonus HSTs to add to my collection. I'm not sure why the blue fabrics look so different in these 2 photos, but they are the same fabrics!

"Almost Reproduction"

2) Lori at Humble Quilts is starting a new mystery project and step #1 is posted. The quilt is called "Almost Amish" and uses solids. I don't enjoy sewing with solids, so I'm using civil war reproductions because I have lots of those and need to use them up. I guess I'll call my version "Almost Reproduction", although that doesn't sound quite right!

4 patches for step #1

I have been reading Lori's blog for many years and have really enjoyed all her mystery quilts. Here are some of her mysteries that I have made: Palmateer Point, Pink Lemonade, Country Roads, Abundance, Cascadia, and Mountain Trail. What is most noteworthy about this list is that every single one of Lori's mysteries that I started has  resulted in FINISHED quilts! So why not jump right in, make the 4 patches for the first step and use up whatever stash you have laying around. 

3) Kevin's Simply Sensational Summer Scrap quilt is coming along. Summer is over now so this quilt has to get finished! 
It was challenging to trim the quilt since I didn't want to lose any points, and the edge is now completely on the bias. The next border has to get on there quickly to prevent stretching which would make the quilt edges wavy.  
This is how it looks today on the design wall. The next border is being sewn, and there are more borders still to make.

Hop over to Small Quilts to see more design wall posts.

Mosaic Mystery Quilt

Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs has started another mystery quilt and of course I have to play along. I really enjoyed making her Magnolia Mystery and can't wait to get started on another one of her wonderful designs.

**resistance is futile when you have no will power**

You only need 4 fabrics for this quilt, so it's easy to pull them from your stash. I scavenged some of my fabrics from a kit I had bought to make a paper pieced tablerunner. I love the fabrics, but wasn't loving the pattern, and this new mystery project works well with these fabrics plus a few FQ additions from the general stash.
Because I get bored easily sewing with yardage, I'm doing a slightly scrappy version. When the instructions say you need 1 yard of Fabric B, I'm using 4 fat quarters of the colour instead of yardage.

Here are my pieces cut and ready to sew. Of course I ran out of the cute background so will try to obtain more.

If you want to join us, fabric requirements are here, and the first link up to see the fabrics people are using is here. There are already over 80 quilters linked up sharing their fabric photos. I enjoyed seeing all the resourceful systems that quilters have developed to keep their quilt pieces organized using clips, stickers, pins, baggies, and baskets.

Magnolia Mystery Parade

Last fall Meadow Mist Designs hosted a mystery quiltalong called Magnolia Mystery. 
I sewed my blocks into an octagonal tabletopper instead of a bed quilt. I don't know why... the idea just popped up when I had the blocks on the design wall so I started sewing it together that way.
This week Cheryl has been posting the reveal parade of over 200 quilts made from the same pattern. It's amazing to see the same pattern made in every possible colour combination that you can think of, with sashing and without, with borders and without... the creativity and possibilities are endless!


Check out the mystery quilt parade:
Day # - quilts #1 to #70
Day #2 - quilts # 71 to #140 (my quilt is #73)
Day #3 - quilts #141 - #202

I was also amazed by  the variety of layouts and quilting designs on the quilts in the parade. I quilted my version with a free motion swirly design that is one of my favourites to quilt.

January UFO Completed

So excited to show my first finished quilt for 2018! It's amazing to me that I was able to finish the quilt in January considering I was sick for half of the month.
This is my variation of the Magnolia mystery quilt hosted by Cheryl who blogs at Meadow Mist Designs. The project kicked off in July last year and the final step was posted in December. My Magnolia quilt is an octagon shape and measures 39" across.

The quilting was done on my regular sewing machine and is a swirly free motion design. The binding fabric and most of the backing is from the "Mama Said Sew" fabric line by Sweetwater.
Thanks to Cheryl for a fun mystery quilt! There will be a mystery quilt parade sometime in February and I'll post the link when it's parade time. It's always fun to see the many unique variations of one pattern.
Linking up to One Monthly Goal January Finishes, where Patty is showing her finished Magnolia quilt!

Magnolia Mist Update

Happy winter solstice! This is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. What better way to pass the time than to do some sewing?!?

The layout for the Meadow Mist's mystery quilt called Magnolia Mystery was posted last week. I have been working on my blocks and here they are on the design wall. It's not a good photo, taken without day light, which is most of the time now! But you get the idea. Seeing the blocks on the design wall has given me lots of ideas of possible layouts, and as soon as all the blocks are sewn, I will have some fun moving everything around and seeing what I can come up with.

We have until mid February to complete the quilt for the reveal parade!




I needed 2 more full blocks and one more partial block. In my rush to get the last partial block finished, you can probably guess what happened.

One of these things is not like the other!  

The faster you go, the behinder you get!
Where's the seam ripper??

I should, of course, be wrapping presents, but the wrapping table is in the same room as my sewing machine, which keeps calling me to come and sew a little more!

Design Wall Monday

Meadow Mist is gifting us a free mystery quilt called Magnolia Mystery. It started in the summer and a new step is posted once a month. The pace is perfect to work on in between all the other quilts we are creating.

I finished trimming the bazillion HST blocks from September, and began assembling the units from the November instructions. Here are some of my blocks on the design wall, in an arrangement that has nothing to do with the pattern. I'm feeling very virtuous using up all these scraps from other projects! Nothing will be purchased for this lap quilt (except maybe some backing fabric if I run out of scraps).
In addition to enjoying a fun mystery project, there are terrific prizes to be won by those who finish their project by February. It's not too late to join in the fun!
Linking up to Small Quilts and Oh Scrap!

Magnolia Mystery

I have been keeping up with the Magnolia Mystery from Meadow Mist Designs. One step is posted each month, so it's a slow and easy pace. And I'm using up fabric leftover from my Swoon quilt, and the backing trimmings from my Tetris quilt, so it's a win/win situation.



Here are my pieces from step #1 and #2. I haven't trimmed down the HST blocks yet. I will do it because I know I will be happier with the accuracy of the finished blocks. But it is such a tedious job and I have to be "in the mood" for it. So that trimming job is waiting for the mood to arrive!
Meanwhile, the next step was posted yesterday and these pieces are going to be made into flower units, so I am excited to get going on that this weekend.
Happy Friday!

New Mystery Quilt

I caved to the temptation to start the Meadow Mist Designs mystery quilt called Magnolia Mystery. 
Why?
Because there are only 4 fabrics required and I already have them in my stash! When I read the fabric requirements for this quilt, I could see in my mind's eye the exact fabric I could use from my stash. I have a lot of fabric leftover from my Swoon quilt and this is the perfect project to use it up.

A - yellow (3/8 yd scrappy)
B - grey (3/4 yd yardage)
C - black (5/8 yd yardage)
D - white with black designs (background 4 1/4 yd scrappy)
We won't actually start sewing until August but I have everything ready to go. Thanks to Kate for the enticement to join in the fun!