Day 11 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt scraps

In the aftermath of completing my Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt top , I have started to tidy up.  Here are the scraps that I have collected over the past six weeks as we prepared each block.  I am thinking of making some small strip blocks and putting them together for another cat mat, similar to the one I did last year after completing the Easy Street Mystery quilt.

30's Playtime (Moda) & Quilters Basics (Stof)

Whilst very little actual sewing has happened, I have been busy preparing some Nearly Insane blocks.  It seems quite a while since I had a day on my Electric Quilt software, planning, designing and cutting out.  Since then, a few more red and white fabrics have slipped into my stash.  I have seen this red flowery fabric from the Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime range by Moda, as part of Jelly Rolls and Charm Packs, and I finally found it at Cowslips Workshops as yardage.  As a latecomer to the Nearly Insane party, the random draws will ensure that this fabric gets mixed up nicely with the previous blocks.  The other fine red stripe is a Stof Quilters Basic.

1/4 inch seam allowances - even on the smallest of pieces

BTW, I have also had a query asking how big my seam allowances are on some of the smaller pieces.  I hope this picture illustrates that they still need a 1/4 inch seam, even though the seams are more than the fabric that will be visible.  Once I have covered the template, I usually trim off any excess dog ears.

I have also spent a bit of time catching up on everyone else's blogs.  Lots of quilters have reviewed their quilting year, and set up plans for 2014.  My plan is to just keep going and fit in as much stitching as I possibly can. BUT Oh dear...  I found some eye candy.  At the Fabric and Flowers blog I saw a lovely medallion quilt, Midnight at the Oasis, a Jen Kingwell pattern published in the July / August 2013 Quiltmania magazine.  I have seen it before, but I decided that I really fancy doing this one. 


Suzi taking a well earned rest after the Celtic Solstice marathon

And here is today's photo of Suzi.  She hasn't done any sewing either, but she is at least sitting on a quilt.

Part 6 - Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013, the BIG REVEAL

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013 (Bonnie Hunter)

Firstly, a BIG THANK YOU to Bonnie at Quiltville for the 2013 Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt.  Another lovely quilt pattern, an exciting journey shared with quilters all around the world and an excuse to sew over the holidays. What a beautiful result!


Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013 Quiltville

Here is my version.  I wanted a 'summer' quilt, and I think I have achieved that.  I am also really pleased that Bonnie gave us two sizes to choose from.  I went for the smaller size, which is plenty big enough for my needs.

Celtic Solstice Quilt - Electric Quilt software

As I usually buy fat quarters, I didn't have enough matching fabric to do a wide border, and in the end decided to experiment with a few ideas using my EQ5 software to work out what was feasible. There was a long auditioning process...

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt - Borders

In the end I have got a 1.5" neutral inner border, the pieced border laid out in a dog tooth border pattern, then another 1.5" neutral border, and finally a green patterned binding.  The binding is a Kaffe Fassett "Lime Paperweight" print which I have included in the quilt.  At the moment I don't have enough for the whole binding, so I need to source some before I can go any further.

Marbleous Jacquard - Robert Kaufman fabrics #6595

The neutral I am using for the borders is a Marbleous Jacquard fabric by Robert Kaufman.  There is a different weave within the fabric which adds a slight texture to the print.  You don't see them very often, so when I do I snap them up.  Because of the different weave, they do tend to fray a bit, so until I am ready to quilt the Celtic Solstice quilt, I am going to pin the fabric to the quilt top and add it when that moment arrives.  No promises when that will be ...


Bad Example - Missing points!

As you know I am usually hand piecing my Nearly Insane quilt.  With the English paper piecing method it is really easy to make sure all your points match, and to man handle pieces to fit it together.   

Good Example - matching points

With the machine, making the points match ALL the time seemed to be impossible.  I think the split square triangles were the cause of most of the problems.  Some of them seemed to have had lost their seam allowance, so it made it impossible to match up. Bonnie says this is OK.  I had to lie down for a bit.  I enjoy joining in the Mystery quilt to use my machine, but it does remind me how much more control I have when I hand stitch.


Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013

For now, this is it on the Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt.  I was going to piece the back, but am going to wait until I decide how I am going to quilt it first.  
 

Day 10 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Machine piecing the Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt

Day 10 of the Fabadashery sewing extravaganza has been focussed on the Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt again.  Following the directions from Part 6, the top is together, and some of the borders are on.  The good news is that it is now just one piece, and my shoe box is empty.

Suzi was invaluable at making sure I had all the 4-patch's heading in the same direction. With all that under control, my BIG REVEAL should be available soon.

I also had to take a trip to the dentist, so my portable sewing bag came with me, and this Nearly Insane block is now ready to be put together.  It is also time to starting cutting the fabric for the next few blocks, else I will have no hand piecing to sew over the next few weeks.  Only  few days left of the 12 Days of Sewing at Fabadashery!
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Corner Block 90

Corner block - Nearly Insane Quilt

Whilst I am doing my 12 Days of Sewing at Fabadashery, I don't want my Nearly Insane blocks to get overlooked, so here is a focus on the latest completed block.  It is one of the corner blocks, so only small, and quick to do. 

So far I have used the same striped fabric in all the corner blocks, and so I may as well do the same for the final one when it comes up.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  8
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 3/4"  (18mm) x 3/4" (18mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle, 4 1/4" (107mm) x 3" (76mm) x 3" (76mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
Fabrics
Designer Beads (Red) Freespirit for Westminster Fibers
Cream Bias Check Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5495 11
Red and White Stripe (unidentified)

Day 9 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013 - Block Layout

As I said yesterday, a lot of my sewing time at the moment is being taken up with Bonnie Hunter's 2013 Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.  Whilst I took a bit of a break from sewing today, I still managed to layout the blocks on the floor, and start to put them together.  It is happening quite quickly, but still a way to go.  At least you get to see a bit of a REVEAL of the final look.


Nearly Insane Quilt - English Paper Piecing

Whilst out and about today, I managed to prepare some of my English paper piecing templates for the next Nearly Insane block. All this was done whilst travelling in the car, and am pleased with the progress on this.  Over Christmas, this project has kept a steady pace, but as always, you wish it was going quicker.

Suzi hasn't much time for sewing today as the weather outside is wild and windy.  There are so many noises and sudden movements going on that she has found a spot to keep an eye on developments. See other busy cats at Feline Friday at Sarah Did It!

Day 8 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Suzi the cat helps out with Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt

 Well, there was no Nearly Insane work done today - it was part 6 of Celtic Solstice 2013 Mystery Quilt ALL DAY.


Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt - Block 1

This set of blocks went together quite easily


Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt - Block 2

These ones were a bit more tricky, as it was tricky getting the orange square to line up.  They are all done ready to put together, and then to think about the borders.

Day 7 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Cornerstones and Corner block, Nearly Insane Quilt

Well, I have done four more cornerstones, and a half cornerstone, which I think means I have completed the twelve I intended to do in total.  I have also done one of the four corner blocks for the Nearly Insane quilt.  

Suzi the Cat on her cat mat

Most of it was done waiting for Bonnie Hunter to reveal the next part of the Celtic Solstice 2013 Mystery Quilt, which she did at midnight in the USA.  But we were all sound a sleep ...

Day 6 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Makower Advent Calendar Quilt #107

Whilst everyone is thinking of the New Year, I am still catching up with 2013.  As part of my Twelve Days of Sewing, I didn't manage to sew an of my cornerstones, but I did manage to complete my Makower Advent Calendar quilt.  This has been hanging around for a while, and I was determined to complete it during the Christmas break.


Makower Advent Calendar Quilt #107

I had completed most of the construction, and the past two days have been about the quilting.  It took longer than I intended, but I have done it well enough to pull it out for next Advent!  I am so pleased to have this done.


As I said, no Nearly Insane progress, partly because I have had visitors, which has included my sister who has been using our floor to baste her quilt with the help of Suzi.

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 69

Block 69 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Here's another pretty block, mostly done on Christmas Day.  I think I have cracked the formula - include the cream neutral of the sashing, include a solid, and include a midtone, and use as many different fabrics as possible - I bet there are a ton of quilting books that could have told me that! Thanks to Zeynep Maule for identifying the little circle print as 'Homeschool' by Windham fabrics.  I just had a look at the whole range, and it is quite cute.


English paper piecing - tiny bits!

Here are some of the pieces that outline the central squares, they are only 1/8th" wide and 1" long, but I really like the detailed effect they give as part of the block.

Block 69 - Nearly Insane Quilt

The only decision now is which way to place it in the quilt ...

NUMBER OF PIECES:  54
DIFFICULTY: 3/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Rectangle 1/8" (6mm) x 3/4 (19mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Strip, 6 3/4" (170mm) x 7/16" (11mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Calico
Homeschool Mini Mono Floral Red, LB Krueger for Windham Fabrics SKU# 35182-3
Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 
Red and white stripe - unidentified


 

Day 5 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Country Christmas Advent Calendar by Makower UK

There is nothing like getting ahead of yourself for Christmas.  I started this Makower Christmas Advent Calendar quilt back in November - November 2012!  Day 5 has focussed on getting this quilted ready for next year.  I have dithered over whether to hand of machine quilt it, but as you can see the machine has won.  You always think it will be quicker on the machine, but there are lots of fiddly bits to stitch, so I am happy to take my time to get it right.  There is still more work to be done on this, which I hope to be able to show you tomorrow.

Canoe  block cornerstone for Nearly Insane Quilt

I also completed my obligatory cornerstone for my Nearly Insane quilt, and pleased to be on track for that too.

Suzi helping with the Advent calendar quilt

Suzi just wasn't in the mood for a photograph yesterday, but is definitely in the mood now.  She is keen for me to get the Advent calendar finished so that maybe next year she can have treats in it.  She doesn't realise she will have me to compete with!