Yes, I got through all of my goals over the weekend, including putting a border on Old Town. This is the first of three borders, so don’t celebrate too much yet, but I am making progress!
Old Town has a Border
Tag: Mystery Quilt
Latifah Saafir Mystery Quilt
As mentioned, we are all about starting projects here at AQ!
Yes, I am doing the Latifah Saafir Mystery quilt. My time has not become more free, but I am doing it anyway. It uses the HuRTy and this is a good way to get the tool into my bag of tricks.
It is a little unclear to me whether you can still join, but here is a link and you might be able to navigate your way from there.
Latifah is at H&H in Chicago (whatever that is!), so participants have a little time. I have two selections of fabric that I am contemplating. The quilt needs 7 fabrics including a contrasting background.
First, is all fabrics that I bought recently.
Most of them are from Guicy Guice, but there are a few from Alison Glass and that white is Seasons from Figo fabrics.
This is mostly cool colors, which should come as no surprise. I am not sure if there is enough contrast, but I like all the fabrics, so I am willing to go with it.
The second option is an old fabric pull for which I am still seeking a project.
I still really like this group of fabrics. I am just not sure if pointy HRTs would work with the Coneflowers & Chrysanthemums.
I do feel like there is something missing and I can’t quite figure out what. Dots, maybe?
Old Town Blocks Together
I spent last weekend putting the blocks for Old Town together. I didn’t have the whole weekend, but the center is now complete and I like the way it turned out.
I am not sure I put the blocks together in the order I originally intended, but I never do.
Next step is the borders. I have the HSTs sewn, but not pressed or trimmed.
Old Town on the Wall
Since all the blocks and sashing are finished, I put them up on my large design wall. They barely fit!! You can see some blocks for my next donation quilt hanging on the right side of the design wall.
I keep moving blocks around, but I am about to start sewing the blocks and the sashing together. The different values of the pinks and blues make various parts of the quilt stand out. I also think the different fabrics move the eye around the piece.
Old Town Sashing
I visited Cyndi for a Sew Day last weekend and was able to get the Old Town sashing to a good place. I had a lot of 1.5 inch squares to cut and then a lot of trimming to make a house shaped rectangle. It was a lot better to do all of that work with a friend. We were able to chat while I did the tedious parts and that was great.
I got out the Simply Folded Ruler** again to create the flippy corners of those house shapes. That ruler is a gem. I always forget, but it really makes those flippy corners easy to sew. I didn’t have to draw diagonal lines on the squares, which would have made the process even more tedious. AND there was no trimming afterwards which meant no opportunity to cut off the wrong triangle. I haven’t tried one of the Simply Folded patterns (actually Antler Quilt Designs). I remember seeing one that was interesting at the Granary, but thought I was too busy to buy it. I was surprised at how many patterns the company has. I remember them being kind of country colors and having weird looking angles, but that isn’t true. There are a variety of patterns, some with brighter colors and fewer weird angles.
The good part about Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilts is that she suggests different methods of making the various units. I was reintroduced to the Simply Folded Ruler** through this project. It is good to be reminded of how I can use different tools.
Even More Old Town Blocks
Work has been very busy. It is stressful and I have been sewing a bit at lunch and after work. I haven’t had much time, but my effort at the Retreat at block making has gotten the process down to a science. I can make each block in about half an hour. Still, it has taken me several days to make this batch.
With this group, I only have four more left to make.
Two More Old Town Blocks
I didn’t have much time to sew on Sunday due to my caregiving duties. Between Sunday and Monday, however, I sewed two more Old Town blocks. I really like having my design wall on which to lay them out.
These two blocks were possible because, first, I sewed all the HSTs I would need to finish the block assembly. Now it is just laying them out and sewing the pieces together.
Retreat Progress on Old Town
I made really good progress on Old Town at the Retreat.
I was able to piece 15 (of 25 total) blocks. Each block has 69 pieces so that was a LOT of piecing. I was SUPER happy to be doing that piecing, I have to tell you.
Julie helped me put them up on the design wall so we could look at them.
Even with out much sashing, there is a distinct secondary design going on.
I sewed a little bit of the sashing and put that up as well, so we could kind of see what was coming.
I am excited to work on this some more.
Trying on Flying Geese
I finished a few Flying Geese over the past few days and decided to try some on the block that has been on my design wall. The Flying Geese have been missing and seeing them missing has been incentive to finish them.
I chose some light pink Flying Geese to finish this block. The block is not sewn together, so I might choose different options. I think this looks ok, though. The pink HSTs might fade a little too much into the background.
In general, I like the whole block and am pleased with how it is coming out.
Then there were two.
A Million HSTs
I sewed the first few seams of the million HSTs I need for Old Town a few weeks ago. I used the tutorial for making 8-at-a-time, thus the added cuts, and then the stack languished.
Finally, the other night I used scissors to cut the 8 HSTs apart. I wasn’t sure it would work, but it did. I cut the original squares generously, so I have enough wiggle room to trim to the exact size. I have a small, 2.5 inch ruler** tucked into my handwork bag that is kept in the living room. It worked really well for confirming that I had enough extra to ensure the HSTs were the right size. I haven’t really used that ruler much. It came with a set and I find it too small to use with a rotary cutter. For measuring, however, it worked really well!
It sounds stupid, but it was great to realize I could cut these with scissors! I made sure I used my sharpest pair of scissors, the ones I bought this summer with the titanium (or something) blades. I, also, was really careful to cut straight.
Now I have to press and trim all of those HSTs, but I am a bit closer to putting the blocks together.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
More Old Town Work
It is rainy and dark here, which wreaks havoc with a lot of my schedule and tasks. Still, I had a goal of spending some time on Old Town over the weekend. Despite nursing duties and regular household chores, I was able to make good progress.
Late in the afternoon, after working on the 8-at-a-time technique for the HSTs pieces, I cut a few up and was able to put one of the Old Town blocks almost together. The photo is a little dark, because of the weather.
I still have a bunch of pink Flying Geese to make (I substituted pink for the red Bonnie suggested), but I wanted to see a whole block, so I took some of the pieces I had been cutting and made a set of Flying Geese.
While I have to pay attention to the lights and darks, I like the way the changes to the colors work together. The pink I used for the Flying Geese is one of the fabrics that Free Spirit sent me.
If you haven’t done the center of the Sawtooth Star yet, you could do different things in the center – a different block, fussy cut fabulous fabrics, a piece of fabric to match the arms of the Sawtooth Star.
I am pleased with how the block looks. There are a few changes I want to make before I sew it together.
Old Town Clue 5: Finished
I finished Clue 5, the block centers of Old Town. I think I only have some HSTs to make before I can start assembling blocks. Yay!
I spent almost the whole weekend working on it, but finished and worked on some bags I need to finish once these were done.
I read the clue wrong and started out making the outside triangles scrappy, but pivoted and made them all match, which is what it looked like others were doing.
Some of the lavenders are leaning towards purple. I hope that they are not too dark. I really tried to keep them light.
I know I could have done my own thing, but I thought a little control would be better. I am already substituting lavender for the coral called for in the design. I think the lavender looks good so far. We’ll see when I put the blocks together.
Even More Old Town
Despite taking care of my mom after her surgery, I have been able to get a little sewing in.
I finished all of the QSTs, which turned out to be mostly the correct size. I used pink instead of red, as mentioned, and am pretty happy with that choice so far. Some of the pinks in this batch are leaning a little more towards the lavender/purple range. I hope they won’t get mixed up in the final layout.
Since I finished all of these QSTs and the Baby Flying Geese, I decided to sew them together as indicated in one of the clues.
I think this is the first assembly I have done beyond individual units. I got interrupted a bunch of times, but I finished them!
I had a moment of stress when I realized I didn’t have enough of the Baby Flying Geese to sew to the second side of the QSTs. They were neatly bundled in the box in which I am storing all of the units and I hadn’t pulled them out. YAY!
This is a great quilt for learning. I highly recommend Bonnie’s projects, especially the mystery quilts, if you want to practice basic piecing. She takes the time to help makers focus on getting the right sized units. Her clues usually have more than one way to make a unit so it works for you.
More Old Town Progress
I spent some time over the last couple of weekends getting over whatever hump was preventing me from moving forward.
First, I finished all the 4 patches, which was a lot! I thought I would never finish and I think that part of what was preventing me from moving forward. Now they are done and I think they look great.
I haven’t incorporated them into any blocks yet, so stay tuned for that.
I also finished some Flying Geese. They are the baby Flying Geese that I made using the replacement Wing Clipper** I got for Christmas.
This is the first group of lavender I have added to the quilt. In the photo they look nice. We’ll see how they look combined with the other colors. Fingers crossed it will be ok.
I got going on the QSTs. One of the clues said to combine them with another couple of pieces, so it was time to stop avoiding them.
I was really happy using Bonnie Hunter’s Essential Triangle Tool** to make them. It is a ruler I have had for awhile, but haven’t used much. I found it easy to use and helpful. I just followed Bonnie’s instructions on the clue and it worked perfectly. Well, so far, it is has worked perfectly. I liked the way she said where to put the ruler lines. I haven’t finished sewing the QSTs yet, so I’ll have to wait and see how it works out.
Bonnie put the Reveal up and it is a complicated looking quilt, but also cool. I am eager to see how my replacement of coral with lavender will look. If you are working on it, make sure to download your clues.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
Old Town: Not Much Progress
I am behind on Bonnie Hunter’s Old Town Mystery Quilt, but trying not to stress. I thought I would get more done at Sew Day than I did. As much as I love Sew Days, it isn’t a good environment when I am trying to concentrate. I am also trying to remind myself there is a LOT of piecing in Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilts and I’ll get there.
Friend Julie has made really good progress. Pam is, of course, up to date.
I did sit down on Saturday and Sunday and really work on various pieces. I decided to focus on Clue 1, so I could at least say that I was finished with one clue.
I am making progress on the Flying Geese, though I haven’t made many. One thing I had to do was figure out what pieces and parts I needed to make a set of four Flying Geese. That took a little time. I really got going once I reacquainted myself with the steps. It was helpful that I had already cut the pieces I needed. The picture above is my progress on Saturday. I had other stuff I needed to do, like make gift bags, so I couldn’t focus on this project all day.
I pressed some of the strips sets for Clue #2 that I made at Sew Day and was able to make a few of the Four Patches.
Hooray for progress.