Bonnie's New Mystery Quilt Fabrics

These are the fabrics I have chosen for Bonnie K. Hunter's new Mystery Quilt called Easy Street that she will start on Thanksgiving.  I decided to use the same colors that Bonnie used in hers, except the gray in the back may change.  She just posted the fabrics this morning and I went immediately to my stash and realized that I had a pretty good amount of fabrics in the same colors so that is what I am going to use.  I may add some more purples and I have more white/black prints in my stash.  I just don't like my gray, which Bonnie is using as a constant, not scrappy.  If I can find something I would be happier with I will change, but I bet my gray will work just as well. 

I will be meeting Bonnie herself on Friday.  The weekend retreat with Linda's guild has been moved from Hawk's Nest to Pipestem because Hawk's Nest has no power and has shut down.  Our group was lucky to get in to Pipestem for the weekend.  I think Fayette County where Hawk's Nest is was hit pretty hard by the snow from Monster Storm Sandy.  Here in Charleston we did get some snow on the ground but it rained all day and by the next morning the snow was gone.    We are supposed to have better weather for the next few days.

I have already packed Essie, my sewing machine, into her luggage and have been gathering my sewing notions.  I will be taking too much stuff but who knows how much you need?  I think it would be better to take too much than to wish I had something I left behind.  I'm sure I will forget something. 

Wild Child!

Wild Child is the name of the quilt I started the other day.  It is from Bonnie K. Hunter's new book called String Fling.  The first picture is of the half-square triangles I have made for this quilt.  I need 400 of the purple ones in front and I have made 48.  I also need 400 of the assorted dark ones in the back and I have made 192 so far.  I also need 80 of the string blocks (see second picture) and I have already made all I need.  The third and fourth pictures show Bonnie Hunter's quilt in the book.  Where she used turquoise I am using the purple (in the front of the first picture).  My quilt may not be as bright as hers, unless I use more brights than darks.  I am not in a hurry to get this one made.  I am going to Hawk's Nest next weekend for classes with Bonnie Hunter herself!  She will be teaching her Smith Mountain Morning quilt which I have already chosen my fabrics and cut some strips.  The second day she will be teaching her Pineapple Crazy quilt.  I am looking forward to that one because I have already made two quilts from her Pineapple Blossom quilt, which is not the same.  I have this week now to get my sewing machine ready and packed up and half my sewing room stuffed into luggage to take with me!  I am sure I will be taking too much stuff but who knows what you really need?  So I will take nearly everything.   

King-size Pineapple Blossom Finished!

I have just this minute finished my big Pineapple Blossom quilt.  It is 110 inches square, which makes it generous king-size.  I have been working on this off and on for a couple of months now.  I made a throw-sized Pineapple Blossom for a class at work and then just kept on making blocks until I came up with the king.  I put a different border on this one.  I used the bonus half-square triangles from the blocks to go all around the quilt as the second border.  The first and third borders were a tone-on-tone black to frame all the different fabrics in the blocks.  It's funny but I make all these quilts out of my scrap bins but the bins never seem like there is anything missing.  This one won't get quilted probably until next month because my favorite long-arm quilter, Vonda Cochran, is going away on vacation.  That's ok, this can wait until she gets back.  I don't have any definite plans for it anyway.

I am looking for my next project so I can start cutting fabrics.  Bonnie Hunter's new book, String Fling, has a quilt pattern in it called Wild Child that features 4 1/2" string blocks surrounded by half-square triangles and it looks right up my alley.  I have been wanting to do a string project.  Strings are narrow strips of fabric pieced on paper or muslin.  I am using paper so I can remove it after I get the blocks made.  This is another project that can come straight out of my scrap bins. 

WVU Lost! Oh No!

I was very disappointed about West Virginia University's loss to Texas Tech today.  I don't think they played up to their usual standard, but I really wasn't surprised - I'd been warning Richard that WVU would probably lose the first game to an unranked opponent.  They will most likely drop from the top five to (maybe!) the top fifteen, if they are lucky.  And Geno Smith's Heisman hopes probably hit the toilet today.

I have mentioned before that I am going to Hawk's Nest for the weekend of November 3 to take a class with Bonnie K. Hunter, my favorite quilt designer.  She will be teaching her Smith Mountain Morning quilt.  I cut my fabrics for this quilt at work on Thursday.  Bonnie did her quilt in blues and browns with a muslin background (see the picture) and I decided to use blues and browns because I have so much of each (especially blues) in my stash.  I am using a tone-on-tone white for the background.  The second picture shows my beautiful fabrics sort of spread out.  I think I have a pretty good variety of both colors.  I could still add more if I run across something that would look good with the others.  The next day we will have a three-hour class on her Pineapple Crazy quilt from her latest book, String Fling.  It is made with string blocks.  Smith Mountain Morning is from her book, Scraps and Shirttails II.  I hope to have her sign both my books that weekend. 

My Shop Hop Prize!

These are pictures of the bag of stuff I won at last week's Shop Hop.  If the pictures loaded in the correct order they are - everything in the first picture, just the fabrics in the second picture, just the patterns and book in the third picture, and the rest of the stuff in the last one.  The jelly roll is from Moda, looks like about 40 jelly roll strips (2 1/2" by the width of the fabric) from the Rising Sun collection from Sara Khammash.  The square with the red ribbon around it is a set of seven coordinating fat quarters from Maywood Studios.  The one with the black ribbon is nine coordinating fat quarters of Halloween fabric.  The roll of fabric in front is four fat eighths of butterfly fabric in different colors.  There were also two charm packs (5" squares) from Andover Fabrics, one in black and gray and the other in various calicoes.  Last but not least in the fabrics catagory is three packages of rectangles (2 1/2" X 5") of 40 pieces each of different collections from Moda.  They are Oasis, Buttercup, and Modern Workshop.  All this is perfect for a scrap quilter like me.  The book is The Natural World from Art Quilt Portfolio (Profiles of Major Artists and Galleries of Inspiring Works).  Art quilts are not my thing but I am going to look the pictures right off the pages!  There is a pattern from Thimbleberries to make a Halloween Tablerunner.  I have a pattern from Toadusew to make a quilt called Spinnaker that looks like a lot of fun!  I also have two patterns from Amy Butler, one for a halter top (not for me!) and one for a bag called the Kimberly Bag (probably not for me either).  There is also a quilting stencil, samples of batting, some spools of thread, and a nice big emery board.  I also got a pair of fine-point embroidery scissors with big fingerholes.  I think I listed everything here.  I believe you can click on the pictures to make them bigger so you can see everything better.  I have to thank The Fabric Shop in Pomeroy, Ohio for such a wonderful gift, and also thank the Mystery Harvest Shop Hop people for putting together such a terrific shop hop, with quilt shops not too far apart and very interesting completely different shops!  We had a great time and enjoyed all the food.  I was afraid I would weigh 250 pounds when it was over!  Really looking forward to next year and a whole new Shop Hop!

Mystery Harvest Shop Hop

Debbie, Diane, Tammy and I went on the Mystery Harvest Shop Hop last week.  It was two days of quilt shopping and girl talk and laughter!  There were 12 quilt shops located mostly along the Ohio River and we hit them all.  The snowman block in the picture was on the panel of blocks that was featured at all the shops.  I bought the panel and then as a gift the shops gave us each another panel.  Since I have two of them now I think I will color one with colored pencils or crayons.  The actual panel is just blue on white fabric, no other colors.  We had a really good time, spending the night in Gallipolis, Ohio and eating at all the shops.  They each had a recipe for the shoppers and lots of good food.  One shop had meatballs made with saurkraut!  I loved it!  I got the recipe, maybe I'll make it for the quilt retreat at Cedar Lakes in February.  We also had cookies and candy galore!  We really didn't need to eat in a restaurant but since we were in Pomeroy, Ohio we ate dinner at the Wild Horse Cafe, sort of famous place.  I got a huge burger with onion straws, one of my favorite things.  I got away from the shophop without spending a lot of money.  I generally buy patterns but I didn't see any I couldn't do without.  The best thing is - I won a prize from the shop in Pomeroy!  Each shop prepares a basket with patterns and fat quarters and more stuff and gives it away in a daily prize, and the Pomeroy shop called me on Saturday morning to tell me I had won!  They were having a meeting of all the shops on Monday and Phyllis from the Hurricane shop was going to get my basket for me.  I am going to Phyllis' shop on Friday to get it.  I can't wait to see what I get!

The other picture shows a quilt pattern they were selling to make the state of West Virginia to hang on the wall.  Tammy bought that pattern.  She is going to keep it at her home in the Cayman Islands.