Roll Roll Cotton Boll is a flimsy!!

I can't believe it myself!  I worked like a madwoman - well I was angry and maybe that helped.. lol

My design wall is not large enough for this beast, so poor Joey is standing on the loveseat, trying to hold it up for me to take a picture, and even so, the top row of blocks is folded over behind, so it's still not a full shot, but close enough.

As of Friday night, I only had the rows sewn together and about 4 of the diagonal rows sewn to each other.  I finished off sewing the rows to the middle point, then started from the other end and sewed those together, and then sewed the 2 halves together.

Then, the inner border was done.

Then, I had to sew all those parallelograms into the sets needed for the top and side borders and the corners.  Unfortunately, I seemed to be short on the borders and had to add 2 more parallelograms to each one.  These pieced borders aren't perfect, but it was a good learning experience and I'll know what to keep in mind and watch out for in future ones.

I can't believe how warm this thing is, even without being sandwiched yet.  Having it draped over my lap pinning the borders on kept me warm enough I was thinking I should turn the furnace down.  Good thing I didn't cause we woke up to fresh snow this morning!

Thank you so much Bonnie for a wonderful mystery quilt.  This pattern will be in her next book coming out in July and it's not for the faint of heart, but it's well worth the effort and was a great learning experience for me. 

How I'm going to manage to sandwich this properly and quilt it is still being decided.  I think I'm going to use the board method to sandwich it.... and That Man Quilts had some beautiful pictures of how he quilted his... I might have to try to duplicate some of those ideas.

Then I can get back to her Orca Bay mystery.  :)

I also took pictures of my snowmen placemats.  I've had these done for a while but hadn't photographed them yet.

Aren't they cute?  There are 4 of them in total.  This project was really good for me to practice my applique skills.  I have another pattern with mittens to do.  Maybe I'll have those done for next christmas.. lol

I'm also going to get a picture soon of the dresden plate table runner I completed for my glass coffee table.  I used a Stonehenge charm pack and I love the fabrics.

I suck at blogging

I had a few email conversations with Gina in Missouri from the QuiltvilleSwap yahoo group yesterday and she politely reminded me that I haven't posted anything on my blog since March.  ugh!  Thanks for the nudge Gina :)

It's not that I haven't done anything, moreso that I've been so busy and don't think to take too many pictures or post them.

So, first off, I didn't take pictures of that last batch of snow dyeing results.  They turned out alright, but not as vibrant as the first batch.  I think probably because there were 2 yards in each container, therefore, the dye didn't seep in and penetrate as much as it did in the first batch.  They're still pretty and will make great backings for quilts.

Secondly, I finished the baby girl crib quilt for my friend Robbie to give away to a couple she knows for Easter.

Here are some pics.

I free motion quilted the entire center with a butterfly pattern I printed on newsprint (kids doodle pads from the dollar store), spray basted them where I wanted, then stitched through the paper.  Connecting each one with trailing lines to small flowers, to connect to the next.  The border I had a stencil that I used a washable fabric marker to trace, then just free motioned following the lines.

I'm happy with the result and Robbie and the couple she gave it to were very impressed and grateful.

I have all my blocks for RRCB done, including all the part triangle string blocks for the edges and corners.  Unfortunately, finding a place to lay them all out so I can check the arrangement has been an issue.  Guess I'm going to have to use our bed. 

There's a wedding quilt I have all the blocks completed for, from Bonnie Hunter's Pineapple Blossom pattern.  I should take a picture soon.  Once I lay them out so I can figure out the arrangment I like with the sashing and cornerstones, I can put the center together and then the borders.  Again, going to have to use our bed, 2 floors up to do this, then bring it down in sections to sew together.

There are a few other blocks I've played with, some batik pyramids that are just awesome!  They'll make a beautifully bright quilt when I get it done.

Ok, enough for now.  Have to head out with hubby to find him a new bike.

Oh!  and in 7 weeks we're going on Bonnie's Cruise  Counting down the days!

RRCB Step 6

Oops!  Forgot to take a picture of all the hst's sewn together... but... before Step 7 of cutting all the brown triangles... I wanted to see how this is finally coming together.

I'm really liking these!

RRCB Step 5

Another step done!  Wow.. took a bit to make all 600 half square triangles.

I've found a new favourite!

I've never done paper-piecing before, and I'm LOVING it!

I have 17 blocks (of 60) done so far... posting 16 of them for now.

This is so much fun!

Now I have a design idea in my head for a future quilt... can't wait to start on it once I finish these. :)

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Step 2 done

WHOOHOO!!  I've completed Step 2 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt.

I'm so impressed with these.   The contrast between the browns and pinks is amazing.

Now on to Step 3!  :)

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Step 1 done

Well, I've finally finished Step 1 of Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery quilt.

Underneath the pile are my constants, red and green.

I'm so excited!!  This is my first mystery quilt... and is going to be my first large quilt!