Progress....and a Stall....

I have finished quilting my tool quilt and am in the process of cutting the strips for the binding.  I am using the left-overs from the quilt so some of them are a little short.  Also, I am not using much blue fabric because that is what is on the border. But I like to use some..it makes  little "openings" for the border to sneak through.

I also have sandwiched my Mystery Quilt.  However, I only handstitch now and don't really know what design to put on it.  So it will be put aside (aht-oohh, or oops!) (how do you spell that, anyway?) for awhile until I can decide.

Working on Tool Quilt Back

This is my first try at piecing a back for a quilt...humm, I'm not done yet. But wanted to get an idea of how it would look.....

As I said in one of my comments earlier on another blog, it's almost like making two quilts.  The second one is a simplier design, that's all.  So far, the hardest part has been storing the extra fabric from the top somewhere you can find it later.  I also plan to use any "extra, extra" pieces for the binding. Now to put a smaller beige border around this and finish it off in grey. Must remember to make it larger than the top.  Make a note of that, Me.....

First Quilt of 2011 -Done - PhD Challenge #1

....or is the the last quilt of 2010 - done? 

I finished the binding of this quilt at 3:00AM on 1/1/11 (isn't that a cool date!) but did most of the construction (!) in 2010. It will eventually be sent to my DD and her family....

I say "her family" because she requested that ALL of their names be on the label of the quilt.  Big Label! 5 names + G'ma and 2010(date).... so I decided not to have a label....instead I incorporated all the information into the quilt. 

The back is actually a pale yellow..I just enhanced it so you could see the hand quilting better.  I roughly outlined all the equipment on the front and then just "winged it" on the sides and borders of the pictures.

Little background:  Originally, I sewed the top without the solid blue strips and corner blocks.  After deciding it was really too narrow, I added those and used the yellow as the outside border.  The blue really made it come alive. It measures 41" x 56".
So this is my first completed quilt, and the easiest, in Myra's PhD challenge.  Now onto the next one..!

What can I say? I'm a Joiner,,,,

I just joined Myra's PhD  Challenge.  No pictures here, but go see my 5 (yes, 5!) projects (this date).  The pictures will be familiar...  I guess my DH will be cooking and cleaning for awhile...

Talk to you later..

Finished Tool Top

Yes, I have a brand new UFO.  Just finished the top to the Tool Quilt (52" x 60" ).  I cut a simple panel and simplified its' original pattern.  With the holidays and such, I figure it will lay in its' tool box for awhile.  My side list of things to do before the new year hasn't seen much progress...given the time of year I am not surprised.  

I have also come to the conclusion that grandchildren grow faster than a quilt can be made for them.  I have some darling fabric that is quickly being outdated by their recipients ages.....Wonder if a 12 year old would still be interested in Dr. Seuss??? 

BTW, I have decided what to do with my giveaway on my 100th post...wait and see.....have to take pictures first. I (think) this is my 96th post.

First step in solving a mystery

The DaChintzy Code - I have started working on my first mystery quilt.  Sorry, no pictures for awhile..perhaps I can show a few after a week or so, otherwise it would spoil the surprise....this will last for 12 (or 13) weeks. I will tell you that I have to sew a certain number of shapes with the same number of shapes to create a final number of shapes.  And I plan to sew an extra seam with each shape so that I will have another group of shapes ready for a scrappy quilt at another time......

Mystery Quilt Challenge

One of the members of the quilting forum on About.com is challenging us to do a mystery quilt.  It is called The DaChintzy Code.  I am having trouble today getting the link for ya'll,  but if you are interested, google About.com, quilting, you will get into the site.  Go to the advanced search on the same site as the list of messages, search for a specific message, and type in 60574.1 , hopefully you should come up with the first message that will give you the specifications for the quilt.  It is evidently a simple mystery, it only has four fabrics to work with.

The 13 clues start on September 1, and will be given in a separate post every two weeks (on a Wednesday).  That may seem like a long time between clues, but people requested it because of the time of year.

 

I have never tried a mystery quilt and this seemed to be a good one to start on.  The cutting directions are given first so that all the pieces of the puzzle/mystery are ready to go and the time frame between clues are great for a beginner mystery buff  like me. These were my choices, based on the description of the fabric.  The light colored fabric is actually more yellow/cream than it is shown in the picture.  I am finishing the cutting today. 

BTW, if any of you get to these directions, I would appreciate it if you would attach the link to a comment at the end of this post.  Thanks.