Thanks Bonnie for an easy Part 5

Welcome!  If this is your first visit, I am happy you stopped by. Are you doing Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Mystery?  I love the colors and the blocks.  It is very hard to wait for the big reveal but I think there will be at least one more part before we start building a quilt.  Remember the 80 HSTs that we set aside from part 1?   We haven't done anything with those yet!

Part 5 was a breeze.  I actually had some time on Friday and was able to do almost all of it before work.  I finished the rest in the evening.  Getting it done so quickly left me time to sew some on part 1 and cut out the rest of it. I also cut all my neutral for part 2.  My goal is to have enough of each part done so when the reveal happens I am able to assemble some of the top.

Here are my blocks for part 5.  I think the four with the black corners will go in the quilt corners. Or the may be a transition point somewhere in the middle.

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope yours was wonderful as well.  Here's wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.  To get back the the Monday Part 5 link up on Quiltville click  here.

Joyfully looking forward to 2015!
Terry

Merry Christmas! and Grand Illusion Part 4

It is time once again to link up to Bonnie's page and see what everyone has been up to this past few days.  I for one am getting really excited about the final quilt.  I love all the blocks so far and have tried putting them in different combos but just can't seem to get in Bonnie's head.

I have been finishing up Christmas wrapping and making some treats for the Christmas party so I don't have much to show.  I did manage to sew 6 of the part 4 blocks.  Three of each design.  I had to lay out my pieces and really pay attention to make sure those neutral pieces ended up in the correct location.

Here they are. This picture isn't great but it shows my progress. Were you able to get some done this weekend?  If you have started don't give up. And if you haven't give it a try. 

Merry Christmas to all!  Hope you get a little time to sew and a lot of time to spend with family and friends.  You may return to the link up by clicking here.
Joyfully piecing,

Terry

  

Grand Illusion Mystery Part 3

What a busy day!  Christmas shopping and work.  But finally a bit about part 3.  It really has the mystery getting deeper.  One of these things is not like the others.  The first two parts were the same size and shape, 4 1/2" inch squares, now we have rectangles that are 3 1/2" by 6 1/2".  How will they all go together.  I don't know but I am loving it.  And this part was a lot of fun.  Since I am using all the same fabric for each of my colors I cut WOF strips, made sure my seam allowances were correct and verified everything was coming out the right size.

Here are my strip sets all sewn up and ready to cross-cut.  

And here are my first six blocks, only 114 to go.

Sunday was a very productive day.  Not only did I get some blocks stitched up but most of the Christmas shopping is done.  It was fun to get out and see the stores all decorated and hear the Christmas music playing.  Hope you are enjoying the sights and sounds of Christmas.  To get back to the Grand Illusion Mystery link up click here.

Joyfully piecing,
Terry

Grand Illusion Part 2 Link Up

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope everyone is enjoying the season.  Our house is decorated for Christmas and the outside lights are up.  My sweet husband surprised me last Monday with all the outside lights up and shining brightly when I arrived home from work.  It was totally unexpected and made my heart sing.  I hope someone or something makes your heart sing this week.

Here we are again on link up Monday at Quiltville.  This was an interesting block.  I am glad I followed instructions and read all the way through before getting started.  I opted for the Easy Angle version.  I am getting much better with it and love how quickly I am able to cut and sew.

I don't know what Bonnie is planning with the latest block but when you put them together by rotating them a quarter turn they sure make an interesting design.  I've only made six part 2 blocks so far but I made progress on part 1 and have 30 of those blocks done.

I did make one adjustment to the cutting instructions.  It just worked better for me.  When cutting the triangles the instructions say "righties cut with fabric strips right side up."  I did a few that way but was have trouble aligning with my neutrals.  I turned my strips over, right side down, and cut a few.

Now when I place my triangle on my background fabric the points line up as shown in the picture. It also eliminates two dog ears that need trimming.

This is just something that worked for me.  If you try it just do a couple to see if it works for you.






I bet you are wondering what this picture has to do with Grand Illusion.  Well nothing, but if you follow Bonnie at Quiltville you know all about "leader/enders."   This is my current leader/ender project.  They finish at 3".  I love nine patch blocks.  They are happy little things that may be used in a lot of ways.  Right now I have no plans for them.  It is just fun revisiting fabric scraps and making happy little blocks.  Click here  if you would like to know more about leader/ender projects.

I plan to cut all the rest of my pieces for Part 1 and Part 2 this week.  Then when I have five or ten minutes before work or before bed or when sleep eludes me, I can just sit and sew.  I am really looking forward to the next part.  See you then.  And to get back to the part 2 linky party click here.

Joyfully piecing,

Terry  

Happy 95th Birthday, Auntie M!

This is my second post and usually they will be quilting related.  Today however is a very special day in our family.  My Aunt Mabel is 95 years young today.  She was born in 1919 in Outlook, Washington.  Her life has take her from Seattle, Washington to Hemet, California and many points in between.  She even spent some time in New York.  Auntie M. has traveled a lot; by train, plane, automobile, cruise ships and even by covered wagon in 1925.

This is my Auntie M. at sixteen.  Look at that smile.

Here she is with her sisters.  This was around 1955.  They were probably dressed for Easter services.  Auntie M is on the left, then my mother, Neva, in the center, and my Aunt Beulah on the right.  They could all sing and would break into song at any encouragement.

A couple more beautiful smiles.  The left was Auntie M's 76th birthday and the right is 2004 at my parents 50th anniversary.

This post is not completely un-quilty.

Here is her beautiful quilt, hand pieced when she was seventeen.  No papers,  just marked lines on hexagons.

And here she is on her 95th birthday.  We are all going to Claim Jumpers for a dinner celebration.

To all Auntie's family and friends, Auntie M. sends her love and wishes you could all be here to celebrate.  Leave a comment and I will share them with her tomorrow.  We will be having her Daddy's
famous (in our family) buttermilk pancakes.
Joyfully celebrating,
Terry

Two New - Quiltville Mystery 2014 & Blogging

Christmas time is here!!!  December 1st brings the beginning of two new endeavors for me. I have started a blog.  This is my first post and I think this will be fun.  The other is Bonnie Hunter's 2014 Mystery Quilt Grand Illusion, it actually began 11/28/14, 3 days ago.  Find out all about it here.  This is not the first mystery I have done with Bonnie and it will definitely not be the last.  They are fun, and stretch my abilities, helping me improve all aspects of piecing quilts.  Usually I go scrappy but for this one I am using only one fabric from each color and here are mine.

On Nov. 29, I was up at 3:30 a.m. (PT) to see if the first part had posted and there it was. I spent the next 2 hours sewing in my head while trying to go back to sleep.  I should have just stayed up and cut fabric.  But Friday evening, while catching up on some TV, I cut all my black and yellow squares, and 72 HST pairs using my easy angle.  Still perfecting that skill, proper alignment with the ruler is as important as that pesky 1/4" seam allowance.  And Bonnie's Quiltville posts have helped with that so much.  Check out her tips and techniques tab at the top of her blog when you return to the Part 1 link party.

Then Saturday morning, before I went to work, I made 5 blocks.  Only 95 to go but I am loving it already.  Here are four of the five together.  They make a pretty star.

Well, that will be it for my first post.  I will be posting each week and hope my progress inspires someone to start Grand Illusion or to keep going.  Thanks for visiting.  You may return to the Quiltville linky party for Grand Illusion part 1 by clicking here.

Joyfully piecing,
Terry