Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Merrily, I Stitch A Long....

I had been doing pretty well
steering clear of the many
wonderful Stitch A Longs, SAL's,
that appeared on line after the first of the year,
 but...
 there were so many creative opportunities.  
What's a quilter to do?

It's obvious....
 Dive In!
and
 I have.
Take a peek at my list.

"Let it Snow"
A super cute wool
Check it out.
Anyone can do one wooly block a month, right?

***
And then there's

 Thimble Creek's free blocks
and mystery design.
You can have access to these if you sign
up for their weekly newsletter.
The theme is 6 inch bright civil war blocks.
I opted for the brights, no war involved.

***
Then, of course,
I couldn't pass up
Petra Prin's mystery quilt
which is available in the Quiltmania magazine.
I absolutely had to do this,
especially after purchasing her wonderful chintz fabrics
at the Houston Quilt Festival.


This is a project done in blind faith.
There's no clue to what it will 
look like in the end.


But starting off with a Mariner's Compass
in the center is a good sign.

I needed a few more beautiful chintz pieces 
and easily ordered them from 
They have a wonderful selection
of the Dutch Heritage Fabrics used in this project.

****
Over at the blog, Aunt Reen's Place ,
I've started Doreen's
"Big Leap Sew Along"
making a triple Irish chain that is
jelly roll friendly.


I took the leap, but
I'm improvising a little by

not using a jelly roll and
making it only two solid colors.

A triple Irish chain has been on
my bucket list, as well as,
a yellow and white quilt.
A perfect match-up, wouldn't you say,
especially
in 2016 with a whole extra
day for sewing

***
The last one
is one where I'll be
Sallying along with myself.


I'm using Karen Style's
A Star a Day pattern and templates from 
located in Victoria Australia. 

As you can see,
I haven't gotten very far
with these 3" star blocks, 
but there is still hope.
I've gotten organized now
and I'm ready to start stitching.

***
So is that all for me?
Hard to say.
There could still be some sweet temptations.

Until Next Time-

23 comments:

  1. Oh my Kyle! When you dive in, you really dive in! But I don't blame you - those are some beautiful projects and your blocks so far are fabulous. I too said no QAL or Challenges this year.. so far, so good... but you offer some wonderful temptations!

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  2. A beautiful bunch of projects! You are going to be amazingly busy with all these. I especially love the Mariners compass center medallion, one day that will rise to the top of my bucket list.

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  3. Your compass block is very well done. Those are not the easiest to get to lay flat. The first one I ever made was hand pieced.

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  4. Oh, oh! Well you are in good company and all your SAL projects will be fun I'm sure!

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  5. Loved your post this morning...with the vintage pics interspersed among the meat and potatoes! I must say you have your plate FULL of wonderful delicacies! Such wonderful projects! I can see why you jumped in! The Buttermilk Basin bom is impossible to resist and loved the compass and the Irish Chain! I have always wanted to make a yellow and white quilt so I will be watching this one closely! Thanks for all the eye candy this morning!

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  6. Oh yes, that extra day this year will make all the difference! LOL.

    You have really dived in, all right, but I know you will do a great job on them all! A yellow and white quilt is on my bucket list too, but I'm thinking of more florals again for it. It will be fun to follow along with yours!

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  7. Oh, dear, Kyle! I may need to avoid your blog--this could be contagious! *LOL*
    You have taken the dive into some gorgeous projects! If you have to dive, you have chosen well.
    What a gorgeous Mariner's Compass, BTW. Looks like that SAL is not for the faint of heart!

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  8. Love yellow & white quilts - great choice for your Big Leap. (My bucket list includes a yellow/white Lindbergh airplane quilt from the '30's) Your other SAL's look like fun & will certainly keep your sewing room humming during these winter days - the colors are all spirit lifting.

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  9. You've started some wonderful new projects. What a gorgeous Mariners Compass - In the Dutch chintz it's just beautiful! I have to confess to caving on the Thimblecreek mystery too :0) Your blocks look fresh and pretty. Lovely to see your Star a day blocks. They look a lot less wonky than mine :0) What a fun picture you saved for the end.

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  10. I love two toned quilts and that yellow is going to be fantastic in a irish chain. The irish chain quilt along is one of two tempting me, so I am happy to watch yours grow!

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  11. Resistance is futile eh?! But they are such lovely choices. I'm loving your Buttercup and Snow - will be such a fresh and cheerful quilt! Petra's quilt has tempted me too ...but I have dived in a bit far already lol! love your pictures - so funny.

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  12. There is so much temptation out there but you've picked a wonderful range of projects. The good thing about BOM and sewalongs is they keep you on track.

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  13. I'm so glad I'm not alone--lol! You are off to a beautiful start on all of the projects!

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  14. Great post--and pics! Loved seeing all the wonderful projects you have in the works. The Mariner's Compass is beautiful and so are those gorgeous Dutch fabrics :)

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  15. Loved all of your pictures and all I can say is WOW with all of your projects for 2016 !!!
    SO far I have held back from temptations this year but it only February ;-)
    Looking forward to watching your projects this year .

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  16. Hooley Dooley!! I don't think you're doing enough. C'mon, you could take on another three or four projects, couldn't you???!!! Seriously, looks like great fun - I'll look forward to your progress reports.

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  17. I'm looking forward to seeing these develop!

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  18. Wow! you have so many great things going on. How brave to jump in with an applique mystery. I'm sure it will be fabulous. It is off to a great start.
    Red & White will be great for Doreen's SAL - it will be fun to watch all your various projects.
    go Kyle!
    p.s. I love all your vintage photos.

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  19. Great projects Kyle and once again great pictures in your post.

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  20. You have some amazing projects going on Kyle!
    Your snowman block is just darling, I couldn't resist that one either.
    I really love your yellow & white 2 color choice for the Triple Chain quilt.
    And your Mystery compass is just stunning.
    Congratulations on "diving in" this month, your projects are all fabulous!

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  21. I think it will be impossible for you to get bored in the near future with all these different projects you have going on. Love the chintz fabrics in your Petra Prins mystery quilt, but MY they're expensive, huh? I saw some Liberty of London fabrics at a small shop recently and they're $30/yd so I guess it could be worse. I just tried to staple my wool pieces together on a stitching project and it worked pretty well, have you done that yet for anything? Your Irish Chain quilt is going to be stunning!

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  22. You are too funny. So far I'm holding strong and am just finishing UFOs. I love it all, but I could easily start that Petra Prins quilt. I have a big package of chintz just waiting to be used. Your projects are great.

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