Discovery!

Last week I shared with you

how silly my mind can work.

I like to take one of the strategies

from the game of Parcheesi

and compare it to working

 on multiple quilts simultaneously

and then being rewarded with 
multiple finishes!

What's not to love about that!

Well, this week my fourth man (quilt) 

made it Home.
Tah Dah!!!

First, let me clarify, that my
finish is a finished top,
which was one of my 17 UFO's in 2017!

Discovery
65" x 65"

 It is the 2016 mystery quilt
designed by Petra Prins
for Quiltmania magazine.

Yes, you've probably noticed that 2017
is already half over, but I'm so happy to
have this sewn together.
I "discovered" that it's rather
hard for me to keep up with mystery quilts.

*Besides I like to cheat
and be a few months behind.
That way I know where I'm headed.
(I wouldn't have made a very good explorer.)

The design included lots of appliquéing,
fussy cutting,
English Paper Piecing,
and playing with Petra's
wonderful Dutch Heritage Fabrics.

I also "discovered" that I love these fabrics!
The only place I was able to find

 them here in the states
was at Web Fabric. com


 I didn't work from a kit
but used other fabrics from my stash

 
for the background pieces and borders.
It changed it up a little.

The center of this quilt
is designed after a compass rose
found on nautical maps
showing the points of the compass

or a mariner's compass block.
The Dutch were part of the Age of Exploration
and Discovery.

The most challenging part for me
were the final stars in the final border.

The kite shape points created
a very narrow tip and getting the seam allowance
to tuck under after basting them around
a paper piece was difficult.
I would have done better with good ol' needle turning.
 That was another part
of my sewing "discovery"
with this quilt.

Now when I "discover" some time
I might work on getting this quilted.
****

Until Next Time-
Kyle

How to Play Parcheesi

One of my family's favorite games is 

Parcheesi.

 It's a simple game of getting your four men out

of the starting place, rolling the dice, and
moving them around the 

board towards Home. 

There are two strategies,
move one man at a time or
have all 4 men out at once sharing the roll of the dice.

It's the same thing with making quilts,
it's either working on one at a time
or working on multiple quilts.

My strategy is, of course, the multiple approach and
what seems to happen
 is that there are

several finishes close together.

A few weeks ago quilt #1
moved into Home.

My Antique Sampler, 1851, was finished.
Click here to read the whole story. 

****
And then before I knew it
another man had made it home.

I had made a promise to piece a quilt top
for the continuing service project my DAR group
sponsors for the VA hospital in Cheyenne, WY.

The challenge was using this fabric.

After much thought and
the help of Pinterest
here's what eventually came together.

It didn't come out exactly as planned,
but I think once it's quilted it will be fine.

****
Then look what happened!

Man #3 slipped in
and allowed me to cross off another
UFO from my 17 in 2017 list!

Here is my
 free mystery quilt from
Thimble Creek Quilt Shop, 2016.

 " Summer Sampler"
 64" x 64"

It was pieced from the stash

using lights and brights

to sew the 6 inch blocks.

It was set together
with these alternating pieced blocks.

I had it machine quilted by my
friend, Kathy H.
and we choose a super cute overall owl design

to match the label.

All I had left to do
in order to cross it off my list
was to sew down the binding and
now
 Summer Sampler is finished.

3 quilts are safely tucked in at home.
That leaves one man still heading towards the finish.
You'll have to come back next week to see if
I win the game.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Goin' Where the Wind Blows

Running Man and I have

been on the road again.

This time traveling north 

through Wyoming where the wind likes to blow.

 And then heading on to

 and stopping in Idaho Falls

to hang out with a friend.

Running Man worked planting grape vines

and driving the tractor, 

while I relaxed and stitched.

Everyone has their own interpretation of fun!

I stitched on these stars for

the final border of "Discovery" the 

not so mystery mystery quilt designed by 

Petra Prins.

Then it was on the road again

heading to Montana
to visit another set of friends.

and a little chilly.

In fact,

we scraped ice off the car windows one morning.

It is a state with wide open spaces,

a frontier spirit,

and a place where the sky does seem

bigger and bluer. 

We took a boat ride on the Missouri River

not far from Helena.

It was on the evening of July 19, 1805 

that the hardy members of the Lewis and Clark

expedition toiled to move up stream.

At each bend of the river

the steep limestone cliffs seemed to block 

their passage, but only to open

like gently giant gates as they drew nearer.

Meriwether Lewis

called this place

"Gates of the Mountains. 

We visited the state capital 

ordered huckleberry milkshakes

at the soda fountain

tried on buffalo robes

 and enjoyed the American western art

of Charlie Russell

Toll Collector, 1913

 When The Land Belonged to God, 1914

There's a lot of driving

 out here in the West to 

get to one place and another.

 Last years Buttermilk Basin BOM

which means there are lots of  hours to stitch

and enjoy the scenery.

I loved this quote by Charlie Russell, 1919,

You can apply it to anyone who has a passion. (quiltmaking)

" No man ever lived long enough or

ever will live long enough to paint all 

the pictures I have in my mind."

Until Next Time-

Kyle

"Old Glory"

This week it was time for me to switch gears.

I had been working on an embroidery

while I had been recently traveling.

In fact, it was a pattern from Crabapple Hill Studios

that I had purchased over a year ago while

attending one of Meg Hawkey's wonderful retreats.

 Now it's done.

 "Old Glory"

A patriotic design done in brighter

more contemporary floss colors.

The part that draws the most attention 

is the use of gold bugle beads to 

look like a sparkler.  

 Too cute!

I was determined I could find something

in my stash that would work for the pillow.

I eventually found the perfect back and cording fabric.

A piece that has to be about 20 years old, but 

it worked.

(Never give up your stash!)

Summer is the time for 

 flowers, fireworks and flags.

 

This little pillow is going to be enjoying

the summer months on my back porch.

Until Next Time-

Kyle