I'm Not Into Mysteries

 I think,

 I tried to do a mystery quilt once,

but I just couldn't follow through.

I must be more of a control freak

than I let on.

I needed to know,
before I started cutting and sewing,
 if the fabrics I had chosen

were really going work out.

While working at the quilt shop,
I had seen too many mystery quilts that
 should have remained a mystery.

Personally, I've always wanted more control,
especially if I was putting all that
time and money into a quilt.

But what am I doing now?

I'm following along and stitching

Di Ford's Mystery Quilt

Mountmellick

 featured in the magazine

Quiltmania, beginning in issue #99.

Why?
1. Because I love her designs,
so I knew I couldn't go wrong.

2.  I surprised myself by already having
the border fabric she had used.

3. I wanted an excuse to buy
some stunning Dutch Chintz.

 

4. And I wanted to try some Broderie Perse applique
and finally join in the fun
of making 1/2" hexies.

It was easy to get started because

this project isn't really a mystery quilt

in the common meaning of the term..

I knew what part #1 looked like,

so I could find similar colors

to match the colors in my Chintz,

and know where they were going to placed

in the quilt...no mystery.

Di Ford has even created 

a you tube video explaining
in detail the steps
involved for this part of the quilt.
  

She shares lots of wonderful

applique information, if you're interested.

I discovered only one shop

in the US that carries the Dutch Chintz

by the yard,

Happiness Is...Quilting

in McKinney, Texas.

 It's all so beautiful.

I went ahead and purchased a yard,

and I'm glad I did, 

despite the price.

My lovely one yard piece

now has lots of holes cut into it.

 If I hadn't gotten that amount,

I might not have been able to find

enough useable repeats of a specific figure.

So now,

there's no mystery about it,

 this is another great project

I've added to my have "fun list".

Until Next Time-

The Royal Rumpus

This past weekend was

not about quilting,

or the weather,

or what was on my 

calendar for next week.

It was all about family.

"'And now,' cried Max, 'Let the wild rumpus start!'"

~ Where the Wild Things Are ~

 

 Despite all the commotion,

the silliness,

and the giggles,

one little boy slept.

Hope you have a royal rumpus soon.

Until Next Time-

Rows of Tulips

 Several springs ago,

Running Man and I went to

La Conner, Washington

to admire and be awestruck

by the beauty of  millions
 of  blooming tulips.

There are thousands of rows

of colorful tulips filling the landscape.

It's like looking at a 

row by row quilt made up
of wonderful fresh spring time colors.

That was my inspiration when I 

gathered some quarter yard pieces

of  bright cheerful fabrics

and decided to make a chevron patterned

"get me out of the gloom of winter" quilt.

We all know, there can be many ways to get 

to the same conclusion.

In this case, in making a chevron design,

I chose to use only strips of fabrics,

no half square triangles 

to get a zig zag pattern.

I cut 2 strips of each of the 19 fabrics,
 each 3 inches wide.

Then arranged them in an order
to achieve some balance

between the colors.

Then it was simple straight strip sewing.

 Crazy Mom quilts

has a great tutorial on how to do use

this variation of a rail fence
to create a chevron.

You can see how the  duplicate strips were 

matched up. 

 

 Each strip was subcut into 5.5" squares

(Don't mix up the order of the strips or 

it gets WAY to confusing.)

Then on my design floor

the first set of blocks were laid out.
By turning set 1 one direction

and the second set turned the other direction

you create a chevron pattern.

I added an extra piece at the beginning of each

row so I wouldn't have to cut off so much

when it came time to straighten the edges.

The  diagonal rows of blocks
 were simply sewn together,

 then the rows were sewn,

and finally the jagged edges straightened.

The quilt top is finished

looking like colorful bands

of springtime tulips.

Until Next Time-