Good Fortune is finished

It's been a long time coming, but I'm very pleased to advise that my Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt from 2018 is finally finished.  It's called Good Fortune. 

I like it, but I wouldn't say that I'm in love with it.  I did learn some useful lessons along the way though; 

- beware of mystery quilts.  This isn't the first time I've said this, but I think I started this quilt before I really learnt my lesson on Jen Kingwell's Marshal mystery quilt. 

- if you're going to change the colours or layout, be confident in your plans and don't let regrets creep in.

I hand quilted it using a range of Aurifil threads in 12wt and 28wt

I changed the layout for this quilt because I thought that the original layout (above) was too traditional for me.  Now I wonder if my white squares would have shown up better in the original layout, but it's too late to go back now, and I'm definitely not making a second version.  

I can now say that I've made a Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt.  I won't be tempted to start another one when I see people starting the next one in November.  I've decided that mystery quilts aren't for me.  

Anna Maria Horner on the back

The finished size is 66" x 66"

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Capital Quilters' Retreat

This weekend I'm going to our guild's retreat.  We're quite a big guild, so we usually have 3 retreats a year - 2 at Silverstream in Upper Hutt, and one at Home of Compassion in Island Bay, Wellington. Different groups of members are regulars at each venue.  I only go to the Home of Compassion retreat which is usually in the middle of winter.  

We arrive on Friday morning and stay for two nights, so I need to take plenty of things to keep me busy for three days.  

The last couple of years I've left my sewing machine at home and only taken hand sewing.  Some people think I'm crazy! But I have so much hand sewing and hand quilting to do, that I can easily keep busy for three days.

This year I'm going to work on:

1. Modified Marshal Mystery Quilt - hand quilting

2. Don't Leaf Me by Wendy Williams - hand applique

3.  Our retreat block.  This year I had the pleasure of choosing our retreat block.  I chose Panama Pyramids by Linda Collins of Quilts in the Barn in Australia.  It doesn't look much like this, but it's going to look great when they're all on the wall at retreat.  

Linda Collins has kindly given me permission to use her pattern.  Linda’s pattern is based on an antique quilt that she owns. I purchased the pattern from Linda’s Etsy shop for NZ $10 here . Linda also sells acrylic templates for Panama Pyramids, so if you love the design and want to make a whole quilt I recommend that you get in touch with her.

It's a hand piecing pattern, but can also be pieced with English Paper Piecing or by machine. 

I've made my blocks, but I made need to help others who want to try hand piecing. 

Of course I've popped in a few extras in case I get bored, but these will be my main focus (when I'm not chatting to others).  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post and let us know what you've been up to recently.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tongariro Crossing (and the Peacock Party)

I've finished my Sue Spargo quilt and I love it.

Sue Spargo has called this pattern "Nature Trail", but my quilt doesn't look anything like a walk in the woods.  The colours in my quilt make me think of a volcano, so I'm calling my version "Tongariro Crossing".

The Tongariro Crossing is 20km (12 mile) hike across an active volcano in the middle of New Zealand's North Island.  Click here for details.  There are trees and birds at the start and end of the track, but up at the summit it's very barren and you can see into the crater lake of the volcano.  The website recommends that people check the level of volcanic activity before they set out!!!  https://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/tongariro  Don't worry, the track will be closed if there's any danger.

I haven't done the Tongariro Crossing hike, and I don't intend to, but I've seen plenty of photos and it does look amazing.

I made this quilt during a mystery stitch along with Sue Spargo in 2016.  My inspiration fabric was this beautiful Anna Maria Horner fabric pictured above, called Folk Song Minor Chords. I also wanted to include some of this fabric below in this quilt:

Each month Sue released another pattern and most of them included some hand embroidery.  I loved doing the hand stitching, and I learnt some new stitches with the help of my Sue Spargo Creative Stitching book.

I used Sue Spargo's Wonderfil variegated threads for most of the hand stitching. These threads are Perle 8 thickness and made by Wonderfil. Lots of shops stock them because they are great for embellishing quilts. I love using them for wool felt applique. 

Yes, those Wonderfil threads are addictive.  I won't tell you how many I have in my cupboard.

I put stabiliser on the back of my blocks to support the hand embroidery, but then I realised that I wouldn't be able to hand quilt it.  So I did a bit of machine quilting myself, but it wasn't enough and I was too timid to try free motion quilting on this quilt.  Although it's not a big quilt, it is quite heavy due to the extra stabiliser, and I couldn't move it freely on my domestic Bernina.

So a few months ago I took it into my local long arm quilter, Sue Burnett at Busy Bee Quilt Shop, and she kindly finished it for me.  I suspect finishing someone else's quilting is like doing sewing repairs, so I do appreciate Sue helping me out.

I'd had the binding cut and waiting in the cupboard for more than a year, so it only took a day or two to put it on.  Now my quilt is finished!!!

Size: 49' x 64" (124cam x 162cam)
Pattern: Nature Trail by Sue Spargo

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Good Fortune - Part 5

There hasn't been much quilting at my house this week because we've been celebrating Christmas.  My visitors left this afternoon and I've spent the last few hours making some blocks for Part 5 of Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery quilt (before the new clue gets released overnight).

I love how the blue and yellow look together.  It reminds me of an Adidas track suit I had growing in Dunedin. Blue and gold are Otago's colours!

It's a beautiful day here and we've got the doors and windows open and cricket going on the TV in the background.  Australia are playing India in Melbourne, Australia, and our own Black Caps from New Zealand are playing Sri Lanka in Christchurch, New Zealand.  This is what summer is all about.

I'm just squeezing in to Bonnie's link up before it closes in one hour.  You can read all the other posts here. 

Good Fortune - Part 4

The weeks are flying by in this Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  We've just had week 4 and I think we've used all the colours now.

I enjoyed using my orange and yellows this week.  I decided to go very scrappy, and used up some of those fabrics that I never know how to classify.  Are they orange? Do the other colours stand out too much? Never, mind, I threw them all into the mix this time.

My little collection of pieced blocks is looking good. I'm keen to find out how these pieces will all fit together eventually.

I'm linking up to Bonnie's Part 4 post here where you can see everyone else's progress too.

Good Fortune - Part 3

It's week 3 of Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery quilt and we're making green chevrons.  I'm not as far along as I was on the previous two clues, but that's OK, because it's a very busy time of the year and I always knew I might not be able to keep up.   

This week we made chevrons (and some bonus HSTs from the off cuts).  I'm certainly learning some new tips and tricks from Bonnie's instructions.  She has provided instructions for multiple ways to make each of the clues released to date.  I like that! We can each choose the method that works for us, but also learn that there are different ways to get the same result.

I do admire the people who have changed up the colours, but my brain just can't cope with that at this time of the year.  I don't want to see Bonnie using red and have to remember that I'm doing green for those sections, and when I see her using green, remember I'm doing blue there.  Maybe in the future, but not this time thank you.

I see all the snow at Bonnie's cabin, and am very grateful that we're going into summer in New Zealand.  Here are some beautiful hydrangeas I've seen in my neighbourhood this week.

and some fairy roses too:

I'm linking up to Bonnie's linky party here where you can see all the chevrons other people have made.

Good Fortune - Part 2

It's the second week of Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery quilt.

This week we made blue and white half square triangles.

Blue is probably my favourite colour, so I had a lots of blues in my stash to chose from.

After seeing all that red dye last week, I decided to prewash the blues too.

I also had a number of low volume prints with hints of blue on them, so I've used up some of them too.

I prefer to make my half square triangles (HST) by cutting squares 1" bigger than the finished size of the block.  I then mark a diagonal line with a ruler, and sew 1/4" either side of it.  I cut down the line and then press the two halves open.  I use my Bloc loc ruler and my rotating cutting board to trim up my HSTs.

Bonnie suggested a couple of methods in her blog post for making HSTs, but I'm comfortable with the method I've been using for some years now.

I'm linking up with Bonnie Hunter's linky party here.  You can see everyone else's progress if you take a look at Bonnie's post on her Quiltville blog.

Good Fortune - a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt

Well, I've taken the plunge and joined the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt band wagon.  This is the first time I've done one of Bonnie's mystery quilts, so I hope it will be fun.

I was seriously tempted to join two years ago for En Provence, but when I read how many pieces were required, I quickly knocked that idea on the head.

However, two years later, and I'm very tempted by Good Fortune and the idea of an Asian inspired quilt.  I haven't been to China, but I have been to Singapore and Japan, so I have experienced Asian culture.

In Singapore in January 2011

I see this mystery quilt as a way to use up some of my fabrics that have been hanging around for a while, and replenish my stocks with new and exciting fabrics.  I want to go scrappy and use lots of tiny pieces of many different fabrics.

Bonnie lists the colours she is using in her blog, but I modified my choices slightly.  I like using this online tool from https://www.sessions.edu/color-calculator/

I put in the very strong red I want to use, and then asked for three other colours that work with it.  So these are the colours that I'll be using.

I'm always wary of red fabrics running, so I prewashed them and I'm so pleased I did.

The top colour catchers are from the first wash, and the bottom from the second.  They are still slightly pink.

After the prewashing I set to and made lots of tiny little blocks - don't ask me the size of the quantity please - you need to go to Bonnie's blog to get all the details.

I'm incorporating a bit of gold into my blocks because I know Chinese people love red and gold together.

This is going to be fun - I'm already looking forward to the next clue release on Friday/Saturday.

I'm linking up to Bonnie's weekly party where you can check out everyone else's colours and blocks. 

Cotton Cuts - Fall Mystery Quilt Reveal

Some of you may remember that many months ago I made some blocks for the the Cotton Cuts mystery quilt. Well, here is the finished quilt! 

Bloggers from around the world contributed:

• July – Sheila Christensen (www.mysteryquilter.com)
• August – Yvonne Fuchs (www.quiltingjetgirl.com)
• September – Teri Lucas (www.terificreations.com)
• October – Wendy Welsh (www.wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com)
• November – Nicole Young (www.lillyella.com)
• December – Chris Dodsley (www.madebychrissied.blogspot.com)
• January – Amy Smart (www.diaryofaquilter.com)
• February – Sam Hunter (www.huntersdesignstudio.com)
• March – Cheryl Sleboda (www.muppin.com)

The mystery has now been “solved” and it is my pleasure to share the reveal of the quilt that we all contributed to.

You can see that each of the bloggers signed a block that they pieced and contributed. The quilt is approximately 48-inches wide by 60-inches long, and it is up for auction. The auction is raising money for Valley Industries, a non-profit sheltered workshop that provides dignified employment opportunities to the intellectually challenged and to those with other disabilities. Valley is the fulfillment partner for Cotton Cuts and cuts and folds all of the fabric for delivery to members. To learn more about Valley Industries and the services they provide, please click here.

To enter the raffle, click on the link and scroll to the bottom of the page where you can purchase a raffle ticket for $5 each.

Signups for the next Cotton Cuts mystery quilt will open on May 25th. The theme is “This Way and That Way” and will feature Palm Canyon, Wildside, Blueberry Park III, Sun Prints 2018, Sequoia and Indah Batiks among others.

I must give credit to the lovely Yvonne Fuchs (www.quiltingjetgirl.com) for allowing me to plagiarise her blog content for this post.  I "met" Yvonne in 2014 through the New Quilt Bloggers group.  There were 100 people in that group, and some of us have stayed in touch over the years.  It's nice to know there are people out there willing to lend a hand when you need one.  Thank you Yvonne.