The Hole in the Barn Door

My first new start for 2012 will be under the guidelines of the quilterie 2012 challenge.

It is a two colour quilt.  Solid red and white actually.

When I discussed it with Sharon I thought it was called Churn Dash, but because the block is in a 2:1:2  rather than 2:2:2 format. It is actually the Hole in the Barn Door pattern.

I don't normally cut all the fabric prior to piecing.  With a two colour quilt, rather than my usual scrap quilts, I was able to cut out everything.

After my recent experience with Bonnie Hunter and her mystery quilt, I am going to use the Easy Angle ruler and chain piece.  All a new quilting experience for me.

My English cousin has been staying with me for the past few weeks and she made me a pair of socks

The colour isn't showing well on my screen, but there is a lime green stripe between various shades of grey.  They are just lovely.  Being the competitive person I am I pulled out a sleeveless vest I knitted in Fair Isle in 1981

If you have really, really good eyesight, you may be able to see that I have been able to add a name to my photos.  Look over on the bottom left on the above picture.  I have been enviously reading blogs with lovely printing on the uploaded photos and finally I have worked out how to do it.  Things can only improve from here.

Being able to add my label to the photos makes up for all the weird little  things that have been occurring to my blog recently.  Sorry if I haven't answered your comments.  I do appreciate them, but they don't all go to my email since I started moderating them.

Summer Fun

The  Australian  long summer coincides with extended school holidays and lazy days with family and friends.  The cities are relatively deserted as everyone heads off to their holiday destination.

Quilterie has been entertaining and not much sewing or blogging has occurred here.  But I couldn't miss the last opportunity to link up with all the other detectives who have been trying to solve the "Mystery of Orca Bay".

 The quilt has an 8 X 7 block setting and I have sewn 8 X 4 so far.  It's going to be a big quilt and it already has a name: "Red Herring".

I'd like to thank Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville for leading us all on a merry chase.  I learned a lot and enjoyed doing the mystery as a virtual group and soon I hope to have a new top ready for quilting.  I can highly recommend doing the next mystery, although, Bonnie, if you are reading: please can you begin the fun at a less busy time of the year!!

Regarding my solid challenge I haven't got much further than washing my red fabric.  I'm not much of a washer, really.  I usually get my fabric home from the shop and  eagerly  cut straight into it.  But knowing how much red colour can run, I thought I'd be sensible and soak the yardage.


After a few minutes it appeared that the dye was  stable.  However  I got distracted and left the fabric to soak for a couple of hours.  On my return I found the water a pink colour! Who knew to leave the fabric to soak for extended time?   I suppose you all did and just forgot to tell me.  Well, now after a second long soak and a wash in the machine fingers crossed it won't bleed any more.

2012 Challenge

After many years of making failed New Years resolutions, last year I gave away that idea in favour of something more likely to be achieved.  I decided to use a particular fabric in every quilt that I worked on in 2011.  I had some success with that challenge.

Now that the calendar has flipped over to 2012, I can start my new challenge.  I am calling it " 2012 - the year of the solid".

I have been collecting solids for some time so that this year every quilt that I start will only use solids.  There are so many yummy solids around at the moment, don't you think?  I hope my challenge will be lots of fun and move me out of my comfort zone.

The rules I have made for myself are that quilts that have been started prior to 1/1/2012 will not be restricted to solids.  But new quilts will have to conform to the challenge.  Those quilts can be Amish, two colour (for instance red and white - how clever of me to include that parameter!),  modern, applique, etc  Really, anything goes except for a pattern or tone on tone fabric being in the quilt top.

I have been looking forward to this challenge for a few months now but wanted to wait until the beginning of the year to start.  Such a challenge suits me much better than trying to control my fabric purchases, or desire to start new projects and I think it will be fun.

Speaking of new projects...well here is one that was a new project less than 2 months ago and is already close to completion.  It is Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay mystery quilt that you must have been reading about everywhere in the blogosphere. 

This is just to give you an idea  of the centre of the quilt top.  I haven't put any more of the quilt together than this, although all the elements are ready to go.

I weighed all the units for my quilt and they came in at close to 1kilogram!   They fit in a box similar in size to a shoebox.  Looking at my fabric stash I realise I have many, many kilos of fabric. 

Thanks to Bonnie for helping me use 1kilo in such a nice manner.  I love how my mystery quilt has turned out.

quilterie's choice: Best of 2011

One of the best parts about this time of the year is the lists that are published recording the highlights, lowlights and everything of note in between.  I love poring over them and being reminded of the year's events.

So quilterie is publishing its own 2011 list of quilt related items:

• best book: History Repeated

I haven't actually sewn anything from this book but I love looking at the pictures and dreaming.

• Best fabric range: Cadet Paisley from Winterthur Museum by Andover

While I haven't cut into it yet it is still my favourite.  A close second in the fabric stakes is the ArtGallery Solids range:

The colours on my computer screen don't do it justice...just delicious.

• Best tool: A late entry challenged for the title. 

Originally I was going to put my wedge ruler that I used quite a bit in 2011.  But doing the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt made me work with my Easy Angle ruler and the Companion Angle ruler, both of which I now love.

• Best show:  Even though I didn't see it first hand, I think the hands down winner was the "Infinite Variety of Red & White quilts" exhibition in New York.

If you have any other categories that you feel should be included I'd love to hear of them.  Perhaps you'd like to challenge my list.  That would really interest me too.   I have avoided doing a "worst of" list.  Neither have I indulged in a "best blog" class, simply for the sake of diplomacy.  I think we all have our favourite(s).

Lots of UFOs made it out of the cupboard in 2011,  some were even finished.  None of that would have been possible without the stimulus from you, dear reader; having something new to show each post has energized me to sew more efficiently than ever before.  If you have been thinking about starting a blog, I encourage you to go ahead and do it in 2012.

For all your interest in what goes on in my little part of the sewing world, thank you.  I hope 2012 brings you everything you want as well as more time to sew!

Don't tell them you saw me...

I don't know about you, but I've found Bonnie's mystery quilt  surprisingly addictive.

So much so that I've been sneaking away from guests; vanishing  between courses; going to bed early (yawn, "aren't you tired?")  to cut and piece as much as possible.

Well, I haven't been too rude so  I've still got a way to go.

I have an idea about how all the pieces go together, but I don't want to be a spoilsport.  If you want to see a possible solution have a look back here. 

Bye for now.  I'd better get back to the entertaining.  People will wonder why it takes so long to stack the dishwasher.

Red Herring

December is such a busy time of year.  I think hardly anyone in the western world is not affected by a sense of urgency to have everything complete and tidied up before the end of the year, before the festivities, before normal life shuts down.

It is with that same desire to finish as much as possible that quilterie has been burning the midnight oil.  Another block  has been completed from the BTCT quilt:

Lori's Cheddar Cheese and Crackers quilt-along previewed here has also been put together.

Notice that the 2011 challenge fabric makes an appearance in the bottom right hand corner.  If you think I have not been following my own challenge I will write about my success (or not) when I present my 2012 challenge.

Finally I would like to explain the post title.  First though, I will warn  those doing the Orca Bay  mystery quilt with Bonnie Hunter

Spoiler Alert

In her Part 6 clue, Bonnie practically dared us to reveal what we thought the pattern was, so I am throwing in my idea of what we are making:

You can see that I am not 100% sure so I haven't actually sewn the block together.  I do like it though and I hope that this block does feature.  Whatever it turns out like, I have already decided to call my quilt "Red Herring",  since it is so obviously not reminiscent of an Orca whale, or even Orca Bay.

Birds and Fishes

When it was pointed out out that the "Beyond the Cherry Tree" quilt has been going two years I found it difficult to believe.  I am at the stage of the quilt where there is no turning back.  Seventeen blocks complete; three almost complete and five more to go.

Not every block appeals.  A few feel distinctly odd so I have made a substitute block.

It's a block from the presentation quilt for William A Sargent.  I like it because there are cherries, a vase that is similar in proportion to other vases in the "Beyond the Cherry Tree" quilt and the birds are recognizable birds.

My week has also seen more revealed of the Orca Bay Mystery quilt over at Bonnie Hunter's blog.  I have had my foot down hard on the sewing machine pedal.  It's great using the Easy Angle ruler by Sharon Hultgren;

Bonnie recommended it and I have found it makes short shrift of all that piecing - 700 little triangles added to the 350 HSTs since Saturday morning.

I have fiddled around with the blocks trying to imagine what Bonnie has created, but I still can't make it out.  I will be happy with the result no matter what.  There is space appearing in my 'brown' drawers and I have also cut up small scraps I was saving with no real purpose in mind.  It really feels like Christmas!