Orange Crush on the BED!

Yea! I finished the binding and label on Bonnie Hunter's "Orange Crush", and though it hasn't been washed yet, I put it on the bed so we can try it out tonight. [No, I didn't spill a bottle of pop on the bed.]

Here is a look at the quilting on the border again. Wide as the bottom border is, it is all tucked under the mattress right now.

This quilt feels heavier than the Double Delight. It can't have MORE pieces, can it? Maybe the fabric and/or batting is heavier. I do know that it is longer and wider.

Sara

Big Quilt Action

Last night at our monthly Spoolspinners' meeting, Catherine brought me the too LARGE quilts she worked on while I was gone to Florida. I'm just showinig you the corners, so you can see the great quilting work she did on the borders. Below is the border on the Double Delight (Bonnie Hunter design).

And the next on is also a Bonnie Hunter design, Orange Crush. I just LOVE the orange/red thread for the border quilting. AND Catherine used the enormous paisley deaign on the backing fabric to creaste her own original pattern! This may be my alltime favorite quilt, and it is even big enoughf or our queen bed (if we lie close together).I need to get right to work on the bindings, and then I'll show you the whole quilt.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sunshine, sunshine

Daffodils in bloom

Garden clean-up finished

Fresh bread fragrance

Wonderful return of quilts

Quilt backs

NOT my favorite part of the process, quilt backs, that is. But when I have the top finished, and I want to get the whole thing to the LA quiilter, a back is needed.

Since I am going away for a month, I want to get a couple of quilts into my LA quilter's hands, so that maybe one or two will be ready for binding when I get back. Therefore BACKs are necessary.

First yesterday I got the remnants of the front and a few other fabrics together for the back of a New Year's internet mystery I made from stash. I'm not super-delighted with the top, which happens with mysteries sometimes, but it did use up a great autumn leaves fabric I was hoarding. When I'm not thrilled, I dump a top in a pile somewhere, but this one was really finished, so "Get it out of here!" Got that back ready to be delivered.

Next Bonnie Hunter's mystery "Orange Crush" took a long time to find the right borders, again from the stash. Ended up with narrow borders from the fabrics used in the quilt, just barely enough, and then a wider plain black Kona. The backing fabric is a large paisley, and I'm considering asking the LA quilter to quilt this upside down, in order to follow the paisley pattern. BIG problem: the back needs to be pieced, and if the pattern is going to be followed, it really needs careful matching on the seams. I an do this, I can do this, I can do this? Hmm, that's my project for this afternoon. Can't say I remember any experience with this task, so it will be harried. 1) draw a line on the wrong side of the fabric through the same spot in the design. 2) draw a line on the OTHER piece of fabric through the same spots. 3) Cut 1/4 inch away in OPPOSITE directions. 4) Match up and sew. That's my plan.

Vertical seam down the middle, and one from the middle to the left. Not VERY visible, right?

Then I made an error of Inattention and cut in the wrwong place. Wrecked my whole plan because then I didn't have enough fabric for the whole back. Now there is a black strip 12" wide filing the gap. Darn!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Toast from fresh bread for breakfast

Clean house and clean sheets before our trip
Charlie now cooks three nights a week

Phlox and ORANGE Crush layout imagined

On each side our grassy hill down to the lake we have a little woods where these wild phlox bloom every year at the end of May. They are not really wild flowers, but domestic ones that have escaped into the wild. They show a nice variety of colors from purple to pink to white. I "stole" some from a deadend street by a warehouse, growing in the drainage ditch. They have now spread to make quite a show.

Rather than spending time in the sewing room I have been working in the garden. This group of plants is the result of one trip to the nursery/garden store. I am going to try two tomato plants this year. There are five deck pots to be planted, and then I HAD to have another Black Lace elderberry for the meadow and three sets of three more perennials: Johnson's Blue true geraniums, three white Japanese iris, and three short blue delphiniums. A good bit of the planting will be done on the weekend.

And now the ORANGE CRUSH. Don't look if you don't want to see my "solution" to the Mystery!!

Step 5 of Bonnie's current mystery has the really orange fabric in it. We also are to have an "accent" fabric, which we now see is to go in the middle of this block. I had picked out the bright yellow, but when I saw the block and laid out the fabrics, I thought it was TOO bright. And it made the blue Spinning Stars fade into the night. So I decided to use the black that was also part of the Stars.

However, after some time in the garden, I came back and decided that I would put blocks with the black center into the middle of the quilt and surround them with a line of blocks with the yellow center.

So here is my construct of how the Mystery is going to go together:

Bonnie has instructed us to make 18 triangles that are half-Album blocks, so it is clear this will be an on-point layout.
I've laid the blocks on the bed with six black-centered Album blocks in the middle, which is in the upper left of the photo. As you can see the Spinning Stars are really going to look like a sashing and the light squares are also sashing.
Isn't it nifty? And though Bonnie said there wouldn't be much "light" in this quilt, it sure does look BRIGHT.

And it does use up a couple of fabrics that I had been avoiding.

I think she also will use the extra 44 mini-blocks somehow in the border, but I haven't had time to think about HOW.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Got it through exercise class after missing several

Made my second loaf of brioche AND pecan sticky buns!

Township Board agreed to pay for an option on 80 acres for nature preservation

Busy weekend

The Grand Rapids Women's Chorus, here shown on stage doing a mike check beforehand, had our Spring Concert Saturday night. We had a good audience, who appeared to enjoy our music. I am anticipating hearing the concert for the first time when we get the CD recording in a couple of weeks. Because I am in the backrow, extreme right corner, surrounded by other tenors, I have trouble knowing what any part but my own is singing. And then when soloists step forward to sing toward the audience, I don't always hear them very well either. Just have to follow our director and hope for the best.

Got home about 11 pm, and found this basket of flowers on the kitchen counter. They are from DD Martha and her husband in St, Louis. Tried to finish my sermon, but went to bed with matters hanging in the air. Managed to finish it up after breakfast.

Lots of RED clothing in the congregation this morning in honor of Pentecost, and lots of hymns about the Holy Spirit. The gospel was from John, with Jesus breathing the Spirit on the disciples, then immediately saying, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven." This has always seemed a little peculiar to me, but I came to understand that he himself had just then enacted forgiveness by coming to the friends who had abandoned him. Rather than chastizing them, he said,"Peace be with you." So forgiveness must have been on all their minds.

The outdoor pennants were flying gaily in the face of clouds and drizzle, and drew another man into the church to ask about them!

I have managed to sew a couple of Orange Crush blocks for Step 4 of Orange Crush together. Bonnie is having us make HSTs of yardage fabric (not scraps) and combining them with the previously made 4-patches into this block, which she calls Spinning Stars. That's not a lot of contrast between the black and teal triangles, but Bonnie doesn't have a alot of contrast in her yardage either. So I assume this is going to do something wonderful with the blocks that are yet to come.

Peter cooked at our house, making lovely Cornish hens with wild rice and cranberry dressing. What a treat!

Sara

Gratitudes:

A pressurized week completed

Charlie's Pentecost pants can be retired!

Gentle rain all day for the garden

Orange Crush, Step 3

Two piles of HALF Split four patches--each has 22 blocks, or half blocks.
This was a fairly short step to finish, though I had some hard thinking to figure out how to cut the larger triangles. I don't have the exact ruler that Bonnie suggested to us, but was trying to use the Omnigrid ruler for 1/4 square triangles. I tried cutting different sizes, and settled on the "3 inch" line for cutting, even tho' this is a 3.5 inch block. I read Bonnie's instruction over and over, and I read the Omnigrid instructions over and over. These come out RIGHT, even if lacking in logic!

And last night I finished the black border on my Doors in the Square. I just happened to have a Fat Eight of dotted circles on a black background, so I put in two cornerstones that are circles. Upper left and lower right. You may have to enlarge this photo to see them.

This is about 30" X 40", so it will be a baby or neo-natal quilt.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sunny, but cool so the bushes will hold their flowers

Pizza for dinner

Charlie home from retreat

Orange Crush, Step #2 done

I now have TWO little recyled baskets with many 3.5 inch blocks. On the right are the 150 (+2) four-patches from Step #1, On the left are the 142 (+1) Split four-patches from Step #2.

The Not-quite-lining-up problem had two possible solutions.

A.) I could sew with the multiple pieced piece on the top, which would allow me to aim for the intersection and hopefully hit it fairly often. Unhappy result: final block LESS square.

OR

B.) I could sew with the simple large triangle on the top, which keeps the final block MORE square, but frequently misses the intersection.

I went with B. I was always missing the intersection on the "float" side, rather than cutting off the corner point. I didn't think that was going to bother me. Anyway, it would bother me less than having wonky blocks. [I LIKE wonky blocks when that is intentional, or for a Crumb quilt!]

Here's what is left over. These were all unsewn pieces, but I decided they MIGHT be more usable put together as far as they go. Since I have some Crumb or Confetti blocks in process, I don't think these will be lying around for long!

The spring/summerlike weather drove me to stop at the nursery today while on my errands. I came home with six pots of herbs and a six-pack of "Happy Returns" day lilies. I actually got the day lilies in the ground TODAY, which isn't usual. It certainly helped that there is a new area in the garden that is blank. [The herbs are sitting on the kitchen counter to remind me of them.]

Since I had shovel in hand, I dug up four chunks of Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula), and two chunks of Black-Eyed Susan and carted them out to the meadow. They are now mashed into the ground in what I hope are good places. Time will tell if they survive such cavalier treatment and the competition of the field grasses. My theory is: Give them a CHANCE, and see what they make of it. Plants have to be tough to work with me, at least in the meadow. I will water TREES for the first year, but can't carry water for much else.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Colorful plants in the nursery

Leftovers, just cook asparagus!

learning my Chorus music from CD

Surprise Tulips

Didn't think I had any tulips left. But here is a patch on the lake side of the house. Guess the deer haven't been over to this side yet!

Back in the sewing room I am making a little progress on the Bonnie Hunter Mystery #2.

I am using the "Easy Angle" ruler that Bonnie recommends, but so far the pieces are not fitting together real well. The little tirangles go onto the square just fine. However when I go to sew the large triangle on it doesn't seem to fit exactly. The edges to be sewn don't match up, leaving me unsure which of the two edges to use as my sewing guide. I've made about 40 and now when I am squaring them up, some of them don't "square". You may be able to see that the corner ofthe square doesn't hit the triangle precisely. I'm not letting this bother me, but it is a sign that something is not working right so far.

Sara

Gratitudes:

So much color in the yard

Made reservation for September holiday

Charlie made turkey meatloaf!

Mystery #2, Step 1

Here are my 150 four-patches for Bonnie Hunter's second mystery, Step #1. I have quite a stack of these plastic baskets from buying baby carrots at the grocery store, and just can't bear to throw them away. They are good for keeping track of the components of a quilt.

And there is a little pile of scraps from "squaring up" with the 3.5" ruler.

Bonnie said that she wouldn't be getting clue #2 to us until next week. So I am continuing with knitting on my second sock as I watch TV and sit at meetings.

Sara

Gratitudes:

daffodils making buds

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes ready for me at library

Out for Chinese dinner

Some crocuses and four-patches

Though I was impressed with the redbud trees blooming in Virginia, I am REALLY excited to find that my crocuses started to bloom while I was gone.


These white ones are at the point of our dirveway circle, so I noticed them as soon as we drove in. I think I also have some white anemones planted here, so there will also be white blooms a little later.

INSIDE the circle of the driveway I have a big flower bed. Here I planted purple crocuses over the years, and they are beginning to add up to quite a few. The variety is called "Remembrance" and they have been available year after year, so I stick with them. I think there is a lot of yellow in bloom first thing in the spring and I like to have something different to go with the yellow.

Hurray for a sunny, warm day today. I could walk around the yard and look for green leaves poking up for daffodils and day lilies to come later. I enlarged the bed in the "island" last fall, and now I don't know what was moved into the new area. This will be interesting to watch!

And here are the four-patches for "Orange Cr

ush" (Bonnie Hunter's second mystery quilt) that are spinging up in my sewing room. I used quite a mix of colors in the DARKS, and even some variety in the LIGHTS, including some yellow. I see in the Orange Crush photo album that some people are using a consistent light fabric, and some have even used just one color for the dark. I'm taking Bonnie at her word on this and going straight to the mixed up 2" strip bin and taking what is there. No yardage cut so far. Don't know how this is going to work out with the four yardage fabrics that we are also holding ready for further instructions. But, then, it's a mystery, and we just find out one step at a time.

Sara

Gratitudes:
Sunny, warm day!
Crocus, snowdrops, and eranthus blooming
"Emperor" piano concerto at GRSO

Another sock started

So, why is the next sock so much smaller? Well, I don't have a clue! I started it the same night the finished the previous sock, and kept knitting on it as I travelled home, both on the planes and in the airports.

I didn't change the size of the needles. I didn't try to hold the yarn any tighter. It just is coming out SMALLER!
Was I just getting into the swing of things?

Hmm. I'll have to see if this trend continues.

Now that I'm home and have had a day here, I have to catch up with the rest of the "Orange Crush Gang", who are working on Bonnie Hunter's mystery #2. The first clue was given out on March 31 while I was away.

150 four patches are needed---made from 2" strips of LIGHT and DARK scraps. "Scraps" being Bonnie's favorite word.

I've got the strips sewn and then cut apart into two-patches, which are now flung into this vegetable bin. This will be my "leaders and enders" project for the next week as I work on something else as my major project. I don't think it will take too long to finish them off when we get to the next clue.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Car tire replaced in just one hour

Endured bright lights in eye exam

Home with my honey