Vignette Mystery Quilt

After I posted yesterday's stash report, I realized I've never really talked about my long-term project, Vignette in Stitches.  I had been following Leanne Beasley's blog for a little while when she announced she was putting out a new magazine and it was going to kick off with a Mystery Quilt.

It took me a while to find a North American dealer but I finally found it to order at In Between Stitches in California.  They have been wonderful to deal with, and now that a new mystery has started I am keeping my subscription.

 

When my first issue arrived, I was challenged to find similar fabrics to the ones used in the quilt (by an Australian designer, Rosalie Quinlan).  I could have ordered a fat quarter bundle with some of the fabrics in it, but I have so much stash, I decided to wing it!

 

I had fun pulling colours and patterns from my stash that resembled the ones in the magazine.  I was really happy with my final selections, and I only had to buy the red polka-dots and the replacement for a large embroidered border that was supposed to look like this:

 

 

(This picture is from a blog of like-minded stitchers, Vignette in Stitches, and you might want to check out their finished quilts).

 

I knew if I had any hope of finishing this quilt in my lifetime, I had to eliminate 144" of a 4" wide stitched border.  Instead, I bought a cute Minny Muu mini-flowers in the same colours as the embroidery.

 

 

I quickly got started on the assembly and embroidery of the first block.  I learned a couple of great tips, such as using a lightweight fusible batting behind the embroidery to add depth and hid any stray threads, and baste on large strips of scrap fabric to keep the edges from fraying.

 

 

Each of these little Churn Dash blocks measures 4" finished, with 1 1/2" HSTs. 

 

I finished Block One by the time the second issue arrived with two more blocks in it.  I pieced it together fairly quickly, and then got sidetracked for over a year.

 

 

Finally in January, I picked it up again and got the embroidery done on blocks 2, 3 and 4 assembled the first row.

 

 



Blocks 5 and 9 were next and I not only got those pieced, but all the cutting for the remaining blocks. I even had the design traced for the embroidery.  Then I got stalled again.

 

At some point in the last six months, I assembled the centre section which included blocks 6,7, 10 and 11.  I don't even remember when.

 

But this past week, I started working on the appliqued flowers for the centre!

 

 

I'm new to hand-sewn applique in just the past year. It's taken me a while but I think I finally figured out how to get nice smooth curves.  It involves Mylar, a hot iron and starch and even a bit of glue. I am having so much fun!

 

 

And here are the parts so far.  There will be another narrow red polka dot border and a row of 1 1/2" squares surrounding the centre, and a large appliqued frame on top of the centre as well.  The second side piece just needs the red polka-dot borders pieces added and it will be ready for embroidery. Since the starting block is dated, I'd like to finish this by the end of the year so I can enter the finishing date as 2013!

 

This is one of my summer projects - wish me luck!

Sunday Stash Report, Week 24

 

After rocking two finishes in as many days, things slowed down the last two weeks.  With working so much overtime, there hasn't been a lot of free time but I have been trying to be in my "Happy Place" aka my sewing room for a bit every day - I've been managing about 45 minutes to an hour each time.  (It helps that the sleep specialist has put me on a rigid schedule - I'm not allowed to go to bed before midnite and have to be up at 7 am, weekends included.)

 

I did get a great piece of fabric at a garage sale.  I've been looking for a new cushion set for my patio swing, but without any luck.  I had decided to make a scrappy quilt that I could throw on it that wouldn't bother me if it got left out by mistake.  When I spotted this, I was thrilled!

 

There are four cheater panels of Double Wedding Rings on this piece.  I'm going to back each panel with a vintage sheet and quilt each one separately with a simple "stitch-in-the-fake-ditch" stitch, then assemble the four panels with a sashing.  It will be so much easier to handle that way on my machine.

 

Added this week: 3.25 metres

 

Added Year-to-Date: 66.75 metres
 

Used since last report: 0 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 21.5 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 45.25 metres

 

I've enjoyed going in my room every day, even if it is not until 10 at night.

 

I'm still plugging away on Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter.  This pattern has now been retired and will be published in her next book.

 

 

Most of the parts are complete, and I'm finishing the rest as I assemble the blocks.  I want to have this finished by the end of June, so I can get it off to the long-arm quilter.  This is going to be one big quilt - it measures about 110"x110" before I even think about borders.

 

I've sorted through my UFOs for some hand-work projects for summer so I can have something to work on when I'm over at my daughter's or at my friends house hanging in the backyard.

 

 

I prepped the second border for embroidery and started the applique in the center of my Vignette Mystery quilt by Leanne Beasley.

 

 

I finally started Birdie Stitches - I've only had the fabric for two plus years!

 

 

I've assembled little kits for my hexie flowers - every one is different, so I have to make sure I have them properly organized. 

 

I also have a cross-stitch project in my bag, Christmas stockings for my grandbabies!

 

So now I am ready to go when I'm invited somewhere - no more excuses!

 

 

(One of these days I'm going to make a bag the same size and stiffness as this Safeway shopping bag - it holds everything perfectly)

 

I also made some progress on a new design, a TV tray cover with an ironing pad, cutting board holder and multiple pockets that will hold all my tools at my fingertips.

 

 

 

I'm using scraps of Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille, along with some yardage in the aqua colourway.  I've been working on this a little while now, and when I get frustrated I put it aside.  It's now back in the corner!

 

 

(So, do I look for another smaller cutting mat or cut this one down... or pick out all the stitches and add a border to the already-quilted piece?)

 

Linking up to Patchwork Times Sunday Stash Report

 

Now I'm off to tackle another UFO!  Thanks for visiting and have a great day,

 

Terri in BC

Sunday Stash Report, Week 8

I really have to stop working on my UFOs (not).  They are causing me to spend money and add to my stash.

I really had no idea how much more fabric a king-size quilt takes.  I was short on variety for black-on-white fabrics for my Easy Street once again, and I think everyone else in town must be too.  There was hardly anything available at my LQS, Hamels.  They are bringing more in because there are a lot of Easy Street and Lazy Sunday (Bonnie's newest mystery quilt in Quiltmaker magazine) going on, but I don't want to wait, I only have 15 Block A's left to do.  I told them they need to start a Bonnie Hunter club (or maybe I should!).

 

No finishes, but some good progress on some UFOs - I'll be doing updates on those this week, both here and on my UFO page.

 

 

Used since last report: 0 metres

Used Year to Date: 9 metres

Added this week: 8.75 metres

Added Year to Date: 35.25 metres

Net Used/Added for 2013: 26.25 metres

 

Now on to my purchases!

 

I got to IKEA this week, and check out their fabric selection.  I've browsed it before but didn't really look at it too close, but wow - I have really been missing something.

 

 

(image from IKEA website)

 

I got the backing for my daughter's Easy Street.  Because it was 150 cm wide (60"), I was able to get away with buying 6 metres - enough to piece a back 120" x 120", perfect for my king-size quilt.  The best part - only $2.99/metre for a total of $18 for the backing.

 

 

In addition to the black-on-whites, I picked up this cute little bundle of orange and yellow Fat 1/8's and a Fat Quarter of orange.

 

 

(You really have to pardon the poor colour of the pictures - it's a typically West Coast dreary winter day).

 

These are for my Vignette in Stitches quilt.  I started it 2 years ago, and I'm finally at the point of starting the applique centre.

 

 

I think you can figure out where I want to use the orange!  (Picture from designer Leanne Beasley's website, Leanne's House).  I have been subcribing to her magazine, Vignette, since it began and this was an 8-part mystery quilt.  Even though I eliminated a lot of the embroidery, it is still a slow work-in-progress.  I've never really blogged about it, so I plan a post on it later this week.

 

 

Her magazine has been a wonderful source of patterns and great tips. I've done embroidery on quilts before, but have never really been happy with the final result because the threads show through from the back, no matter how careful you are.  Leanne suggested using a very thin fusible fleece to back your block before embroidery, and the results are just beautiful. 

 

 

 

 

Recently I started using the Pilot Frixon pen to start marking my embroidery, and so far I am happy with the results.  It was a bit of a shock the first time I ironed on my fusible fleece after marking a block:

 

 

The heat of the iron makes the marks disappear!  No worries though - I pop it in the freezer for about an hour, and the marks reappear like magic.  I love this option because all I have to do is iron the piece to remove the marks later, and eventually it will wash out.

 

 

 

And one last thing, I have been bitten by the Bitty Block bug.  I have been loving the tiny (3.5") I've been seeing lately, and discovered this Flickr group, the Bitty Block Committee.  I thought I would try my hand at a Polaroid block (adapted from an original design by Little Miss Shabby) and they are so addictive, that I made 8 in less than half an hour.  If it hadn't already been midnite, I would have kept on going.  Most of the blocks shown on the Flickr group are original designs without patterns, I so wish I could draw.  I might have to recruit my daughter to make a few designs for me. 

 

 

Now I'm off to pop my block in the freezer, and settle down to watch the Oscar pre-shows while I work on another UFO, my Birdie Stitches Block 1.  Have a great night to all of you!

 

 

 

What to do?

I want to make a quilt featuring these beautiful Sunkissed fabrics:

and have searching all month for just the right design,

and still have come up with nothing :o(

I think I'd like to have a pinwheel version

and have an idea in my mind - I might have to design my own!

In the meantime, I have been busy making a table topper:

with a flanged border,

finishing Block 1 of Vignette Magazine's mystery quilt (with liberal changes),

Finished 2 Block 4s of Thangles 4, my LQS buck-a-block program (here they are all together)

(they don't have enough contrast for my liking, but I'm persevering).

And I dug out my original Thangles I project, in the hopes of getting it finished this year!

And I'm still practicing free-motion quilting and finishing the quilting on my soon-to-be-born granddaughter's quilt!  She's due Wednesday, so I better get it done.