Sunday 9 December 2012

Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Quilt - Part 3

Removing cat hair from fabric
Removing cat hair from fabric
I started the day knowing I had to cut a lot of pieces of fabric, so I thought I would do a bit of housekeeping before I started.  Suzi has adopted the role of my 'fabric manager' , so I needed to remove her cat fur from where she has been sleeping keeping guard.  The most effective way I have found to do this is to put on my Marigold's and rub them across the fabric.  Suzi's cat fur is not as prolific as the other cat, so there was not too much to remove.  
Removing lint from cutting mat
Removing lint from cutting mat
I have also been fastidiously trimming my blocks for the Easy Street Mystery Quilt, and a lot of it has been tiny slithers of fabric, which disappeared as I cut them off.  I have found the same rubber glove technique works nicely to remove the lint that gathers up on my self-healing cutting mat.  Once I had tidied up, we sat down and read the instructions with a cup of tea.

Suzi cat helping with cutting fabric
Suzi cat helping with cutting fabric
Before I cut the whole batch, I cut out a few pieces, to check that it worked. It is the first time I have made a block like this before.  As usual, I followed Bonnie's instruction, and the blocks have come out fine.  By lunchtime all the cutting was done, and by teatime all the blocks were pieced, ready for trimming whilst I watched 'Strictly Come Dancing'. For some reason I cut way too many red triangles, so I will wait to see if I can use them or work out another project to use them up.
I was pleased to be using a different colour.  I am using for red fabric for Bonnie's turquoise, for this part, and for this colour my stash has plenty of choice.  The latest addition to my red stash has to be the most perfect fabric - a red dotty tone on tone which is from a Moda Collection "Christmas Past" #1457, by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson.  I bought a large piece of it, knowing that I will want to include it in every quilt I ever make.  Another favourite in there is a crimson floral tone on tone fabric, from the 'Oriental Traditions' range designed by Adam Guan for Robert Kaufman.  This piece is getting smaller and smaller with each project, and I think this quilt will use up the last of it.  However, as this is a scrap quilt, it is an opportunity to scatter in some of those prints which are perhaps not my 'favourites' too.
 

29 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, I LOVE what you said about the Minnick and Simpson fabric. I thought I was the only one to think like that!! See you at the Linky. (No, I'm not keeping track of the percentage of fabrics used yet, mostly because I pulled much more than we will need.) Have a great evening.

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    1. I bought a bit of the green spot at the same time, it is equally delicious.

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  2. Wow, that is a lot of pieces...I have mine done too. I really like your colors...can't wait to see it all go together.

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  3. I'm liking your color choices and when you write the numbers its seem like so much more. Till next week

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    1. We still have a way to go. I can't wait for Friday.

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  4. Thanks for your stats and I love your colors! Und es ist super, dass du deine Deutsch-Kenntnisse auffrischst!

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  5. Your blocks are great! I too am using red and green. I had so much Christmas fabric in my stash, it just seemed the thing to do. I can't wait to see what happens when you add the purple :-)

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    1. It's not meant to be Christmas, maybe it is just the time of year. I can't wait to see all our colours together.

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  6. Nice job, getting closer now!
    On the other hand I hate to see it end. :)
    Sharyn in Kalama

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  7. Didn't think to count the individual pieces. LOL! Your blocks are wonderful.

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  8. Thanks for the Stats - how fun to know in numbers what we have done so far! Love your colors.

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  9. Love your color combination. LOL, on the cat hair as it is a constant in my life. Thanks for the stats--wow!

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  10. Following up on your calculations. From Bonnie's average size 11 quilts in Bonnie's Scraps & Shirttails II, which is 6,935.9 sq.in. and we have completed 2,880 sq. in (finished size) a good guess would be that we have completed approximately .416 of our quilt!

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  11. Following up on your calculations. From Bonnie's average size 11 quilts in Bonnie's Scraps & Shirttails II, which is 6,935.9 sq.in. and we have completed 2,880 sq. in (finished size) a good guess would be that we have completed approximately .416 of our quilt!

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  12. I just love your blocks! The red and green look really good together without looking to Christmasy. Green has slowly become my favorite color, especially avocado. I'll be sure to watch your block as I can't wait to see how yours turns out! Happy sewing :-)

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    1. This is my first mystery quilt, I am really enjoying it so far. Your comments make it even more enjoyable.

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  13. love your red and green, those are wonderful fabric choices. And thank you for keeping track of the numbers. Quilt on!

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  14. Am here for the first time because I too zoom in on different Colors. I am using Kansas Troubles left from a big bedroom redoubt and adding a bit here and there...no blog no puce! Oh well. Like your Colorado. They do look like Christmastime as of now ;)

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  15. I'm also drawn to the color choices that are different from Bonnie's. I'm doing traditional Christmas colors (it's what I have a ton of in my stash), but I'm looking forward to seeing yours with the purple added in.

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  16. I love your color choices too, I don't have much red in my stash because it is my favorite color and the first thing I grab. Guess it is time to shop again.

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  17. Look how neat you are with your units all in beautiful rows! Your colours are fantastic together too.

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  18. Thanks for the rubber glove tip. I'll try it on my cutting board because it is gathering a few threads with all this cutting we are doing. Thanks also for the calculation of how many pieces so far, and to Kilthose above for the area calculation.

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  19. Love your fabric choices! This is such a fun mystery quilt to work on. I really like your tip for removing cat hair - wonder if it will work on a hairy dog?!

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  20. I can't wait to see your quilt in this color scheme! Awesome fabrics!

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  21. Wonderful photo of all your pieces lined up to sew!
    Your mystery blocks look great!
    Step #4 is posted...I'm off to sew!

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