Part 2 - Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013

Part 2 - Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013

I have been away over the weekend, so getting Part 2 of Celtic Solstice done has not been so easy.  It felt like an age waiting for the second part to be released, so to avoid disappointment, I took my fabric with me and I managed to get most of the pieces cut.  Most of the fabric is prepared, but these are the only four units I have sewn together so far.  I have already learnt that you need to concentrate to sew the right side of the line, that the diagonals have to be in the right direction and that you need to sew the two neutral triangles together.  Let's say its a job that needs a bit of concentration.


Part 2 - Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt - Chevrons

Now, my hunch is that theses chevrons are for the border.  I only say that because I am working on a similar one for my Nearly Insane Quilt.  Following this gut feeling I felt that the chevron pattern needed to stand out, so I have switched my yellow and orange around from my original plan.


Part 1 & 2 - Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt

I must admit, I am finding it quite refreshing to have some different colours on the blog besides the red and white of my Nearly Insane Quilt.  It is great that we have  used all our colours already, and I can't wait to see it all come together.

Don't tell Suzi, but I had the help of some old friends.  This is Tiger resting his head against the pile of cut pieces for Part 2 of Celtic Solstice.  Good company, but not as keen on quilting as Suzi - so far.  Below is Pod.  I don't think he moved from this spot all day.

BTW, my sister has decided to join me this year for the Mystery Quilt.  She is using Inklingo.  She showed me what it involved.  She also showed me the shapes of the pieces to come!  Yes, Inklingo users get an insight of all the shapes in the quilt up front!  I am pretending that I never saw it.


Terry's Chocolate Orange

It was lovely to see so many people linking up last Monday at Quiltville.  The blue and orange units reminded me of one of my other favourite things over Christmas!  I hope to get the rest of the units sewn up during the week, ready for Part 3 on Friday.
 

Fabadashery Blog - 3 Month Anniversary Milestones

Have you seen my post "Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Quilt - Part 8 (nearly)"?  Reviewing my Blogger Stats recently, I noticed that it has had 2000 hits since it was posted in January.  This past week has been the 3 month anniversary since I started this patchwork and quilting blog, and along with the increase in traffic, a lot of things have happened.

The first event marking this weeks 3 Month celebrations was the arrival of a little parcel from the United States.  It was the Giveaway Prize that Suzi the Cat had won on Feline Friday at Sarah Did It!  Isn't she a clever cat - winning fabric for her owner!  This is the first Giveaway Prize we have won on the internet. These two pieces are from the 'Ivory Cats' Collection by Lesley Anne for Quilting Treasures, and look ideal for a future cat mat project. 


'Ivory Cats' by Lesley Anne, for Quilting Treasures, 2011

There is was also a bar of chocolate in the packet.  Yum Yum.  I was not the only winner though.  Enclosed in the parcel was a special homemade patchwork Cat Nip toy in a Zip Lock bag.  When I opened it I was over the moon for Suzi, not only was there the toy, but also the bag - she loves to chew on plastic.... 

Cat Nip Toy with yummy Zip Lock Bag

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3 - FRENZY!

Needless to say - Suzi is CRAZY for it, and loves having it rubbed all over her face. She says thanks especially to Pepper, Midge and Squeaky, the Stars of Feline Friday.  Also thanks to their Mum, Sarah for prompting me to sort out my 'No Reply Blogger' status - I hope everyone finds it easier now. 
The celebrations continued when I popped over to the Quilt Room blog.  Pam and Nicky Lintott have made their name through designing and publishing books on Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs, Layer Cakes and other pre-cut fabric bundles, and are in the process of pulling a new book together.  A few weeks ago they had a competition to name one of their quilts for their forthcoming book.   The name I submitted was 'Jet Stream Jewel', and the quilt name was chosen for a Runner's Up Prize!   Not only do I have a £10 voucher to spend on fabric, but they also hope to use the name for one of the other quilts featuring in their forthcoming book.  I can't wait to see it.

So a great Anniversry so far. The concept of blogging is not new to me, but it was Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt over at Quiltville, which was one of the main motivators for getting me started on publishing a regular sewing blog. That whole experience of piecing a large quilt by machine, sharing the experience with people all over the world, and being part of the 'Mystery Quilt' phenomenom has been an exciting journey, and has allowed me to plug into the sewing world in a whole new way.

Up until now, most of my patchwork and quilting projects have been by hand, and so their progress is slow, which makes newsworthy moments few and far between - not ideal for an active blog. I am sure the hand stitchers and hand quilters out there can empathise with this.  Knowing that I need to put up a post regularly is a real motivator for keeping my sewing projects on track and making me focus on completing projects.  And most of all I enjoy it.

What have been the highlights of your blogging? I would love to hear about your adventures in the blogging world. 

Ferrero Rocher Tower

Ferrero Rocher Tower

I thought I would share this picture with you.  For the celebrations at the weekend I created a Ferrero Rocher Tower. 
It used about 73 individual Ferrero Rocher, mounted on cocktail sticks, on a cone of Florist Oasis, with a 12cm diameter base.  I covered the cone in gold paper, so that when our guests indulged in a chocolate, there was a pretty paper behind.
It certainly had the WOW factor when it was revealed. 
The chocolates were tasty too!