Grand Illusion - Part V

Christmas at our house was on Christmas night, so when I got up Friday morning I had nothing better to do than to go and check out the next clue.  Food had been put away or packed up and carried home by the kids, dishes were washed, and the house was cleared of all the clutter.  I am not one for after Christmas shopping so I settled in and cut and sewed all of Clue 5 on Friday before noon.

This allowed me time to complete Clue 4 and -- ta da -- I was caught up on this mystery for the first time.

Clue 5

 

 

In addition to being caught up on the mystery clues, I have cut out and sewn a lap size quilt for my youngest granddaughter.  She told her Mom that she needed a cuddle quilt, so I set about making her one.  I'll try to post a picture of the top tomorrow, when the light is better.

 

Hope everyone had a marvelous Christmas.

 

~Sandra

 

Grand Illusion - Part IV

 

 

I can't believe it but I am actually caught up with all the clues.  This is a first for me.  I completed Clue 4 on Sunday, December 21, thanks to copious sewing on Saturday and Sunday.  Then I went back to Clue 3 and in between grocery shopping, last-minute Christmas shopping and who knows what else, I finally finished Clue 3 around 6 pm last night.

 

All 80 of Clue 4:

 Looking at this picture, it does not look like the amount of work that it actually took.  Cutting, sewing parts together, pressing, adding more pieces together, pressing again then trimming - a lot of effort that will eventually go together to make a beautiful quilt.

Today will be spent making desserts for tomorrow.  My family will not arrive until late Christmas Day so I will have tomorrow to do all of the cooking for tomorrow night.

 

Merry Christmas to all of my family, friends and fellow Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion Mystery Quilters.

 

Hugs,

 

~Sandra

Grand Illusion - Part III

Grand Illusion Status Report:
     Clue 1 - Completed  
     Clue 2 - Completed   
     Clue 3 - In progress

I thought I would never finish Clue 2.  For some reason no matter how much I sewed I could not make any headway.  Most of the double diamonds came out as they should.  Those that didn't was separated from the good ones.  I will wait to see how the blocks are used in the overall design before I redo any of them.  They were only slightly off and difficult to see the problem on a galloping horse.
Part of the difficulty was all of the other things on my plate that kept demanding my attention. 

Part III is well on its way to being completed.  All strips are cut and many are sewn.  Several sets have been sewn.  I know I will not complete all of them before the next clue arrives, but I am pleased that I have been able to keep up this much.  Last year I got so far behind that I lost interest.  Still have the pattern and all the parts and materials.  I'm sure I will complete it one day.

Happy Quilting until we talk again.

~Sandra




     

 

Christmas Ornaments

Between trying to catch up on the Grand Illusion Mystery, doctor appointments, house repairs, etc., I have also been making the no-sew Christmas ornaments.  I decided to make them for the teachers of my grandkids.  There were 11 teachers between them.  I managed to finish in time for them to pick them up and take to school today.  Today is their last full day before the holiday break.   I enjoyed making them even though my fingers became rather sore with all of the pin-pushing that is required.  Now I would like to make several for myself.  I think they would look nice in a glass bowl in the middle of a table.

Hope your have found time to sew during these busy days prior to Christmas.

~Sandra

Pin Cushion

I actually made a pin cushion and it turned out fairly well.  The local guild had their Christmas meeting today and pin cushions were exchanged as gifts.  Unfortunately I could not attend because I had a repairman coming to check on some things on my house.  It was the only time that was available and I needed some electrical work done immediately.

Several days were spent, little bits at a time, making this because I really was not sure I could do it.

I found some cute fabric, with pin cushions and thimbles, to use for the main part of the design.

I love it!!

Happy Quilting...........

~Sandra
 

Grand Illusion - Part II

Well it's on the Part II of the Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt.  I have not quiet finished Part I but I've moved on to Part II and will make as many of those as possible.  My plans are to make a few of the remaining broken dish blocks from Part I each day as I sew on Part II. 

If you follow the Facebook group, you saw lots of people complaining about Part II.  I used Option 3 to make the block, and so far I have not had any problems getting the blocks to sew up as they should.  It will be interesting to see what Part III will be and how it will tie in with the other two clues.

This is how my blocks from Part II are looking.

Clue 1 and 2:

Happy Quilting.....

~Sandra

Grand Illusion -- Fabric choices and Part I

The 2014 Bonnie Hunter Mystery has begun. 


My fabric choices are as shown:

I've decided to use constant colors throughout the quilt.  My fabric stash is still not organized so I am making the process easy on me.

The first clue is half-square triangles and squares which are sewn together to make a broken dish block. 

I hope that the black and white dot fabric that I have chosen for the black will work with the pattern.  Time will tell.  For some reason when I was picking out colors the dotted black and white seemed to jump out and say "pick me."

Until next time, Happy Quilting.

~Sandra

 

Its Been A While......

Its been a while since I last blogged.  In the past few months I have been trying to unpack all the boxes from the move and make some progress getting rid of the clutter.  Big success on unpacking, not so much on the clutter.  I have started purging and hope to have lots of things to take to local charities soon.

It's difficult to believe that I retired a year ago this coming Sunday.  Where has the time flown? 

I have been sewing and hope to update my blog on some of the things that I have accomplished.

Quilty Hugs and Happy Thanksgiving Eve.

~Sandra

 

Grits for Grandparents

My grandson's school celebrated Grandparent's Day by having a "Grits for Grandparents" breakfast.  This is the first year that I have lived close enough to participate in the Grandparent event.

He had a football game the night before so after the game he came home with me. 

First football season, first jersey.  He is so happy.

We had dinner at Chile's.  We were up  by 6 am the next morning and on our way to school by 6:30 am.  His parents couldn't believe that he was up and dressed so quickly.  We grandparents know the secret.

The menu was grits with cheese, toast, sausage, apple and milk.  We enjoyed a fun breakfast together.  By 7:15 he was off to his homeroom class. 

Times like these make your life worth living.

On a guilty note,  I am working on testing a pattern, which is so much fun, that I hope to share soon.  I am also working on pillowcases for charity.

Happy Quilting,

Sandra

Reporting In

It's been over a month since I have been on here.  Where did the time go?  I am still unpacking boxes and finding things that have been lost for years!! 

Also, I have been putting together the quilt top for Quilt #17 for the Quiltvillehearts Yahoo Group.  It was shipped off to the volunteer quilter yesterday.  I struggled somewhat with the arrangements of the hearts because they were all different colors with different fabrics (solid, plaids, etc.).  Finally I sat down and sketched out what was in my mind and lo and behold, it went together like clockwork.  Note to self:  Sketch out your ideas; things will be easier with a plan.

The quilt top sent to the quilter:

Quilt Top

Backing

Now I have to get busy making pillowcases for the Just Needles Guild and for the quilt retreat later this fall.

Happy Quilting,

Sandra

Part IV Sand Stitchers Quilt Show - May 2014

Final part of the pictures from the quilt show.

Our boutique ladies, Lois and Suzy

Sue E's featherweight

Boutique

Boutique



Boutique

Hope you have enjoyed seeing all of the beautiful quilts that belong to the Guild members.  This should be inspiration for many.

Happy Quilting -

Sandra

Part III - Sand Stitchers Quilt Show

With over a hundred quilts, its taken several postings to show them all.  This is the third section of the quilts.

 

 

 

Part IV to follow.............