Sugaridoo Bernina QAL

Have I mentioned that I joined a quilt-a-long back in November? I did. It's hosted by Irene of Sugaridoo Quilts and sponsored by Bernina. I suppose I got into it because it looked interesting and then also because my modern guild in Baton Rouge decided that it would be a great challenge since it appeared to be graphic, fresh, modern.

I didn't get started right away. No, I procrastinated until the entire QAL was about halfway through. Suddenly there were six blocks to make. Ahh, but a block is really a strip. An entire strip of about 12-14 blocks. 

You'd think I'd panic or just toss in the towel. No. No, I didn't. I just waited until a.) there were enough blocks/strips to see some headway, and b.) it became a do-or-die situation. 

Today I am completely caught up. Completely. And now I have to wait for the next block. See. There's that "I need something to do" problem.

Anyway, I chose to make my quilt using some of the indigo solids I've been collecting since I saw several antique indigo and white quilts at a show, I imagine. Wow! They looked great! 

Because I needed a third, accent color and someone at BRMQG suggested a yellowy mustard, which I happened to have plenty of, well, that's my accent. It's definitely a bold pop of color!        And there we are. I'm caught up with Irene, and you are caught up with me. So now, what about you? There are over 6,000 participants. Are you one?

Red Is a Neutral ... more blocks

There are not many more blocks, but I put in a couple of afternoons to get these done. Tuesday's work: 
I made these Dutchman's Puzzle blocks. I needed only one but it's an easy block, so I thought I'd make two. As soon as I sewed the final seam on the second block, I realized that I had not arranged all four sections correctly. One was turned the wrong way. What an annoyance!

Once I started ripping the sections apart, I decided to play. Why not? I needed only one block. So now I have two different blocks that sort of match. 

Wednesday's work included these two. When Richard came into the studio for a visit, I told him, "I'm running on stupid." That tickled him quite a bit, but I was not laughing at the time. I cut the wrong size patches. So I cut them again, correctly this time, but I cut twice the amount. 

The one on the bottom is the correct block, but since I had extra pieces, why not? Play I did. I ended up with the block on the top. It looks familiar, but I haven't had time to look it up.


Yesterday I made the Card Trick block. Now that was a mess! I kept getting the pieces mixed up. I pressed seams open and laid them out in the right order, then took a picture. Good idea! I needed it. I think I could make a second one without the visual aid, but I won't.

These five are the blocks I'll have to show on Monday at the guild meeting. I think I should have five different ones but, oddly, I didn't get instructions. As it is, I didn't have the directions for the Card Trick block, so I improvised. Not well, mind you. My center patch was just a little too small, which means my block isn't quite 12". This quilt... I don't know.

So to sum up, very few blocks match in size, some are not blocks at all--just extras from the miscuts, I'm behind on the BOM and don't have directions for the missing blocks. Yes, that's how we do it in "typical Mary fashion." 

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Easy Piecing

I've been thinking that sometimes a person just needs an easy project. Just a little mindless stitching to allow our brains to rest. Here are some quilts that would fit the bill.

If you're new to quilting, any one of these quilts would be easy enough to begin with. Take you time, ask questions, and lay the blocks out on a flat surface or design wall. Feel free to email me at mary.marcotte@gmail.com if you need help. I'll gladly try to help.

Pin It Weekly #268

I missed last week's PIW because I was volunteering at Beta convention. Now that it's over, and I've recovered, I'll help babysit grandies while we pass the crud around like we're playing hot potato. Ryder is in the hospital, Marley and Sophie both are running fevers, and Milly's little nose is raw from being cleaned so often.

Let's meet a couple of new followers, shall we? Maria das Dores Lima's boards are all titled in Portuguese. I translated them using Google 
so I could figure out the language. (I'll assume that Google is correct.) 
Here are a few of her pins:

Sofia Luchita is big on travel! She has almost 50,000 pins on her travel board. Check it out:

Jesseka is just as interested in words. She has several boards with memes and posters and, well, phrases of  all sorts about all sorts. Here are a few:

And there we are. New followers, new pins, new ideas! 

Pin It Weekly #267

It's time for PIW. And we're almost at 4,000 followers on Pinterest! How crazy is that? Here are a few who have been pinning some interesting winter ideas.

Mary Black has a board titled, "Mary's to do list." You KNOW I had to check it out!

Darlene Young has several adorable ideas pinned to her boards. Here are a few of my favs.

"Carved wood doors" got my attention. Check out Judy Miller-Kelly's really interesting board.