Starting Good Fortune

As soon as Bonnie Hunter announced the colors for Good Fortune, I started pulling fabrics and stacking them in a shallow box.

I shoulda started with a bigger box...

Since I was perilously low on strips (Totally Demented has been using all my 2" and 2.5" strips, and I haven't been diligent about replacing the 1.5" strips that got sucked up by Checkerboard Rails), I squeezed in a little cutting when I needed a break from that flurry of machine-quilting I just went through.
Of course, I started with orange, then went through some blues and greens, but I hadn't replenished the reds yet.

So naturally, the first clue involves reds.
I grabbed some of my neutral strips (I try to always have plenty on hand!) 

and quickly cut a few reds and voila!

Clue #1 has a small start!

Since I had finished On Ringo Lake only moments before, I no longer needed the Ringo bin.  Here are my leftovers -

which resulted from wimping out sensibly deciding not to make the full sized quilt.  No worries!  Having nine patches and flying geese on hand is always a blessing, and I can recycle those diamond blocks right into my HSTs for Demented. 

That left me a bin to put my Good Fortune blocks into.  Yay!

Though they look a little lonely all by themselves in that great big bin.  I'll be making a few (hundred) more over the course of this week.  Already looking forward to the next clue!

Linking with Bonnie Hunter for the first Mystery Monday linky party.  Come see what Good Fortune is bringing us!

A Tale of Two Finishes

That's right - I finished TWO quilts this month.  That's a new personal best - I typically don't finish two quilts in a YEAR!
Y'all knew I was pushing to finish On Ringo Lake - last year's Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, but I had another quilt in motion, too.  I had to wait to brag on tell you about it until after it had been presented.

Long Time Gone!

I had wanted to give it to my youngest daughter (the one who convinced me how wonderful a color orange is) for Christmas, but I just couldn't wait.  Nothing wrong with an early gift, right?
(And now as I look at that quilt, I have a crazy yen to make another one.  Such a lot of fun!)

We had planned to take photos this afternoon, before she headed out for home, but we hadn't planned on the rain.  So here we are squeezed up on the porch (my other daughter is hiding behind the quilt) trying to get a pic or two without getting wet.

Here's On Ringo Lake being unfurled -

and here it is all bound, sealed and delivered.

The last stitch of the binding went in this morning so I could give it to my stepmom for her birthday.

Two finishes means I can start four new quilts, right?

One will be started tomorrow for sure.  Easy peasy four-patches for Good Fortune are on the agenda.
Now what three other projects can I choose?


Since these quilts are both scrappy magic, I'm linking with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see all the scrappy fun!

Gobble gobble!

Have a happy turkey day!

(I'm halfway around hand-sewing the binding down on On Ringo Lake!  Good Fortune here I come!)

Ready?

Got On Ringo Lake quilted and trimmed?

Check.

Got a mountain of binding pieced and ready to trim and press?

Check.

So close to a finish on On Ringo Lake that I can practically taste it. 

Bring on the next mystery, Bonnie!  I'm ready for a healthy dose of Good Fortune!

It's almost like y'all know me

Yeah, I tried the orange.

I'm still going to try lime green, but it looks like it's now a tossup between the yellow and the orange.

Which do you suppose will win?


Linking with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see all the scrappy goodness!

A Tale of Two Dots

I'm on a roll with borders lately.  Since I'm using a multi-colored dots on black background for my setting blocks for Squared Away, I jumped on this giant dots print for the outer borders the moment I saw it.

Now I've got big dots and little dots!  I'm really enjoying the contrast between all those squared blocks and all those circles in the setting blocks and borders.

Naturally I had to make a mock-up.  First I tested a narrow stop border in red,

then blue,

and then a yellow one.

I tried out pink, but disliked it enough that I didn't even bother taking a picture.  I might give lime green a test before I make a final decision. 

While I was fiddling about with the blocks, I tried out setting them with sashing and cornerstones that continued the Irish chain alternate blocks.

Naw.  I think I like the right-up-against-each-other look better.

I don't know when I'll get it to flimsy stage.  There are a couple of big projects in the pipeline ahead of this one, so I don't know exactly when I'll get it put together.  (Maybe I should plan to give it as a gift - that usually motivates me to finish things...)

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.  Come see what everyone is doing with their rainbow blocks as the year winds down.

Ready for Good Fortune!

Ringo's borders on?  Check!

 I found the most perfect batik and WHOOSH!

All flimsied!
It's even next in line to be quilted.  Expect a real finish soon!

And now back to the gifty work - so many things in motion and I can't share ANY of them...  

Hopefully I'll at least remember to take pictures this time.  Hopefully.