Time to call it a WOMBAT

Yes Friends - this is certainly a momentous occasion.
My first ever WOMBAT.

I have UFOs, but they are all,
in one way or another - Redeemable.

After the Week that I have had, (see last post). 

I have decided Life is far too Precious

 to persevere with a Quilt that I am not enjoying making. 

Not everyone who embarks on a Mystery Quilt is thrilled with the reveal and for those who have stuck with this one and finished it-  I salute you,
    but I will not be joining you.

There are still way too many components to make.
And that is before I can even begin to put the required 50 Blocks together!

I am not going to be discarding the work that I have done so far - MAYBE one day,
I will sit down with EQ7 and design something that I actually DO like with the blocks I have already made.


But for now - it is time to call it Quits - Bag it up - Change "Hats" and Move on.

I have a Wedding Cake to Make!

On Ringo Lake - Still on Part 3

Yep, STILL on Part 3.

They are certainly not Pretty
(They need to be Pressed
and Trimmed)

And there is far from the required quantity but...

80 Pair of Part Three are Done.

With a new Clue due any day

Part 4 Still sitting in the 'To Do' box

and a whole Gaggle of Brown Geese not started -

I think I am Officially behind!

* * *

To find out more about this MYSTERY 

or what the next Clue is Go to Bonny Hunter's Blog.

To see what other Mystery Hunters are doing with their Clues

 - Check out the Link Up.

On Ringo Lake - Part 3 & 4

Following on from my last "On Ringo Lake" update.

Things are still hectic at our place - and it is not JUST because it is nearly Christmas.

Sewing is now a 'guilty pleasure' -  nevertheless I have been able to squeeze a little bit in.

Over sizing my small squares and drawing 45° lines on my rectangles sped up the process.

Now I have 30 pairs of Block 3

and a quick way to knock off the rest when I have the time.

Which brings me to PART 4.

More Triangles - not my favourite thing to sew.

Thanks to an Internet Friend - I have been able to at least make ONE sample of the next block - without any diagonal lines!

Once made this block can be cut to produce TWO Units of our Clue 4 Patch.

I think I won't cut these apart until I see where they will be used in the Quilt.

Perhaps another Triangle -
Or a Mystery patch....

Who Knows?

* * * * *

To find out more about this MYSTERY 

or what the next Clue is Go to Bonny Hunter's Blog.

To see what other Mystery Hunters are doing with their Clues

 - Check out the Link Up.

On Ringo Lake - Part 3

Just Checking in -

There has been so much going on in my part of the World this week that I have only had time to cut about Half of my required Coral Pieces for this Clue.

And I haven't even started on the little Squares that will complete this block!

Hoping to have SOME completed before Friday.

* * * * *

It is never to late to join in the Mystery - 

The Clues can be found at Bonny Hunter's Blog

And to see what Other Folks are doing? 

Head over to the Link Up Party

On Ringo Lake - Clue Two.

This week we were asked to Pull out our Coral/Sunrise Fabric.

So, I asked the resident Colour Expert (DS#2) for some help with choosing these.

Many wonderful discussions ensued about what Colours actually make up an Australian Sunrise. We got SO sidetracked, but eventually my Pallet was chosen.

And the instructions said to make Flying Geese.
Lots and Lots of Flying Geese. Many more blocks than we made last week.

I have not made all that are required for the project, but there are enough for this week's photo.


There are many ways to construct this well known block, But how to do them efficiently and accurately AND with no waste OR drawing lines across the fabric?

 Foundation Piecing! and I was able to String sew them as well!!

I would much rather sit watching the Cricket and pull paper out than draw lines on fabric any day! Or I may just leave them in until I know how they are going to be used in the quilt.

And This Week's distraction was - RAIN, and lots of it!

I live in the Northern Parts of Melbourne and are fortunate to have TWO Lakes Close by - and This week they were Far from Tranquil!
And with the rain came cooler weather

- To sew or To Bake?

Ah, decisions decisions.....

* * * * *

It is never to late to join in the Mystery - 

The Clues can be found at Bonny Hunter's Blog

And to see what Other Folks are doing? Head over to the Link-up Party!

On Ringo Lake - Part One

This year I have decided to (try and) keep up with Bonny Hunter's latest Mystery.

There has been a lot of sidetracks,
distractions and....
unmovable obstacles
which have kept me from getting started on this new project.

And when I finally sat down to sew,
I found I had to blow the Dust Bunnies out of my 'old faithful' Pfaff Synchrotronic 1229, and give her a much needed Service.

When I need "Little Miss Reliable" this is the one I go to.


NO fancy Computer programming, I can turn her off - go have a cuppa
and when I come back - She is ready to roll!


So today, with the temperature outside hitting 37C (That's 98F), the errands done and Spike hiding in the coolest part of the house,  I buckled down and got the first clues completed.

All the Nine Patch Blocks - DONE!

Looking forward to Part 2.

* * *
Click HERE to Go to Bonny's Monday Mystery Link up
 to see what others are doing
On Ringo Lake!

Getting back into the Groove. .

Cricket on the Telly

a new Mystery on the Cutting Table 

Happy days!

Now - Will I be able to keep up

with

Bonny Hunter's 

On Ringo Lake

It is a Good feeling when . . .

You can finally say -

It is finished!

Quilted with an all over pattern it is the cosiest quilt I have made

and an even better feeling to know it is just in time for what is going to be a very cold Winter!

* * *

May 18th 2016

I started Allietare as a challenge to see just how long it would take me to make a Bonny Hunter Quilt - then life got in the way and it became a WIP.

A year later I can happily hand it over to DS and DDIL 

(who are still patiently waiting for their Wedding Quilt!)

Allietare - off to be quilted

I always like putting the last stitch in a quilt top.
It certainly is satisfying to spread it out on the floor and take that photograph.

And now it is safely in the hands of the wonderful Desley who will turn my frayed nerves into a beautiful quilt for my DS#1 and DDIL an appropriate gift for their new home (once it is built!)

Now I really should finish their Wedding Quilt!

A bit Frayed at the edges

Sometimes my Allietare Quilt is a welcome distraction and other times it just reminds me of exactly how I feel at the moment -

- A little frayed at the edges but getting there!



There are so many pieces in this quilt I can't help but notice how it mirrors my wall-planer.
Each family member has a highlighter colour and each item/appointment/event is coloured to remind me of what is going on so I don't forget anything.

Eventually everything will turn out right, eventually all appointments will be kept and eventually this pile of frayed fabric will become a Quilt that will keep one or two of them warm.

A symbol of love and care.

When I looked at this quilt I realised that no matter how many of these loose threads I try and tidy there will be some that will continue to unravel.

You decide to keep going
throw it over the table -

Crawl under there to see what the cat was up to and get to see something wonderful.

Stained Glass Allietare!
Truly "To delight - To Gladden"

More Allietare

There is nothing quite like an email from your Quilter asking if you have something for her, to give your lost Mojo a kick where it needs it!

So it's back to the floor -
place the blocks out
- AGAIN

Type up some number sequences
in Excel and print out something that makes sense to me

Attach the numbered tags to each block

Pin the blocks together
- just so they don't stray...

...and start sewing!

It is half done.

I just need a bit more uninterrupted time to do the rest so let's hope that nothing ...

oh wait - too late!
maybe I can start again tomorrow.

Allietare - Picking up the pieces

Thought for today -

There is NOTHING random about Randomness!

I have been tinkering away at Bonny Hunter's 2016 Mystery Quilt "Allietare" and I decided to place all the blocks out on the floor in readiness for the next stage.

There are a few issues that have 'jumped off the floor' at me.

1.  With only 4 assorted Golds and 4 Reds - my fabrics are not 'scrappy' enough which isn't giving me much wiggle room to give a 'random' look to the quilt.

2.  If I ever do another Bonny Hunter Quilt... I think I would use yardage and forget trying to do scrappy - when I am not actually a scrappy sort of person!

3.  If unsure of the placement of your blocks - get someone else to do it!

(Although I don't really recommend this method!!)


4.  Get yourself a DESIGN WALL -
I now have to pick it all up, label everything in order, so it is not around when the dinner guests arrive!   Or - start all over again another day...

Progress report

Yet again this week has flown past -
So - where am I up to in my "Bonny Hunter Challenge" ?

I made a bucket full of these from a whole lot of fabric that I had previously cut apart  ...


DS#2 came in while I was sewing and asked why I was making 'Bunting'.     :(

I sewed them (and a whole lot more) back together again to make a table full of these....

and THEN,
I was able to get down to the 'fun part' or rather the POINT of the exercise -

and there will be plenty of points to get right by the time I am done!

Nine down - Forty One to go!

Lookin' good so far, and the advantage of doing this as a Challenge rather than a Mystery?  ... at least I know where I am going to end up!

First of June already?

Where DID the last fortnight go?

(Part Two)

Sunday was yet another distraction from what I was SUPPOSED to be doing...

The Victorian Knitters Association was having a Fair at our local Town Hall and of course, what I really needed was more wool.....
The Cream ball was just what I was looking for - 100% made and processed in Victoria.
Alpaca/ Merino 12 ply with a beautiful drape.
Can't wait to get it on the needles!

The rest of my free time this week has been spent cutting little squares and rectangles out of fabric and TRYING to turn these ....

Into THESE!

All 30 sets of them!




That's what I should have been doing...
But instead I ended up cleaning out the pantry and re-organising the shelves.

Finding forgotten 'must have' purchases.
Some of which I could not believe the 'use by' dates - lots of those ending up in the bin or worm farm.

With the exception of THESE....

Which got turned into
THESE!

OH YUM.... I have never seen my DH's eyebrows go so high when tasting these 'Adult Only' Cookies.
Just the thing with a good strong cup of coffee.

So - needless to say my adventures with Bonny Hunter have taken a back seat this week. Oh well - there is always next week ... and plenty of cookies!

I needed a distraction

With everything that has been going on (including a lot I haven't shared) I thought I needed a bit of a distraction, so I decided to see -
How long it actually takes me to make a Bonny Hunter Quilt!

Well, I hit some hurdles very early in the process like,
not having any scraps of any useful colour or quantity,
or any obvious stash of any useful colour or quantity.
Or the Right Shade of Grey!

That being dealt with, it was now time to start cutting - and sewing part 1
WHO'S bright idea was it to make a 'quick project' that was mainly 2 inch squares??

Not my favourite size to work with!

Part 2 was done in two parts taking maybe two half days including cutting.

And Part 3 -
I was steaming along with this getting rather thrilled it was going so well, when I had to drop everything, 'clear the decks' and make curtains for a photographic backdrop.


Today I will be rethreading the machine (after cleaning out the curtain fluff) and HOPEFULLY getting something achieved.

This project has been on the table for 3 - 4 weeks which keeps me in line with Bonny's original postings.
But, as I was challenging myself, I would have liked to have been much further ahead by now.

Progress reports will be posted on WOW - Wednesdays!