Mystery Quilt Clue #3 is LIVE!

Hello Simply Colorful Mystery Quilters!

Clue #3 is live.  

There are 4 different parts to this one.  Yikes!  All very doable.

 

Tune into tonight's Simply Colorful Fiber Cast at 8PM EST to get started.  It's amazing how many units we can make in just 60 minutes.

Happy Friday everyone!

Lynn

Mystery Quilt Clue #1 is Live (Spring 2014)

 It's time to make 64 Unit #1As. (Note: Large A triangle is on the lower right - ALWAYS.)

And 64 Unit #1Bs (Note: Large B triangle is on the lower right - ALWAYS.)

What are you waiting for?

Download the full clue #1 and get started!

See everyone tonight on Simply Colorful Fiber Cast!  We can make our units together.

Lynn

P.S. If you're new to the Mystery, here's how to prepare.  It's not too late to join the fun!

It's True: We're Doing a Spring 2014 Mystery Quilt

Several Fiber Cast viewers have asked about a Mystery Quilt.

I think it's a great idea!  We start THIS Friday!

Click here for PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS.

For anyone who wishes to participate, I'll post clues on Friday mornings and then we can sew together on Friday nights and share our progress throughout the week.

The Mystery quilt is a scrappy quilt with lots of pieces.

It will measure 72” x 90” when complete. (Twin)

The first clue will be published Friday morning, February 21^st, on www.simplycolorful.com/mysteryquiltclues, Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, and Google at 7AM EST. A new clue will be published every Friday thereafter until we’re done. (In six weeks or so.)

PREPARATION PHASE

Here’s what to do between now and this Friday morning:

• Select a print with at least 3 colors in it.  The motif should be medium-to-large. You should love it and have 5 yards of it because it will become your quilt backing.
• Cull through your scraps
• Create a pile of Neutral scraps (approximately 1.5 yds) (Greys or Blacks can be substituted here.)
• Select 3 colors in your backing and create 3 piles of scraps in those colors (approximately 1.5 yards each) and label them A, B, C.
• Load your sewing machine w/ grey or beige thread and a new needle
• Sharpen your rotary blade, prepare your matt and ruler
• And get ready to play.

To give you one idea, here's my backing fabric:

And 3 buckets of scraps, plus neutrals.  

(Yes, I purchased some 1/8^ths and 1/4^ths of yards to augment my stash.) 

Looking forward to Friday already!

Lynn

P.S. Remember Fiber Cast Archives are always available for viewing on the YouTube Simply Colorful channel, so it's okay if you miss a week or a clue because you can catch up anytime.  

No pressure.  This is just meant to be fun!

Beaded Knit Scarf is Done - Finally!

2 years and 11 months isn't THAT long...right?  

That's how long it took to complete my first beaded scarf.

I bought the yarn and beads at The Fiber Studio in Henniker, NH.  The yarn is rayon and cotton.  There are many hundreds of beads.  The scarf is knit in 2 pieces, starting at each beaded-end, then joined with a Kitchener Stitch at the neck.  (Don't look closely -- even with video tutorials, grafting is difficult to do well!)

And guess what... I have beads and yarn for 2 more scarves!

Stay tuned ... but please don't hold your breathe. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lynn

Once a Piker, Always a Piker

Today's BLOG isn't about quilting.  

It's about sewing on a patch for a friend.

For as long as I've known him, our friend Mark has been making annual trips up to Lake Champlain, Vermont, to ice fish.  He tells me it's "catch and release" Pike fishing. (ice fishing images here)

I think he has as much fun planning the trip, the meals, and the sleeping arrangements as he does drilling the ice holes.  (No wonder, have you ever seen how thick the ice becomes up that way?)

The Pikers dress in style.  This is the back of the jacket.  The Flag patch is on the left sleeve. 

Which brings us to the patches on the right sleeve. 

I sewed the round blue "40th Annual" patch on this morning.  It took 10 minutes.  (Taking pictures and writing this BLOG is taking me longer!) 

40 years!  Seriously?  Mark CAN'T have been making the trek for THAT long?  Could he have?  I'll have to ask him about their math.  Seems a bit "fuzzy."

And finally, here's their group motto - emblazoned on the front.  Maybe for their 50th Annual, they'll add a line.  How about something like " If you can't take winter you don't deserve summer ... or you'll just have to move to Florida!"

That's all from the Simply Colorful Fiber Studio for today.  

I'm off to work on my Valentine's Day quilt! 5 days left.  Happy Sunday!

Lynn

P.S. Did I ever tell you my UVM ice fishing story?  A bunch of us college students drove out on the lake. I found what I thought was a frozen dead fish. I put it in my pocket, thinking I could play a trick with it back at the dorm.  The problem with that plan was that half-way home, while I was still packed in a care with10 of my closest friends (half of whom I'm sure I'd only met that day), the fish started to move in my pocket?!  It completely freaked me out. It was all I could do to roll down and fling that thing out the window.  Joke was on me. :) 

Pink Quilt for Valentine's Day

Remember my leader/ender pink half-square triangles?  

I'm using them in a Valentine's Day lap quilt!  

10 days and counting.  

People have asked about my quilt making process.

I'm a "loose" quilter.  I don't follow formal directions anymore.  Instead I draw inspiration from the fabrics, colors, and pictures of other quilts.  Then I just start cutting, sewing, and laying out.

Don't get me wrong.  I do think about lights and darks.  I think about design repetition.  I think about balance.  So I plan in that way, but I just don't seem to have patience for reading every line of complex patterns.

Here's where I'm at with my pink quilt so far:

The Chateau pattern from Timeless Treasures is my inspiration. 

Free on www.fatquartershop.com.

I have plenty of extra pink fabrics - both lights and darks.

Isn't it interesting to see how by changing just 1 fabric in the above 2 photos it looks so different?  (lower left flower fabric in top photo is replaced with a pale pink batik in the lower photo)

Which one do you like better?

We'll have to play with different combinations this Friday on Simply Colorful Fiber Cast!

8PM EST, 2/7/14

Until then, stay warm, and sew on!

Lynn

P.S. I'll post the Fiber Cast URL link on Friday morning to both www.facebook.com/SimplyColorful and on the Simply Colorful Google+ Page.

What happened to 1/2 inch?

Of snow that is!

The weather forecast called for just a dusting.  I think we already have two inches, and it's still coming down.  

Big, fluffy flakes, sticking to the trees.  

Perfect weather for quilting!

I have my "faux" fire burning beside me here in the studio today.  

So cozy!  And clean too!  (let's not think about the electric bill though.)

Thank you to all who joined last night's Simply Colorful Fiber Cast. We had fun making Winter House Blocks.  Several of you were knitting along with me, while others finished bindings, or worked on Round Robin Quilts.  My sister Karen was getting a jump on Valentine's day with a Carol Doak pattern, seen below.

Isn't it pretty?

Over the past few days, a few of you have expressed interest in learning more about making scrappy quilts. Bonnie Hunter of www.quiltville.com has the biggest collection of scrappy quilt books and patterns that I know of.  She is tireless.  She travels the country teaching her scrap saver methods, design, and construction techniques.  Remember the Celtic Solstice Quilt from a few weeks ago? That's a Bonnie Hunter pattern.

I also found this 7+ min video from Diane Harris, editor of Quiltmaker magazine. She gives some high-level tips (and visual examples) for selecting from your scrap pile. When making this Midnight Flight block, for example, think about color families, values, and size of pattern motif.  I think like when planting a country garden, the more variety and types of fabric, the better!

Fun, fun, fun.  Jump right in, the water is fine in scrappy quilt making world!

That's it from here.  I'm about to dive back into my Winter House Block scrap pile.

Sew on,

Lynn

Time to Jump In

It's been 14 days since I hosted my first Simply Colorful Fiber CAST.

Today I write my first Simply Colorful Fiber BLOG!

I've started this venture because I believe we can all make better and more fiber art by doing it together.

Shall I start at the beginning?

I was born and wrapped in a fiber blanket....

That was 50 years ago!  Who, besides me and possibly Mother, is interested in that?  

Let's jump ahead to my first quilt.  I was 13. I gave it to my grandmother.  Her decedents gave it back to me a few years ago.  Here's a picture.

Oh how proud I was of this "masterpiece."  Can you see the appliqued squares with "trapunto'd" treatment?  Isn't it colorful?

Speaking of colorful, look at the patch I just found in my new Celtic Solstice quilt. Prophetic or what?

Quickly moving on ...

Like many of us, I made Barbie doll clothes and home-ec skirts.  I knitted and crocheted with Grammy.  I made quilts for summer bunk beds, college, first homes, and for friends, family, and raffles.  I dabbled in other hobbies and crafts along the way.  (I still do.)

I never outgrew my love of quilting.

So let's skip ahead and jump right into modern day.

Here's what I'm working on this week.  Another fantasy house quilt.

It's spread out in my studio/office, so whenever I walk by it I can look and think about how to adorn it.

I want to make it bigger using the blue strip pieces we made together last Friday.

Stay tuned.  Hope I have a bit more done for this Friday's Fiber Cast.  We'll start at 8PM EST.  I'll send out the link on Friday.  Go to www.facebook.com/simplycolorful and "Like" or follow @SimplyColorful on Twitter so you'll be sure to receive the URL just before we go live.

Til then, happy sewing,

Lynn