Bye bye Celtic Solstice

I've made up my mind: I will not finish the Celtic Solstice I started.
Although it is a terrific design and I learned a lot while participating in my first mystery quilt ever, this is not the quilt I "fell in love" with.

Before I start something new I have decided to set up a sewing corner in a little spare room and sort all my stuff. That gives me the opportunity to re-discover old fabrics that have been stored in boxes for many years and making up my mind about if I really still want to keep them.
Just for your information: the fabrics are all kind of fabrics except quilting fabric.

The little room is currently being used as a place to store everything that needs to be sorted - including a part of the boxes, baskets, bags and containers with my quilting materials.

At first I took everything out (except the book cases) and put it in the guest room. That immediately sets a deadline: in a few weeks our son, his wife and their 8 month old daughter will stay with us for a few days, so by then the guest room needs to be cleaned out again!

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt #5 - learning about sizes

When I pulled out the (few) blocks I made for this mystery quilt so far I noticed that the sizes of the blocks were not all the same.
Measuring in inches is new to me, as in the Netherlands we use the metric system (centimeters) - and I have only 1 (!!) very old ruler with an inches scale on the back side.

For the first block I used Bonnie's free templates, and that worked fine.
For the second block (chevron) I tried to follow Bonnie's clues but I must have done something wrong, as the chevrons are larger than the triangle blocs.

I decided to cut a template out of card board for a 3" block with the 1/4" seam visible.
Now it is very clear how far I'm off!!

I'm glad I made only a few blocks so I didn't waste too much fabric.

I don't have any quilting rulers and at this moment I don't know whether I should buy inches or centimeter rulers. As those rulers are expensive, for now I decided to sit down and design my own paper templates for this quilt before I continue sewing.

Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt #4 - way behind!

Happy 2014!

The holiday period is over and life is getting back to normal again.

I have not been able to make any progress on the Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt as I had guests during the whole 2 week period.

Our 5 week old granddaughter (and her parents) stayed with us, as well as a cousin of my husband.
Our 3 week old grandson (and his parents) visited us on the day after Christmas. 
So no time for sewing; nothing beats the love for our grandchildren!!

For 2 weeks the dining table had to be used for family meals, games, folding laundry and diaper changes - so my quilt materials had to be stored somewhere else and I could not keep up with clues #4 and #5 ...

On New Year's day Bonnie surprised everybody with the reveal.
O boy, it is huge... but also terrific!!!

Over the last few days I have seen a lot of pictures of finished quilt tops on Facebook.
Beautiful colors and even a few with altered designs.

I don't know what size I will make yet but now I've seen the result I intent to continue sewing and see where it leads me.

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt #3 - Jealous.....or not?

Clue #3 has been out a few days now, and the link-up has gone live as well.

Every time I look at the pictures of other participants I get a bit jealous... 
You wonder why? 
Well - because I see a lot of perfect blocks in beautiful color combinations. 
Color combinations I won't be able to make.

I hardly buy any fabric for quilting. I really love to play with re-purposed materials: old clothing, table cloths, sheets and everything else that is usable for sewing. Family and friends know I can always use any kind of fabric for quilting, so every now and then my stash is extended with unexpected materials.

So, when I look at all those perfect blocs I feel a bit jealous – just a bit. 

This mystery quilt was supposed to be a scrap quilt and that is what mine will be: a very unique scrap quilt. 

As I don’t have a lot of fabric of each color I make only a few blocks of every clue. Just to see what it’s going to look like and to learn all the techniques – as mostly everything is new to me!

And you know what? My blocks may not be perfect, but I made them myself and I am proud!

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt #2

Clue #2 is out and I want to sew!
Unfortunately I have been -and will be in the upcoming period- very busy with traveling and preparing rooms for the guests who will stay over for the holidays.

I have been traveling last weekend and will ne next weekend as well.
But.... I managed to cut some fabric for the second clue.

Sewing however will be a challenge as I don't have a designated sewing area.
It takes time to empty the dining table, get all stuff out of the bag and prepare, sew, and clean everything afterwards again.

Hmm, I definately need my own sewing space!

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt #1

In the Netherlands - and especially in the area where I live - quilting materials are not easy to find and/or very expensive.  I don't like to go shopping for fabrics because I have to choose what color, pattern, print etc.

When I think of quilting materials, I think of re-purposed materials like used clothing, sheets, table cloths etc. I like to puzzle with the materials I have.

The Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt will be a real challenge as I don't have a lot of fabric, and certainly not all proposed colors. Also the size of Bonnie's original designed quilt is huge! As I would like to make a smaller quilt, Bonnie advised me to start making only half the amounts of all the blocks of the smaller pattern.

I made a one sheet quick reference overview and used the free templates Bonnie offers to make my own template of sandpaper. Cutting the fabric is  a very precise job but I really enjoyed doing it. Sewing went far too quick - I want more!!!

But... as I don't know where the mystery path will lead me and how all colors will be used, I had to be strong and decided to make only a few blocks first when the new clues get revealed. I can always make more later.

It doesn't look all that bad, does it?

Me and quitling #1

For a while now I have been following Benita Skinner's Victoriana Quiltdesign and Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog and I really liked what I saw.
Both ladies make really beautiful quilts and really inspired me.


My very first sew along quilt was Benita's Sew over the Rainbow. 
It is still in progress, as two baby quilts for my first two grandchildren had to be made first.
But I am making progress!

I got really hooked when Bonnie announced a new mystery quilt Celtic Solstice Mystery, that she's offering for free. It will be my first mystery quilt ever!