I can't really talk on here about the other projects I am working on.

I have 2 secret projects in progress.

One: I am designing and making a Mystery Quilt from Kaffe Fasset fabrics for my LQS. Oh, drool, and pat. I am becoming drunk on the fabrics!

Here is a little snifter at what I mean. Glorious colour! I am playing and playing. Yes, I am taking some photos of my progress, but I can't really share until the quilt is no longer a mystery!! LOL!!

Two: I am taking part in a challenge with my girlfriends at the blog Mission India-possible. In May, I will be able to show you what I did in February... In June I will be able to show what I am doing this month!!

Bear with me, while I work on these secret works....

Red Delicious

I haven't had a finish for a while. Doesn't that get a little depressing? I won't let it get to me!! I am nearly finished 3 projects. As long as they are done before Christmas I'll be fine.

I want to finish the Cotton Country cushion (the stitchery is finished, I need some ric rac), the French Collection quilt (needs quilting), and Mrs Perkins.

I just heard about Esther Aliu's FREE mystery BOM: Red Delicious. It is suitable for redwork or applique, and can be made entirely from red scraps in your stash (well, that's the idea, but it could be any colour really). You have to be quick! This month's pattern will disappear on the 15th of next month when the next one is posted!! I can't wait to get started!! (After the 3 finishes of course!!, and the other mystery quilt.... and.. No! That will do!).

It's still a mystery...

I finished the 22 heart blocks yesterday. They really look good. I love the zinger fabrics (aqua and dark aqua) I chose before I started the quilt and before I knew where they would go.

I am not so sure about the way my large bunny print has been cut into small pieces, and the small prints have stayed mostly whole in large pieces. It seems a little unbalanced.

So, when I laid out all the blocks on the floor yesterday (no, I don't have a design wall... yet!!) I didn't think the suggested layout was right for my fabrics.

I did a litle tweaking, and here is a section of it!!

So, overall the quilt layout is still a mystery!!! (to you anyway)...

Last week's mystery

Boy, I have been so busy I haven't sat down at my sewing machine for over a week! That's not good when you are trying to keep up with weekly sewing instructions for a Mystery Quilt!

Here is a photo of last week's sewing step.

I am making 22 of these for a single bed sized quilt. Here are nine blocks half-made. I am still in the middle of stitching the rest.

I am still plodding along on the French Collection applique. Nothing new to show yet.

A new Noah's Ark block is up - penguins, so I need to work on that.

I finished stitching the redwork picture for the Bronwyn Hayes cushion.

I guess that's my current list of 4. As soon as I have finished the cushion and the French Collection quilt I need to start a wedding quilt for early January.

Seeing these goals "in print" has helped me to prioritise. Okay! Back to work for me!!!

38 nine-patches

Yessssss! The first installment of piecing instructions for the Mystery Quilt magically appeared online last Saturday.

I am intrigued! I've made this weeks's task of 38 nine-patch blocks, but I have absolutely NO IDEA what will happen next! It's exciting!

38 blocks. How does that work? 19 rows of 2. No..... er... 6 x 5 = 30 plus 8 leftovers.... or, 17 x 2 with 4 for the corners... OOH!! I love the mental exercise of a mystery quilt!! And, the feeling of "oh well, let's see how it turns out". (Actually, if you think you know, please don't let on. I love a good surprise!)

In the end, it's all good, wholesome stashbusting isn't it??

Mystery update

The online mystery quilt started 2 weeks ago. Each Saturday for 6 weeks we will receive instructions to complete during the week.

Week 1 was the fabric requirements (only 1 week to choose the fabrics! eek!). Week 2 was last Saturday - the cutting instructions. I have done all the cutting except for the borders. I think one really needs to see what the middle will look like before sorting out the borders.

I am thinking of giving this quilt (when it's finished) to our friends' daighter Daisy. She is about 4. This will be a single bed quilt.

I have no idea what the pattern will be so far... but if it works well, I might hunt through my stash to make a quilt for her brother who is about 2. They didn't get any quilts as babies. :(

I must try and keep up with the baby quilts, and if they are big enough, the quilts will last them, and I won't feel I should make them another one!! I know some quilters make one baby quilt per family. They are more expensive in money and time than most other baby gifts.

It feels good to be using up my stash!!

Too much blabbing and too much buying

For someone who is trying to use up their fabrics, I don't seem to have been very good when it comes to buying more fabric.

I haven't gone out of my way to buy more, it just happens!! And, I am certainly buying less than I used to. I have NO EXCUSE to buy whatever for the sake of it.

In the last month or so, I have bought various novelty fabrics (trains, world maps, paper dolls, pigs). Maybe that's where the "gap" in my stash was.... or maybe I find it hard to go past a bargain.

In any case, here is all the fabric I need for the mystery quilt, right out of my stash.

We get cutting instructions this Saturday, then some piecing instructions each week for a couple of weeks.

Anyway, what I have been blabbing on about (all the extra fabric) includes this fabric I bought a few months ago - probably just pre-blog.

My intention was to make funky aprons from the fabric. Perhaps I still will, I'm just not in a hurry anymore. Hey! They could be for Christmas! Maybe my sister can have one.... Hmm... Lucky I am writing it here, I've got a brain like a sieve and might forget before then.

Back to the fabric, there are 8 prints on each bolt. I bought a metre of each, so there are 8 skinny 1/8s of each print on the bolt. Perhaps I will piece stripes, or use these as trims on the aprons.

P.S. I am stitching the 4th Mammy block. Go me!!