Sharing Recent Finishes

 I shared this finish on Facebook with the catch line, "How long does it take me to make a quilt? Sometimes eight years." 

You may remember this pattern from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville. It was her 2016 mystery, "En Provence." This is my one and only venture into Bonnie's mystery quilt releases which start on Black Friday in November and finish sometime in January.

I had admired Bonnie's mysteries for years but it was a, "hard no," when it came to adding a project of that size during the holiday season. In 2016 my sons were busy with their lives and it seemed possible to at least start the quilt. I quickly decided to make a smaller version so I just dabbled on the construction of parts until the final reveal and then came up with the way I would make mine smaller.

My version is  69 x 87-inches. Perfect for one of my granddaughters.

I failed to get a photo but I had a scary fabric bleeding situation with the fuscia fabric. I use a blue water soluble marker and when I sprayed one corner with water to erase the marker the fuscia fabric bled terribly!!! So scary. I always wash my fabrics...usually soak then in hot water for hours since I work with batiks. Somehow that piece of fabric never got washed.

I soaked the completed quilt for 10 hours in hot water with a generous amount of Dawn dish washing soap. Bleeding problem resolved! Such a relief.

There were five thread color changes for this quilt. I love that it looks like a meadow to me more than a row of lavender. I still always check into the name and suggested colorway of Bonnie's annual mysteries. So far I have not been tempted to join another mystery.

I am trying to stay on task with quilting so I've gotten the next top loaded. Loading a quilt onto the frame is my absolutely least favorite part of the process.

I finished a little personal case for my granddaughter. I took her to the quilt store to pick out fabric for the project. This floral was one fabric we agreed on....she really wanted something purple but other than solids we didn't find a good option that day in the shop.

At least I was able to add some purple accents. This is the smaller version of By Annies', "Zip It Up." This is 8 1/2 x 10 x 1 inches. A pretty quick project if you don't let is sit in a box for a month!

I've really been into cross stitch projects lately. 

I had a major failure to read the pattern correctly so my math was really off but it gave me a pretty little piece to turn into a pincushion.  

The piece says, "Scatter Luck," and has some lovely buttons to finish the project but too big for my tiny finish. 

For the first time, I worked with Lady Dot  Creates pompoms which allow you to remove the stablizing tape. It was very easy to stitch the pompoms around the top edge.

So easy to add the pompoms that I added them to my last pincushion finish.

And in four nights I was able to finish this clover square on the last day of March. This is a freebie I found on Pinterest and there are several more clover designs by the same artist I would like to make.

It will make a cute little pillow with pompom edging!

I finished the second animal block in a Noah's Ark series. I make turn these into pillows also. I have a long way to go before I have to decide...pillows or ornaments. 

And to keep my polar bear company, I finished the two penguins that came with the kit.

These little penguins had a bit more to their construction than I anticipated. They have cute little penguin butts.

And another interesting feature is their feet were different. One penguin has feet that were one piece and the other is two separate pieces. It makes them stand up differently...a little personality. Much more fun to make than I anticipated.

This was an older kit from 2006 and some of the stamped markings for embroidery were missing and I had to trim some areas of the rear end of the polar bear to make it a smooth match of seams. Lots of contouring pieces which turned out a nice finish but took a little finesse. 

Yes...we still have lots of snow. In fact...we've had a little snow almost everyday this past week. I think we are still shy by a couple of inches to break the record for most snowfall for a winter season. 

I finished taking down my tree on St. Patrick's Day. That is officially the latest I have kept up my Christmas decorations.

I have a quilt retreat the last weekend of April at the B & B in Wasilla. I am ready to go right now! I  have so many quilt projects kitted up. I'll probably have one or two more kitted up before the retreat starts.