"Good Fortune" bag

My one monthly goal for May was to look out my pieces of "Good Fortune", Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt of a few years ago. I looked them out and decided to make a bag using eight of the blocks. I wrote about that process here. Unfortunately I didn't manage to finish it in May.

Now, however, I've finished sewing it together and adding the carrying straps.

The aim was to make it large enough to carry a project and tools to a bee or workshop.

It's even big enough for a 12"x17" cutting mat:

Measurements: 18"x18"x 5"

Materials: 

• left over scrap blocks
• recycled jeans
• wadding scraps
• canvas: NEW!
• thread: all new
• piecing Mettler 50 wt
• quilting Aurifil 40 wt

I'm so happy to have made something new almost completely from scraps! It's going to be useful too, once we get back to normal group activities. 

I'm linking this to:

 

Click on the button to see more of this week's finishes.

Keep safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

May’s One Monthly Goal

The FMQ practice is still going on, but is not this month's goal. I’m going back to my year plan which is to attack my UFO’s. In January I gave each UFO a colour, and when that colour comes up as the colour of the month on the RSC I try to move that UFO on.

This month’s RSC colour is RED so the UFO is “Good Fortune”, from Bonnie Hunter’s mystery QAL from 2018 - 19. I haven’t looked at it for more than two years and I’m interested to see how far I actually got with those blocks. 

Now to find I've found the finished blocks so far: 

and the units: 

Fortunately the cut pieces and the units were in little bags and labelled (!) so it shouldn't be too difficult to see how many of each unit I planned on making. Unfortunately, I haven't found a note anywhere as to what proportion of Bonnie's total of units I was making - slipped up there! However I probably wrote about it here, so my next task is to check through old blog posts.

I'm linking to:

 

Click on the button above to see more of May's goals

Keep safe an healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

Finish Along 2019 Q3

My list for the FAL in the third quarter is:

1. Crocheted cuddle cloths 

 This looks finished, but only one arm is attached. And then there is the one for her twin brother!

2. Sweater for DH 

 Just needs sleeves and the neck ribbing

3. Clam-up pouch

 I only have to sew a binding down on the inside.

4. Sewing machine cover

using these blocks:

5. Cats and Dogs wall hanging

 - secret sewing -

6. Overlapping Octagons

All the vertical columns are joined, as are columns 3 and 4 to one another. Here is a detail from columns 3 and 4:

I'm linking up to Sandra Jansen at Studio Sew of Course for the FAL Q3 planned finishes link up.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Good Fortune: the last stage

 Last Friday Bonnie Hunter revealed the final layout for "Good Fortune", this winter's mystery quilt. I only made a few units each week, and have just joined a few of them into blocks this week.

I still have some green and blue units, but don't have enough units at the moment to make another red/orange block.

I like how the little red squares in the four-patches make a pyramid shape with the orange strings. A pyramid? Well it could even be a pagoda, with a stretch of the imagination. Or perhaps they are all steps on the Great Wall!

In the coming week I shall try to find the time to make a couple more blocks, and turn this into a table runner, or a sewing machine cover.

I enjoyed making this and seeing so many lovely colour schemes in the link-up each week.

I'm linking to:

 

 

Click on the button to see more Good Fortune progress. 

Happy sewing

Marly.

Good Fortune Clue 5

Yes, 5! I have looked at 6, and I've even cut a few strings, while straightening edges for the clue 5 pieces. However Christmas week is always extra busy (and I know I'm not the only one) so I haven't got any further with this winter's Quiltville Mystery Quilt, "Good Fortune" than making some of last week's pieces. I also made some more of clue 2 as leaders and enders in clue 5. Perhaps that's an advantage of being behind!

15 pieces for clue 5; where's the one that got away?

As I was making these in pairs, one right- and one left-facing, I was very surprised to have one large blue triangle left over. Where did the other pair of triangles get to, I wonder! I'm not about to move the furniture to look for it now, so that's all of clue 5 for the moment.

As to clue 6, I'm happy that Bonnie gave the option to make the pieces from strings as I'm very low on neutral fabric, but I do have a bag dedicated to the off- cuts from straightening fabric before I start cutting for regular patchwork. I should be able to fill at least one telephone-book page from there, I hope before Friday.

I'm linking to:

So click on the button to see how other's have made clue 6 pieces.

I wish everyone all the best in 2019, especially

Happy sewing

Marly.

Good Fortune clue 4

24 orange string blocks as specified in clue 4 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, "Good Fortune". Well, actually Bonnie specified more than 24, but I'm just not able to spend so much time on the mystery this year.

24 string blocks

Once I'd cut the strings it didn't take much time, and as I still have plenty of strings there are more rectangles to come.

I'm linking up to the Monday link-up (on Wednesday!) at

and at the weekend to:



 Click on the button to see more quilty happiness.

Happy Sewing

Marly.

Good Fortune clue 3

Last Friday Bonnie Hunter posted clue 3 of this year's Quiltville mystery, "Good Fortune". This involved making lots of rectangles with folded corners and their bonus HSTs.

24 "bonus" HSTs

 from:

12 parallelograms

As in the two previous clues I only made a slight fraction of the number given in the pattern.

I found it very time consuming sewing just to the side of the drawn lines on the squares. I tried to sew with the left-hand inside edge of the presser foot just touching the left-hand side of the line. I found myself being mesmerised by the motion of the needle resulting in a wobbly line. Of the first batch I had to unpick some of the stitching as the lines had wobbled too close together.  The next phase is cutting three-eighths of an inch from the line between the lines. That's why not wobbling is so important! (If that is confusing check out Bonnie's instructions in clue 3.)

I see in the link-up that there are bloggers there who have already finished this clue completely. At this rate I wouldn't be finished before the end of the year! It's not a problem, I'll just plod on fitting this in when I can and working on each new clue as it's published each week.

I'm linking to:

Click on the button to join the link-up.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Good Fortune: Clue 2

This year's Quiltville mystery is "Good Fortune". Clue 2 was published on Friday and can be found here. There is still time to join in if you have time on your hands the coming weeks!

I'm not making all the units but going for a lap quilt at the most. Even for that I need a lot more than forty of these HSTs.

40 HSTs: not there yet!

I plan to make more this coming week, along with more of last week's 4-patches.

I'm linking to

Click on the button to visit there and be amazed 

at the enormous number of HSTs made this weekend.

Happy Sewing

Marly

Good Fortune clue 1

Shall I? Shan't I? I thought when I read the introduction to Bonnie Hunter's mystery for this winter. I really don't have time for another quilt at the moment, but I can't resist a mystery!

The first clue was published on Friday inspired by China (the country, not the fine porcelain!) and features a lot of red. Yesterday afternoon the link up started and an amazing number of people had already made lots of units, and when I say lots I mean more, many more than these:

Fourteen 2.5" four-patches

So this morning I hastily fished in my red and neutral scrap buckets and and whittled some already small scraps down to 1.5" and came to a total of fourteen 4-patches. That's it for this week.

I've decided to follow the clues, making some units each week, and deciding after the reveal how many more I need for my project. I shan't be making a bed quilt - we don't use those here. I like to read Bonnie's clues - they're so informative and I learn a lot - and follow people's progress from week to week.

I'm linking to Quiltville

Click on the button to see thousands of mini 4-patches (mostly red!)

Happy sewing
Marly.