Dear Jane - C9, Jane's Tears, and Grand Illusion Sashings Complete

These "Tears" were fun to applique.  Lots of nice, smooth curves and only a single, not too pointy, point. I finished this block while chatting up a storm at the project day last Friday.  It is always nice to have some handwork to do in a group setting.

I never did get my sewing machine out of its carrier on Friday since I spent the rest of the afternoon pinning the halves of the Grand Illusion sashing together.  If you remember, Clue 3 took me a really long time to complete.  I also had neglected to iron about three quarters of the many many required units, so I had to do that first before I could start pinning.  I used Sheila's vintage Shark brand iron and was it ever nice and hot!

I completed the next task on the Harlequin-Johnny setting triangles last night.  The triangles are now edged in red and the scallops have been neatly trimmed.  They look SO much better, but I do not have pictures of them yet, so that will have to wait until Wednesday.

Happy quilting!
Susan in Texas

Grand Illusion - Blocks Complete

It took about an hour per row of five blocks, but I finally got all 25 Grand Illusion blocks assembled, though they still need to be ironed.  My next step will be to assemble the sashing.  I think I will put together the sashing for the tops and bottoms of the blocks next. 

Let's see how many steps are still left before quilting:

1. Assemble sash for tops and bottoms of blocks,
2. Sew vertical rows of blocks and sashing,
3. Assemble vertical rows of sashing and cornerstones,
4. Sew vertical rows of blocks to vertical rows of sashing,
5. Piece borders,
6. Apply borders,

Am I forgetting anything?  I still have not found the perfect backing material for this quilt.  I want a fabric that incorporates most of the colors except for the black: pink, yellow, turquoise and green.  I would like to find a nice, restful batik in those colors because I think this quilt might be displayed upside down as often as not.  lol

Grand Illusion - Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Only fifty more seams and all twenty-five blocks will be fully constructed.  It might take me more time to decide what goes where, than to actually sew the seams.

I think I am starting to like it.  It is so vibrant!

Grand Illusion - the Block Building continues

Back to Grand Illusion agan:  I have been broken up the construction of the Grand Illusion blocks into manageable sections.  In the last GI post, I put together the center strip.  This time I did the top of the blocks.  Of course, the tops and bottoms of the GI blocks are identical, so I was able to make up ten blocks and five half blocks on the design wall.  The rest of the strips are just grouped in a jumble below the blocks.

I will spend another session putting together the lower strips of the block, and then another session assembling the blocks.  Only then will I finally get to play with the green sashings.  It is hard to believe that yet another color gets thrown into this mix.  I wonder if a thread color exists that would help to tone this wild child down - maybe grey?

Nearlly Wordless Wednesday: Building the Blocks of Grand Illusion

The centers of the Grand Illusion blocks are coming together.  This is not going to be a bashful quilt.

Grand Illusion - Clue 5 Complete

All the Grand Illusion clues are now complete.  The end is in sight; now I just have to put all the pieces together.  I liked clue five because it was the right amount of work.  If I ever design a mystery quilt it will have no more than fifty units to complete in a single week.  Some of the Grand Illusion clues contained an insane amount of work for a single week, especially for someone who works full time...and has a life beyond quilting.

Grand Illusion clue 5

I am switching back to working on Harlequin-Johnny now, but I plan to break the future GI block construction into more manageable units too.  Two seams per block seems about right; I did say I was going to switch between projects more often.  Of course, after I get closer and closer to the end of GI, I might not want to stop!

Happy quilting,
Susan in Texas

Grand Illusion - Clue 5: Wordless Wednesday

Grand Illusion - Clue 4 Complete and the Great Chairpocalypse

Finally done.  Larry helped me tremendously doing all the pressing. He says he likes to iron.  (I warned him how picky I am, but he was very brave.) 

 

We had a massive crisis in Shreveport today.  Grandma's lift chair, which she lives and sleeps in, broke.  They had to pull the plug to get her out of it.  We ordered a new chair, since she cannot be without one for more than a few hours.  Her wonderful friends, Edie and Tom, picked up and delivered the chair.  All is good, right?  Wrong. Larry called Grandma, she hates the chair. Apparently it operates too fast for her.    

To make matters much worse, ten minutes after Larry got off the phone with Grandma, I get a call from the nurse.  The new chair broke.  Just kill me now.  Grandma is fine, she just slid out of it unhurt.  La-z-boy in Shreveport agreed to send someone out right away, (thank you Jesus).  Robert, the repairman, was able to fix it, (thank you again, Jesus).  Apparently something just has to be pushed back into place.  I made sure Robert trained the nurse and Grandma on how to make this fix before he left.  God willing, chairpocalypse is over.

So much for the quiet weekend at home in Fort Worth.  I feel like a limp noodle and it is not even Saturday. 

Grand Illusion

I have been plugging away at clue 4 of Grand Illusion.  The first set of broken dishes make for a very long chain.

My units are coming out nicely, though they all need to be pressed. They might look a bit wonky, but they are all very close to the right size.  All that sliver trimming counted for something!

I have started work on a paper prototype of a stand-up needle case. I still have to determine how tall I want it to be, then figure out how to make the top work out correctly so it comes together nicely.  I will have to put my thinking cap on for that part.

I started the needle case with a hexagon base because I have six types of needles that I regularly use:  embroidery, sharps, betweens, tapestry, chenille, and millinery.  I think it would be nice to have a separate place for each needle type.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - Pinning Grand Illusion, Clue 4

Bonnie might just meld her seams, but I get the best results when I pin ala Sally Collins.  I need to get more pins!

Grand Illusion Clue 4 - Progress

I worked on clue four of Grand Illusion this weekend while we were in Shreveport visiting Grandma.  So far, three fourths of the half sections are done.  I just have to assemble the yellow-turquoise-white sections, then, of course, I have to fit the halves together into broken dish units.

Assembling Units

None of the half square triangles were the correct size, so I did lots of sliver trimming.  These colors certainly makes a pretty pile of trimmings.

Slivers Trimmed

While we were in Shreveport, Grandma was interviewed by the Shreveport-Bossier magazine.  People are fascinated by folks her age (103).  Grandma was cute and funny as always, though we had to keep reminding them to TALK LOUDER, because she is profoundly deaf.  I look forward to reading the article, but it will not be published until next month.

It was too bright for Grandma outside, so she borrowed Larry's hat. Time to get out of the sun!

Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion - Clue 3 Nearly There, but Still Not Done

I am SO ready for the final, easier Grand Illusion clues.  Clue three is not hard, but there are still lots and lots of units.  I have all the half unit strips completed, and nearly half of those are in their final state.  Now I just have to pin the rest of the half unit strips together, sew them, and iron them.  (Maybe the ironing can wait.  Ironing is my least favorite step, and it is not like I am going to be using these units right away anyway.)

Most of the joins came together OK, but there are plenty that are pretty wonky.  A few of my many whites appear to have been narrower than the rest, and unfortunately they have no stretch in them at all.  These few strips have been causing me some alignment issues, but I have decided not to fret about them.  This quilt pattern is so busy that my little oopsies should be well hidden.  I will try to do better next time!  

I do love these colors.  The grass greens are a special favorite of mine.  We drove back from Shreveport on Sunday, and everything is so GREEN!  Highly unusual.  East Texas has gotten plenty of rain lately and it looks like Ireland... or this quilt.

I hope everyone enjoyed all the quilt show photos.  We're going to try to get permission to publish some more of them, but I have no idea if we will be successful.  In the meantime..

Happy quilting.
Susan in (surprisingly green) Texas

Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion - Clue 3 In Progress

It is interesting to go from the intricate and persnickety Dear Jane blocks to the brute force, grunt sewing that is Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion.  Clue 3 requires none of the finesse of Clue 2, in fact, it reminds me of a jelly roll race at the moment.  I have a nice selection of random greens, but my blacks and neutrals (OK, whites) have less variety, especially the blacks.  

You can see the one black batik I bought in Green Bay peeking out from underneath the strip pile.  It would have been terrific as a leader and ender, only it was not wide enough.  Speaking of leaders and enders, this is not the project that will increase them.  I must have sewed for a mile and only used two!  One of them is there in the corner.  In fact, I remember that fabric well.  My friend, Sheila, and I were with the rest of the Blanketeers at a country quilt store that going out of business sale.  Happy times!  We both fell in love with the wildly colorful fabric and each bought a yard.  Of course, Sheila immediately made a quilt out of hers, and years later, I am still trying to finish the quilting on mine.

Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion Clue 1 and Clue 2 Finally Complete

I really love Bonnie Hunter; her scrap users system is awesome, and her leaders and enders concept has totally changed the way I quilt.  I love watching quilt cam and I even visited the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in the 1960s, so I could not resist jumping into her 2014 Grand Illusion mystery quilt.  It has been so much more work than I expected!  You know it is bad when the hand piecers finish a clue before you, but I am glad to say I finally got clues one and two done.  It only took me about three months longer than most everyone else, but I will get there eventually.

Clue 1

I had not gotten around to blogging about getting clue one done yet because I had not finished ironing all <<insert VERY large number>> of the pieces.  At least they are all complete.  The first two clues were SO much work.  As I recall, the next two clues are fairly time consuming, but the final two are not so bad.  

Clue 2

I got caught up in the hype.  I will definitely finish this quilt, but I don't think I'll ever do another mystery again.  I really fell in love with last year's Celtic Solstice, though sadly, not until long after the pattern was removed from Bonnie's website prior to being published.  

I had high hopes for this year's quilt and I really, really liked the colors, but I am just not in love with the final design.  I guess I am not alone, because probably one in four or five quilters in Quiltville on Facebook has drastically changed the design, either with sashing or some other significant alteration.  In comparison, I cannot ever remember seeing a single Celtic Solstice that was altered in any way but color.  Do not get me wrong, Grand Illusion is an interesting, unique pattern, with what I think is a more sophisticated modern spirit than any of Bonnie's other designs.  I just find myself yearning for something more like Celtic Solstice. Oh well, live and learn.  I am sure my Grand Illusion will be beautiful when it is done, just like all the ones I am seeing on Quiltville, and Bonnie is still my hero!

Happy quilting