Quiltpiecer

Unity Quilt #286 Size:  72" x 91" Started 10/18/21 - Finished 4/12/22 I just love my Unity Quilt!  This is my fourth Bonnie Hunter quilt, and I am just amazed every time I finish one.  I started this quilt in October 2021 and worked on it through November.  Then put it aside until the new year. I posted my progress here and here . I finally got back to it in March when I decided to have it finished by Independence Day.   I followed Bonnie's design without deviation and kept her color scheme.  Like most of her designs, this pattern has a gazillion small pieces, and I am always thankful for my Accuquilt cutter when working on Bonnie's designs.  I do say that her designs are definitely well worth the time and effort. Although I had to purchase some of the light blue fabric, most of the fabrics were from my stash, and many have been around for many years. The backing is pieced from my stash, and the batting is Warm & Natural. The quilting design...

I have two finishes this week.  The first is my Unity quilt top. At long last, it is finally finished.  So happy! I love this design, but all those small pieces...whew!  Thank goodness for my Accuquilt cutter.  This is made from my scrap stash.  Some of the scraps were leftovers from my Frolic quilt from 2020. This is the pattern Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville released for her quilt-along during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.  I didn't sew along when it came out but I did download the weekly instructions.  And last year I finally got around to starting it.  Can't wait to get it quilted and finished. My second finish is this quilt top with the "You Are My Sunshine" panel.  I used the Message Board pattern by Quilt Chef. This is the original pattern which is hard to find but there is an updated 2.0 version that has added borders and is the inspiration for my top. This one is for my DGD Katie who lived with me for a few years and is my sunshine....

  I finally took out my Unity top from the back burner where it's been for over 3 months and made some progress by adding the next round of flying geese.  I posted about my previous progress  here and here . Now I'm working on the next round of blocks that are made from a gadzillion HSTs - more than 270!  I am so glad for my GO! Big Electric Cutter.  It's not only a time saver but also a pain-free way of cutting. I'm about halfway through and should have this next round completed by the end of this week.  Then I'll have one last round for the final finish!   If you'd like to see more quilting goodness and see what others are up to, please visit the following which I'm linking up to:  Design Wall Monday  @ Small Quilts and Doll Quilts Midweek Makers @ Quiltfabrication.com Stitch Sew & Show  @ Life in the Scrapatch Wednesday Weight Loss  @ The Inquiring Quilter Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation Put You...

Once I finished sewing all the Y2K blocks, I went to work on my Unity quilt.  I posted about the Pinwheel Star blocks a couple weeks ago and they have now been added to the top.  I still have a few more rounds to go, including flying geese, more pinwheels, and more stars.  Seeing as we are already in December, I'm pretty sure I won't be finishing this top before the end of the year. The picture above shows my Y2K blocks in a 7x7 layout (unsewn), using 49 blocks on the front.  The 50th block will be on the back.  Since I received duplicate charms in the swap, my Y2K quilt is not a true charm quilt but it still has 2,000 pieces to make it a Y2K quilt.   With only 5 weeks left in the year, I hope I can finish quilting this top plus my Coriander Christmas and Handy Dandy Stashbuster tops. If you'd like to see more quilting goodness and see what others are up to, please visit the following which I'm linking up to:   Oh Scrap! @ Quilting Is ...

I see light at the end of the tunnel!  36 blocks completed and only 14 more to go.  Let's see how many I can finish by next WIP Wednesday. The charms in the top 2 blocks came from Bonnie P. in Alabama: ...I have only been quilting about four years but I have been quilt crazy since I was a teenager...I have helped my mother cut about 30 quilt tops over the last few years.  I am presently making three Y2K quilts, one for each of my daughters.  A few of my goals are to make a beautiful Baltimore Album quilt, a Dear Jane quilt, and hand quilt a quilt I have completely designed myself... The charms in the bottom 2 blocks came from Marge B. in Wisconsin: One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting around the kitchen table learning how to crochet and embroider from my grandmothers...you name it, I've done it...what I've enjoyed the most is my quilting.  My first quilt is a jewel tone geometric quilt which is still in my U.F.O. pile.  I will finish it some day...

  This is my Unity quilt so far with round 3 and its pesky little stars. They're not perfect as I did lose a star point here and there but they're finished and I'm happy with my progress so far. I'm not that persnickety about my piecing and I'm definitely not a "precision piecer".  Not to say that I just "slap" my quilts together.  I do try my best and I've had my share of dates with Jack the Ripper.  But if it's not too obvious and I'm okay with it, I am not going to rip it out.  I know there are quilters who are fastidious about their work and I admire their beautiful precision work. But for me, it's all about the process.  I love sewing!   I've been sewing since I was a little girl, and  it's my "happy place".  It gives me peace and comfort.  But if I begin to be fussy and frustrated because my work is not perfect, then I'm afraid I'll lose my joy in quilting.  As long as it's "perfect enough...

  Progress continues on my Y2K quilt with four more blocks. The charms in the top 2 blocks are from Marlene F. in Hong Kong: ...I am just an ordinary everyday person.  I have traveled to parts of Europe and Asia.  My birthplace is Scotland, and I'm an Australian national temporarily living in Hong Kong.  My hobbies include quilting. The bottom 2 blocks are from Shirley B. in Texas.  She did not include a siggy square but did include her bio: ...I have lived here [a small town in Texas] for the last 15 years...I started quilting about 19 years ago while I was in Germany.  There was a family who lived down the street and she did a lot of this and I learned a little from her.  I liked the way the material goes together and forms different designs.  So, I ventured out a little and decided to start making my own designs.  It has been wonderful...A Quilter from Texas And I continue to work on my Unity quilt.  These star blocks are for the 3rd ...

  I took a break from my Y2K quilt and started working on another 2021 quilting goal. This is the Unity  quilt pattern by  Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville .  It was an 8-week quilt-along mystery from 2020 that was her way of uniting quilters from all over the world to complete this quilt as we sheltered-at-home due to Covid -19.   "When the going gets stressful, creativity goes into hyper-drive for so many of us." This is Bonnie Hunter's Unity Quilt I didn't participate at that time as I had enough projects to keep me busy.  But I did get the PDF pattern  and added it to my list of 2021 quilting goals.  I really thought I'd get to this one months ago, but time just flew by.  And, with the end of the year just around the corner, I decided I'd better get on it. I started it a couple days ago and am happy with the progress so far.  I think the main reason I put it off was that it looks complicated and I wasn't ready to deal with it.  B...