Today has been a really great day!
I woke up thinking I had finally picked the fabric needed for the mystery quilt hosted by QT Mystery Quilts today. Mind you, the directions say to pick the fabrics out and cut them to specifications BEFORE the day of the mystery!…but then, I’m “mystery challenged”! I have such a hard time not knowing what the quilt will look like, I get paralyzed with not being able to pick out my fabrics….much like the Roll Roll Cotton Boll mystery that Bonnie Hunter is running! Wow, is that one intriguing! I haven’t started it yet, either, because, for once, I’ve stayed focused….
To begin with, I finished the two Bronco quilt orders I had, and they were delivered in time for Christmas…barely!
One was made with 
This close-up shows the Hungarian blue much better:
The second quilt used a very dark, tone-on-tone blue fabric that even
During our Christmas holiday, which we got to celebrate at home, I took out a UFO that I’d started during the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, featuring the U of Idaho Vandals. It’s been on my mind, partly because I promised it to DH last February, and partly as a counter-part to the Bronco vs. Vandal rivalry here in our home…after all, I make BRONCO quilts! DH is a University of Idaho graduate, and played football for the Vandals, so I thought he’d like to use it during football season.
For some inexplicable reason, I picked a log cabin design. Lots of people say this is a beginner’s block, but I truly don’t think so because the narrow strips require precise seam allowances, and the amount of work each block takes to create.
Of course, I planned on making a throw (he won’t go and get one of my many, pink, quilts). I checked with him again as I pulled it out, and he’d really like a bigger quilt…one that will fit on our king sized bed! Oh, the joke is on me!
I worked up a mock-up in Electric Quilt 7 and I have to say…it’s going to be STUNNING!
Now I know why this amount of work will be worth the effort.
While perusing the Yahoo discussion for the Quiltville mystery, I ran across the 10 Minute Block instructions that someone mentioned. Wow! Talk about making a block fast! Sewing them together and putting on the borders took me much longer than making the blocks!
P.S. Why is it that photos of quilts rarely look as good as the actual quilt??
Oh, and because my friend was interested in how I made a quilt so 
So, finishing this unplanned quilt took a bit longer than I had anticipated, and now I need to get back to cutting more 1 1/2” strips for the Vandal quilt, rather than working on either of the mystery projects. That’s OK, because even though I still haven’t picked the color, I’ve decided, that I would start sewing together some string blocks for Bonnie’s project, because they are neutrals and I can work them into any other colors I pick later. 
On the home front, we also found out that my DH needs shoulder surgery to repair his rotator cuff. This will require a 4 month recovery, which pretty much puts him out of work for that entire time, as he is a self employed drywaller. Luckily, he carries workman’s comp insurance on himself, and this all started when he was working on a job, so we are in the process of starting a claim. He’s the sort who is very unhappy when he isn’t working, and we’ll both have to deal with the entire recovery process.
As much as I’m not looking forward to his surgery, I am very thankful for the blessings we have and the opportunities the new year will bring. I think many changes are coming for this new year, and I can’t wait!
Happy New Year!!!
