Thursday, December 9, 2021

Hourglass, mystery and more


 Tomorrow, Bonnie Hunter will be coming out with the third step of this year's mystery. And I am caught up...given the caveat that I am making only half of the blocks/units.

I have also made four more shards blocks for the Kaffe Fassett quilt that features wonderfully mushy hourglass blocks. I have been making the hourglass blocks using a strip piecing method that I enjoy so much that I am planning on making a quilt that I saw over at Sentimental Stitches. The quilt and pattern are no longer on the website. I may have it on my oldest computer but that search will be for another day. 

The concept of the quilt is a series of columns of hourglass blocks, bars, and four patches that share common units, so they fit horizontally. In any case, you would need to figure out what size hourglass you're making before you can figure out the bars and four patches.

And yes, this is something I never do...make samples. Usually I try to figure it out mathematically, make a mistake and then generate some ridiculous concoction in real life. My scrappy stars come to mind. 

The number on the edge shows what the size of the hourglass unit is. The finished size will be half an inch less. The number scribbled in the middle is the size of the strips I cut to make the hourglass. For example, I used 4.5 inch strips to make the block that is 5.5 inches unfinished.

Recently Wanda at Exuberant Color showed some of her recent fabric purchases. I thought I would follow along by showing Martha Negley's new line. Of course, my display also includes one big blurry cat head.

And here is Molly in a brief excursion outside of her princess tent. She is demonstrating the appropriate ratio of feline to heated cat bed.

7 comments:

Julierose said...

What lovely Nagley fabrics!! I like how your BH mystery is shaping up--neat colors and fabric choices...I don't make mystery quilts myself -- but I enjoy seeing how they all are interpreted...hugs, Julierose

Cathy said...

I really like your mystery color scheme.
Sounds like the Sentimental Stitches quilt is Fragments of Cloth. I made a top like that but it is still in the quilting queue.
I'm anxious to see how those mushy blocks go together. I made some mushy blocks with 30s repro fabrics kind of like that but I thought they were too mushy so was going to add in some less mushy fabrics.
I'm not one that can recognize fabrics by many designers. Good thing. I would be spending my retirement funds on fabrics by designers like you and Wanda show instead of house repairs and cat food for all the free ranger freeloaders around here.

Linda Swanekamp said...

Love your fabric purchases! The hourglass blocks are neat, would love to know a quicker way as I love cutting HSTs out of strips instead of drawing diagonals on squares. My cat was curled up by the gas fireplace, but now he is back in my bed. On a gray winter day, not a bad idea.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I resisted buying Martha's new line but seeing it laid out like that has me thinking....maybe I should. I have so much Martha fabric that I haven't used yet.
The shards quilt was one of my favorite in Kaffe's new book and I briefly considered it. I can cut it with the die cutter so it would be fast to get into it.

Quilter Kathy said...

Very fun mystery quilt colour choices... can't wait to see how your project evolves!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Ohhhh Your mystery colors are Awesome!!!!

Cathy said...

I love the new Martha Negley fabrics, but am on a fabric diet for awhile. Dear Molly is a cute loaf!