Monday, November 23, 2020

A Finish and a Start

It's been two weeks since my last design wall post.  Last week was just nuts, I worked on Sunday and had to go in to work early on Monday. There just wasn't the mental bandwidth to do much posting last week. Thankfully I'm off all this week. I'm hoping to get in some good stitching time and catch up on emails and blog reading.  

Before the work madness got geared up, the label and binding for 2019 Christmas Mystery Quilt was finished.  

2019 Christmas Mystery, designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)
Started: October 13, 2019, Finished: November 8, 2020

This quilt was started last October. It was the third annual Christmas quilt along offered by the local quilt shop. I didn't do the first one, but did the 2018 version and then last year did this one. The theme for this year's mystery didn't thrill me, so that made it easy to keep with my plan to just start three quilts this year.   

Trudy used gold thread and did a swirly holly thing as the motif. 


This Christmas light block shows off the quilting.  

I'm not sure where this one is going. I kept last year's version to use this year.  This one may go live with my sister. She usually decorates her kitchen with gingerbread men, so this quilt would fit right in.  

That's the finish, now for the start.  Well it's not actually a start, yet. Bonnie Hunter posted the fabric requirements for this year's mystery, Grassy Creek, at the end of last month. I don't usually get serious about fabric selection till the week before the mystery starts. That was last week, so I opened the fabric closet and started playing.  

I'm a cool color person and most of my quilts reflect that preference. Bonnie's color choices this year are decidedly warm.  I don't have a lot of stash in those colors, but I was able to pull together collection that matches her color palette fairly well. 



If I go this route, I'd change out the lighter yellow green for the darker green I used in this second color palette. 



The gray and whites are the same between the two color palettes. All of those fabrics are left overs from previous projects. The red and orange in the first palette are left overs. The dark and light purples in the second color palette are left overs from previous projects.  The first color palette is better balanced across the tonal ranges, the second is less so as the pink and light purple read about the same color density in black and white.  


I have till Friday to figure out the color palette.  So it may be one of these two or I may tweak on it all week and come up with something completely different.  

Linking up with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday. Happy stitching this week.   

14 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I will save all the instructions and then decide because I am pretty sure I do not have enough in all the color selections that she gives and I'm not good at picking out my own - I will wait and see what it looks like and then decide.

Barbara said...

Your Christmas quilt is gorgeous. Great finish and so seasonal! You didn’t ask for opinions, and I haven’t actually seen Bonnie’s post about the quilt. I might switch one of the purples for a yellow. The colors are complimentary, and the yellow would go as well with the other colors in your second pallete too. On the other hand, I’m no good at all when it comes to mystery quilts, so don’t listen to me.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

That Christmas quilt - BEAUTIFUL!! and so glad you have this week off to do your own thing! I like your second palatte best - but I am with you - much more a cool person ( or plaid)!

I will watch you sew with great enthusiasm

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congrats on your festive Holiday quilt finish, Kate! It sound like it might be a perfect gift for your sister. Both fabric options look good for Grassy Creek. The contrast might not be as strong in the second set, but difference in the shading would probably make it work just fine.

Bonnie said...

You deserve the week off after such a hectic week last week. Have fun tweaking the colors for Bonnie's mystery quilt. Once again, I'm skipping. I could actually work on finishing one of her previous mysteries or putting the border on a wall hanging... nah, probably won't do those either. Enjoy lots of sewing time this week.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Your Christmas quilt turned out beautifully, Kate! The gold thread for the quilting is a special touch. I enjoyed seeing your fabric pulls for the BH mystery. I like that darker bright green, too.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Congratulations on the finish, it came together beautifully and I really like the gold thread for the quilting. Looking at your fabric pulls in grayscale is a very smart idea and can be really helpful. It will be fun to see what you decide to use! I hope you have a great week.

Sara said...

I think either color combo will be beautiful for the mystery quilt. I haven't pulled any fabrics yet, but I'll be tempted when that first clue comes out I know.

The Christmas quilt is adorable. I'm in the mood for some Christmas projects after digging into the Christmas fabric drawer to find backing for my little wall hanging yesterday.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Love the quilting as well!

Louise said...

Your sister will be very lucky to receive this sweet Christmas quilt! It really turned out great, and I love the candy cane barber poles flanking those happy gingerbread men! They have no idea they'll be gobbled up soon :)

maggie fellow said...

congrats on your xmas quilt - you did a great job of finding Bonnie's colors - I'm still looking

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the Christmas quilt finish! It’s lovely. Really like your color palette for the new mystery quilt.

Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Very cute Christmas Quilt!!!

Jennifer said...

Great finish on your Christmas quilt - hope you’ve had a good week off with lots of time to sew and relax!