La Passacaglia, EPP, and Grand Illusion

[Jules M.]

testing
awrk..! No that makes the whole page bigger, but not the type size. Is everyone else's typing font about 1/8"

Lois, I didn't lose anyone personally in 9/11, although I had a friend who worked there, who was late that day...

[Deborah W.]

Karen (gerbigk) I am doing my first Bonnie quilt too--Jamestown Landing! Right now I am sewing all the hourglass blocks.

[Sharon E.]

I've made a couple of Bonnie's quilts, Blue Ridge Beauty and two Bricks and Stepping Stones. Her instructions are great. The BRB is in my profile, I actually used up all the beige fabrics in my stash for that one and had to, boohoo, buy more! The B&SS are easy to make and those were for Quilts of Valor.

I am actually thinking of making her newest quilt, but have never done a mystery. Any suggestions?

Sharon in, dang even colder, Colorado

[Lois B.]

Sharon, My suggestion is, go for it! If I had looked at the reveal before I started Celtic Soltice I would have never made it. But by following the weekly instructions it seemed as if the effort was so much easier than I would have thought. I learned so much about planning and organizing and how to keep a complicated project manageable. Besides that I have a quilt I love.

[Rita C.]

Sharon your Blue Ridge Beauty is beautiful! Have you quilted it yet? You must, because it's gorgeous. I did Celtic Solstice last year and like Lois I learned so much about planning and organizing. The fact that you only have a week to get each task done pushes you to be much more efficient and productive. I particularly love the fact that it's only 6-8 weeks long so it doesn't take too long to complete. I think the mystery is what makes it exciting and fun. I won't have the time to do it this year but I will certainly be keeping the instructions and watching how it is progressing for everybody who is doing it.

[Nancy R.]

Join me, Sharon! I'll get behind over Christmas since I'll be out of town without my sewing machine for 3 weeks, but I'll try to catch back up when I return. It'll be fun! And you know how stunning her quilts are!

[Renata L.]

I am actually thinking of making her newest quilt, but have never done a mystery. Any suggestions?

Sharon, I had never done any of Bonnie Hunter's quilts until last year's mystery quilt, Celtic Solstice. I loved the fact that it was all done on short order--every week there was a new assignment. If I could not finish the previous week's assignment, as Bonnie recommended, I just moved on to the next week and then went back in my spare time to finish the previous week's work; that way I never got too far behind on the quilt as a whole. I did it with a friend, long distance by email and we encouraged each other by taking photos and sharing our progress along the way. I took my sister's advice who has done Bonne's mystery quilt almost every year, that if you've never done one, you have to do it at least once--she was right and I had so much fun with it. If you love the colors for this year's mystery, I would say, take Nancy up on it and do it together. Teamed up with someone, on a weekly schedule (even if you do it after the mystery is over), the anticipation of the next step and not wanting to let your partner down, you will keep up with it, have fun, and be so happy you did. My Celtic Solstice ended up getting quilted and given to one of my younger sisters because she loved the color combination and fabrics that went into it. I could not resist seeing her enjoy it!

[Deborah W.]

I've made a couple of Bonnie's quilts, Blue Ridge Beauty and two Bricks and Stepping Stones. Her instructions are great. The BRB is in my profile, I actually used up all the beige fabrics in my stash for that one and had to, boohoo, buy more! The B&SS are easy to make and those were for Quilts of Valor.

I am actually thinking of making her newest quilt, but have never done a mystery. Any suggestions?

Sharon in, dang even colder, Colorado

Hi Sharon--greetings from "even colder as well" Alberta--We went from 14 C to -23 C in the course of 24 hours and it has not warmed up much! Lots of white stuff too! I guess winter has arrived! I would say go for it. I am making my first Bonnie quilt (not the mystery) and she gives excellent instructions. I did my first mystery quilt last winter through a Facebook Group and it was a lot of fun. I thought the 400 1.5 inch HSTs might be the end of me but I persevered and now my quilt is at the longarm quilter's who happened to be the pattern designed and mystery sponsor. It was a good experience for me to feel a little bit out of control as to what the end product would be plus it stretched my skills as a quilter.
Here's hoping for warmer weather but, in the meantime, wishing you lots of quilting time.

[Rita C.]

I know that there will probably be a FB page for Bonnie's mystery, but it would be good to have a separate thread here for those who are doing it to post their progress too.

[Karen G.]

Debbie, I am squaring up the last of my background blocks today. I have to recount my hst to see how close I am. Would like to have them done before starting the mystery quilt. At least then, I can just work on putting blocks together when I have time. :woohoo: I'll have to try a picture on here when I get enough done. Good luck on your Jamestown Landing Quilt too.

[Karen G.]

[quote="sewengel" post=123411]
I am actually thinking of making her newest quilt, but have never done a mystery. Any suggestions?

I made a mystery quilt at one of the IGF in Chicago. I don't remember who told me this-- i think Margo. Good contrast!!!!

[Karen G.]

Anyone know what the colors are to be for this one? I may have to consider it although I have numerous quilts that need to be finished.

[Sharon E.]

Miss Rita, thanks for the lovely compliment. I made BRB several years ago, and I VERY bad about labels. Yes, its been quilted for quite a while and I just did an all over on my Janome. I quilt them pretty quickly after the top is made. Its probably been 5 - 10 years ago, I would need to find the magazine it was in.

[Nancy R.]

You can find the colors on Bonnie's Web site - quiltville.com. She actually provides paint chip numbers for the colors that she used, in case you want to do the same. Her colors are lovely! This year she was inspired by a hotel she taught at in Michigan's upper peninsula. They are yellow, green, teal and pink, along with black and neutrals. The colors look caribbean to me.

[Nancy R.]

I did Celtcic Solstice last year and have plans to start on Grand Illusion later this week. I have the fabric, but don't have the time yet to start cutting. I've also made some of the quilts on the free patterns tab on Bonnie's website.

Like others, I'm having a hard time getting the photo to post, so it may or may not show up here.