Mystery Quilt Sew Along Progress

We're moving along on the Welcome Home Mystery Quilt. This month we sewed our nine-patch blocks together with the plain blocks and added it as another border surrounding the house.

I think it's really looking good if I say so myself. I've had a lot of fun seeing your quilts in progress in the Facebook group. I'm impressed. Keep going - we'll be there soon! Some of you can probably guess the next steps . . . .

If you're thinking about joining in, you start here -

For those of you who have not joined us yet, there's still time. Join my Facebook or Yahoo small quilt group (see blog sidebar) and go to Files for the step-by-step directions. I'll keep them up in Files in both groups for a little while after we finish in August or Sept. Would love to do another sew along next year -  anyone up for that ?? This was my first attempt at this Mystery thing and so some kinks had to get worked out. Next one will run a lot smoother.

I'll post another Mystery clue for this one on June 15 in the small quilt group files.

Meanwhile - kick off your shoes and enjoy a great summer weekend! 

Fun in the backyard. 

(Lordy, two dogs. Only the little black one is ours . . . . [Oh, how I get a kick out of saying "Lordy" now.] )

I Love Nine Patches

What do you do with your scraps? 

I love to make nine patches.

This sweet nine-patch quilt by Country Threads is one I have to make someday. I've even bought the same border fabric already. So simple and yet so pretty.

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Crystal Knight - the winner of Oh Glory, a new book out by quilt designer Kathy Flowers -

Thanks for entering your name, Crystal. I hope you have a great time making some wonderful red, white and blue projects! Please send me your mailing address and I will send it along to Kathy and she will sign and ship the book to you.

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I hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day! If the weather holds, my husband will be making BBQ ribs on the grill for me and the kids on Sunday. And, if I'm good, they say there may be some chocolate too . . . . What more could I ask for? 

Patriotic Quilt Book Giveaway

It's that time of year again -  time to make red, white and blue quilts for the upcoming holiday season. Here are some ideas for you to celebrate your love of Americana from a new book, Oh Glory - 11 Quilt projects to Salute the Stars and Stripes  by Kathy Flowers.

 

If you love red, white and blue, then you'll love this book!

Kathy is letting me give away a free copy of her book to one lucky quilter.  Leave me a comment and you can enter your name to win. 

If you're like me, you enjoy changing the quilts in your home to match the seasons. Oh Glory includes quite a few projects to brighten up your home around the summer holidays, many of them with the scrappy look we love. There's a nice selection of quilts in different sizes that use a variety of red, white and blue fabrics and traditional blocks.

This quilt that uses a Martha Washington Star block combined with a Friendship Star is probably my favorite. Which one is yours??

I love the look of red, white and blue in quilts.

Leave me a comment with your name and make sure you include your e-mail or a way for me to reach you so I can let you know you've won. (If your comment says "Anonymous" then, sorry, I will have to pass over it and go on to the next one chosen at random. Just sayin'.)  I'll announce the winner on Friday. Good luck!

Happy May 1 - Another Small Quilt Challenge

It's that time again -  Time to make another small quilt  : )   For our small quilt challenge in May, we're making the Flying Geese Doll Quilt on page 8 of my book Small & Scrappy. I love this little quilt.

Making a small quilt every other month is so doable. I hope you'll have fun following along. As I mentioned recently, this quilt was inspired by this antique flying geese doll quilt -

As soon as I saw it, I knew I would reproduce it someday.

As an extra bonus, we are also making another small quilt from one of my favorite quilters. Drumroll, please! Marian Edwards from Australia has just had a small quilt published in Primitive Quilts magazine (Summer 2017 issue) and so you have the option of also making that lovely little quilt this month. Great job, Marian -  Congratulations!

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Looks like May will be a busy month. If you're following along in my Welcome Home Mystery Sew along, Block # 6 has been added to the Files sections of my Facebook Small Quilt Lovers group and also the Yahoo Small Quilt Talk group. I hope you're keeping up. This past weekend I was happy to find time to get my nine-patch blocks done and my squares cut for Block # 5 - the clue from last month. 

We're getting closer to finishing. If you haven't joined in yet, there's still time. I will keep these free monthly patterns available in Files until we finish the quilt in the fall. Here's the post I wrote about starting the Mystery Quilt if you missed it and still want to make this scrappy quilt with me.

Begin with a House - 

Add some half-square triangles to frame it -

Then, add a simple border - 

Make a bunch of square-in-square blocks and some nine-patches (I'll tell you what to do with them later).

It's simple to follow along - Join my Facebook group or the Yahoo group  (click on the link on the sidebar of the blog) to get the patterns. Right now the groups are the only way for me to upload these types of files so you have to become a member to follow along.

Happy May 1! We've had quite a bit of rain here in Illinois lately and my backyard is now a small pond. But the sun just came out and everything is getting greener by the minute.