Finally finished my Celtic Solstice!

 

I finally got this quilt complete. As I was loading it onto the frame, my cousin came by. Her eyes lit up when she saw the quilt. So after it was complete and I had washed it, I called her and asked her to come over. I gifted the quilt to her. I hope she enjoys it for many years to come!

Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Progress

Each year at Thanksgiving, Bonnie Hunter generously offers up a mystery to her followers. Last year's was Easy Street, which I did and loved. This year it is called Celtic Solstice. A month or so ago, she posted the fabric requirements (http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-mystery-time-introducing-celtic.html). She gives these early in order for us to get our fabrics together. I was fortunate to have all these in my stash, so I went with her color scheme which is: Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Neutrals. Then, the day after Thanksgiving, she gave the first clue/part (http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/11/celtic-solstice-mystery-part-1.html). This part entailed making quite a few Peaky and Spike parts.

I am making the smaller (75" x 75") version, so I made 96 of the parts with the neutral centers and 92 of the ones with the orange centers. Each Friday for the next couple of months or so, Bonnie will release a clue. At the end, we will have a beautiful quilt top. If it is anything like last year's Easy Street, it will be a real beauty!  I am posting another photo of my Easy Street below. My husband claimed this one before it was even done. It now resides on our bed.

This photo is before borders. It is an extra big King size.

2013 GardenWeb Quilters Retreat at Camp Cheerio

 

I just returned from a fabulous retreat at Camp Cheerio, which is a YMCA camp in NW North Carolina. I belong to an online forum called GardenWeb. We get together at Camp Cheerio for retreat every year. The photo above is our Saturday Quilt Show. The camp provides us with motel-type rooms, all meals and the upstairs space in this building which is the Sloan Center. 

 

This year there were only 10 of us, but we had a wonderful time.

 

The photo above is just a taste of what the meals are like. The food is like no camp food that I ever had as a child!  I got lots completed at retreat. Will show more photos later.

Easy Street

I finished this Easy Street top. The pattern is by Bonnie Hunter. It was this year's mystery. I still need to put borders on it. I am going to go with a solid border then a pieced border. This one is going on my bed! 

Pink and Green Pinwheels

This quilt top is made from some more Gardenweb Birthday Blocks. It is not quilted in this photo, but I did take it off the frame today. I quilted it with a pantograph called tear drops. This was originally intended for a friend of mine, but I ended up giving her something else. So I guess this one also will go into the 'future gift' pile. The photo actually does not do this one justice as the backgrounds of the blocks are white on white and just make this little quilt glow! 

I went to an estate sale today and really lucked out. I got a 50 lb box of scraps and yardage for $20!  I have already sorted the scraps into my scrap bin and plan to use them in some Bonnie Hunter quilts.

Tennessee Baby Quilt

 

I just finished binding this baby sized quilt. I love baby quilts that are not the traditional blue/pink/green/yellow. The quilt blocks came from my online GardenWeb Birthday Blocks group from a couple years ago. The binding is scrap binding from several other quilts. The block is called "Tennessee." Since I live in Tennessee I thought this was a suitable block. I quilted it on my longarm using a pantograph that is feathery/leafy looking. 

A New Bag

 

I took a break from quilting today to make this bag for my cousin. She was here the other day and mentioned that she needed a new bag. She also oohed and ahhed over some batiks that I had laying out on my cutting table. So, I decided to make her a new bag. She uses the bags that I make her to carry her bottled water and snacks to work.  Hope she likes this one!