INKLINGO's COTSG MYSTERY, Plus A Nifty Little Notion

A very fun Mystery is going on right now. .. the COTSG: The Case Of The Secret Garden. We are up to Clue#4 in the Mystery. Clue#5 will post this coming Monday. Already the blocks are coming together. Some of the design elements that Linda Franz of Inklingo put into this Mystery are beginning to reveal themselves. Fun! Below are pics of some of my progress so far:

'dark' spokes of wheel

'light' spokes of wheel

Sewing on the end piece - can you see the stitching lines and matching cross hairs printed on the back of the little piece being sewn? Makes for a perfect fit every single time!

Recently I tried a new version of an Ott Light I found on sale at Joann's Fabrics. It is a tiny portable light. It gives off a remarkable amount of light for its small size. When I am sewing at night, I place the light on its side inside the harp of my machine and it floods light directly on the needle area. These ol' eyes can use a lot of light. I have no affiliation, I just like this product.

Tiny OTT Light [u/left side of this pic]... gives off a lot of light! And fits in one's sewing case. Tiny and powerful; nice combo. No affiliation, just like the product.

Pocket-sized OTT Light

Until next time. . . I will be helping out with the Quilter's Run at ARETOY Quilt Shop in Oceanside, California. If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello! Sew, that's it for me... what are YOU up to this weekend???

Quilty Hugs,

NEW FABRIC CHOICES 4 COTSG Mystery

It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, right? So I did.   Picked out some new fabrics for the COTSG Mystery from Linda Franz and Inklingo. All of these fabrics are more than 2 yards each. Yippee. What do you think... enough value, texture, color??

 

Because fabrics can look so different based on what they are next to, I rearranged the fabrics and took another picture.  I'm not so sure it made much difference with these fabrics. I'm hoping that's a good thing. *g*

Until next time. . . I am off to go run my fabrics through the laundry and then cut up some freezer paper. What are YOU up to??

Quilty Hugs,

COTSG: Choosing Fabrics & Fresh Lemons

For the new Inklingo mystery - Case Of The Secret Garden - we need a light, medium, dark, and an accent. This is what I have so far:

While mulling over my fabric choices I decided to go out and pick some lemons off my tree. It is so heavy with fruit that a couple of branches are threatening to break. I brought a basket full inside. Hmmm, the lemons smell so gooooooood! Next thing I knew I was making an apple/cranberry pie with lemon and almonds. Yummy. It just came out of the oven and the whole house smells delightful with cinnamon, nutmeg and fresh lemons. I wish you were here to smell it... we could enjoy some with a cuppa tea.

BTW, do you know the trick of getting the most juice from your lemons n limes? Put the lemon into the microwave for about 10 seconds! That's it. The peel is easier to zest and the juice just pours from it. Since I only needed a little juice for my pie, I used this little citrus juicer I made... way back in 1980! lol. But it's handy and easy to use. Do you have something a little ancient in your kitchen that you really enjoy using?

Until next time. . . I'm off to check out that cooling pie and dig through my stash a little more. What are YOU up to?

Quilty Hugs,

NEW MYSTERY: Case of the Secret Garden

Linda Franz of Inklingo and Quilted Diamonds fame is launching a brand new mystery! This is the Case of the Secret Garden, or COTSG. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's just getting started. Clue #01 was posted yesterday and each new clue will be posted every Monday.  Hope you will join in. Clicking the button on the upper left side of this blog will take you to Linda's page where all the details are.

I'm off to go dig through my stash and decide on some fabrics! WOWZER... I only need FOUR fabrics: A light background, 1 medium, 1 dark, 1 accent. I can do this.

Until next time... I hope where ever you are you have loads of time to stitch something that makes your heart sing!

Quilty Hugs,

JUST TAKES 2 -- New Project Beginning Soon. . . come join in!

A new project is about to be offered on the Internet -- FREE -- for all who wish to join in.

It will be co-hosted by Gay of Sentimental Stitches & Brenda of DearJane fame. Above is their darling button... go grab a button for your blog and sign up with your email addy to receive the free block patterns. It's gonna be FUN!

It's almost Christmas, it's almost Christmas - such a wonderful and colorful time of year. I love all the decorations!  But, today I can sew just a little bit more and finish one more thing! lol. How about you -- can you squeeze a little bit of sewing into this busy time of year?

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I'm so glad you dropped in and hope you will come back soon.

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukah to everyone!

Hugs,

ORCA BAY: Clue #2... yes, I know I'm working a bit backwards

Today sees the completion of 10 string blocks for Clue #2. Yes, I'm working a bit backwards -- lol -- I did Clue #3 yesterday. Not to worry. As long as they all get sewed up sometime between now and ??? whenever, it's all good! LOL. Check out all the info at Quiltville -- you'll be glad you did.

I wasn't sure if I would like the Blue String blocks -- blue is a great color, but my personal fave is RED! But now that they are sewn together, I find myself really really liking them -- even loving these cute little blue blocks! Glad I tried a color outside my usual. The "stretch" will do me good.

Isn't it weird how the blocks look so yucky and strange after sewing [pic on left]... but TRIM [pic on right] and they look wonderful!

Yup... me likey these little blocks. Perhaps "stringing" is my thing; scrap blocks certainly are! I made a Spider Quilt last year -- Katrin talked me into it! LOL.  Katrin started a Spider Ring and it was so much fun.

Tomorrow will see more of Clue#2 HST blocks and the beginning of Clue#1 QST blocks. The method I am choosing for all triangle blocks is Inklingo! I love the predictable precision I get when using Inklingo. Rather than run paper through my printer, PP, and pick off paper; I iron fabric to FP, run through printer, cut, sew, press, DONE! Love it. A big thanks to Linda Franz for her invention. I have no affiliation, I am just an extremely Happy Camper!

That's all for now... I am off to my closet to pull more black, blue, neutral and some reds. If I do some prep now, I can sew more tomorrow... or at least that is my plan.

Thank you for stopping by to visit. . .

Quilty hugs,

ORCA BAY MYSTERY on Quiltville - My Progress So Far. . .

Hello,
Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame has designed another wonderful Mystery Quilt Project. It is called Orca Bay. Check out Bonnie's site for all the info here.  The first three clues have been posted, but it is not too late to join in.

Today I completed about 30+ little 1.5" HSTs. All in blacks and neutrals. Cute little things. Only about 300 more to go. NO problem, though. I am using Inklingo to print my little triangles... no math, no measuring, no special rulers. Just print, sew, cut:

Perfect little HSTs. I am definitely a fan of Inklingo - it is such a wonderful quilting tool!

That's all the quilty stuff for tonight. The light is gone and twilight has set in, so will go grab my crochet stuff and hook a while. Are you following the GGW CAL on LuAnn's blog? Jump over and see what fun we are having.

Thank you for stopping by to visit. May we always have the time and the inclination to make something wonderful for ourselves or someone we love. . .
Quilty hugs,