Rhododendron Trail Mystery Quilt Part 4

 

This week was Part 4 of the Rhododendron Trail Mystery Quilt. I had to make about a thousand (not really!) hourglass blocks. 

I made a test batch before I really started making them. I wanted to make sure my method worked and the size was correct. 

I placed one light and one dark square together. I drew my diagonal line and sewed on either side. Once it was sewn, I cut on the diagonal line I drew as well as the other diagonal. I didn't make a line for the second cut. I just tried not to move them on the cutting mat.

Each square gives you 4 triangles made up of 2 colors. 

I paired them together so I would get a very scrappy look. I tried to keep all four fabrics different in each hourglass block. I made mine larger and then trimmed them down to size. I finished them yesterday. No clue until the Monday after Christmas. It's so nice to be all caught up! I know we're making lots of these pieces every week but it's sort of fun. I try to think of ways to make the process quicker. I feel like my very own assembly line! Someone said we're close to 50% done. I'm not sure if that's true but it's going fast!

I Like Thursday #120

It's time for I Like Thursday! A bunch of us bloggers publish positive posts that can all be found on LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color. We finally put up our tree. We had tried the week before but never seemed to be able to get to it. But, it's up now and makes the whole house look quite festive! I made that tree skirt over 20 years ago. It's one of the first things I made. It's hand quilted but the stitches look pretty big! 

My daughter got this tree topper. Isn't it so cute? Some of the purchase price goes towards helping animal shelters. That kitty looks awfully happy up there!

My son's girlfriend wants to make a table runner. I was thrilled that someone I know wants to try anything to do with quilting. I know she likes Halloween so I bought her a book and some fabric. I'm also going to offer my stash for any other fabric she might need to complete one of the runners.

I've had this book for awhile and it's just packed with gorgeous sock patterns. My daughter chose one for me to make her. I'm going to attempt it. It's a beautiful pattern but looks difficult. Once I make some progress, I'll take a picture!

That's my week. I'm going to finish up my shopping today. My student cancelled today so I'm going to take advantage of my free morning. Have a great weekend!

 

Rhododendron Trail Mystery Quilt Part 3

Bonnie Hunter released Part 3 of the Rhododendron Trail Mystery Quilt. This one was pretty quick. Using the pieces from Part 1, we added triangles to either side. Here's my heap of finished pieces that need to be ironed and trimmed.

These are my pieces all finished and put into groups. Aren't they cute??

The other part this week was to cut a bunch of squares for a future step. So far, I'm keeping up okay. I still think we're going to have some really busy weeks coming up. Not looking forward to that!

Hexagon Table Topper

I was hoping this would be a Christmas gift for a friend but I don't think I'm going to get it ready in time. There are plenty of tutorials out there for hexagon pot holders. I used this one. But, instead of stopping as the tutorial tells you, I kept going! It measures about 23" across.

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This was how it looked after the first round. The only thing that's a little tricky is the use of partial seams. After doing 1 or 2, they get pretty easy. I bought this fabric over the summer. It was a bag of scraps from Cotton and Steel. I love the fabric patterns that all go together nicely.

Here it is before quilting. I had it all sandwiched and ready to go. I machine quilted it in an hour. I just have the binding left to sew down. My friend lives far enough away that I would have to mail it to her. She's moving to a new place after the new year. I think I'll send it to her as a house warming. This was a fun project to make. I made it in an afternoon. Nice and quick and perfect as a gift!
 

I Like Thursday #119

It's Thursday and time for another positive and fun post. A group of bloggers join LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color where you can find links to other uplifting posts. We had a little snow last night so I thought it would make for a nice picture of the front of my house. It's all decorated for the holiday. The snow does add a pretty touch. It's supposed to be close to 60 on Saturday so this snow won't be lasting too long! 

I got a new star for the top of our Christmas tree. (Which still isn't up!) This one uses batteries to light up. I thought that was such a great idea. Plus it was 60% off at Macy's! I just couldn't resist!

I found this great blueberry breakfast gift basket. (Also on sale!) I think I might give it to my cousin. 

I found this magazine at the library. Since I'm there on a weekly basis, I grabbed this once and always look for it now. It comes out once a month and keeps you updated on what books are coming out as well as great reading recommendations. It's free! It always has something interesting information in it. 

I'm almost done Christmas shopping. I think I need just one more outing. Christmas is fun but it's so much work! Have a great weekend!

 

Rhododendron Trail Mystery Quilt Part 2

I've been sort of busy getting the second part finished of Bonnie Hunter's Rhododendron Trail Mystery Quilt. I had to made about a million flying geese. (Slight exaggeration!) Half had to have the yellow on one side, half had yellow on the other side. Flying geese are not my favorite but Bonnie had various methods in her post. I didn't want to make one at a time. I thought I'd be doing that for way too long. So, I opted to make 4 at once. Depending on the finished size, you cut one large square and 4 smaller squares for the corners. Bonnie had a chart up that you could reference.

As you can see, two of the smaller squares are placed on opposite corners. You mark a diagonal and sew 1/4" on either side of the line. Here's my bunch of flying geese. I did many batches. This was batch one!

You cut on the diagonal line you drew and press your geese open. Then you add another square to the only corner left and do the same thing. Draw a diagonal, sew 1/4" from each side and cut on the line.

Once you iron and trim, each piece gives you 2 perfect flying geese! You end up with 4 flying geese from each large square. I placed my neutral squares first and then the yellow one. It made an even amount of yellow on opposing sides. They look nice but took a very long time! Let's hope next week is quicker!!

I Like Thursday #118

It's time for I Like Thursday. A few of us bloggers write positive and fun posts that are linked over at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color. Go on over and take a look! This is our table last week before we ate our Thanksgiving dinner. We had just put all the food out. Everyone was still busy getting ready for dinner but my mother was all set and waiting!

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I used the air fryer last week to make egg rolls. They're actually very easy and taste great! I only put 4 egg rolls in at a time although I could probably add more. They tend to plump up when being cooked and I wanted to make sure they had enough room.

Here's the final product! The recipe I use makes 16 at a time.

We've started to decorate for Christmas. We bought a few kissing balls last weekend.

My husband made a few arrangements for our front door. This isn't the best picture. It was raining this morning. I'll take a better picture next time!

It's been a busy week. I'm trying to get my Christmas shopping done. I'm working on a few Christmas gifts as well. Too much to do this time of year! Have a great weekend!