Allietare! Week 1

Just a quick update on my Allietare! progress...

All done & ready for clue 2!

Mistakes Along the Way!

 Buongiorno, Amici!

I made my half-square triangles by cutting 2 1/2" strips for my grey and neutral fabrics.  This is where I made my first mistake...

I forgot to divide by 2.  Yes, I cut 20 grey strips down to 600+ 2 1/2" squares.  I like to have some room to just toss something aside if it doesn't work, but this is a bit much!

My second mistake I found this morning as I was sewing the second seam for my HSTs.

This looks innocent enough, don't you think?

But, NO! There are three layers to this one!  Okay, I won't beat myself up over this as it was the only one that grabbed a buddy along the way.

This morning I realized that this project may wreak havoc with my lovely, type A personality.

I couldn't walk away form pressing all of these open.  

I was sorting them into groups and knew that there should be 10 to a group (except for that little guy that's on the buddy system.)

I'm using Grandma Edie's iron...it's heavy...my arm got tired, but could I walk away?

Nope, not me!

Now they are all pressed and I can drop back to working with smaller groups.
I can trim them down in groups of ten.
One thing I haven't decided for sure is whether to keep the stars in the mix.  I kind of like the softer look of the other fabrics and might just add a few more of my favorites.

You can join in the fun by visiting Bonnie at Quiltville's Quips & Snips and look for the Allietare Mystery! tab!

And that's where I'm at today!

Buongiorno Amici!

Well, here are the details from yesterday...

First of all, I completed another 19 blocks for Baby Girl's quilt.

On to Allietare!

My constant fabric is an older piece that I absolutely love...it's "Barely There" by Jinny Byer (for RJR Fabrics). 

I cut 20 2.5" strips. Yes. Twenty. That's twice as many as I needed. 

I don't Math well. 

I sorted through my 2" box and pulled my neutrals. Then I cut a single strip from the fat quarters I had. (I purchased 5 neutral FQs specifically for this project.)

After cutting all of those squares, I cleaned my machine. I'm using my Bernina Artista 200,

#57 foot (1/4" piecing),

Schmetz 90/14 quilting needle,

Aurifil 50/2 #2610 (a light blue/grey).

I also wound three bobbins to get me started. 

Machine settings:

Stitch #1

Stitch length 2.5

Tension 4.0.

Whew! Glad to get those boring details out of the way!

Today is another family dinner. I'm taking the neutral squares with me so that I can get them marked. 

Here's my plan for the week:

Today: mark the diagonal

Sunday: stitch double lines

Monday: cut & press

Tuesday: trim

Wednesday & Thursday: catch up

Friday: CLUE 2!

Cuciture felice!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We are celebrating with Mom & Dad today. Our contribution is turkey,

Isn't that purdy?!

green bean casserole, dinner rolls, pepperoni rolls, apple, cherry & pumpkin pies and peanut butter candy. 

Rule number 1: NEVER scrape the pan clean...this is my payment for slaving over a hot stove!

Now we wait for everyone to show up with the rest of the food!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Buongiorno, Allietare!

*Because I don't have internet at home and I blog from my phone (and because I probably just haven't learned how) I won't always have clickable links. My apologies to Bonnie Hunter.*

It's time!

The mystery starts today!

I cleaned up the kitchen just enough to make coffee and clear my cutting area. 

Who cares about a dirty kitchen when there's stitchin' (or in this case, cutting) to be done?!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 have been warned. 

"There will be NO EATING at the kitchen table until all of my strips are cut!"

But, that's okay, since they are "camping". 

(Sometimes I just don't know if I'm encouraging creativity or messiness.)

Oh, look!

Baby Girl & Princess are up and I just claimed the table...

Princess has given me her opinion on that...

Who's in charge around here?!

A few quick picks from yesterday:

My niece and her birthday cowl.

The two biggest blessings we have to be thankful for this year.

And a perfectly beautiful turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. (Thanks to my amazing husband & the firefighter's who cook amazing things!)

Cuciture felice!

Check out google translate! I'm learning Italian as we go through this mystery!

Just Another Tuesday...NOT

Mom is finally back home!

She spent the last two weeks recovering from hip surgery. 

Here's a word for you...

Osteo-necrosis. 

It hasn't been fun. 

It hasn't been easy. 

But, she is home & I can settle in at my house and take care of some holiday planning, knitting, quilting, decorating, etc. 

Tonight it's me & the boys watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special. 

And working on my Mystery 220 November project. 

Dinner was easy...

...and delicious. 

Hope you have a good one!

Making a Plan

I've started my lists of kids, nieces & nephews, siblings & partners and moms & dads. 

It just kind of lets me know how far behind I am before I even get started!

Today the plan was to cut Baby Girl's quilt but she only has lab today and will be home early. 

So, new plan...

1. Start making kids socks

2. Finish strips for Jack-o-lantern's birthday quilt

3. Start another cowl/scarf

That should be enough for today. 

Time to get busy!