30 November 2013, 6:00 a.m. EST
Well, I believe it is time to start writing in the blog again. I have a new project and the new year is just about upon us. (Actually, I have 17,922 new projects, but I won’t write about all of them!) It will take me a little while to ease back into blogging.
Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville just released the first clue to her new mystery quilt yesterday and several thousand of us have started this new journey together. There are a couple of Facebook groups for the mystery so folks can join in together. The one I'm is has been closed because we have over 1,000 people in it (I think.) But if you are interested in doing the quilt, there are several other groups out there. Jump in. It’s going to be fun and we will have a beautiful quilt at the end of it. Bonnie has entitled this quilt Celtic Solstice and you can read all about it at her site.
I don’t usually do Bonnie’s mystery quilts. They are generally “busier” to the eye than I like my quilts to be. Yet, with my love of Ireland and all things Irish, I could not pass this one up. In addition, since family health issues are making it necessary to stick closer to home, I’m challenging myself in new ways at the sewing machines. (Perhaps I’ll post about my Dear Jane and Farmer’s Wife journeys in a different post.) So this quilt will be a challenge for me. I’m make the small size to fit a twin bed.
For some reason, I’m naming this project Iania’s Celtic Solstice. I have no idea where that name came from. I just awakened with it in my head this morning along with the memory of walking near the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland two years ago. Who knows? Maybe an ancient ancestor or maybe a mischievous sprite invaded my dreams.
Putting all of that aside, I’m ready to jump into this mystery quilt. As I mentioned the first clue was released yesterday and I spent an hour and a half just cutting out bitty pieces using my new Tri Rec rulers. (I don't want to push a specific retail website. Just search Tri Rec rulers if you want to see what they are like. They make this project so much easier.)
Then I spent close to forty-five minutes just organizing them in the correct piles, turning them the correct way, and teaching them to play nice with one another so that the sewing goes easier. Today it is on to sewing.
I’m going to follow Bonnie’s advice about getting up for a stretch from the machine every so often and I’m going to continue the Irish theme.YouTube has a number of great Irish Walking Videos that range from four minutes to fifteen minutes. Here’s my plan. I’m going to sew for the period of time it takes to listen to ONE SIDE of a Harry Potter cassette (Yes, I still have a cassette tape player.) Then I’m going to get up, go to the Wii and walk one Irish trail before returning to the sewing machine. Actually, I’ll probably check on my husband and the dogs before returning to the sewing machine. We will have to wait and see about that.
I hope all my Solstice friends are busy with the projects as well. See you soon on Facebook and the blogosphere.
