I'm so happy I can't stop singing Allietare, Allietare!

Do you have that one idea for a quilt that you really want to do, but just don't have the  right pattern or vision?  Do you look through books or magazines hoping for inspiration? Me too, and Bonnie provided the  inspiration. I'm IBM, Italian By Marriage. Since Bonnie took her trip to Italy I have hoped against all hope that Italy would be the theme of this year's Mystery Quilt. As you all know my hopes have been fulfilled and I am so happy. I have the paint chips and shopped my stash. I even have my easy angle and companion angle in my container.  Every piece came from my stash. I have not purchase even a fat quarter for this quilt. I think Bonnie would be proud.

It is almost like Bonnie could see my stash because these fabrics are only the tip of the iceberg and I have many other options in these color families if I want to go extra scrappy.

Reds-Not sure about the one with the green leaves.

Golds, the light fabric in the middle is much darker than it looks.

All kinds of neutrals-going a little wild with the black, but is reads neutral

Flash too close? These are actually black on black.

I'll get another picture of the black.. I am still on the fence about which to use as my constant fabric. I really like the grey with white and pieces of gold. I think it might bring the quilt together. The solid fabric seems a little dull.  I will wait to see how it's used and what colors are the companion for that step to make my final decision.

Which grey to use? Doesn't the white and gold brighten things up?

 I am all ready for Allietare. While I am waiting I will be working on my winter solstice and a project for my Cincinnati Ohio Star Quilt Guild.

Finally I have a new quilt inspector. His name is Smoky. He thinks he owns the place and is usually very nosy. I think he will make a good inspector. For now, he is not feeling the excitement. He just says wake me when it's time to start working on that first step.

Lastly - thank you Bonnie Hunter - Can't wait to get started.

Taking down the stash

It is the first of November, and I am so excited about the upcoming winter mystery I am having trouble finishing my current project. On my last post I shared I am making a Winter Solstice. It's inspire by the winter sky and Bonnie's Celtic Solstice pattern.

I am trying figure out the best way to add a little zip. I'm nearly half way through the stars and they are kind of bland. This sample is actually turned around. The dark blue squares are the corners.

Fabrics with snowflake and  the night sky set the mood.

My plan is for the alternate block to sparkle like stars on a moon lite night. But I think I need some contrast or another color.  Here are my colors for that block. My last decision will be to decide if I want to do the work of making the center pinwheel, or just use the gold as my center. Since this is a holiday quilt I'd like to simplify things.  I also have a green that picks up the blue on the left. I may use that for the chevrons. I think I'll make a few samples and then decide. I love this pattern, so I don't want to venture too far from what Bonnie designed.

Today I hope to complete a few more star blocks and make some samples of the chevron blocks. If this does not make sense check out Bonnie's  blog or Facebook page and see Celtic Solstice in all of it's glory. You can also click the link on this blog.  A word of caution...it can be addictive...but oh so rewarding.

This little project has not begun to put a dent in my stash. I've barely put a dent in my holiday fabric container.  I will not look at new fabric until I can close the lids on all my containers. I realize that my stash is small compared to many others. It's also a mess, and I still have another shelf that looks about the same.

You might notice a container of reds, golds, blacks, neutrals and some grey too. Those are Bonnie's colors for Allietare, the winter mystery.  I'd say I'm set.

Coming soon my fabric selection for Allietare.  Thanks to Bonnie Hunter for sharing her talents.