Winner - Machine Quilting with Style Blog Hop

Thank you all so much for entering the giveaway during the book hop for Christa Watson's new book, "Machine Quilting with Style".

Without further ado, the winner is Nancy!!

Congrats Nancy, your ebook is on its way :)  For those that did not win, just remember that you can get your copy of Christa's book, "Machine Quilting with Style" from:

Signed copy from ChristaQuilts.com

Martingale (publisher) – free e-copy with purchase of the book
Amazon

Midnight Mystery Quilt - My Courthouse Steps Units

October's assignment for the Midnight Mystery quilt-a-long was to make some giant Courthouse Steps Units.

(It is not too late to join! See the Mystery Quilt Tab above for all of the information.)

Here are my Courthouse Steps Units (they are each 19" x 19")

Just remember that it is not too late to join in! (We also have the option of an un-mystery quilt for those that would like a sneak peek of the finished design).

The next set of instructions will be posted on the first Thursday of November (the 5th), thanks so much for quilting along with me :)

Related Mystery Quilt Posts

Mystery Quilt Intro

June - Fabric Requirements

July - Cutting Instructions
August - Flying Geese
September  - Square in a Square
October - Courthouse Steps

I am very happy to link up with Main Crush Monday @ Cooking Up Quilts, Sew Cute Tuesday @ Blossom Heart Quilts, and Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story.

Midnight Mystery - October Instructions - Courthouse Steps Units

Welcome to the 5th month of instructions for the Midnight Mystery Quilt!  The previous instructions can be found here:

June - Fabric Selection

July - Cutting

August - Flying Geese
September - Square in a Square

(all links and other information can also be found in the Mystery Quilts tab above)

First, a Few Announcements:

1. Is it too late to join? - It is definitely not too late! This quilt-a-long has a nice slow pace with a month between instructions so there is plenty of time to get caught up! 

2.  Want instructions in an easier to print format? - Simply leave a comment below (with e-mail address if you are a no-reply blogger) or send me an e-mail at cheryljbrickey (at) gmail (dot) com to get on the e-mail distribution list.

3.  Share your progress - Don't forget to post pictures of the fabrics you have chosen and your in-progress pics to our very active Facebook group (over 300 members now!!) and on social media using the hashtag #MidnightMysteryQuilt.

And now onto the instructions... this month we are going to make Courthouse Steps Units!

We will be using Fabrics B, C, and D for the Courthouse Steps Units.  Just as a reminder, in the illustrations for the quilt instructions, Fabric B will be represented by the color yellow, Fabric C will be represented by the color purple, and Fabric D will be represented by the color white.

Combine 9 Fabric B squares (7” x 7”), 18 Fabric C rectangles (7” x 3 ½”), 18 Fabric C rectangles (13” x 3 ½”), 18 Fabric D rectangles (13” x 3 ½”), 18 Fabric D rectangles (19” x 3 ½”) to form 9 Courthouse Steps Units (19” x 19”) using the method outlined below. Be sure to use a consistent scant ¼" seam allowance in the construction of this unit.


1. Sew Fabric C rectangles (7” x 3 ½”) on the top and bottom of a Fabric B square (7” x 7”), pressing seams open.  Sew Fabric C rectangles (13” x 3 ½”) on the right and left sides, pressing seams open.  (After adding the Fabric C rectangles, the unit should measure 13” x 13”).

2. Sew Fabric D rectangles (13” x 3 ½”) on the top and bottom, pressing seams open.  Sew Fabric D rectangles (19” x 3 ½”) on the right and left sides, pressing seams open.  The Courthouse Steps unit should measure 19” x 19”.  Repeat for a total of 9 Courthouse Steps units (19” x 19”).

Thanks for quilting along with me, I hope you are enjoying the mystery quilt as much as I am!

A Few Additional Announcements:

1.  Button - I have made a button for the mystery quilt :)  If you decide to join in on the quilt-a-long and have a blog I would love it if you posted the button.

 

2.  The Un-Mystery Quilt - Want to join in the fun but making a mystery quilt is not your thing?  If you would like to see the final pattern to decide whether to join in, or to help pick colors; simply e-mail me and I will send you a sneak peak (the only rule is that you have to keep the design completely to yourself as to not spoil anyone else's surprise).

3.  Share your progress - Don't forget to post pictures of the fabrics you have chosen and your in-progress pics to our very active Facebook group and on social media using the hashtag #MidnightMysteryQuilt.

Many thanks to our wonderful Midnight Mystery sponsors!

Forced Vacation from Quilting

So I went roller skating with my two little ones yesterday afternoon and had a great time ... until I fell.  I caught myself with my left hand and instantly I knew I had done something very wrong to it.  A fun trip to the local urgent care and I now have a temporary cast from my finger tips to past my elbow for my broken wrist and a orthopedic doctor visit scheduled this week.

Luckily it is a very small fracture and a compression type (so the ones are still nicely aligned) and it is my left wrist (I am a righty).  I am in virtually no pain and am just trying how to figure out how to do all of the normal stuff like butter bread, open jars, and button pants with one hand.  It is almost impossible to wash dishes one handed so there is a positive side to all of this :)

So I will be on a bit of a quilting holiday for the next 6-8 weeks.  Because I can not actually quilt, I am going to use these next 6-8 weeks to write up some new patterns, organize all of my files on the computer, and start working on the mystery quilt design for next year.  I am also going to have my sewing machine yearly maintenance done at this time (I am a few months late on that).

I will still have plenty to post on the blog, just typing with one hand.  I will have a few finishes to show that I have not blogged about yet, a bunch of Craftsy class reviews, some more EQ7 tutorials, and I am going to try to write a blog post series about pattern writing that has been on my list to do for months.

Have a great week!
Cheryl

"Machine Quilting with Style" Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am very excited to be part of Christa's blog hop for her newly released first book, "Machine Quilting with Style"!

I have followed Christa's blog forever, with her becoming a great online quilt friend over the years.  I had the chance to room with Christa at QuiltCon 2015 earlier this year.  She is just one of those people that are so easy to talk to and is willing to share all of her knowledge.  Each night we told ourselves that we would go to bed at a reasonable hour, but wound up talking into the early morning hours each and every night. 

Christa was proofreading her book during QuiltCon so I got a little sneak peek.  My favorite quilt from the book was called Rain and I was very excited that was the quilt I got to make for this hop.

Christa asked us to change up the pattern and make it our own so I tried to put my own spin on Rain.  Rain is a lap-sized quilt and so I shrunk it down by about a third to be a good baby sized quilt.  Since my quilt was a smaller version of Rain, I decided to name mine Drizzle.

In Christa's version, she used a cream background with some bold colored solids for the stripes.  I used a bunch of low volume prints for the background and used some dark turquoise solids (and one lime green print) for the stripes.  Here is the quilt as it was coming together.

For the quilting, I love to pair different types of quilting together, I quilted randomly spaced lines on the background portion of the quilt using the same straight line technique that Christa used in her version.  To give good texture but still blend in, I used a 40 wt Aurifil light cream / white thread (2021).  

I was originally going to do some swirls in the stripes but decided that the stripes needed a looser more organic feel to them so I decided to add some hand quilting.  I added 3 rows of big stitch hand quilting to each colored strip using 12 wt Auriful thread in matching colors (1147 and 2810).  I love the juxtaposition of the machine quilting next to the hand quilting.

Christa's book is jam packed with great quilting knowledge delivered in the same easy to understand way that Christa blogs.  Her book has an almost conversational tone to it, making it easy to follow along and absorb all of the tips and techniques the book contains.

Sometimes when I get to the end of the pattern there is that dreaded phase, "Quilt as desired". Christa's book really answers that question by teaching many different beginner friendly quilting patterns (including both straight line quilting and free motion quilting) and takes it one step further by showing how to quilt the quilts in her book.

I really like how the book includes some very versatile patterns, you can see all the different versions bloggers made from Christa's book patterns on the Machine Quilting with Style blog hop by clicking here!

Christa is even going to have a quilt a long from one of the pattern in her book.  You can vote here to pick which pattern is used:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WVTWMRP

You can get your copy of Christa's book, "Machine Quilting with Style" from:
Signed copy from ChristaQuilts.com

Martingale (publisher) – free e-copy with purchase of the book
Amazon

Now for the Giveaway!

You can win your own free e-copy of Machine Quilting With Style.  This giveaway is open to everyone around the world and will run until September 30th at 8pm EST.  To enter:

1. Leave a comment, any comment.  If you would like a topic, I would love to know if you have ever made a holiday quilt and if yes, for which holidays?

2. Followers of mine get a bonus entry, please leave a separate comment with how you follow Meadow Mist Designs (old and new followers welcome).

Follow Meadow Mist Designs

E-mail          Bloglovin          Instagram

Note: If you are a no-reply blogger then please include your e-mail address. If I can not reach you, you can not win.

I am linking up to Link a Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish It Up Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, and Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She.

**Giveaway now closed, thanks for entering! **