BOMs Away - another border for Ruffled Roses! & Clue 3

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays! 

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately. 

This week's link-up is at the bottom of the post.

Woohoo!  Getting there with my Ruffled Roses!  :D 

It snowed all day long today, which made for a perfect lazy sewing day. I got the basket borders trimmed up (an exacting, time consuming job), and the math done for the blue floater border. Then I got all the baskets attached!

I need to make 8 more lavendar berries to put on the bottom branches of the cornerstone applique where they kiss the seams with the basket borders. 

I also put together the final trio of piano-key swag border blocks - which means next month I can start the Very Last Part.  :D

I'm glad I made the decision to take the time to do this quilt's applique by hand. It's really nice this way, and I don't regret the extra time it took one single bit.

  I just looked back, and I began work on this BOM as an on-again, off-again applique project in my travel tote back in the middle of 2011. It got an official one-Sunday-per-month slot on the BOM rotation January 13, 2013. So, apparently it took a year and a half to applique that center medallion when the only stitching time I really did on it was while waiting at appointments, etc. And it will have taken just over 2 years to piece it when the only sewing time has been however long I've worked with it on 2nd-Sundays, and applique work has happened a couple times a week during evening TV time with my Honey if I haven't had bindings, labels, or hanging sleeves to work up. It's never held the priority spot for attention, and yet, soon I will have an amazing quilt top at full flimsy status.  :D

(Linking this up at Slow Sunday Stitching and Hexie Weekend) 

. . .

And! I got all my strips cut out for Clue 3 of Bonnie Hunter's 2014 Mystery Quilt: Grand Illusion. (That one green just refuses to photograph in correct color. That really intrigues me!)

As per my intention leading into Christmas, I only sewed one set of strata and put together a unit so I make sure to do everything properly when this gets a priority piecing spot after Christmas.

Linking this up at Bonnie's Mystery Monday Link-up

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How are things at your place? With Christmas getting closer, have you done any BOM work lately? Maybe you've snuck in some sanity time to put a block together, or maybe you've started assembling one you've worked on all year? Or maybe it's just too crazy a time to do sewing and you're enjoying the holiday and your family?  :D

WIP - Laurel Burch Christmas fun

Quilting this right now!

(pieced Christmas 2012)

{Addendum: In answer to a visitor's question, this pattern was a freebie. It is "Holiday Celebrations," designed by September Olson for Clothworks and the Laurel Burch Holiday Celebration fabric collection. It's still available at this link.}
http://www.clothworks.com/media/productmedia/2081/holidaycelebrationsquilt.pdf

Finished all the walking foot work - (have yet to damp-wipe the chalk off the 7 ornaments  that have been done with this foot)

Everything's stitched in the ditch for stability, plus a little gold work on the ornament holders. I worked up the ornaments that I wanted to use accent lines and specialty stitches from my machine on. The 5 remaining ornaments will be done with free motion work. The background fill on that red will be the very last task.

The first FMQ work, though, is the easy-peasy! FUN outlining on the border stripes:

I really love how these reindeer are turning out!

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linking up at Let's Bee Social and WIP Wednesday

BOMs Away - Kelly's "Strolling the Block," Grand Illusion Clue 2, New Belts!

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays! 

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately. 

This week's link-up is at the bottom of the post.

Hi! For the First-Sunday work on Kelly's projects, I hit the quilting hard on her "Strolling the Block."

I got all the stabilizing stitch-in-the-ditch work finished. 

This quilt keeps having issues - I've written before about having to resew the borders on. Well, the blocks are not uniform in size, so there are areas where it's impossible to keep things square. But it's still going to be so much better finished than not!

I hadn't seen this incomplete seam until I quilted past it. Hand stitched that shut, no prob.

And I found this gash in the sashing near the February mailbox post. Didn't address that yet. I probably will just do some satin embroidery stitching over it first thing next month.

And once that's done, it's on to the more fun free-motion work since all the stabilizing is finished. :D   I'm wondering if I'll find that a thicker loft than this batting would have been better at handling the extra slack in the gray sashing pieces.

This past Friday we got Clue 2 for Bonnie Hunter's 2014 Mystery Quilt: Grand Illusion. I have all the pieces cut out, but only 10 diamond units and 1 block finished. That may be all that happens before Clue 3 arrives, as I have two Christmas quilt UFOs that I really REALLY want to finish quilting before Christmas.

Last thing: Everyone in the family passed the belt test yesterday! 3 greens, and 2 purples now - Getting fitter and more adept. Having a lot of fun together, too!

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We're all gearing up for Christmas, so it's hit and miss, I know. Have you done any BOM work lately?