Who is up for a Sew-in-Place-Along?

Since March fell apart and will continue into April and most likely May and beyond into June – I’ve been thinking.

What if we did a mystery that really wasn’t a mystery– but a Sew in Place Quilt Along instead?

And we would break it down, with a different section being made each week.

And we could do how-to videos with my tools and techniques and more Quilt-Cams and sharing, etc?

So it would be like a mystery, but not really – but all of the fun of mystery time – and more.

Would you be in?

If you could sew from your stash – no paint chips involved.  

If we said something like “Choose 3 colors and a background” after seeing my graphic of the quilt center – would you be excited to dig in?

The thing is – I’d be sewing just a few days ahead of everyone else to get the next step ready to show because let’s face it.  Things are nuts (I have a new puppy) and things are stressful (There are cats at the QPO and loads of mail order going out) and I might not be able to get all the needed tools in right away (but if you’ve done previous mysteries you’ve already got them on hand.) 

And did I say this is nuts?

I know MONDAYS are a drag for most folks.  It’s another week of this shelter-at-home stuff ahead.  So to shake things up, I’m thinking of starting on MONDAY-

Monday will be our day for new parts for that week.  I think Mondays will become the bomb.

THIS IS NUTS?!  But do you trust me? Would you be patient with me doing this on the fly? Quilts and quilt designs are not just something I can pull out of my back pocket on a whim and a prayer.

And yes, it would be free.  Here on my blog.  Just like mystery time.  And there would be PDF copies of steps.  Just like mystery time.  And there would be a tab at the top of the blog where everything goes.  Just like mystery time.

And at the end of it all – it gets retired and turns into a PDF pattern in the Quiltville Store, just like mystery time.

It will likely be 7 to 8 weeks of instruction just like mystery time.

Everything will come from Scrap User’s System sizes – so you can start there.

The question is – how do I present it?  

I’ve been working on a design behind the scenes over the past couple of weeks (That new puppy thing gets in the way!) and I really am thinking about a medallion layout.

It can be semi-mystery maybe?  I could start with the medallion center and have you make that.  And then the next week the next round could be revealed – and you could make that, and the next week the next round - Adding your rounds to your quilt center as you go.

I love the idea of revealing each new round each week so you see this grow as you make it, but there are still some surprises?

I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about this.  It was seriously hard to get my brain to shut off.  And what color ways do I want to make my own in?

Be watching for more info (yardages, etc) to come over the next few days – we’ll start sewing on MONDAY!

And by then, maybe this quilt will have a NAME because I haven’t even gotten that far.  (I was thinking My My My CORONA *head bop* for just a short time!!LOL!)

And this was yesterday afternoon while I thought some more:

This is the back view of Quiltville Inn from Wilson Creek below.

We thought as the day wrapped up that it would be a good day to take Zoey Jo on another walk up and around Round House Road, but when we got over there – the wind was coming off the New River and it was just downright cold – the sun had gone down behind the ridge, and even though there was much daylight left – it just was not pleasant.

I’ll admit it – I’m a fair weather hiker, and I see no sense in pushing through bad weather conditions and freezing my butt off to prove anything to anyone!

So we went back to the Inn to grab some things, and wound up walking down behind the inn to the creek just to see how the Kelpie in Zoey would kick in.

The old derelict Fields Manufacturing Company mill -

It looks different from this angle!

(It still makes me sad that this place is not functioning.)

A man and his dog – heading to the creek.

Oh, there were so many smells to be smelled!

Oh the wonders of cow patties and goose poop and whatever else caught her fancy.  She did dip her toes in, but the water was rushing pretty fast, and she didn’t go much farther than a dainty ankle-deep wade.

But as soon as summer arrives – watch out!  This is a dog that loves water (even if she doesn’t know it yet!)

Don’t worry – we are naturally socially distanced out here.

There is no one about.

Only the mooing of the cows from up on the hillside across the way were heard.

One clump of loveliness down by the bank.

Label sewn down – this came with me for photo ops yesterday.

Shoo Fly Shoo is  COMPLETE!  Click to Play:

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A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Mar 26, 2020 at 11:26am PDT

I love how this turned out -

And it’s not the best photo but:

70-ish by 90-ish is just the right size!

(So be looking for our Sew-in-Place-Along quilt to be about this size roughly)

I need to play a bit and see how many more blocks I need to turn the Shoo Fly Shoo leftovers into a second twin for another bed. 

Not many of my quilts have been made in full size – many are larger and there is quite a bit of over-flow tucked against the wall at the side of the bed.  Over time it will be fun to make quilts specifically sized for these beds.

The sun is shining – it’s supposed to be a lovely day.  I am hoping to get that hike with Zoey Jo along Round House Road this afternoon if all goes well with Sew-in Place-Along planning.

Are you excited?  I am!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

When the going gets stressful, creativity goes into hyper-drive for so many of us. 

It's not just something to occupy extra time, it's an essential part of who we are.

Makers gotta make!

Are you finding that creative outlets lower your own stress level during this time?