#ufoquiltingorbust

So Im trying to blog at least once a week.  So I thought I would share a new instagram hashtag I have been using.  instagram is where I normally post.  You can check out my stream and follow me over there on the right.  

But about that hashtag....

Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville is starting a new Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt on Black Friday.  I went ahead and pulled Denyse Schmidt fabrics.  

I have a lot of her fabrics. You could say I'm a bit of an addict.  I think it will make a great quilt.

I participated in her Celtic Solstice Mystery last year but did not finish it.

I had all the pieces for the blocks assembled and just had to sew them together.

So I started to sew a little each night and finally assembled all 49 blocks!  There are arre 2,140 pieces in just these blocks!  I also pinned up fabric to use for the two solid borders and the binding.

I have started to sew them into rows.  Five rows sewn and two left to go!  Then 3 borders!

If you noticed that the middle block of the third row is different, its

 not an accident.  During the assembly many other quilters realized if you flipped the pieces you could change the look of the block.  I decided to do it just for the middle.  

I am linking this up to Jo's Country Junction where those of us with Bonnie Hunter UFOs are trying to finish one before the next mystery starts.

Oh I still have three other Bonnie Hunter UFOs.  This is my scrappy trip. 

 It needs a backing but I just can't decide.

My Collaboration Celebration quilt from the Summer retreat in 2013.
The rest is in pieces.  

This is about how far my Lazy Sunday Mystery from Quiltmaker magazine has gotten.
I dont like the fabric Im using from my stash.  

Im in #ufoquiltingorbust mode.  Except for the new mystery.  

keep dreaming...Colleen

I made some Sofia fabric on Spoonflower from one of her cute pictures.
 I flipped the image so I could make a two sided stuffie.

Great deals

So with Christmas in less than 48 days I've started my on-line Christmas shopping.  I can't show you what I am buying but I can show yo a few great deals going on right now.

Spoonflower is having 2 for 1 fq until 10pm Nov12th.  This would be great for their tea towel calendars!  Ive made them in the past.  Just be careful as most are made to be printed on linen-cotton which is wider then regular cotton.  I made the mistake one year and ended up with half printed calendars. so with the 2 for 1 deal linen-cotton would be $7 each!  A great deal.

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Another great deal right now is at Patchwork threads.  Some of their best sellers are on sale! 

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If you are interested in a great pattern for a charmingly easy tree skirt I have a great one in my etsy store.  If you use the code NOV20 you can get if 20% off anything in my store until the end of Nov.

Happy shopping!

keep dreaming...Colleen

Sofia likes to stare at the clock above the cutting table.

God:Gratitude:Blogging:Snow

Little Glade Mill Pond, milepost 230.1, Blue Ridge Parkway

God:Gratitude

November is the time to be thankful for our blessings.  I guide my 6th grade sunday school students to write a prayer each week to God.  In among the prayers for healing and forgiveness and help with a test, I tell them they MUST give thanks to God for their blessings.  It is easy to get wrapped up in ourselves and our worries and forget how blessed God has made us. I tell them that they and I have been incredibly blessed:  in our families, the church family, the ability to get an education, and even to have toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant etc without thinking how lucky we are to have such things readily available.  So Im going to try to spend the month in giving thanks to God for the many blessings he has given me.

The Lump, milepost 264.5, Blue Ridge Parkway

I'm also going to try to get back into the good habit of blogging and not just on instagram.  I need more good habits in my life to counteract the negativeness that sometimes surrounds me from others.  So I'd like to start with 'poor pitiful me'.  Whenever I get down on myself.  Why cant I have the family or life that I see others have, or that I thought I would have by now.  I stop.  Think of God.  Talk to God.  And I give thanks for the amazing life I do have.  

Random spot along the Blue Ridge Parkway

I had to answer that stupid government required health assessment the other day for my insurance.  Don't get me started on the intrusiveness of those questions.  But one was so fitting.  How satisfied are you with your life?  For a fleeting moment regret flashed in my mind before being replaced by God reminding me how lucky I am in my life.  So I answered very satisfied.  I am blessed with a life that is very satisfying.  Thanks God.

Blogging

I've been absent from my blog because I am so much on instagram, which I also post to flickr, facebook, and twitter.  I used to be able to post to the blog too but they have removed that function. I complained.  Nothing happened.  I have put my feed over to the right so you can follow along too.  It is a format that fits me.  But I miss writing more in depth so I will try to blog more than just for things that require it.  BTW Its amazing how much you can say with a picture. Or 140 characters when you edit yourself.

Gratitude:Snow

OMG!  I am such a snow person!  Of course I live where snow is fleeting and people panic with a dusting.  So it was no wonder that when I planned a trip the Jefferson, NC in the mountains, and I heard it may snow I was like a kid at Christmas.  I packed my snow boots, 

fleece, layers, gloves, hats, and scarves!  And I was rewarded with snow that started around 2am Saturday morning and and continued for most of the day.  5-6 inches fell covering everything-tree branches, roofs, cars-except the road.  So I could drive to West Jefferson and spend the day walking the streets and visiting the shops IN THE SNOW!  Of course being NC and only November 1 most had melted my 6pm except for shady protected areas.   More snow fell late in the evening, enough to dust my car.  This morning it was bright blue skies, but windy cold.  

Thanks God for the snow.  I am blessed.

keep dreaming...Colleen

Here is another picture of my precious new baby Sofia!  Named for my Babylock Sofia sewing machine.  Sofia has already found the fabric!  Another blessing from God! #cattherapy #overgram

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Let it go - Sew

Blogger's Quilt Festival  Fall 2014

Here is my entry this fall.

I made this quilt for the Riley Blake fabric challenge.  I was given fat 8ths by  my guild. Perfect for fussycutting.

and the back where I used the leftovers.

 I had been studying butterflies with my second graders and the prints reminded me of their wing details.  So I designed this quilt.

and I went flower crazy with the mums.

  I was also surrounded by students and friends in a Frozen frenzy, with the song Let it go in my head.  So I quilted Let it go - sew into the background.  The green is from Bonnie & Camille's fabric line.

I finished the binding on vacation this summer, sitting by the lake.  And then hung it in my room at the cabin #makeyourcabinpretty with command clips.

Here it is again.  Held up by my dad in Canada.

title:  Let it go-sew

pattern:  orginal by Colleen C. Yarnell

size: 36 x 36

quilted by:  Colleen C. Yarnell

keep dreaming...Colleen

btw have you met my new baby Sofia?  She is named for my Babylock Sofia.

Kaleidoscope Twist

Source: Kaleidoscope Twist quilt block via cyarnell@mindspring.com on Craftsy

Welcome to Lucky Duck Dreams!  For my old followers I cant believe its been a month since I have last blogged.  I'm off for the summer and will try to get back to a regular blogging cycle.  I do post very regularly on instagram so you can follow me there.  Check the button on the side.

Today I'm happy to participate in my friend 
Persimon Dreams 52 Twisted Traditional blocks QAL.  

The traditional block I have chosen to twist is an old fashioned Kaleidoscope block.  When I first volunteered for this I immediately thought of a quilt class I took in the 1990s.  I actually twisted the traditional block way back then too.   I called it Crosses and hung it on point.  In the class taught by Sherry Wood we created our own fabric instead of string piecing.  But I twisted the one piece and came out with the above quilt made from 4 blocks.

Kaleidoscope Twist

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This finished block has a different look then the first one I made because I placed the triangles differently.  You can really have fun with how the block looks.

There is an interview of me over on www.PersimonDreams.com
* If you make the block make sure you upload it to the Flickr group:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/2445539@N20/
* If you are interested in joining this QAL you can learn more information here:  http://www.persimondreams.com/quilt-alongs/lapaceks-orchard/52-blocks

**This pattern is at Craftsy for a $1 

Keep dreaming...Colleen

I hand quilted overlapping spirals in pearl cottons.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Spring 2014: ROYGBIV quilt

This is the quilt I made to swap for the DQS 14.  It was a labor of scrappy, Tula Pink, fussy cut, low volume love.  

title:  Prism Star

size:  24" by 24"

design: Original by Colleen Yarnell 

inspiration:  Bright rainbow colors and low volume prints with anything Tula Pink.

I started with these Tula Pink purples. 

Then I did some scrappy fabric pulls and started cutting squares.  I have a great scrap stash.

I decides to build a rainbow star with a low volume background.  I had no repeats for the ROYGBIV fabrics.  I did repeat on the low volume prints.  Some I turned over to lesson the tone.  Then I laid it out.

Sewing it together.

I went ahead and pieced the label from scraps of purple Tula Pink. 

I was going to hand quilt in different pearl cottons but then decided simple straight line to enhance the lines of the quilt. 

I used a scrappy low volume binding with colors thrown in to match the star points.

title:  Prism Star

size:  24" by 24"

design: Original by Colleen Yarnell 

inspiration:  Bright rainbow colors and low volume prints with anything Tula Pink.

Visit the other quilts in the show!

keep dreaming...Colleen