Quilt Top Done!

It was a final push over the finish line.  I got the top all pieced Sunday evening. Here is my version of Bonnie Hunter's intricate Mystery Quilt On Ringo Lake. The secondary patterns are intriguing, and really make this a stellar design.

The Rapid Fire Clues were tough to keep up with, but I learned that I can push myself to make more time for quilting. I hope to keep the experience in mind and become a more productive quilter in 2018. 

I didn't order enough of the perfect lakeside backing fabric, and was going to just order a wide backing. In the end I decided to order some more on Ebay.

It's called Lakeside Retreat from Wilmington prints.  I think it's perfect for this quilt and would have just languished in my stash for too long if I set it aside.

My intention is to sandwich this and quilt it right away. I hope that I can also move some other quilt tops into the finished queue. I hate to think of the time they have spent hidden away in a drawer.  After that, I don't know if I will make any more bed sized quilts, unless someone requests one. I really hate quilting big quilts. There are plenty of opportunities to make and donate smaller quilts, and that will help me use up my stash.

I have been using my kindle's text to speech feature to read to me while I sew, so I have actually finished two books in the last two weeks. Both of them were very good reads:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

and

Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Elinor won my heart at the outset for her uniqueness and her critical assessment of modern cultural norms. She sounds a lot like my immediate family. The author slowly reveals a past trauma, but I was completely surprised by the last bit of truth revealed.  I think this will be made into a movie. and there is a rumor online that the same production company (Reese Witherspoon's) will also bring Little Fires to the screen. This is great news.

Today was first day in 2018 back and the Senior Center, and I am behind on my charity crochet. So I have just about finished a baby sweater set, and have a corner to corner blanket that is half done. We were also tasked with making lap afghans for the VA nursing home, and we vowed to start early making items for our holiday bazaar, so I'd better get my hooks working at warp speed.

I also worked on a ceiling tile painting for a local hospital, and got my background done on a large tiger lily blossom that will float off the edges of my tile. Hope it turns out well. I am just getting my bearings on acrylics. I think I enjoy watercolors more.