Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt Intro!

Well, it's that time of year again - the launch of Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville's annual mystery quilt!  This year's quilt is called "Grand Illusion", in reference to her stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.  Her color choices for this year's quilt are beautiful, of course, and inspired by the hotel itself.  I, however, am doing something a bit different this time around.

I've been wanting to make a Christmas quilt for several years now, and have been toying with the idea of using Christmas fabrics with a mystery quilt.  This year, I decided to go for it.  Not only am I using nearly all Christmas prints, but I'm also switching up the colors from her recommendations and only using one fabric per color.  I'm well aware that my end result will be drastically different from the original, but I'm okay with that.  Bonnie's quilts are really well designed, and I think that I'll be thrilled with the results!

So, without further ado, here are my fabric selections:

From left to right, my red & gold print is her yellow, the light green is her green, my dark green is her turquoise/aqua, and my red print is her pink.  The black subs for her black scraps, and my white print is her neutral.


Here is the link to the mystery's introduction, for color suggestions and fabric requirements. This week's clue was a big one, so I'm off to go cut and sew, and think about Christmas!

Roses on the Breeze - Clue 4

I was finally able to sit down and work on clue 4! I'm about a week past the release date, but I didn't even let myself download the directions until Tuesday night, as I really did have to spend some time studying for a test.  Then life interfered, as it seems to, and here I am finally finishing this second to last clue:

I did have just enough yarn and beads - 29 beads left, in fact.  That cut it a little close for me, but it did work out.  I've really enjoyed this knit, from choosing the yarn and beads to dyeing the yarn to knitting it up. I know I'll be excited to have it finished, but I'm kind of sad to see it come to an end...

Follow my project on Ravelry here.

Roses on the Breeze - Clue 3

I spent most of yesterday knitting.  I probably should have been studying, but we won't go there. :)

I'm getting kind of low on Yarn A and my beads... I should have plenty, but I'm getting slightly nervous.  I looked at the amounts of yarn used by the test knitters, and clue 4 is the last one that uses Yarn A, so hopefully I'll be okay.  Anyway, here it is - clue 3:

Follow my progress on Ravelry here.

Ocean Depths #2

The second clue may have gone quickly for Betsy, but I didn't find it quite as smooth. The problem was all me - misreading the pattern and some abbreviations - definitely a matter of the brain seeing what it expects, not what's there. but eventually, with several false starts, I did get it finished. I really like the way the second yarn interacts with the first. The Diadem adds silkiness and shine as well as a looser texture. I look forward to using more of it.

Ocean Depths #1

So, my version of Ocean Breeze is done in deep greens.  When I got together with Betsy to choose colors I mentioned that I'd realized recently that I don't have anything green in my closet. And I love green - it's one of my favorite colors. But it has to be the right shade to look good on me. Jewel tones are good, and I loved these two yarns together. The main yarn is a silk/merino blend, the contrasting one is 50% alpaca, 50% silk. The color is almost evergreen - and I love it. It was harder to choose the beads. They don't come in the right shade of green, so I went with clear triangles lined with black.

The first clue consisted of a chart with yarn overs, decreases, and beads added in pairs. The chart is repeated eight times, and it took me about four-five hours to complete it. I'm not fast, especially when using beads, but I really enjoy using them and I found the simple pattern very relaxing and interesting to knit.

Now I'm off to work Clue #2!

Roses on the Breeze MKAL - Clue Two

This one went quickly - maybe three hours total.  It was fun to get to use the second yarn, and start seeing some textural contrast!

Follow my progress on Ravelry here.

Roses on the Breeze - Clue One

Here it is - the first clue is done!

It went pretty quickly, and I'm thrilled with the way my yarn looks!

Follow my progress on Ravelry here.