Grand Illusion Mystery ….

Thank you for all your lovely words regarding the Very Big Fire. It’s still burning but the weather is cooling down somewhat and it’s not quite so bad though still promises to be fairly devastating for people living the beautiful Adelaide Hills.  Some truly awful stories are coming through now, particularly the loss of a kennel filled with people’s pets, presumably whilst they are away on holidays.  What a thing to go back home to.

It was so hot yesterday and the day before that the plums on my plum tree literally stewed themselves.  I went out to check on them and noticed they had changed colour, and when I tasted one I realised it tasted exactly like stewed plums.  I have no need to panic over what to do with all the excess plums now – our chooks will have a lovely time over the next few days. Certainly can’t be eating those ones now.  It’s not the end of the world, I have another tree that has given me so much fruit, I’ve made plum sauce and plum jam and stewed plums and honestly, if I don’t eat another plum for twelve months I won’t mind.

I finally had some time in the sewing room and managed to put a block together of Grand Illusion Mystery.  My colours are the same as Bonnie’s.

And here is one with the sashing also:

I really don’t want to sound ungrateful to Quiltville, and all the time and effort that Bonnie puts into her quilts, patterns which she freely shares and which I’m very grateful for.  But I’m really not loving this design at all.  I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of things that say more about me as a quilter than anything else –firstly the spinning chevron thingies do my head in.  I’m tempted to take that block out and make the whole block a star unit, which I think would work better for me.  But I’m really scratching for fabric now.  The older I get, the less ‘wobbly’ or ‘off centre’ I like things.  If a quilt works for me, it’s because it’s centred properly, the blocks all point the right way.  I’m getting more traditional as I get older.

Someone posted that they couldn’t find a place to rest their eyes on in her quilt, and that’s the way I feel.  It’s just too busy and active for me.  I think I prefer calming quilts.  Does that make sense?  But I’m not trying to sound critical to Bonnie, so please don’t take it that way.  Just trying to work out where my tastes are heading in the future.  Bright and busy isn’t really it.

But I’ll finish it and take a photo of it and perhaps I’ll warm to it.  I’ll wait and see.

So that’s my Sunday update.  How about you?  Have you been stitching today?

Happy quilting!

Suzie