Getting Back To Work - Part 2

So I'm trying to get my quilting groove back.  To that end, there are a lot of upcoming Mystery and Quilt-Alongs coming up that I hope I will be inspired to participate in.

Hands Across the Water

The first QAL I heard about was the quilt along that's going on to make Australian designer Jen Kingwell's "My Small World" quilt that's in the Spring special edition of the French publication Quiltmania. 

Lisa Calle of Vintage Modern Quilts (and Texas) is hosting this one.  As soon as I saw this, I so wanted in!  This is just a portion of the quilt -- the finished piece is 33" x 52".  In fact, I knew just the spot for such a quilt:

But there were two problems: one was getting the issue!  I searched my local stores but no one had it.  It was on the Quiltmania site when I first looked it up but after I had scoured the stores, when I went back to their site, it was no longer on the Special Editions page!  I ultimately had to mail order it in all the way from Illinois (with much thanks to Valerie at The Quilt Merchant)!!

Now that it's here, the next problem:  The space I want to put it can accommodate the width but not the height (I have about 22" of usable space) so I'll have to think about how to change the design.  The smallest units are already cut to about 1" x 2" so I doubt that I can go any smaller.  What I might do is eliminate some sky rows and a few of the in between rows to bring the height down (but still keep the skyline in proportion).  I also have room to go wider so might just use what is taken out in the middle and add it to the sides.  Hopefully I can figure it out before the QAL gets too far along.

Quilt Of Valor Mysteries

Next I read that Alycia of Alycia Quilts is doing another QOV QAL called "Starry Night for Josh".  I had bought fabric for the Mystery Quilt she and Vicki Welsh of Field Trips In Fiber did last year and that was at the top of my make-up list for the "Patriot Quilts for the Patriotic Months" plan I had for May, June and July.  I'll probably only get to download the instructions for the new one since I want to use up the QOV stash I've accumulated before buying more and don't think I have the larger cuts in stash that she's calling for in the new design.  I am, however, hoping to absorb inspiration from the current QAL to finish up the old one and finally get some QOVs donated.

"Turning" On A New Mystery

Lastly, I also recently read that Tricia Cribbs of "Turning Twenty" fame is doing her first Mystery!  Needless to say, a Turning Twenty book was definitely part of my starting quilt library yet I've never made one!

I do have a stash of fabric set aside for which one of the options was to use it make one.  Unfortunately, it has never made it to the top of the "To Do" list.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the fabric requirements are for this because maybe this could also be a chance to move another HSY* out of storage and onto a lap or bed!

 

Note that this one is going to run a little different than your usual mystery:  You have to register on the June 11th Turning Twenty blog post before midnight on July 15th and the instructions will be emailed to you as they are issued.  The Mystery will run from July 1 to December 15th.  It will interesting to see how this one evolves!

Just looking for ways to keep my head in the game in order to get back in gear!!

* HSY (pronounced "Hussy") = Haven't Started Yet