Another UFO finish - Celtic Solstice!

 While I was in the quilting mode last week, I decided that I needed to finish this quilt - I completed the top last year, and even had basted it, but had a hard time deciding how to quilt it, so there it sat.  After finishing the previous quilts I determined that it was time to get this one past the finish line (and replenish my safety pin supply!).

This was the first Bonnie Hunter mystery that I started - and the third one I've fineshed!  There was a lot of piecing in this quilt, but I really love the cheerful colors, so I'm glad I persevered and finished it!  It's heavy, lots of seams, but it quilted up nicely.  I used one of the new spools of Aurifil that I ordered last week to quilt this, and a lightweight cotton pellon batting.  I'm just about to the end of the roll that I ordered in 2020, so I guess it's time for a new one - will have to keep a look out for a good sale.

Such happy colors with the orange and yellow!  I used a spiral design for the quilting, and it worked out well, even with all the seams.  Lots of scraps were used in the process, that's for sure!  

I chose this backing from the Free Spirit selection in the shop.  Can't remember which designer it is, but the colors work well, and the fabric itself is so soft and feels wonderful on the back!  This must be my year for finishing quilts for my own use, because I'm claiming this one for myself!  I was happy to find the fun dots for the binding.  If you can't decide what color to use, all of them is a good idea!

I have a couple more quilts lined up to tell you about, so keep your eyes open for a few more finishes ahead!  March started out slow, but I'm ramping up for a big month of quilting completions!

Christmas lights and Mystery Quilts

Last night we went out to see the lights at Shore Acres.  We asked our friends, Dan and Becky to join us and had such a lovely time!

I love the lights reflecting in the little pond there!

The lights were beautiful and the weather was perfect!  A bit chilly, but no wind or rain.

 The little house there is all decorated up so cute and they serve hot cider and cookies.  Upstairs are two bedrooms, each with a special Christmas quilt, and the bathroom features Santa in his bubble bath!  So funny!  It was too crowded to take pictures there, but one of the quilts was a puff (or biscuit) quilt finished with a ruffle for the sides of the bed.  It was super cute!

As you can see, many of the decorations are nautical in theme!  This beautiful garden is right on the coast, just a short walk from the beach.

What a pleasant evening with our sweet friends!

In the sewing room earlier I worked on clue 2 from Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice.  I struggled with those on Friday and had to use my seam ripper several times, but got these done just fine yesterday.  I also made progress on the half square triangles for this year's quilt!  

And then I got started on the December challenge for Island Batik Ambassadors.  I love the Check It Out fabrics they sent in my box!  Nothing like checks to make a Whimsical and Wonky quilt, right?  I am strip piecing four patches to start off, then have some Flying Geese to make when those are done.  This is going to be a super cute quilt!

Well, that's it for day two of the 31 day challenge.  So far so good!  Time to get busy pressing the strips for my four patches, and cross-cutting them.