Good Fortune Clues 5 and 6

I got a bit bogged down last week (Christmas and all!) but I'm catching up. slowly but surely.
Here's a sampling of the units I made for last week's clue:

And here's a photo of a few of the strips I made for this week's clue:

I realized after I took this photo that I left some of the strips much too wide. Bonnie's strips looked much better cut slimmer. But no worries! I can chops some of these strips up where the fabrics are too wide   and reattach them to other strips to make them more attractive, and more fun.

If you'd like to see what the other quilters are doing, just click HERE.

Good Fortune, Week 4

I took the easy way out, or at least one of the easy ways suggested by Bonnie, and cut groups of 4 rectangles from a variety of oranges from my stash. Easy week for me!
If you'd like to see what the other quilters are up to, please click HERE.

Good Fortune, Week 3

I'm excited to be cutting up some of my green scraps!
Here's a sampling of what I've accomplished so far on this week's clue:

I'm finding it a challenge to sew seams that have a seam allowance that's just a scant 1/8 inch wide. I told my husband this morning: "if this wasn't Bonnie Hunter telling me to do this I would NEVER do it, I'd be so afraid that it wouldn't come out in the end. But I trust Bonnie, and I'm going to try it."

If you want to see what everyone else it up to, check out the link in Bonnie's blog HERE.

Good Fortune, Week 2

Here are the units I've made so far using the 2nd clue in Bonnie Hunter's current mystery quilt:

I know I have a big stack of neutrals stashed away someplace and I'm going to find it before I continue on this clue so my neutrals will have more variety. I'm using Bonnie's triangle tool to cut these units from strips. I bought the tool for an earlier mystery and I totally love using it. It makes creating these units so much faster and easier than the way I used to make them.
I'm still having fun and looking forward to the next clue!
To see what everyone else is doing, please click on this link.

Good Fortune begins!

I'd decided NOT to participate in Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt this year for the first time in 5 or 6 years because I've got several projects already underway and seem to be making very little progress on any of them. Also, my dear oldest son has moved back in with us, temporarily, making it challenging for me to work in my sewing room without infringing on his privacy.
But when I woke up this morning and saw Bonnie's Instagram post about the first clue in Good Fortune mystery going live today I had to check it out. Within half and hour I'd changed my mind and persuaded my husband to head to Lowes with me to pick up paint chips so I could start the quilt immediately.
Here's what I've done so far:

I love making Bonnie's mysteries because I always learn so much doing them. Just making these simple 4-patches I was reminded of all the little tricks and methods that go into making finished quilts look perfect and professional.

And I'm especially glad I jumped in for this quilt because its design was inspired by Bonnie's trip to China. I took a 3-week trip of my own to China 6 years ago with 2 girlfriends and and had a wonderful time.

Here are a few photos of our adventures there:

Here we are at the Great Wall. It was August and VERY hot.

Here I am wearing one of China's ethnic minority's traditional costumes that I'd rented from someone for about a dollar along a bike path we happened to be riding on.

Above I'm posing by a lake trying to keep my sun hat in place and below I'm with a bunch of Chinese children and their mothers I met while touring a historic site. Chinese kids study English in school and are quick to waylay anybody they think they can practice speaking with.

To check out what other some of the other quilters are doing, or to learn more about this mystery quilt, click HERE. 

More next week!