First Quilt Finish of 2010!

My new 'thing' is mystery quilts .. but i'm a bad mystery quilt participant. For those of you who don't know, a mystery quilt is where you gather fabric (instructions typically provide information about how many colorways, etc.) and cut and sew according to steps that someone else gives to you at intervals they decide. This means that you do not get to see the finished product until the last clue is revealed.

Well, this works for me and doesn't. I like the idea of not having to figure out the pattern, but then I get a little paranoid - what if I don't like it? Did I just waste 8-10 yards of fabric?! So, my practice has been to 'collect' the fabric for the mystery and follow along and print out the instructions, but not actually complete the mystery until I see the finished product and can decide if I like the design. I do have one exception to that - Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Christmas mystery. I collected fabric and pre-cut and followed along as long as I could, before Christmas duties got in the way. I am a devoted fan of hers, so I wasn't concerned if I would like the pattern .. and I had fun cutting 592 2 1/2" squares in preparation....

Anyway, I digress. I followed a mystery on New Years Eve and on New Years Day found out about another that was happening that day at Planet Patchwork (http://www.planetpatchwork.com/). So I ran to the instructions, read along and saw the finished product and I was sold! I pulled all the fabrics from my stash and at 10pm on New Years Day got started. I am proud to say that at 2am on January 3 I have finished my first top of the year!! The easy thing about it is that its a lap quilt, and i'm used to much larger quilts, but hey .. a finish is a finish!! I'm going to attempt to attach a picture, but this is new to me so i'll see how I do. I took the picture with my cell phone hanging in a very dark hallway, so its not the greatest. I'm very proud of it because its 100% from stash .. and it must not look to bad because 14 yo DD wants it! This one is mine though ....

So far, my New Years is off to a great start! Hope you are enjoying yours also...

Christy