Rhododendron Trail Is A Top!--post 3

Clue 4--Hour glass blocks

The last time I posted about Bonnie Hunter's Rhododendron Trail Mystery project was the beginning of December. I shared my progress through clue number three. In clue number four, we made a lot of hour glass blocks.

In clue number five, we made sets of four components. It was fun to ponder how these would be used. In clue number six, we made blocks. In clue number seven, we set the hour glass blocks into nine patch units. Clue number eight was the reveal.

Clue 5--Component sets

Again this year, I kept up with the clues. After the reveal in January, there were a few weeks that I didn't work on the project as Gertie, my inner squirrel, had me working on other projects.

Last month, I did put in a lot of time stitching the center of the top. I appreciated that with this mystery, in two of the clues, we assembled  blocks. Although at the time, I didn't realize that they were blocks. Bonnie is so good at building components. While I liked the blocks, I assumed that there was more to come!

Clue 6--Making blocks

When Bonnie revealed the quilt, I was surprised that the blocks were really blocks! It was nice to have a big part of the puzzle completed. There were some corner units to make and side setting units to produce. These didn't take that much time or effort although as with every clue, it was important to check the orientation of the pieces and to review the directions!

In a relatively short time, I was ready to arrange the blocks into a top. What took a lot of time was stitching the narrow sashing and corner squares to the blocks. I thought that I would have the top together in a day. . .well, two and a half days later I did!

Clue 7--Making hour glass nine patches

Again, it was important to review each row for orientation before I stitched it. Slowly, the top came together. I was glad that this was the main project I worked on during my virtual retreat. 

Hearing people chatting during the time I was piecing helped me stay on course. I was concerned with the bias edge after I had trimmed the edge of each setting triangle. I drew the line and I stay stitched the edge. Then, I trimmed the edge. I didn't have an issue stitching the skinny border like I could have. 

The day after retreat,  I began stitching the pieced goose border together. I was elated to find that I could piece the borders to the top using only the skinny connector component.  By the end of the day, I had stitched the pieced borders to the top. Bonnie ended her project at this point. My top measurements and her finished pattern measurements were close to hers! 

Beginning to piece the blocks together

I chose to add a four inch border of the sashing material. I like the effect it added.I had intended to use the sashing fabric as the binding fabric; but, after using it in the border, I didn't have enough left. I had a piece of a red print that I decided to use instead. I've cut the binding and prepared it. 

I've been preparing the binding when I finish the top. Having the binding ready to apply helps me finish the project after I complete the quilting. I've been stalled in the past because I had used the binding fabric in another project!

Finished top

This is the first time that I went with a different color way in Bonnie's mystery. I'm pleased with the way the quilt looks. I sure didn't know in the beginning that I would like the fabrics in the top so much!

I have auditioned fabrics and pieced them into a back. This post is long so I'll save the photo for a future post. Perhaps, I will be able to quilt this project next week and be that much closer to a finish!  I'm linking to Cynthia and Oh Scrap/Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework.

FYI--Blogger continues to thwart me when I try to leave comments on others' posts. I've cleared my cookies, I've checked my profile and I cleared and re-entered my profile information. Other bloggers have suggested these options to solve the issue.

Sometimes, I can leave a comment and sometimes I get the blogger Whoops notice. It is odd to be able to comment on some posts and not on others. I'm so not a techie so if you haven't had a comment from me on your blog in a while, I likely wasn't able to leave one.