Begonia

When you work on a quilt bit by bit, month by month, all year long, there is a really big sigh when it's done. That said, my Seattle MQG mystery block-of-the-month quilt is no longer a work-in-progress. sigh....

The pattern is by Stefanie Satterwhite, and the monthly instructions are on the Seattle MQG blog. Good news, Stefanie's Begonia pattern will be out soon also, which has a few bonus features, if you'd like to make your own. It's all about half-square triangles, obviously, and Stefanie is a master with them. Be sure and check out her other designs.

For my own Begonia, I chose mostly solids, with just two Carolyn Friedlander prints. I must say, having a swatch card to reference throughout the year made all the difference in keeping things organized.

The backing was pieced from all the project leftovers, plus just a couple stash finds to bring it up to size. [Note that when we took it out for a photo-shoot yesterday, we tried an idea Zak Foster had posted a while back. Well, our haphazard version of his idea. Where Zak had made canvas pockets and basted them to the top corners of the quilt, we actually used push-pins on the front of the quilt, pushing through to a couple of pieces of wood. It definitely worked - and well - put I'm planning on pockets the next time around.]

The finished quilt is 78" square, with a 3" border all around the main design. For quilting, I did an orange peel design, which worked really well with all of the HSTs and squares... ie. very little marking.

For thread, I struggled, as I didn't [think] I had anything that would suit, and I debated endlessly over dark to match the background, or lighter, though I was worried how that would look on the background. When I happened across my old thread stash (pre-Aurifil days), I found two spools - a Madeira Aerofil #8790 [Midnight Teal Green], which just happened to be 100% polyester. I used it anyway, and it was a perfect match to the Kona Everglade background. BUT, I ran out about three-quarters through. So I switched to the second spool, a Sulky variegated 30wt, #733-4021 [Truly Teal], which was my more normal 100% cotton. So did I do the unthinkable, mixing not only colors of thread, but fiber content? Time will tell, but I'm betting it will all be ok. Both blend in so well, I really doubt anyone will notice.

So, Begonia is done and I'm pleased as can be. 

Here's a list of each month's progress, if you're interested:

January :: February :: March :: April :: May :: June

July :: August :: September :: October :: November

This project is on my #2020FALQ1List.

Begonia :: November

I know it's only been 10 days or so since I posted last month's Begonia quilt progress, but doing November's assignment just seemed the easiest thing to tackle yesterday, and it made me feel a sense of accomplishment that was needed.

Truth is, it actually doesn't look that much different. All I did was add 3 1/2" strips to all sides, bringing the final quilt top size to 72" square, a generous lap size. Our Seattle MQG BOM hostess, Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts, actually shared directions for three size options - throw, twin, and bed size. But considering I already have two big quilts in the works, I decided to stick with something more manageable for this one. The plan is to wait till December to continue on, as Stefanie is gleaning finishing tutorials and quilting ideas from our fellow guild members, and I'm kinda curious about all that. Let's see if I can wait that long.

Begonia :: October

It's seriously hard to believe. Looking back at the Seattle MQG Begonia BOM quilt schedule, I made over 300 half-square triangles over the last several months, and as of today, I HAVE ADDED THEM ALL TO MY BEGONIA QUILT TOP! Big wow.



I kinda love a sewalong like this. Each month there has been a very specific assignment, and I'm good at that kind of thing. And with the way Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts front-loaded the creation of all those HSTs, the last few months have been wonderfully relaxed sewing.

So now, the last row of HSTs is on, the 'mystery' pattern has basically been revealed (and I love it!), and now we just wait until November when we get info on borders. My quilt top is currently 66" square, and next month I'll need to decide just how big I want it to be. AND how to quilt it. I can be patient, but I'm also really looking forward to all that.

Begonia :: September

With this month's round on my Seattle MQG Begonia quilt, the end is in sight - just one more round + borders to go! Right now, it's 60" square, and I love those oblong 'boxes' this round added in the corners. Considering this is a mystery quilt-along, there are new surprises with the design at every turn.

Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more of the growing quilt tops from our guild. I'm really enjoying seeing all the wonderful and varied palettes my guildmates are using. And now, with ALL my HSTs prepped and ready, I'll just wait patiently for next month's instructions!

Begonia :: August

At 54" square, my Seattle MQG Begonia quilt has outgrown my reach on the design wall. But every row gives it just a little more character, and there are just two more rows to go!

In addition to getting the latest row on, I've also finished making all the HSTs I'll need for the rest of the quilt! I love that Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts spread that making across many months. The relief is real!

At our last guild meeting, we managed a photo of several of us sharing our progress. Not a perfect photo, but it lets you see how unique - and striking - each one is.

Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more!

Begonia :: July

Round by round, it's growing!! Now 48 1/2" square with this month's row added, my Seattle MQG Begonia quilt continues to be a bright spot in my month. I think I mentioned that our hostess, Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts, has included HST assignments each month to equal out the construction load, so I still need to catch up on making my June and July blocks which will be used in future rows. But I'll squeeze that in-between other projects and trust I'll be more than ready once August arrives.

Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more!

Begonia :: June

With every passing month, I love it more. One more round was added to my Seattle MQG block of the month Begonia quilt, and it's now 42 1/2" square. Not much profound to say about it, but I am enjoying watching it grow. Now I just need to make another batch of HSTs and wait for next month's instructions!

Mystery quilt design by Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts. Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more!

Begonia :: May

The excitement continues over the Seattle MQG block of the month! This month's row included three types of units: half-square triangles, diamond in a square, and rectangles. Something about it really enhanced the overall design imho.

Our hostess, Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts was really clever in front-loading the HSTs to keep the total workload fairly even each month. I'm glad, because considering the whole quilt will use 312 HSTs, it seems much more manageable to make just a portion of that amount each month, even though we won't be using a bunch until later in the year.

So this round sewed up really quickly, and my Begonia is now 36" square. Back to making more HSTs!

Mystery quilt design by Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts. Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more!

Begonia :: April

The funny thing about the Seattle MQG block of the month - as soon as we finish one round, everyone is itching to make the next! So when April's post went live, folks were racing to add to their Begonia quilt, me included.

It's now 30" square and I've used all ten of my fabrics, which is exciting. I still have another batch of HSTs to make this month to stay on track, but otherwise, all is as it should be.

Mystery quilt design by Stefanie/@satterwhitequilts. Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more!

Begonia :: March

Thanks to prepping oodles of HSTs before heading to QuiltCon, I was able to come home and easily complete March's Begonia quilt assignment, a perfect way to settle back into the studio.

My 'block' now measures 24" square, and if I'm correct, I've used nine of my ten fabrics. Curious about what's next, April feels a long ways away!

Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag to see more.

Begonia :: February

I wasn't alone in wanting to get right to it when Stefanie posted February's assignment for our guild BOM. Where on January's blocks we only used two fabrics, this time we got to use five of the ten! So definitely, some personality is beginning to show!

Basically, we just had to make a bunch of 3 1/2" (unfinished) half-square triangles, using the 8-at-a-time method, which resulted in a few extras to save for later. I ended up cutting my starting squares at 8" to give me just a little more wiggle room. Considering we need to make three times as many HSTs for March, I'm thinking maybe I should get a head start!

Check out the #begoniaquilt hashtag if you want to see more. There's a wonderful variety of fabrics being used!

Begonia :: It's a Mystery!

Another year, another new project right? And my latest is the new block-of-the-month announced at our recent Seattle MQG guild meeting. I was excited to see what Stefanie/satterwhitequilts.com had planned for us. Boy was I surprised when she said "mystery quilt!" It's called Begonia, and will be built in a medallion quilt fashion.



Step one was to select a palette and fabrics and create a swatch panel. I couldn't believe how difficult it was to make a fabric bundle. I was trying to pull at least mostly from stash, and I was able to do that with just ordering more of my background, Kona Everglade.

The first month, we're also making some diamond-in-a-square blocks, and doing alot of fabric cutting for the months to come. If you're interested in joining us, everything will be posted on our guild blog. The introductory post is up, providing fabric requirements, the monthly schedule, and January instructions. I'm not usually much for surprises, but this will be my first mystery quilt and I'm totally up for it.