My Hexies for the Great Hexagon Quilt-Along

Awhile back I decided I enjoy hand piecing now and again and Ilove having a to go kind of project to work on when I get time somewhere unexpectedly. So I went to http://www.paperpieces.com/ and picked out the size of hexies I wanted to work with and then spent some time getting the hexies all glued to the paper. That was tons of fun and I randomly threw them down and took this picture before they were sewed.
I also gave a package of these hexies to June, BJ and Ros in the hopes it would entice them to sew along. I think BJ has one going though her method is different than mine. Not sure but Ros may have started one too....today I went to June's and worked on mine for awhile and coincidently she was working on hers. Here is a pic of her stacks...she is working with a smaller size and is making sweet flowers!



I have had a few hours to work on it here and there and I wanted to show you how it is coming along. I worked on it one day at work when I had an unexpected free hour and also took it with me to the Modern Quilt Guild's meeting a few weeks ago. Several of the gals wanted to know how I did it and they even asked me to show them how sometime. Since then at least one of them started her own hexie project with teeny tiny hexies that look like soup crackers!


I am loving it!

Christmas Present Sewing Day!

Today I decided to devote my sewing time to Christmas gift making. I made six pairs of these little flannel PJ shorts. They are all about the same size but so are the little boys they are all going to.
Then I made another Paganini Schnibbles doll quilt. I think this one may go to Ayla and the one I had already made will go to one of Randy's grandaughters. He has four, so I have a few more to make! I went ahead and made a different version of Paganini for this one. It is really a fun pattern! I didn't add any sashing or borders because it was plenty big just as it.


Next I finally got to sewing these cute little tiny Mickey Mouse potholders. The pattern is at www.quilttaffy.blogspot.com/2009/02/mickey-mouse-hotpad-potholder-tutorial.html and it is the first thing I used my bag of selvdges for. This first picture shows what the back of two of them look like, the other two have black ginko fabric on them.



The last one I made was the one on the bottom left and it turned out to be my favorite and I am keeping that one to remind me of our trip to Disneyland this year. One of these will go to my daughter Hannah for the same reason. My aunt Nancy is nutso for Mickey Mouse and has her whole kitchen done up really cute so she will be getting one of these. Her daughter Tara already commented on my facebook that she needs one, so I suspect I will be making more of these, maybe with strips instead of selvedges. They are quick and easy though!
Tonight we decided to move the treadmill from our bedroom upstairs (where there is no longer a TV) and the loveseat from downstairs up. Of course it didn't go quite as planned. The loveseat didn't fit up the stairs, so we took an overlarge reclining chair that comes apart so we could get it upstairs up there. I decided as long as we were moving things I should clean and rearrange. So the living room and the bedroom are now all set up just as we want them, for now! I also cleaned out my dressers, closet and three totes of clothes! I am donating about three totes now and I have reorganized and am all set. What a great feeling that is. Then believe it or not, I rode my bike even though I was so tired and had already taken a shower! I lost one pound this past week. Getting really close to 25!
Oh and congratulations to my brilliant daughter Hannah! She is a junior in college for accounting and after two interviews just got hired at a good company as an corporate tax intern and is even making decent money! She is over the moon and I am so proud of her. I am so glad I have this middle child...if for nothing else than to prove I did something right! I love the boys too, but she is the only one like me in terms of setting and keeping her goals...so far anyway!

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Amy at www.Amyscreativeside.com is having her annual Blogger's Quilt Festival. Last year I wanted to post my Double Delight but it was still at the longarmer, so this year it is still my favorite quilt so I am posting about it! This was Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt and I enjoyed every step with my online group. I discovered how much I love cheddar colored fabric while making this quilt. And I love it so much that I won't even put it on my bed--which is what I made it for. One of our dogs chews, so for now it is folded up on the treadmill waiting its day.

I remember finishing up the border (which took hours on its own) at Quilt Camp and really being happy that I spent the extra time on the border because it really did bring the design all together.

Join the festival!

The Start of Le Petite Projects and a Red Cross Quilt

Last year's Year of Schnibbles was so much fun that I decided to go ahead and particpate in A Year of Small Projects this year. I only plan to make the patterns that appeal to me or that I have a need for. As in I don't need 12 more tabletoppers, but I can be creative and try to figure out where I can gift some of these little projects!

This was my first block. I actually broke free from the pattern a bit and used my Mary Englebreit flower fabric that was precut into triangles. This meant the blocks would be a bit bigger. I just went with it and cut my background fabric a half inch bigger and it turned out fine. Whew! So after the first block I realized that I really wanted to make the block which has the background on the other corners. So I started making those and here is the first block.

Isn't it cute? I really like it!

Here are four blocks together. I realized this would be a good size for a doll quilt, and I need to make a few more doll quilts for Christmas gifts so...

I added some sashing (half inch bigger than it called for since my blocks were bigger).

Then I added a border too. It is now more than big enough for a doll quilt. I think I will try to quilt it myself too.

I plan to make another one of these and have a few more blocks done.

I forgot to blog and tell you guys I got a bit crazy a month or so ago and ordered a bunch of fabric. I knew I had to get this sashing kit and backing for the Designer Mystery BOM eventually so I ordered that.

These were on sale or clearance and I couldn't resist. The gears were just too cute and the animals in the other set made me smile.

Last Thursday night was Quilt History class. We mostly talked about the Red Cross. Lynn set up a guest speaker to come and talk to the group. Paul used to work for the Red Cross and had quite a collection of clothing, pins, dolls, posters, veils, etc. to share with us along with a plethora of information. This picture is three of the gals admiring the hand stitching on this jacket.

You can see some of the other thigns as well.

The best thing he shared with us was of course a Red Cross quilt. It had grey fabric on the back that matches the grey on the front so Paul was sure it was made by the Grey Ladies of the Red Cross.

He also gave us each a pattern for a "housewife" to hold needles, thread, buttons and such that were issued by the red cross. He had a lot of patterns for things so that the ladies would make them all the same in certain colors and gauges and such. I had no idea it was that organized...really a bit military like! He also told us that www.redcross.org has free pdf patterns so I will need to check those out as well.

Backing is Pieced for Outside the Box Quilt

I decied to use all my leftover pieces of fabric and the two yards or so that came with the original kit (that I decided I didn't really want to do afterall about two years after I bought it) and wound up with this. Didn't think it out too hard but didn't want all the blue in the middle so I split it and added the pieced part in teh middle. Didn't quite have enough of that blue so there is a red corner. Should make this quilt pretty reversible!

Here is the top again in the outdoor sunlight. Ros met up with me today for a quick exchange and bite to eat and so she will be working this one into her busy quilting and grandma-ing schedule. I appreciate it Ros!

I should also mention I actually lost 4.2 pounds this week! That is 23.2 for the past 9 weeks I think it has been. I needed it..the last two weeks were tough.

And up tomorrow? I am hoping to get Paganini Schnibbles cut and maybe start sewing. I don't really need to do this one, but been thinking of join the Year of Petite Projects and doing the ones that interest me since I had so much fun with A Year of Schnibbles.

And this pattern is cute! You can get it all over, but I borrowed this pic from the Fat Quarter Shop...and they have always made me a happy customer! Thanks FQS!

Outside the Box Quilt Flimsy is Done :)

I finished my Outside the Box quilt flimsy tonight. There was a whole lot of rearranging blocks and I made three more. Kathy helped me figure out the arrangement...it went like this: "move that one up a row and that one down two over one, no, more that other one down two and the one that is there to the corner...." and ON AND ON. Kathy said it was like that game on The Price is Right where they put the similarily priced items together or whatever. We laughed, pulled all the blocks off the wall and started from scratch...after a few adjustements we were satisfied. Oh and we asked Coleman his thoughts and he was no help at all. He suggested we "move that one there, that one there, this one up and that one over..." none of which I could follow!
Anyway since this is my third one of these quilts (pattern in Modern Quilt Workshop by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr--one of my absolute all time favorite quilt books--and they are coming out with another book practically as I type. Weeks has a blog I read, go find it--Craft Nectar!) I had to show the first two. This one is Hannah's.

This one is Rachel's flimsy. It is done and in Norway now.

And this is the third one. I didn't realize the brown I picked out was SO MUCH lighter til I was well underway. I think I prefer the darker, but hey the top is done. Hopefully Ros will get it quilted and it will find its way into the art show too!

Flock of Triangles is Bound :)

I got a little crazy the other day and ordered some new daily dishes and a salad bowl set! Here is a picture (borrowed from QVC) that shows the style and colors I picked. Confetti, lol was the color and I just couldn't resist it. June has these dishes and gave me four mugs when I fell in love with them last year. So now I will have a set of eight dishes. I am really excited becasue the "dessert" plates are 8 inches and I plan to use them for my new dinner plate...supposedly this helps you eat less!

I also went to my very first Pilates class today. A friend of mine from work (Amanda T.) talked me into it and it was fun. She is really encouraging and I think I am going to go once a week to start with and see if it clicks with me. The teacher seemed great and the price is right so...time to amp it up. LOL, as if!

I put a scrappy binding on the Denyse Schmidt Flock of Triangles quilt and a label too. Finally took some pictures of it today. This one is going ot be in an art show if all goes as planned. I am pretty excited because I have always wanted to enter a quilt into the fair or a show and just never do. Ros of course did the quilting...leaves all over this kind of makes it feel fallish though the colors are summery!

And as promised, better pictures of my new bowl. I am a nut, I know!

Look so cool if you ask me!

And Flock of Triangles from another angle. I am so tickled with this quilt. When I was making it I was planning to give it away but now I am kind of attached to it! I also haven't heard from my cousin if she got the quilt I sent out last week...hoping it gets to her soon!

Well off to work on my Outside the Box quilt because I need to get the top together for the show. Hope there is plenty of sewing in your weekend too!

Pineapple Blossom and Empty Bowl

Please ignore the chair, lol but here are my Pineapple Blossom blocks so far...free pattern on Quiltville.com if you are interested. It is a fun block to make and I am using up tons of 2.5 inch scraps. Pattern also explains 2 inch scraps too. I need to make some more of these when I get a chance...need some more colors!

Today at the college I work at they had a charity event to help local families who may need food. For ten bucks we could buy a cool bowl that the art students made and keep it as well as have some soup, bread and lemonade...a simple meal to remind us that people are going hungry in the world. I would have given my ten bucks to the cause or to the lunch, but I am overjoyed to get to have this little bowl. They had tons to pick from and this one jumped out at me and made me smile. This pic is from my phone so I will take some more so you can see it and enjoy it too. Anyway, giving felt really good, but I feel like I was receiving too!

One other note, I wore purple today to support LGBT people and to stand up to the bullying many of them have to deal with. I mourn the passing of the young people who didn't know that it gets better and hope that the world gets the message. We are here though you may not realize we are "other" and we are just like you!

Please ignore the chair, lol but here are my Pineapple Blossom blocks so far...free pattern on Quiltville.com if you are interested. It is a fun block to make and I am using up tons of 2.5 inch scraps. Pattern also explains 2 inch scraps too. I need to make some more of these when I get a chance...need some more colors!

Today at the college I work at they had a charity event to help local families who may need food. For ten bucks we could buy a cool bowl that the art students made and keep it as well as have some soup, bread and lemonade...a simple meal to remind us that people are going hungry in the world. I would have given my ten bucks to the cause or to the lunch, but I am overjoyed to get to have this little bowl. They had tons to pick from and this one jumped out at me and made me smile. This pic is from my phone so I will take some more so you can see it and enjoy it too. Anyway, giving felt really good, but I feel like I was receiving too!

One other note, I wore purple today to support LGBT people and to stand up to the bullying many of them have to deal with. I mourn the passing of the young people who didn't know that it gets better and hope that the world gets the message. We are here though you may not realize we are "other" and we are just like you!

Sewing Day at June's House--That's Nice!

Today was another sewing day at June's house! Bj, Ros and I spent the entire day there happily sewing and laughing away. These ladies are so much fun and we talk about everything under the sun and the day flies by so fast. I am truly blessed to have found these gals!

I start of the day making Carrie Nelson's block for the Designer Mystery BOM. Patchwork Pinwheels I think is the name of it. You may notice I made a design change (ahem) and switched the green for the blue pinwheels. This took me about two hours to make...most likely since I was gabbing away!

Next I sewed up all the rest of the clue five Carolina Crossroads blocks and ironed them.

I had cut and pinned a bunch of the Outside the Box quilt I am making for the third time. That made it much easier to gab and sew but I still messed up a few blocks and did a little unsewing!

Meanwhile BJ shared her Chunky Churndash block from a swap she did. June snuggled up with Fido...and sorted her squares. And Ros decided what to work on for the day. She made nine patches and then cut them into a Disappearing Nine Patch Generation Two I think she called it.

Here is the start of her blocks coming together.
I put these blocks together and snapped a picture before I realized the first block is turned with one brown strip sewn wrong! Fixed that.

I love how these blocks come out. I am hoping to get this quilt done in the next week or so and get it to Ros to be quilted...with any luck it will wind up in the art show for Autism.

Next I made two more Pineapple Blossom blocks. I now have a total of seven I think!

Here everyone is working hard. BJ is working on a cool patchwork skirt. You may notice the red, white and blacks are the same as Ros'. They are participating in a challenge and got the fabrics from a shop. June has a bag of them too but hasn't figured out what to do with hers yet. I didn't participate because I am a pattern follower, lol and didn't want random fabric and to try to figure out what to do with it. Just not my idea of fun....haha!
We shared a bunch of stories and a few jokes..."That's nice!" is our new punchline to everything. You had to be there but I gotta say we laughed and laughed and I needed it!

Saggy Baggy Elephant and More

Last night I whipped up another quilt for soon to be four year old Seth. He loves the quilts I give him to death. I think this is his fourth now. He chews on the binding for comfort or something and they wind up in tatters from the washing. So I didn't take tons of time on this quilt, but wanted him to have another one because he keeps asking for one!

I quilted it myself just following the lines in both directions. It is far from perfect, but I know Seth will jump up and down with happiness so that is all that matters. I need to do binding after work today because his party is Sunday! Thinking I may bind it in the black but not sure...may go black and the yellow scrappy ish.

Finally mailed off Scratch (from Schnibbles Times Two book!) to my cousin Jamie and her new husband. I hope she loves it as much as I do because this one was hard to part with!

It finally has a label too...though I didn't upload that picture.

I have been playing with hexies lately...these aren't sewn together yet but are from Denyse Schmidt's fabrics. I have about ten of them together now..just randomly doing them by hand when I get time. Really fun!

This is the pattern I won from Jona at the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild meeting. It is by Cherry House Quilts. If you look closely at the Saggy Baggy Elephant you will see I used the measurements from this pattern but changed up the color placement and didn't add circles to it. So this pattern has already come in handy! I like it as it too (there are two choices in the pattern) so I am sure I will be making it again. Thanks Jona!

Off to work, but I am sewing with June and crew tomorrow so I should be making some more progress!