Long Term Projects Number 4

 Maybe blogging should be included in my long term projects.  Good grief, it's been almost 2 years since I've been in here and posted.  Instagram and Facebook make things so much quicker and easier, but when there is a good back story, blogging is the place for me to go.

 

This is a project from McCalls in 2005.  The binding was finished in 2006.  It was my first project that I was going to cross hatch on my longarm.  I always have practiced new things on my own tops before a customer top and wow, did I learn alot.  

First up.  NEVER use FrayCheck when machine quilting.  "Someone" told me to stitch up to the applique, go back and forth a few stitches, then put a drop of FrayCheck (aka glue) on that spot to keep the threads from coming undone.  This was so I didn't have to bury threads.  YES, this was in a class that I paid money for.

Needless to say, it sat in a pile, a corner, and bin and on the bottom of a shelf.  I loved the fabrics (Holidays in Paris by In the Beginning) and I loved the pattern so much I just couldn't stand looking at it or putting it out at Christmas.  Finally in about 2019 or '20, I started ripping out the machine quilting and with tweezers, was able to get the little threads that were all glued around the appliques.  I finished the hand quilting on it this week, gave it a bath and now it's with my Christmas things, just waiting to be put out this December. 

Here are two of a potential 5 full, 4 1/2 blocks and 4 1/4 blocks.  This finishes at around 12".  I've been hand piecing them and have used the stamping method to mark the diamonds for the stars.  The marking goes fast, the hand piecing, not so much.  But I do love them and once the pieces are prepped, it's a great 'grab and go' project.  

Hexi fever struck when I got a package of fat 8ths from Two Thimbles.  I knew the little collection needed to be used all together and the colors and prints were so sweet.  1" hexis and fussy cutting gave me some very cute blocks.  However, a few of the prints wouldn't give me 6 of the same motif, so I alternated.  I wasn't going to be that fussy.

Using PinDot in color Lighthouse for the backgrounds, I thought the little flowers really looked pretty.  There was a gorgeous stripe in the collection and I wanted that for the outside borders and I wanted the stripes all going in one direction.  I ordered a bigger piece and appliqued the finished hexis to the fabric and cut out behind.

It's been layered with silk batting, and a striking big pink plaid for a backing and the hand quilting has commenced.  I'm using a very light pink YLI  for the quilting, it's simple straight lines that ended up looking like a hanging diamond instead of cross hatching.  

And then there is this.  One of 4 blocks.  I've got three all pieced, and the 4th one is getting close.  Only one has the setting squares and corner blocks, and the outside diamonds.  It's a big of a twister as this is all the colored diamonds that I used, but it will be a square when I'm finished.  I'll save that for another blog post.

So keep on stitching, don't give up on the long term projects.  My last post was about my Sarah's Revival.  It's in the same state.  I need a full day and a clean table to move onto the next chapter of stitching and that's my goal for the summer.  I want to bring her to Arizona in the fall as I do a lot more hand piecing there than at home.

Sharon

Playing with Hexagons

 This first pattern is from Brigette Giblin and you can purchase it as a download HERE.  I would put it in the catagory of Advanced Beginner.  Her pattern writing could have been a bit better, but if you take it slow, pin and double check before sewing, it will come out lovely. 

I've also had this Giraffe print from Christopher Wilson-Tate that has been pulled out and put away many times in the past few months.  Too many hand projects on the go at one time results in some just getting second fiddle to my stitch time. 

None of these blocks are set in stone, layout wise, but the gist will be motifs surrounded by a variety of hexagons. 

 

This little container is now busting with hexi's, as this is a great "take along" project and building up the design tools is simply a matter of working in production mode. 

The fun part is when the designing begins.  Nope, when using the giraffe as a center, only one round of hexi's will work!

 

Much better.  I have also switched gears on a fabric that will be used to join on the hexi medallions.  At least today I have a "final answer"  Who knows what that answer will be in 2022 when I get back to this.

In the meantime, I will be spending Christmas at our "new to us" vacation home. No, I'm not retired yet, we have rented it out for Jan - March, but this will be our last trip to finalize all the little details for our guests.

I see a "Turqouise Door" quilt in my future.

Merry Christmas and I hope you find a few minutes to stitch during this busy time of year. Keep Stitching, Sharon

Focused = Finished

I have finally got my GFG finished. Well, it's finished as a top, it still needs to be quilted, and that is going to be done by hand so it has to wait in line.

 It sure makes my table look like spring, even though it looks like this outside. Yup, we finally got some snow in the NW corner of the US.

We've been in a cold snap for the past week; so much for my spring flowers I planted 2 weeks ago.  I knew I should have taken photos!
Let's hope the bulbs that have sprouted survive these temperatures, we are breaking records for this time of year.
OK, back to my GFG.  It is big enough for my kitchen table and I wanted borders on it. I wasn't sure how to add borders, so I appliqued the center to the strips but left the corners open so I could add the other two sides.  I pressed the edge and handstitched, then finished the applique.  I'm very happy with how it turned out, it's been a long time in the making. I just couldn't bear the thought of setting this aside one more time, so I made it my priority and now it's done.

I was at my Applique group and mentioned that this will be a table topper for my kitchen. One member piped up "oh no, what if someone spills on it" and immediately someone else said, "how would you know!"  I had to laugh, she's right! I figure it's all cotton, it's meant to be used and used it will be.  So if this gets a few washings, I think it will just give it more character.  I worked too long on this to put it away "for good". I'm living right now, I'm good enough for good in my household. And yes, I use my good china and crystal.  So what if it breaks, better than keeping it all perfect in a cupboard!
This last photo is just cute, kitty paws and one dog print in the snow.

Hope your weekend has been full of stitches.
Sharon

Things I have Learned

I've been working on a Grandma's Flower Garden for over 10 years and it has finally got big enough for my little kitchen table. It's at the border stage right now but to get there, I had to remove all the paper hexi's.
During this project I tried basting the paper in from the back so the basting would stay in the quilt. I didn't find I could get the fabric as snug around the paper in this manner so I went back to my regular basting.

I was told to use up those spools of cheap thread that most sewers have kicking around, it made perfect sense to me. Early in my quilting days I didn't know many short cuts and really overdid some things. Basting hexi's was one of these things.

Some of these hexi's had up to 16 basting stitches, and the hexi's are 3/4" in size. It took 3 to 4 times longer to take out those tiny basting and add in cheap thread, well, just not a quick task.
So the moral of this story, use quality hand quilting thread and only take one stitch per side. This will make taking out all those papers a lot less frustrating. Oh, and start taking them out before you get to the end, no need to keep all the papers in the middle of your top while you are adding to the outside edges.
Sharon

Project Hexi Update

It's been a long road to this point, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This hexi project was started back in 2004, with the original design being one that required each template to be hand cut. I then discovered that I could buy the paper templates, but they were not available in the strange size I started with. The project got revamped to 3/4" hexi's. Translate that to mean "I started from scratch". This was the perfect project to take along for all my radiation treatments last summer and I re-engaged with this project. I had to set it aside while I dealt with some issues with my arm and wrist, but fast forward to today and I'm getting the rows joined. It's now in 3 sections and very close to being one piece. I've decided smaller and finished is better than abandoning this again. I'll have some border options next week.

I've also been keeping at the longarm quilting and have finished this beautiful Christmas quilt for my friend Muriel. I love the colors and fabrics she's chosen. The back is a winter print flannel and it quilted up so nice and snuggly. Now she gets to square and bind and there will be a new quilt in her house for the holidays.

I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm on quilt show overload. There is one more in LaConner, WA this weekend but I have to take a pass. Just too little time and a lot of things going on. Moonlighters Guild in Bellingham just had their show and it had some amazing quilts. This one was my favorite,

My friend Betsy completed the 60 mile walk for Breast Cancer Susan G Koman event this past weekend. I'm so proud of her. We will wrap up our fund raising efforts in two weeks, with the final event being Oct 15th.
Way to go Betsy, you are my hero!
Sharon

One Flower Wednesday

Yes, I know it's Friday. First of all, I can't believe the week is almost done, where the heck did it go? The last round of the Stanley Cup is on, so I've done some more on my GFG.

I've got row 2 sewn together this week. I missed a few weeks, but here is my update! If I keep at it, I should have this finished, and that would be wonderful.
I'm enjoying everyone elses, I was going to give all my hexi papers away, but now I'm pondering another hexi project. Am I crazy?
Sharon

Making Sense of Hexagons

My quilting goal for 2010 is to work on projects that I've already started.WIPS There were many found and organized when I moved and none of them were ones I was prepared to abandon. Well, OK, there was one or two that made the cut! I've committed to working on my hexagons (see more details here) during the Olympics and I've been faithful to this commitment. There is clarity in this project now, and I've gotten to a place which gives me confidence that I will finish this piece. There were times when I wasn't so sure about that.

Here is my progress, 31 flowers done with the connectors sewn on, 37 flowers waiting for connectors, 18 connectors sewn together, and 19 more connectors to make. That equals to 95 more red hexi's to baste, but there is the Canada/Russia hockey game on tonight, so I should be able to accomplish this tonight.

This picture shows how I'm going to connect the flowers to the red pathways and then how the rows go together. Once each row is sewn together, it will nest with the row beside it.
Log Cabin Update: The start of it all
I've been working on my scrappy Log Cabin and it found a home on the design wall at my work. I know, you're all thinking, Design wall at work? I thought Sharon worked at a trucking co? Well, I do, but we have a huge unused store room and that is were my boss and I have a huge design wall. Anyways, I have had my 144 log cabin blocks up on the wall for a while now, and I've slowly got them labeled and brought home. Here is a peek at my progress.4 rows and 3 rows pinned and ready to be sewn together. Another 5 rows still on the design wall, crying to come home and be with their brothers and sisters!

It's time to go to work, sit and stitch a few minutes today!
Sharon

Plodding Along

I've been picking away at different projects so there are not great strides being made on any one thing. I did finish this one last week. Click on the photo for close ups.

Here is a close up of two blocks. They finished out at approx 11" wide and I used a 1" strip, finished at 1/2" for the spacer and did stitch in the ditch along each side. I did the stitching with Hobbs 80/20 batting behind, so I didn't add any when I put the back on and stitched along the spacers. Being a small project, I used 2" binding.

After looking through lots of books I have decided on my log cabin layout. 144 blocks and I've made my decision. I've started to label the blocks and have 4 rows sewn together. This will be my summer quilt, it's going to be a perfect fit for my bed. I'll post a picture when the top is all together.
I've joined in the Liberated Amish quilt blog, you can see it here. I only have small amounts of time at my sewing machine so I've been picking away at these liberated stars. I'm using a pack of hand dyes that I've had for far too long. I'm loving how this project is progressing. The liberated lettering is going to be my challenge, I'm pondering words for this and nothing has struck me yet.

It's Olympic time....so I'm committed to working on my Hexi's. I've had a huge AHA moment, and now I have a handle on the design process of putting the hexis all together. My background is the red and since the weekend, I've got  these three rows on the right trimmed and ready to join together. I want all my flowers to this stage before I do any more joining, this way I can have control over the color layout.

20 down and about 65 more to go. This means I only need to make about 250 more red hexi's.
And on a closing note, Canada's first gold medal on Canadian soil, how spectacular and thrilling to watch. They played it over and over on tv, what a wonderful story about this young man and his family. Spectacular!

Sharon

Out like a lamb???

So here we are at the end of March and I'm no warmer now than on the 1st. At least the sun was shining here in the NW. Tomorrow I'm taking a personal day and going to Victoria on Vancouver Island in BC. This is not a usual "day trip" but I have a cousin who is in need of a bit of company. So off I shall go.

My bags of hexagons will travel with me so my hands can be busy on the 1 1/2 hr ferry trip and the wait time in the line ups. Here are a few photos that I want to share.
English Paper Piecing with 6 pointed diamonds.
Inspiration???
Summer sunset outside my studio in Grass Valley, OR My Anna Banana enjoying a hot summer day on my studio porch in Grass Valley OR. The good life!
Stitch today :-)