A GOOD SWIFT KICK

A new year has such potential doesn't it?  I'm excited for another year of quilting, but am feeling weighed down by all my unfinished projects. So........I have declared this the 'year of the finish'.
I'm hoping to clear my slate so to speak to make way for new things : )

These blocks are from a group I was involved in but it no longer exists.  Three lovely readers were gracious enough to send me blocks to make up the slack, and now I have enough to make a quilt.  My original plan was to do alternate blocks with these and I may still do that but it would end up quite big.  We shall see.  Thank you Jeannine, Paulette, and Nicole for the blocks  : )

This poor quilt.  It has been hanging in the closet for about 4 years.  One of my son's friends has been waiting for it for about a year.  Ooops

and then there's my Millie. I do hope to keep puttering along on this.  I'm nearly a year behind,  but it's not a race. Apparently.

My basket quilt from the ladies in the Mid Century Modern group. I want this finished and on my couch : )

and lastly, this poor old thing.  I love hexies, so why isn't it done???

Perhaps now that I have a decent machine I will be able to quilt these.
I've given myself a stern talking to, and a swift kick, so we will see if I stay motivated or not.

That's probably enough of a list for this first quarter of the finish along.
Linking up with Leanne of She can quilt

SWEET TWEETS : A GIVE-AWAY

*******Giveaway is now closed

Chirp chirp!  Today it's my stop on the Sweet Tweets blog hop talking about Erin's darling book Sweet Tweets Simple Stitches, Whimsical Birds.  There are so many cute projects in the book all enhanced by 'sketching' with thread : something I have never done. Each of the projects is small and very do-able. Erin's little birds have long captured my heart, so it was pretty exciting to be able to stitch a little sample for her blog hop : )

Flipping through the book the one that really caught my eye was the 'three little birds' quilt because of the hexagons-no surprise there.  Love me some hexies : )

I got to work immediately because I had quite a few to prepare

I hand appliqued them down to the linen and then set about sketching the tree with thread.  I was pretty nervous about it, but once I got going, it was lots of fun.

Then came the birds.  Those little things are tiny !

In the end, I think it turned out pretty cute. I haven't got to the quilting yet (sorry Erin!)

Would you like to try your hand at one of the projects?  You can leave a comment on this post for a chance to win an e-copy, and Katja's Quilt Shop where I work, has offered a hard copy to one of you.
Two chances : )

Visit the other blogs who are participating for a chance to win,  and to see more projects from the book

   Sweet Tweets Blog Hop

Tuesday, Sept.8 - Erin (intro post) Why Not Sew?  

Wednesday, Sept.9 - Heidi Fabric Mutt

Thursday, Sept.10 - Debbie A Quilter's Table

Friday, Sept.11 - No Post

Saturday, Sept.12 - Jacque Brown Dog Prims

Monday, Sept.14 - Amy nanaCompany

Tuesday, Sept.15 - Svetlana s.o.t.a.k handmade

Wednesday, Sept.16 - Renee Sewn With Grace

Thursday, Sept.17 - Martingale Stitch This! The Martingale Blog

Friday, Sept.18 - Heather Vintage Grey Handmade

Saturday, Sept.19 - Clara and Jennie Clover & Violet

Monday, Sept.21 - Amanda Jean Crazy Mom Quilts

Tuesday, Sept.22 - Cindy Live a Colorful Life

Wednesday, Sept.23 - Carla Grace and Favour (you are here )

Thursday, Sept.24 - Mary Molly Flanders

Friday, Sept.25 - No Post

Saturday, Sept.26 - Erin, Big Giveaway Post!!! Why Not Sew?

WORK IN PROGRESS WEDNESDAY : SEPTEMBER EDITION

Later this month I'm going to be involved in a blog hop for the book Sweet Tweets by Erin of
Why Not Sew. Her little quilts are just so cute!  Stay tuned for that......

I started a project from her book and of course it has hexies : )

......and I have finally started the baby quilt for my next wee grand babe due in October

this is a pattern by Anne Sullivan of play-crafts called Contour Feather

so far, so good

I'm not sure how many feathers I will make, or how to even set them, but I'm pretty happy with this first one.

Enjoy the rest of your week,

linking up with freshly pieced
sew fresh quilts

THE BLOCK EDITION

On-line Bee blocks keep me quite busy each month. Sometimes they don't get done until the last few days, but they do eventually get done : )

This line-up is the blocks I made for July

For Susan

and for Navyrev (Flickr name)  these blocks look odd, but all together are kind of cool

for Kristen and the do.good stitches bee

and shoveling out my sewing room, I found these log cabin blocks. Instead of throwing them back in the bin, I sewed them together to make a block. I think I will quilt it and make a mini from it.
I named it 'odd ball'

These are scrappy blocks that I asked for.  When all the blocks arrive and I get this together, it will go to Hospice House

Lastly, I am taking part in a blog hop in September. This is a little peek at what I'm doing with Amanda Jean's new fabric 'Good Neighbors' being released soon.  There are some really cute small scale prints involved .......

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.  I am off to work : )

BANGLES

Bangles is the name of a quilt in Sarah Fielke's book 'Hand Quilted With Love'.  I saw some pictures of it on Instagram and fell hard for it of course, because it's Hexies!  I knew I had the book, so I flipped through it and realized that I could make it using the english paper piecing method rather than sew Y seams.  I don't do Y seams.  The next day, Nicole and I each started our own version of it. I just happened to have a pack of 3" hexies so I went with that size.

When my hubby saw me drawing lines on the hexies for cutting, he offered to draw me up a template on the computer             : )

Much faster

They work up fairly quickly and it's fun to feature a big print in the middle.  I'm using mostly grey/black/white to surround the feature

the blocks are about 10 1/2" tip to tip

Like any new hexie project, it's hard to put this down, because they are just so fun!   I am hoping to show you a different little finish on my next post.  I'm quilting it now  : )

May you have:

The gladness of Easter which is hope

The promise of Easter which is Peace

The spirit of Easter which is Love.

A LITTLE APPLIQUE

Applique is usually something I steer clear of, but when Elizabeth of the Mid Century Modern bee asked for a block to make a quilt similar to one I made a while back, I knew this little block could finally come to life.  This block has been in my head forever and every sampler quilt needs a bowl of hexies don't you think?

and also these little whirly things will fit in too   ( some good light would sure be nice )

I really enjoyed making these blocks even though appliqué isn't my thing

Also for the Humility group of do.good stitches I made these blocks to be part of a girls quilt

all those little half square triangles took a while, but it's done  !

That's it for this Monday

linking up with live a colourful life

LA ROSETTE

My first Rosette is finished and my fingers hate me  : )   The New Hexagon Millefiorie Quilt Along has exploded this past month to over 1600 hexie lovers signed up to stitch along, and over 1000 stitchers joining the Facebook page in about 2 1/2 weeks. Wow.

It's all so very fun!

This is the first and biggest rosette measuring 37" at the widest point.

I didn't think too much about colour until I got to the outer edge. I couldn't decide on what to put there until I found this teal dot in my stash. It seemed to work. I need to consider what block will be up against it and plan from there

The little corners lined up pretty good so I'm happy about that

I took myself out for a little retail therapy and came home with these pretties.

Indelible has been on my 'want' list for a long time.  The top piece is called 'Cherie'.  Love.

I'm hoping to be able to incorporate these into a rosette or two and I think I just might pull it off  : )

Instructions for Rosette #2 will be posted on the first of February.  Bring. It. On.

linking up with Cindy
and needle and thread thursday
Quiltstory

WORKS IN PROGRESS

There's always lots going on in my sewing room but these are the projects I'm currently puttering on.

Hexies. I'm always working on hexies       : )

I'm quilting my X and + quilt.  More on that next week

I am so so close to the toe of this sock. Still loving this yarn!

and lastly, the scraps from the little quilt I recently finished came with me to the yarn shop so I could match them for a hat.  Aren't these gorgeous???  Can't believe how perfect they are.

Have a great week end

linking up with wool on Sundays

FRIDAY PHOTOS

How is it that having done a bazillion hexagons over the last 13 years, I can't find my 1" paper pieces?  I can't believe it. I re-used the ones I just took out of these hexies, but that's all I could find.
Some of the prints in the new Cotton and Steel are just perfect for hexagons so I guess I will have to buy more papers

This week I made another pair of Quick Change trousers and another hat for a double baby shower. The little boy got the pants and hat

I gifted the quilt that I've had for (quite) a while to the baby girl and the new mamma loved it   : )

It's my turn again to receive blocks for the Heal group. These have arrived so far and I plan on adding to them with some flying geese units. I think this next quilt will be awesome!

Have yourself a lovely week end and thanks so much for all the nice comments on my last post.

A HEXIE FINISH

These hexies were on my list for the third quarter of the finish along. After some thought I decided to turn them into an Open Wide zipper pouch after Linda assured me I could make one. I'm not a fan of sewing in zippers......

So, the hexies went from this

to this

After cutting the hexagon piece in half it was a little shy of the measurements given in the tutorial, but I forged ahead

Instead of the usual square sewn onto the end of the zipper, I used a left over hexie. I thought it was a nice touch   : )

This little pouch is perfect for my sock knitting.  I may even gift it right along with the socks !

This is my second finish for the third quarter.  A finish is a finish no matter how small.......

linking up with Anything goes Monday
Let's Bee Social

p.s.  the winner of the jellyroll is Deanna!  I have e-mailed you

WHISTLER

Hubby and I escaped for a few days and went to the world famous Whistler Village. I can't believe this is only 4 hours from us and this was our first time here. It was our 27th anniversary, so we treated ourselves. The Winter Olympics were here a while back. It's truly a gorgeous setting.

The village has everything a person could want as far as shopping goes (except a quilt shop)

It was 29 degrees or 85 F. but there was still snow up top.

I still can't believe I let hubby talk me into doing the Peak to Peak in the cable car. Having never flown, I figure this is close...........

Coming back down on the chair lift was so beautiful!  The view was amazing  : )

I did manage a bit of stitching. I got two of my hexi-numbers done.

these will look better when the basting stitches are out

A holiday wouldn't be complete without stopping at a quilt shop. I have two "beach house" quilts to make for a guest house. The furniture is painted bright turquoise so I think these could work. The majority will be scraps.

Happy stitching to you!