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

JULY

I love summer.  As someone who is always cold, July is my favourite month of the year.  Number 1 it's hot, and number 2, well........it's hot!

I've taken the better part of July off of work to snuggle my new grandson when he arrives and do a bit of traveling.

This has given me a chance to do some catch up on my sewing.
I made a couple of pouches.

This 'bubbles' block for Rene in the Mid Century Modern group.  This was a lot of work, but I love it

these improv Log Cabin blocks for Emily who asked for grey/cream solids for the outer ring. These were so fun to just grab random scraps from my basket and sew without thinking

If you're familiar with the Row by Row shop hop, the license plates came for Katja's quilt shop and of course she had to have something to do with hexagons. After all, she wrote the book  : )
I want this on my car.......

This fall, we are going to be doing the Patchwork City Quilt as a block of the month so I have started the sample blocks

and lastly, the other day, two of my daughter in laws came over for a sew day. One of them made her first little quilt and the other covered a piece of foam for a cradle that has been around for 50+ years.

It's the cradle that I was in as a baby. We used this laminated cotton in an elephant print. 

My job is to sew this stack of flannels into sheets to cover it and seeing as baby is due tomorrow, I best get on with that.

Have a lovely July.  I hope to have lots of finishes to show you when I get back from vacation !

MILLEFIORE UPDATE

April is month number 4 in the New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt Along, but I'm only on number three.  I had every intention of keeping up, but other things seem to creep onto my sewing table.

I decided this one will be turquoise and orange.  What a fun combination!

My plan is to have the turquoise/aqua in each block, unify all the blocks

One, two and part of three

 This is them placed into the graph. Not perfectly placed, but you get the idea  : )

I'm thinking this will be one of those quilts that when all is said and done I will think "I can't believe I pieced all that by hand!"

Have a great week end!

linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday

QUARTER 2 FINISH ALONG LIST 2015

In the first quarter of this year, I only finished 1 thing on my list. It was however, the wedding quilt, so I guess that's a win!  For this quarter I am focusing on the many charity quilts that i am collecting blocks for. It will be nice to have these together and sent off to the recipients.

This quilt was on my list last time. It has grown some, but I really want to see it finished

These churndash blocks will be another to be sent off. Just a few more to make

And then my giant hexies.  Not sure who this will be for.  Likely me : )

I somehow managed to start a new project. What can I say?  I get distracted easily .........

Oh look!  New fabric!

linking up with On The Windy Side 

ROSETTE'S ARE RED.........

Rosettes are blue..........well turquoise at least . After working on the first two rosettes of the New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt Along, I've decided that in order to keep my quilt somewhat 'controlled', I will add a bit of turquoise or aqua into each block. My first Rosette is turquoise and red

Rosette 2 started like this. Some aqua and plum

then a bit more

and still more

and a final round of aqua. Lots of stitching to do yet, but that's the easy part  : )

I like where I'm headed with this now.  Each block sounds more delicious than the last. Turquoise/aqua and orange, turquoise and text print, turquoise and lime green.

 This second one doesn't go against the first one, so I think it will look ok in the quilt.  So looking forward to #3 !

linking up with Live a Colourful Life for the Choose Your Own Block along

THE NEW HEXAGON--MILLEFIORE QUILT ALONG

It's just about time!  Are you getting excited like me? On January 1st the Millefiore Quilt Along will get started designed and hosted by Katja. Using the hexie patterns from her new book, we will be creating rosettes using the english paper piecing method. This is my 'thing'. I have done hexagons since I started quilting years ago, and have never lost my love of hand work.


These are the fabrics I'm starting with.  Lots of bright prints and a couple of large prints perfect for fussy cutting.  I went through my supply of papers and pulled a few I thought we might be using.
If not, I will copy the patterns from the book onto card stock and cut them up myself.

Something else new to me -- this time I am going to glue baste.  I have always thread basted but sometimes removing those threads takes a long time.  It's faster to glue I'm sure........

Also, Paper Pieces is going to be offering Rosette packages monthly for each of the rosettes if you don't want to copy and cut your own.  How great is that!

Here is a sampling of what Katja has done so far

Isn't it fabulous???  My fingers are getting itchy.  Over Christmas I plan to go through my stash and pull all kinds of fabrics that I think might work for this quilt. What a great way to use up stash   : )

The quilt will be 78 x 78 and you can find all the details on Katja's website.  The link is up at the top of her web page by the green bow  : )    You can click here to have a look 

I hope you will join in. It's going to be fun!

I SPY -- A HEXIE QUILT FINISH

About four years ago, I saw a little eye spy quilt that I really liked.  It was made of little squares. Because I 'think' in hexagons, I have thought about it every so often and wondered what it would look like done up. Last week I found a little bag of hexies already basted while looking for something else, so I decided it was now or never   : )

It didn't take long to whipstitch them all together and then appliqué them down to a background. For the quilting I traced around some pot lids and decided to quilt in the areas where the circles overlap.

Some seriously cute prints here. That puppy in the teacup and the VW van?  Oh my goodness!

The backing is an Aneela Hoey print from my stash, and the striped bias binding finishes the rounded corners nicely.

I toyed with the idea of doing more quilting in the circles but I thought it might become more about the quilting than the hexies.
Anyway, it is what it is ...........and that is finished.

quilt stats :
29 x 42
1" hexagons
hand pieced / machine quilted by me

linking up with Linky Tuesdays
Let's Bee Social

IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND

My apologies to Kim in advance for this post.  Kim tends to get a little weak in the knees whenever I post about hexies           : )

I'm stitching away on my favourite pastime ........

.........but I've got a ways to go yet

Happy Friday

NOW I KNOW MY ABC's

Next time won't you...................  Did I have you singing? That song has been stuck in my head all day!
At the beginning of the year, I started this block of the week making letters designed inside a 3" hexagon. The blocks are english paper pieced.  Katja designed each letter, and then the numbers 0 through 9.  Being a sucker for hexies and handwork, I started making blocks. Fast forward to now, and the top is done.

I more or less stuck with a few colours and used my scraps. Also, I chose to stagger my rows and used a grey solid for the triangles in between.

I'm working at removing all the paper templates. A good thing to do while the hockey game is on.

My plan is to stitch near the ditch diagonally and bind it with the zig zag edge because it will most likely hang on the wall in the nursery. This will not become another UFO  : )

quilt stats:
A Hexabet of Alphagons
37 x 37
scraps
hand pieced

A FEW MORE HEXIES

I'm still not exactly sure where I'm going with this, but I threw another bee in with the hexies I've been working on. Most likely a baby quilt

For my alphabet quilt, the letter U

and V

Also, because Mondays can be a little drab, I thought I'd share a link to this blog I found. Celi and her husband have been learning to live off the land. This blog is about their adventure and the antics of some of their animals. Charlotte is due to have her babies any day. Enjoy

thekitchensgarden

LILLYBELLE

Almost a year ago, I started piecing hexagons for this quilt. It was a quilt along hosted by Katy of
I'm a Ginger Monkey. The big hexagons really appealed to me so I took the plunge.
For the most part I worked on this in fits and jerks and before I knew it, my centre was together and it was time to applique it down to the background.

I just love these bright colours   : )

The sun was out in full force so I had to wait until evening to get some pictures. I am hoping for some better ones after I quilt it.

I'm thinking sort of an orange peel design for the quilting if I can get my walking foot to cooperate.

Next week I am going to my first ever Quilt Market in Portland. I've heard about it for years, seen pictures and blog posts, and now I get to go !

Also, next week is another Bloggers Quilt Festival. I've been working on a baby quilt trying to get it finished for the link up on the 17th. Stay tuned for that.

Have a great week-end.

BEE BLOCKS AND HEXAGONS

My November on-line quilting bee blocks are done. First up are my blocks for the Scrappy? Sew bee it group. Rosa asked for log cabin blocks in neutrals, with a bright solid centre.

 She is hoping to make a quilt like this one. I love these blocks.   Must. Make. More.

These are my blocks for the Heal@do.good stitches group. Manda asked for blocks done in Pantone, with yellow star points.  She provided this link for inspiration.

The fabric on the right looks orange, but is actually a rich red.

My hexagons for the hex-a-thon at Katja's

I also received a block this week from Australia! Thanks Debra.

..........and how about a sneak peek ?

Instructions are written, sewing obligations are done for November. I think I will treat myself to a tall 180* no whip Mocha on my way to work   : )

Happy Friday.

BUNGLE JUNGLE

This little quilt top is done! It's a pattern from the Moda Bake Shop. The fabric is Bungle Jungle by Tim and Beck for Moda.  I strayed from the pattern a bit by not adding sashing.

Instead, I added a border and extended the frame of the block into the border a few times, as a little design element.

The pattern called for a jellyroll and a charm pack, but I did it out of a layer cake. I'm happy with how it turned out. I haven't decided yet on the quilting, but I'm sure inspiration will strike !

Last night, I spent some time sewing on more hexagons to my quilt top.   Just 28 more hexies to go, and I can applique it down : )    (It's getting harder and harder to get pictures with the shorter days)

All those little pebbles in the cement are giving me an idea for the quilting...........

See you back here Friday for a really fun finish!

edited to link up with "help for Hexaholics" at Sarah's