Applique Tuesday

At last , I have some applique to show you. I wanted to have the fourth row done on this quilt, but Alan is here so I can only show you the row I was able to finish before he arrived.  Those of you with 3 yr. old grandsons know what I mean.

I have the other seven circles ready, just need to find the time to complete this part of Rosemary's Happy Scrappy Orphan Block BOM.  Maybe tonight after he goes to bed - yes, we're having a sleep-over tonight.  And how am I able to be posting this?  He's taking a nap! However, it won't be long enough to finish that last side.

Are you appliqueing or contemplating starting one? Have you one from before you'd like to share? Leave me a comment and I'll go visit and see your eye candy.  Blessings!

DWM again

First, don't forget the hexie giveaway - see Friday post, ends today, midnight. A brief stash report:  used a yard for the panel I"m quilting, used a fat quarter to repair a sofa cover, gave away 2 yards to a church quilting group. Totals on side bar. How are you doing de-stashing?

Thanks for your advice on that panel.  I chose to use a neutral color on both top and bottom - silver by Superior Threads; Bottom Line series.

Coming off my wall is my ugly, Modern quilt (actually it looks better as a thumbnail - lol).  Hope some mother likes this charity quilt.  I made it with what I was given (the fabric that is) using a pattern from a Terry Atkinson book call Happy Hour.  If anyone wants the book let me know - I don't  want to make another from it.

Do you like all the things you make?  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Lyn's BOMs Away, and Anything Goes Monday.  See you there.

Toward a Finish on Friday

I have finally let sink in that in order to have finishes, tops must be quilted.  In order for them to be quilted, they must be sandwiched.  This is the "hit the wall" moment for me.  Have quite a few tops that need to be sandwiched (my least favorite part).  I won't be making any progress with FMQ and finishes until I sandwich!!

Here's a panel I must finish to gift later this week.

Now that it's sandwiched I have the other difficult questions. What color of thread do I use?  Do I use the same color for top and bottom.  Until I get a handle on these, progress will crawl here.  What would you use?

I'm linking to Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop as I did get it sandwiched.  And a reminder the giveaway for hexagon paper pieces plus a fat quarter of fabric is still on (ends Monday, midnight).  Just go to my previous post.

Hexie Weekend has gone traveling!

Hi, life is continuing to limit my quilty time and Audrey of Glory Be Quilter volunteered to be a guest blogger for this week.  Yippy!
Audrey of Glory Be Quilter

It all started when Audrey commented when I hosted a TGIFF Linky Party earlier this year She won the giveaway prize! It was a fat quarter and some hexagons to try this method or rekindle a love for English Paper Piecing.  I'm happy to say she's fallen in love with EPP!   Thank so much for guest hosting Hexie Weekend!  To see her lovely hexies and enter her giveaway go here.  You'll find the linky party there - we'd love to see your eye candy - hexie or otherwise!

I'm giving away  another 100 paper piece templates and a fat quarter. Leave a comment to enter. After visiting Audrey, let me know you did and you will have another chance.  Join the linky party at Audrey's and that will be your third chance!  Summer time is the perfect time to be doing EPP.  Please be sure you are not a no-reply Blogger.  Thanks!

Applique Tuesday

Another life filled week!  But here is my latest hexie love at the top of my wish list:  Applique and hexagons! I've died and gone to Heaven!!
This photo is from the Checker Newsletter - a newsletter for quilt shop retailers, but we, the customers can read it. I've found several wonderful products through it - had to special order a couple - but that's okay.  Let's face it - local quilt shops can't carry everything.  Click here to read the latest with some info on Edyta's new book.

Made tiny step forward on my Happy Scrappy Orphan block quilt.
The circles are now cut and ready to use Karen Kay Buckley's perfect circle templates to turn under the seam allowance.  I use one of the templates to make freezer paper templates (5).  I ironed them onto the back of my fabric and then cut with sharp scissors 1/4" around them.  I'll use a running stitch 1/8th from the edge and draw back the seams. Then I'll starch the edges, remove the teflon template and glue to the border. Lastly, I'll zig zag them in place.  Then I can sew the remaining two side to my medallion center. Phew!

What are you up to?  Would love to see your eye candy in progress.  Leave me a comment and I'll go by. Also, I'm linking to the various blogs on my sidebars - do go by for more quilting fun. Stash report on right sidebar.
Blessings on this day.

FMQ this Weekend

You may remember I did a major shift in my sewing room to make room for a new machine. Well, I was successful and now trying to reduce all the stuff in there.  Yesterday, I spent an entire day sorting through one box!  And I still have 16 more to go!  One day at a time, one day at a time.  Sigh.  In going through the box I found a quilt top I had made maybe 10-12 years ago that actually was partially sandwiched - had the batting.  It's just a mini - 22" square - and was the first mystery quilt I made as a blogger.  I belonged to The Quilting Post at the time - a great group - and they held this challenge.  I seem to remember it may have been for New Year's Day - or Super Bowl Sunday - not sure. Anyway, I didn't have a big stash then, and I was determined to make the quilt. So I chose to make a miniature that would fit the amount of fabric I had. Here it is:
 The dark fabric is really chocolate brown, not black.  I was going to stitch every seam, but in doing just the stars and the brown diamond shaped units - it was pretty much quilted. I did loops in the outer border.
However I outsmarted myself. I picked a thread that so matched the front and back that you can hardly see that it's quilted.  Choosing thread is the hardest part right now for me.  And it's just not only quilted in squares - LOL.

I'm linking to Richard's Link a Finish Friday and Sarah's Can I get a  Whoop, Whoop? as I finished my first Christmas gift and a UFO at that! Do go to both - they have giveaways.  Sarah's is  giving away quilts!

Hexie Weekend Sort Of

Like applique, I've been far too busy with life to do any hexagons, but am always thinking of them as you saw in my previous post.  Tuesday I was finally able to get to Barnes & Noble and pick up the latest copy of
 This is my favorite magazine right now.  It costs a whopping $13.99 US, but it's a bargain, really.  In issue 100 I found four quilts I would love to make.  At $15 - $25 a pattern, you can see why I think it's a bargain.
In issue 101 (which is the one above), I know I want to make the cover quilt and the Hexie one above.  It makes a fabulous tablecloth or lap quilt.  All templates are included.  The magazine is hard to find.  I just stumbled across it at Barnes and Noble when I went to buy a present for a baby shower (I'd only seen it online before this). I was astonished and delighted to find it!  Because it comes from Europe, I've gottten the issues at the end of the time they are released for - ie the May - June copy didn't arrive until the second week of July.  So I probably won't see the next one til September.  Is there a B&N near you?  Check them out - they might have it.  Oh, one more thing - Di Ford is doing a mystery quilt starting with Issue 99.  It's a gorgeous quilt!

What are you up to?  I plan to try and make a flower in the next three days. Would love to see your eye candy, hexie or otherwise.  Linky below:


Ideas for Applique Tuesday

Things are slowly getting back to normal, but not normal enough that I've had time for applique.  I feel bad about that.  But last Thursday I was thinking about it as I took my cousins to visit the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino.  I found a lot of quilting and applique ideas there.
First was the mansion which is now an internationally known art museum.  Two of the most famous paintings there are of Pinkie and Blue Boy - and yes they are the originals.  Many fabulous paintings there. Here's another one:

Look at these designs I found!  What a fabulous EPP this would make.

How's this for a border? Part of a mantel for a huge fireplace.


Loved this altar piece in the chapel - so art deco.
 Love this William Morris framed fabric.  I can see making this as an applique piece.

Then on to the Chinese Garden:
 There were wonderful motifs everywhere like this hexagon pattern in a walkway.
Here's a window that would make a great pattern for a silhouette quilt.
 Another pattern in a couryard.
 Here's the five of us resting at the end of the day in one of the mansion's beautiful gardens.  I'm on the right. We were exhausted by 4PM - arrived at 10:30.  But our guardian angel (a tram driver who was assisting some of the guests) met us at the exit and drove us to our cars. What was special was the trams weren't even suppose to run that day because it was the free day of the month. Thank you, Lord, for sending Gabriel!
And here is my niece, Erica who was taking the photo above.
She loved the staircase in the art gallery.

I'm setting a goal to have some applique progress next Tuesday!  Did you get some done?  Leave me a comment and I'll come visit.  Blessings!

Stash Report and Design Wall Monday

First the Hexie Weekend linky is still open.  Would love to see any eye candy you have -recent, old post, ideas for a quilt - whatever you'd like to share - closes Monday, midnight and you find it in the previous post.

I bought a new machine for quilting because I realized I was asking too much of my Bernina 130 as far as quilting. Still works like a dream for piece and sewing, but after much thought and asking around I tried out a Handi-Quilter Sweet Sixteen and a Juki 2010Q .  I liked them both but after trying out the HQ SS  I knew I would have a long learning curve of getting use to the machine facing me and dealing with the way the quilt would be oriented.  I decided it would take me too long to reprogram myself after 23 years of sewing the other way. Also, although it has a 16" throat, facing me quilts would pile up in front of me instead of spreading out in the huge space I had before. The Juki is wonderful for quilting.  I know I am still guiding the stitching in FMQ, but the stitches look way better (than from my Bernie and no tension problems) so far! And it's quieter than the HQ.   Here is my first top I quilted with it.

This is my first Christmas quilt for 2014.  Here's the front:
I used some orphan blocks from my stash and a yard of fabric.  I also in my frenzy of making room for the new machine, and its table, donated 15 yards of fabric to a Lutheran Church mission group that makes quilts for Africa.  You'll find those numbers in my right side bar.

Still have a long ways to go in fitting everything in the sewing room - I may have some giveaways in the future as I sort through everything.  Here are the two ladies:
This corner was filled with boxes piled 4 high.  I moved my old Koala cabinet and Bernie to there.
Turning with my back to Bernie, here is Juki in her new Sew Easy Table. Came in two days!  I was impressed with the quality of the table.  She's backed up to my cutting table so I'll have plenty of flat surface for the quilts.  As to the other corner's of the room - you don't want to know - LOL - so much stuff to find a home for!

Finally, coming off my design wall is my Guild Heart challenge which I named Purple Hearts.  We had to make a quilt with hearts in it.  This is 36 by 45" in size - perfect for laps and wheelchairs.
I'm giving this to a Vet in our local VA hospital.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times and Marelize's Anything Goes Monday.  See you there.

Hexie Weekend and I need

your advise! I've been rearranging my sewing room as I bought a new machine (but that is for another post). In going through boxes I found this:
I had bought the top a few years ago at a quilt show near Carlsbad and forgotten about it.  It's totally done by hand:
Whoever made this made a truly scrappy top and some creative piecing.

 She even used the fabric where it was joined at the mill.
My question is this - do you think this can (or should) be saved.  The white muslin is fraying at seams. Click to enlarge the fourth picture and you'll see what I mean. Someone (not me!) must have washed it in trying to clean it and made the seams fray even more. I'm considering making the missing flower, replacing the few printed fabrics that are shredding with some 40s-50s fabric I have, laying the top on a piece of white fabric and then sandwiching to thin batting and a back.   Then again, I might just salvage the flowers and set them on white Kona and remake the top.  Help!

What are you working on?  Linky below.  Would love to see your eye candy.


I"m linking to Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop and Richard's Link A Finish Friday. See you there.

Hexi Weekend still

Home from entertaining my cousins.  I'm watching the last quarter final game of the World Cup, and it's an exciting one.  I'd like both of these teams to win, but it can't be so. And I haven't done as much hexi-ing as I thought as the games are so fast paced - I can't look away from the screen for more than a few seconds. But here is my progress:

I have 15 prepped (those are stacks of seven), two stitched together and two done - I'm over the half way mark!

How are you doing?  Started another project recently?  Would love to see what you're doing.  Linky below.

SAHRR Round 5 and 6

  Ready to show rounds 5 and 6. Actually, the prompt for 5 was make 4 of something. So I chose four patch, and actually since that made my q...