Applique Tuesday

Well, I did it - I can't believe it, but Part 2 of Love Entwined is done. 


Phew those zigzags were a trial.  I sort of used Happy Appliquer Heather's method (see my blog list).  It took her 4 hours  - it took me 4 days! LOL.  It called for very precise piecing to get those strips just the right width.  Veer for just a millimeter and over time - put the whole set out of whack - sigh.  That seam ripper was getting a lot of use.

I'm linking to Connie's Linky Party Tuesday and Esther's WOW.  Would love to see your applique or any other project.  Don't mind if it was something you made a while ago - still new to me. Come on and share.  Linky below:

Stash/Design Wall Monday

I pulled some muddied colors from my stash to the amount of 4.6 yards.  I realized that I like to use and enjoy clear colors (definition by Becky at Piece O' Cake), so off they go to the guild's Thrifty Corner for others to hoard. I used a half yard from my stash to make a row around my LE and then a few tiny scraps more for 4 more star flowers and that's all.  The fabric for the charity quilt was from St. Anne's stash.  Here are my numbers:
in 0.0 yds.; out 5.1 yds.
Stash in YTD: in 9.0 yds., out 107.08 yds.
Donated YTD: 48.06 yds
Net for 2013: out 98.08 yds
 
On my design wall is the charity quilt I'm working on now:
 

I'm using up a pile of 7" squares - all different.  Easy peasy to make those half square triangles and build the rows.  I like this pattern because depending on where you focus you can see hour glass blocks, pinwheels, broken dishes, cracker barrels, square in a square. Three more blocks to go for my 36" square.

What's on your design wall?  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times and Lyn's BOMs Away to see eye candy.


FMQ Friday on Saturday

I'm very slowly working on quilting a charity quilt instead of having it tied.  This one called out for quilting a motif in the center squares.  After going through my books, I picked a butterfly designed by Mary Covey.  Here's the flimsy I'm working on:
The first square
and a closeup

I traced the pattern onto freezer paper and then cut around it.  I ironed it to the square and then sewed around it.  I used a free motion foot (aka darning foot - open).  I'm going to use a different color thread for each butterfly.

I'm linking to Leah's FMQ Friday.  Don't miss it.  Happy quilting!

Hexie Friday

Got another flower finished! And started on the third of the trio.
Share your eye candy - hexie or otherwise - new or old.  Linky below.  I'm linking to Crazy Mom's Finish it Friday - don't miss it. Oh and read about a new hexie ruler here. Plus they have a great tutorial. Keep scrolling down and you'll see lots of eye candy. It's a wholesale site, you can't order directly, but oh what inspiration they supply. Just FYI.

Just doing

some admin work.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

something to do with claiming. 

But couldn't resist adding a photo
Would like to go here someday!
 

Applique Tuesday Not

Tuesdays are now my full day with Alan.  I love him dearly and love having him here, but a 2 year old requires a lot of attention so no applique work was done today and yesterday I was busy with family stuff that couldn't be put off any longer. So really that's all I have to report.  I did sew a few strips together for the zigzag border of LE, but not enough to show yet.  Hope you had better luck!

I do have an applique blog I'd like to bring to your attention (if you're not familiar with it).  Go see Kerry at Simple Bird Applique .  She has some fabulous applique.  I always go read her posts and drool.

Do you have some eye candy for me?  Would love to see any type of quilt project - you keep me inspired.  Linky below.
AND THE WINNER IS: Julie in GA!  I've sent her an email and will send out the book as soon after I receive her address as I can.  Congratulations, Julie, and thanks to all who commented and linked to Applique Tuesday.

Stash/Design Wall Monday 9/23/13

Here's my design wall.  I'm prepping for the next step of Part 2 of Love Entwined.  It will be a while before I can show you anything on the cloth itself. I'm also fussing with a house block.  Looking for the simplest design that reads a house.  I took some scraps and started with a flying geese block I had in my orphan block and the above is what I got.  It measures 6 1/2" square. The door is machine appliqued to the top with a straight stitch and has raw edges. The colors could be better, but it was just a test.  I'll see where this goes.  What's on your design wall?

Yesterday, I went to my daughter's for another sewing lesson and made pajama bottoms.  We made them using our most comfortable pair and no pattern.  I grabbed some fleece as I went out the door and here is what I came home with:

They are going to be nice and warm to sleep in this winter.  I know - but that's what I had in my stash and now I can count that fleece out of there.  I used 1.78 yards to make them and a fat eighth for the block. Here are my numbers:
 
in 0.5 yds.; out 1.92 yds.
Stash in YTD: in 9.0 yds., out 101.98 yds.
Donated YTD: 43.46 yds
Net for 2013: out 92.98 yds
 
Seven to go for my goal!  How's your de-stashing?  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times and Lyn's BOMs Away.  See you there.

Hexie Gone Awry Friday and another Finish

For the Twister book giveaway go here - closes Monday, midnight.

Even with hexies one sometimes has to get the seam ripper out.
Sewed the two wrong edges together. Pay attention, Nudge!

How are your hexies looking?  Would love to see your eye candy. Any project will do - old or new.  Linky below.

And I've got another finish! Made a Happy Bag (pattern here - click on Community Service tab) - these go to the kids at the Cancer Center of Loma Linda Hospital at Christmas.
Yup, that's me holding it. We fill these with little gifts for the kids who need some TLC.  I'm linking to Crazy Mom's Finish it Friday.  Lots of goodies there.

Wow, another Applique Tuesday and a Giveaway

 Here's my LE a little more done.  I have finally accepted that the only way I will ever be able to move along on this wonderful quilt is to do it by the raw edge applique method.  With the babysitting and house, husband, volunteering,  and other commitments, I am falling further behind each day.  Still to finish part 2 and we are at part 4.  I had thought all along as I first read about this quilt that broderie perse played a role in it,  and so I will be doing that method of adding elements as I find some that suit. Thus the little pansies I found in place of the circle flowers that are in the pattern.  Now for the star flowers, then the zigzag borders.  I've made one star flower as a test.  A couple of things I've learned.  I will need to double the fabric for the yellow centers so that the petals don't show under them. Also I'm leaning toward using only one template for the petals as some are long or skinnier than the others.  Something to think about. Again this looks darker that it is because I took the photo at night.

Now for the giveaway - here's a piecing book for twister quilts I found as I dug around my boxes. Who wants it?  Leave me a comment for a chance to win.  Link up anything you are working on or worked on for another chance.  Giveaway ends Monday, midnight.  Good luck and thanks for the eye candy! Linky below.
 

 
 
I'm linking to Connie's Linky Tuesday and Esther's Wow.  Don't forget to visit for some great eye candy.

Stash/Design Wall Monday 9/16/13

Okay, not much de-stashing, but I did manage a tiny bit.  I finished my Dresden Block bag - 1/2 yard there.  I decided to give away the rest of that pile of scraps for another 1/2 yard, and found a fat quarter I'm giving to a member of the guild who likes a certain fruit.  That brings my total to 1.25 yards out for the past week.  Here are my numbers:
in 0.5 yds.; out 1.25 yds.
Stash in YTD: in 9.0 yds., out 100.06 yds.
Donated YTD: 43.46 yds
Net for 2013: out 91.06 yds
 
And on my design wall is another VA quilt in the works:
 
 
I'm always amazed with how much photos help - like those white square which I perceived as tan stand out too much.  The block with the heart is upside down.  Maybe I can swap the tan blocks for some cloud fabric - that would go with the planes.  And I think I'll write something around that heart flag, and maybe rearrange those fractured stars in another orientation.  What do you think?  Your suggestions always welcome.
 
I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times and Lyn's BOMs Away. How about you?  Did you destash or put something up on your design wall?  Oh, and come back tomorrow.  I found a book to giveaway!


FMQ on Friday

I finished my placemat/table topper with some free motion quilting:
I used Leah's brick like design for the patio floor and just doodled or stitched in the ditch for the rest. It was fun.  Here is the front:
 
I'm calling it Red in the Garden. The lady block is this month's swap block at Block Lotto. I always wanted red hair. Go figure.  Linking up to Leah's FMQ project. You can see lots of great FMQ there.

Hexie Friday 13th

Probably should have something orange for this day - wait a minute I do - the last hexie flower I finished. Started on the second of three - yippy for me. It has gone better (quilty-wise) as the weather has cooled down.  I picked up this latest issue of McCall's Quilting because it has the neatest hexie project in it.  I'm adding it to my wish list as the quilt has applique and machine piecing - two of my favorite quilting techniques plus hexies! 

Also - I have a finish! So I'll be linking to Amanda Jean's Finish it Friday and Connie's Linky Party.  I completed my machine appliqued Dresden block, and yes, I did make it into a bag.  I'm really pleased with it. I used a simple pattern that my Guild provides for making Happy Bags - a community service project whereby we make these bags to fill and give to the children in the Cancer Care unit at Loma Linda Medical Center at Christmas time.  We put in a stuffed animal, crayons, coloring book, puzzles, a book, etc. They love them and we feel blessed to bring them some happiness into their lives. Since we use juvenile prints for the bags,  I'm keeping this one as it is the block from the workshop I last attended.  Thank you Anelie - it was fun.



I like this bag pattern because you line it at the same time you are constructing the bag without making the lining separate and then inserting it into the bag.  It is a very quick and easy bag to make that only takes about a half yard of fabric.  You can find the pattern here.  Click on the tab for Community Service.

What have you been up to - Hexie or otherwise?  Billie and I would love to see your eye candy. And mind you, it could be an old post - it will be new to us.  Linky below:

Applique Tuesday

Now that little Alan is down for a nap (he's here for the day), I can upload my applique post.  I've made some progress on LE - added 6 more pie shapes, but thought I'd share another bit of applique I started three weeks ago. Our guild had a workshop given by Anelie Belden on Dresden blocks - a new way to do them.  I followed her method and was happy with my easy to piece block.
There were 16 of us in the class and all the blocks made were beautiful using different fabrics. I machine quilted the block  and in the process machine appliqued the points.  I'm considering using the block to make a bag.

What are you up to this day?  Would love to see your eye candy - applique or not - new or old or a pattern you've bought.  Linky below. I'm linking to Connie's Linky Tuesday and Esther's WOW.

Design Wall Monday


Early this morning, I actually pulled up the covers over myself - yeah, the hot spell has broken!  I am so relieved.  I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying every minute of coolness for now - it's only 79 degrees in the house right now!

 I decided to do a little straightening in the sewing area.  So now on my design wall is this pile of scraps.  It's time to deal with some of them.

Three hours later (after a couple of cool down/water stops) I'd produced these:


 four small units that measure only 9" by 10" when put together.  Designing fabric is much harder than one thinks! Maybe I'll give the rest of those scraps away - this is taking too much time away from applique.  Stay tuned. I should have decided by Friday.

What's on your design wall?  I'm linking to Judy's wall at Patchwork Times and Lyn's BOMs Away.  See you there.

Stash Report 9/8/13

Despite the heat, flowers bloom - at least the cactus variety do.  Another bouquet my DH brought up for me to admire from the window.  Today it's suppose to be under 100, maybe 99, hah!

On to quilty things, I used a yard for the back of a VA quilt, 3/4's yd for a happy bag, a fat quarter of scraps plus a fat quarter for the backing for a place mat I made - I'll show it later.  That's 2.25 yards used this past week. Then, I bought a half yd of orange for enhance my stash. Oh, and I donated a yard to the Thrifty Corner.  Here are my numbers:
in 0.5 yds.; out 3.25 yds.
Stash in YTD: in 9.0 yds., out 98.81 yds.
Donated YTD: 42.96 yds
Net for 2013: out 89.81 yds
 Now how did your de-stashing go?  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times. See you there.

Hexie Friday here again

And what have you been up to?  Here, not much, still due to the heat, but the weather man is promising it will start cooling down tomorrow.  Do I believe him?  Well, there's  tropical storm Lorena moving up Baja, so I won't be surprised if we get more muggy, hot weather toward the end of next week.  I'll just enjoy the 92-97 days and say no more about it.  I'm such a wimp.
Here the bit I got done on my latest hexi flower:

How are you doing on yours?  I have a friend who started one 25 years ago.  She's almost there. How's that for persistence.  Linky below, and remember it doesn't have to be a hexagon project to link.  We like all kinds of eye candy - and it doesn't have to be a new post either - an old one will do if it's new to us.  Billie is taking a family break, but I know she'll be reading the NET in between events, so she'll be thrilled to see them, too.

NBU for September

Here's my UFO to work on for September - LOL - it's been the one for July and August, too. Just need to sandwich, quilt and bind. I'm hoping if the weather cools, I'll have more quilty time. One can always hope!

I'm linking to Carrie's Nothing but UFO's  - go on over and see what others are hoping to get done - and probably will.

Applique Tuesday

The temperature is getting to me.  The last 4 days it has been hot - which would not be a problem, but the humidity has been from 47- 60 percent.  This is a major change when the average is more like 30 percent for us.  I'm feeling nauseous during all the mid day times and it ain't fun.  And further down this week it's suppose to be hotter still (it hasn't helped since our tropical storm which dropped over 2 inches in 2 hours) later this week. So I haven't done much.

I did work a bit on my LE. 
The camera doesn't give a good photo of this.  The leaves around the compass are really a nice dark green - and what you see as blue in the compass is really teal.  Even the pie shapes are not as dark as they look.  I'll have to find the manual and see what I can do about the photos my camera takes.  Thanks to all who commented on my two versions.  I decided to go with Version 2 and I am machine appliqueing those pies.

Would so love to see what you're up to - applique or otherwise, new, old or dreaming.  Linky below.
I'm linking to Esther's WOW.

And the Winner is....

LandscapeLady - #1 of the 14 who left comments.  Carol send me the exact title of the class you want to take and I'll get your free coupon for it.  Congratulations!  And thanks to all who commented - wish I could give all of you a free class - they are educational, interesting and fun. 

Design Wall Monday

Snail's pace in de-stashing - only a fat quarter of white for the charity top, and a fat eighth of scraps for a block lotto block.  Here are my numbers:
in 0.0 yds.; out .38 yds.
Stash in YTD: in 8.5 yds., out 95.56yds.
Donated YTD: 41.96 yds
Net for 2013: out 87.06 yds
 
Coming off my design wall is a finished quilt top!
 
This is 36" square and is to go to St. Anne's.  I really like this pattern and know I will be making it again.  To me, it looks like the simplest of wedding ring quilts, and I'd like one - not scrappy - to go on my bed.  It's moving to the top of my pieced to do list.  I hope to sandwich it by this Friday and start quilting it.  Thank you Jenny Doan and the Missouri Star Quilt Company for your video on making a Merry Go Round quilt .  Their blocks were 12 inches square and used a charm pack.  Mine has 9" squares and used 2" strips left over from other projects and 4" squares in the centers.  I'll post my adjustments when I get a free moment.

What 's on your design wall?  I'm linking to Judy's at Patchwork Times, Connie's Linky Party Tuesday and Amanda Jean's Finish it up Friday.  I love seeing eye candy.


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...