Wow, A Design Wall and a Finish

I'm in the midst of finishing two baby quilts for twins, so won't get to post much this week.  Here's my Stash Report, DWM, WOW, Applique Tuesday, NewFO, and Lovely year of Finishes in one.

Stash Report - I was BAD.  I saw this wonderful fabric last Tuesday and ordered it before I even took a breath. And worse - I have no idea what I'll do with it (well actually I do and it will be my NewFO this month - a wall hanging designed using Judy Hopkins' method). I just wanted it - materialism at it worst.  I bought 2 yards from Fabricdepot.com  - it was on sale:
 
I also used 2 yards for the backs of those twins' quilts so my numbers stay the same.
 
 
On my design wall is my Love Entwined (LE) - My WoW and Applique Tuesday for this week:
 

The colors in the photo are way off - I need to read my manual again.  Those leaves are really a soft moss green (medium value) not black!  And the blue in the compass is not blue, but a nice teal. My compass is now appliqued to the background and I'm working on those leaves you see - seven more to go.  I've decided now that I've finished that compass, the rest of the elements will be machine appliqued - I just don't have the luxury of time to do it by hand. Some parts will still be by hand - like the tiny stems that come next - but for the most part it will be by machine.  LOL - then again there are so many tiny parts - it may be more by hand than I think.

My Lovely Finish for July is a cute I Spy House that Sophie picked for Block Lotto.  I'm so glad I include an easy finish each month! 

Even if I don't win the blocks, think these houses would make a great calendar quilt. Thanks, Sophie!
Have a great week!  I hope to post again for Hexie Friday to take a break from all the mad quilting. Linky parties are underlined.

Here's the Linky for Applique Tuesday - would love to see any and all eye candy - doesn't have to be applique - but if it is all the better for us.

Slight Relapse on Hexie Friday

and so far behind.  All I got made were three more little hexies. How's yours coming along?

Before I got Sick

and after my DD's sewing class, my Mom and I made a skirt following DD's suggestions and tips. Thank you, Em!  I really like it and it only required two pattern pieces and a piece of elastic.  Was from a Butterick See & Sew pattern B4711 (not sure it is still available - bought it long ago). I'll make the blouse later - a friend has the top pattern pieces. For now I want to buy a nice white top to go with it - oh an excuse to go shopping - LOL. I'll be making more of these!

Applique Tuesday on Wednesday Again!

Sure would like to get back on schedule.  I have been doing applique, but don't have much to show for it because there is prep work before I begin actual stitching. First I had to put together the pattern master:
 Right now I'm starching my background for the 31.5 inch LE center. Next I mark diagonals and centers with iron and thread. Then I can add my compass to the background before starting to choose fabric for the next phase. Phew. And yes I did get my compass completed:
 
I'm also working on an Anna's Garden block:
 I started to applique this down, however the limb kept shifting so I started all over again - this time no pinning, just machine basting.  Lastly my friend gave me some quilty literature she was getting rid of and in there was this gem:
Back from the 70s and has some sketchy instructions but a couple of traditional quilt projects I've always wanted to make. So lots of applique was looked at - LOL.  What have you been up to?  Would love to read your comments on your work.
 


DWM 7/23/13

Taking a break from LE, I made a block for a new charity quilt.  I found this block in a video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company for their Merry Go Round Quilt.  Her block is too large for my quilt, so I had to make it smaller.  Came up with a block that measures 9 1/2" when finished and it's on my design wall.
Here it is:
A friend gave me a whole bunch of solid strips, so think this will work to do up this block, and I can fussy cut the center block.  Nine blocks and the sashing and I'll have a quilt!  to me it looks like a simplified wedding ring block because it forms connecting rings.  What do you think?  Watch Jenny's video and you can see the quilt behind her on the wall.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Lyn's BOMs Away , and Esther's Blog.  Go see the eye candy.

Sunday Stash Report

Another lovely flower pot:
The photo doesn't do the color of these blooms justice.  They are such a delicate apricot.  Love these!

As for de-stashing, not much done at all when one is flat on back for most of a week.  Did pull a yard to have my latest VA quilt quilted.  Sent that off in the post.  And have used specks of fabric to finish the dots on the ring around my LE compass.  Here are the numbers:
in 0.0 yds.; out 1.00 yds.
Stash YTD: in 8.5 yds., out 93.42 yds.
Donated YTD: 40.96 yds
Net for 2013: out 84.92 yds
 
Linking over to Judy's at Patchwork Times.  See how others did.

Still Sick on Hexie Friday


How's your hexie project going. Got the third one started.

I Got Sick on Applique Tuesday

Oh, what great plans I had!  Was going to finish my dots on the LE compass. I got this far before I had to go to visit Mom who was watching DGS#2 for a few days.
They're not perfect but I'm learning to needle turn so leaving the amoebas in on this part.  So I packed my applique kit and off I went and forgot the compass! So I did a few hexagons instead. But then I woke up so sick on Tuesday, I couldn't drive to go home. Don't know what was wrong but kept fainting and whole lot other stuff you don't want to know(ugh).  At first thought it was food poisoning, but no one else got sick. Now it's down to gall stone or pancreas. Waiting to hear from the doctor.  No linky this week - too nauseous. Click on my blog list or go to Esther's Wow to see some more applique.

Stash Report and Secret Quilt

Thought I didn't have anything to report but then I had to pull a piece for a sewing class today. Pulled out six yards to make a blouse and skirt!  And .01 yards for the bits and pieces for LE. Here are my numbers:
in 0.0 yds.; out 6.01 yds.
Stash YTD: in 8.5 yds., out 92.42 yds.
Donated YTD: 40.96 yds
Net for 2013: out 83.92 yds
I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times to see how others are de-stashing.
And now for the secret quilt.  I couldn't show it to you before in case my friend read my blog or we got it to her.  She lost her husband quite suddenly (He was only 72). Bette (also a good friend and quilter) and I wanted to give her a quilt since we couldn't be there with her. Well now we can:
Bette has this fabulous stash of flower fabrics. So instead of flowers, we sent her a flower garden.

Appropriately, I had bed of roses fabric for the back.  The hearts you see together - the white one is for Val's DH and the other for her - forever together.
Bette found just the right words and printed them on fabric. I then added some flowers and a border and sewed it to the back.

Bette then tied the quilt. We bound it and sent it off
We love you Val!




Hexie Friday on Saturday

Once again, I'm late getting to post this, but I did make some hexies this week. Little Bear (my treasured miniature made by my DD) is smiling at the bit I've done.

There's a Hexie Blog Hop coming soon! See Debby's post here. I look forward to seeing all the projects offered during its run.  In the meantime, I'd love to see your progress here with a linky to your eye candy of any kind.
Blue button below.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Mine will be filled with dots!


Oh, the Learning Curve in attempting LE!

or the latest good/bad of quilting.  I made my compass - you saw it on a past post.  Next step was to attach a circle with the 5/16ths dots on it.  I cut my background square, drew the circle and position of the dots, tried some of the dots - worked okay - I was surprised with the needle turning.  Here is my saving piece of equipment that made it possible to answer the question:  How do you applique such a tiny dot?
Yes! - A magnifier.  I remembered I'd gotten this from my neighbor.  You put the strap around your neck and balance it on midriff.  Makes what you're working on 2 times bigger than it actually is.  I don't know the power, but it did the trick and did 8 dots as a start. HOWEVER, once I tried to reverse applique the  circle to the compass - the compass was too big!  And I couldn't tell around the edge if I was sewing it with the right seam allowance.  Arrgh.  Plus the dots wouldn't line up right.  Ready to throw in the towel, I took out the reverse applique (only a bit over a 1/4th of it done before I saw the pending disaster), and drew with my drawing compass an exact 8" circle on freezer paper for the unfinished compass. Then I found the exact center of my compass, and ironed the FP to the Compass. I then cut off the excess fabric from the side where I had very generous 1/4" from point tip to edge.  Then what?!  After some pulling out hair and gnawing of cheek, I decided to just pretend it was 4 joined drunkard's path blocks and sew the seam with my machine. Sort of success -
I forgot to mark the 4 quarters of the circle and at the last one had a little fullness to contend with. Ay de mí!  By taking out a bit of the first quarter circle seam, finishing the seam and then ironing and starching the circle - I got to the above. But now it looks too flat to me!!  It's going to be a longgggggggg 18 months - but I'm learning new things.  That's my good/bad of quilting for this week.  I'm linking to Block Lotto to  commiserate with other quilters.

Look what the Mailman brought!

I won this lovely kit from Carrie at A Passion for Applique!  She hosts the challenge - Nothing But UFOs and as an incentive to get us to keep working on our UFOs monthly she has a giveaway.  In June, I won!  LOL - this would be my fifth applique project I am currently working on if I start it soon.  Maybe I'll wait to start it in August as my NewFO.  It comes with a luscious fabric for the columns between the applique that has all kinds of fancy stitches between the rows.  I love the border!  Thanks so much, Carrie!

Applique Tuesday 7/9/13

Thank you, Billie, for reminding me it's my day to post about applique.  I've just come back from babysitting for 8 hours and I'm sort of wiped out (there was swimming, bike riding, baseball and dinner plus general play with a 2 year-old).  But sure I just need a good night's sleep, and I'll be back to my go self.  I did do some applique this past week.  I hand appliqued the center of my compass (see last post) and I machine appliqued these diamond shapes on this charity quilt:

This will be another VA charity lap quilt and measures 36" by 45". This design is a widely adapted one of Ivory Spring's Watercolor Sketches.  I resized the blocks, removed the sashing, and took off the borders and added the striped design at the top.  Do you think that is changed enough?  Can see this with fussy cut centers.  I'm calling it Old Glory for the stripes and the star design that was generated from the placement of the blocks.  I'll show another version later that was easier than this to make.  I'm going to keep this design handy.

Are you appliqueing?  Have some old, new or completed project you could share? Doesn't even have to be applique - would love to see whatever you're working on.  Linky below.



And I'm linking to Connie's Free Motion Quilting by the River. Check out the goodies there, too.

Design Wall Monday 7/8/13

Here's my compass for the Love Entwined Coverlet. First one I've ever made.  And it was paper piecing, ugh - not my favorite, but I learned a good bit from making it.  First off if one folds the paper at the sewing line, making sure of the correct seam allowance is easy. If the piece you're adding is roughly a larger version of the one on the paper, it's usually the right size, but to be sure, I made an extra copy of the section and cut it up and used it to determine rectangles for each part. A trick I learned from Esther Aliu - is color one of the segments so you don't sew the wrong piece to the wrong place. And - if you do them assembly style, it doesn't seem like such a chore to make 8 segments (cuz most paper pieced blocks are more than one segment - LOL).  Phew! I got through the sewing with only one seam to rip. Oh and the center is appliqued. Except for the background, this will be a big scrappy quilt. Now for the ring around it.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Esther's Wow, and Lyn's BOMs Away  as this is part of a 18 month BOM.  What are you up to?

Sunday Stash Report 7/7/13

After working on the LE compass thought I'd work on something easier, so I made two quilt tops for my charity work, so that used up 2.5 yards of fabric. And I gave up another 2 yards as a donation to our guild's Thrifty Corner.  Here are my numbers:
in 0.0 yds.; out 4.5 yds.
Stash YTD: in 8.5 yds., out 86.41 yds.
Donated YTD: 40.96 yds
Net for 2013: out 77.91 yds

I'm linking over to Judy's Patchwork Times - go see how others are de-stashing.  And here's another bouquet from my DH garden:
I love the color of these Rebutia flowers, but watch out for the spines!

It's Hexie Friday!

Yesterday we celebrated our country's birthday!  We had a great time. Friends and family came over for dessert and fireworks.
We sang Happy Birthday to America and had our Italian guest visiting via Sweden blow out the candle.  Then came fireworks.  We live on the south slope of the mountain in the center of town and every year the city fathers treat us to a fireworks display.  This year's was great!

Now for hexies - I did manage to sew a few together this week despite all the work on my compass for the LE BOM.  Half way to another block!
 
And to get it into better size perspective - here it is with last weeks finished flower:
 

Do you have a hexie project to share -old, new, or on your wish list?  We'd love to see your eye candy even if it isn't hexie-wise. Linky below, and have a great weekend.

Applique Tuesday 7/2/13

Wow! Where did the week go?  I have been trying to survive the hot weather here. The first days were the worst, but I'm acclimatizing and it has gotten a tad cooler.  It was only 100 today. So I'm hoping I can get some sewing done.  I've been prepping to make the first element of Esther's Love Entwined, and yes, it does have applique. Hundreds of read emails later, I'm confident I've learned the best way to make a mariner's compass (my first), construct the center circle and make 5/16ths dots for the ring around it - last two are applique.

Here's my fabric and the papers for paper piecing.  Once the compass is done, I'll make the center circle.  I'm not too keen on the one shown in the pattern (others have changed it).  It reminds me of a face of a power ranger (remember those characters?).  So I'll have to come up with something else. One participant fussy cut a flower - now that is a great idea.  I'll see. 

In the meantime, what are you up to - applique or otherwise?  Please share your 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...