Hexie Weekend and 2 Giveaways

Hi, there!  It's another weekend already, and I have some hexie progress for you, or should I say hexie problem.  I also have two giveaways.  Going through a shelf in my computer room (how'd all that quilting stuff get in there?), I found a duplicate of this:

It even has a hexagon block!  This is volume 5.

And the library staff has been saving the blow in cards from all the magazines they get, so I have another 100 3/4" hexagon paper pieces easily punched with my Fiskar hexagon punch.   I used 7 to make another flower block:

 I'm not sure about this hexie flower. I may change the center to something that reads more white. Then again, maybe not. What do you think?

And I forgot that the first one had a flower oriented differently. And on closer look at the fabric, it looks more like a Liberty of London print than 30s. Ay de mí!  I just spent an hour on a dud. Well live and learn. I may just make a mug rug or something out of this second one.

For the two giveaways, tell me which you'd like as the caption to your thumbnail when you link.  You can use a flickr link or any photo site you use besides a blog. Ends Tuesday, Midnight - and please be sure there is a way for me to contact you.  The last winner of 100 pieces had no way for me to contact her, and the same for the second name I picked. Sigh.  Good luck!
Linky below:

An InLinkz Link-up

I'm linking to Richard's Link a Finish Friday,  TGIFF , Can I get a Whoop, Whoop and One Flower Wednesday (I actually had it ready Wed) since I did finish a block - lol. Go see all the goodies there.

Applique Tuesday

While I haven't had a chance to get back to my applique projects, I did go to a workshop last Saturday and did some applique a different way. The teacher had us fuse it to a piece of muslin, then thread paint it. Once that is done, we cut it out of the muslin and attach it to a already quilted background. The last step is to embellish the piece.

Here's my flower ready to cut out.  I have to make the background first. I bought some beads to embellish the black center of my poppy. I was going to make a wall hanging, but now I think I"ll use it in a medallion quilt. I have an idea for one.

The teacher, Marguerite Tate, couldn't have made this easier for us. She had kits for every step of the process. They contained fabric already fused to Steam a Seam 2, beads, you name it as to embellishing. We all brought foam boards to place the pattern and muslin on so we could place the pieces. Here's a few done by my fellow students:

She was an excellent teacher! Explained all the steps and was so helpful. Alas, she doesn't have a blog or website, but if you'd like to learn more go here to see a guild post about her visit.  Marguerite's email is there if you want to contact her.

Would love to see your applique or any other eye candy! Leave me a comment and I'll come and visit. In the meantime, I'm linking to Connie's Linky Tuesday and Esther's WOW.

Design Wall Monday Plus

First, the stash report - not much to report.  Used an 1/8th of a yard to do part 2 of the Happy Scrappy Orphan Block of the Month Quilt.  This is going to be fun.  You might give it a look see.

We're making a medallion quilt. I chose this 20s Sunbonnet Sue block for my center. The border is really more purple than burgundy - don't know why it came out that way.  She's on my design wall.  How about you?  What's on your design wall?  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Lyn's BOMs Away and Anything Goes Monday. Do check them out. Stash numbers on right sidebar.

Hexagons, a Finish and Flowers

I've got a ways to go for my 8 hours (as per Hexagon Alley) this month for progress on my hexagons, but getting there:

The small hexie in the bottom right is the size of my first hexie project. The second is almost twice the size of it. I spent some time going through my stash finding a piece to use as the background.  That is a 5 1/2" square.  I'm designing this as I go.  I do know I want applique somewhere on this new quilt. Would love to see your progress on your hexies or anything you're working on. Linky below.

I also have a finish that I did some FMQ on.  This is a charity quilt that I'll give to the local Cancer Center.
Measures 44" square. This is the center quilted motif.

And here's the back:

Finally, here's a blooming cactus.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  The flowers were all that gorgeous lavender and only the very centers and stamens were white.  Big too - about 5 inches across. Stopped me in my tracks as I walked by.

I'm linking to Leah's FMQ Project, Richard's Link a Finish Friday, TGIFF,Friday Flower Fotos and Amanda Jean's Finish it up Friday.  You can find the buttons on the sidebars.  Have a great weekend!

An InLinkz Link-up

Applique Tuesday 5/20/14

My regular readers know I just spent the last three weeks making a commissioned signature quilt.  It did have some applique - the label.

I happened to have bought some time ago a panel of labels. Once I found them, I picked out this heart. Now my problem has been how to get the wording evenly distributed on the label and look just right.  Then, too, my penmanship is not that great, so I had to think about how to do this.  So I traced the inner edge of the heart and reversed it on tracing paper.  Then I went to my computer, opened up MS Word and began to  write out the words.  I tested a lot of fonts and sizes til I found one that worked and I liked. Then I printed it out, cut them apart and laid the lines on my tracing.  I had to keep fiddling with the font size to get it just right. When I did I taped the line strips together and placed it behind the heart on a light box.  Then taking a Pigma pen (.5 tip) I traced over the lines and thus got my words in place in a nice font.  Then I heat set the label and hand appliqued it on.  If I had to do it over, I would have put a thin layer of white batting under it so the fabric underneath would not have shown.

BTW:  She loved it!

Design Wall Monday

Made my block lotto blocks for the month - 1/2 yard there. You can see my numbers on the right sidebar. On my wall are same said blocks.  These are the ones for my sampler that Sophie is hosting. At the end of the year we'll have a mod quilt.

What's on your design wall?  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Anything Goes Monday, and Lyn's Bom's Away.  Go enjoy the eye candy.

Blogger's Quilt Festival and a Hexie or two...

Today starts Amy's Spring edition of her fabulous Blogger's Quilt Festival!  This is an opportunity to be part of one of the biggest Show and Tell collections on the NET, and there are prizes! Click above or on my sidebar to go visit and see the wonderful entries from quilters all over the world.

I'm entering the latest quilt I've finished - a quilt I was commissioned to make to honor a long time volunteer at the Library.  It's a signature quilt:

Library Volunteer Extraordinaire measures 52" square, so I'll be entering it in the Festival category for Small Quilts.  I designed this in EQ4 (yep, that's all I have) using a roman stripe square and a Jacob's ladder square. I've used this pattern once before for another signature quilt.  You can see it here.  At the Gala when it will presented, guests will have the opportunity to sign the quilt in the white strips.  If there are more than 48 wanting to sign, the writing shows up fine on the green strips also.  I made this with fabric from Connecting Threads collection called Fiesta and designed by Jenni Calo.  Dorothy loves flowers and blue so thought this would please her.

 I quilted the quilt after watching Cindy Needham's Crafsy Class Design it, Quilt it: Free Form Techniques.    It was great and gave me the confidence to do the quilt with more than SITD and stippling. For the most part I used Superior invisible thread on top and Bottom Line/or Invisifil on the back with a 70/10 sharp needle.

I was really worried about what I should do about the center of the quilt and the fabric photo I used of our library. Once again, you quilters in blog land answered my plea for what to do with the floppy fabric after I had stipplied around it. Thank you! You can see more of the quilting on my post of 5/12.

Then I made the label.  I was going to put it on the right back corner, but is seemed to stand out so much, and after consulting with my daughter, decided to place it on the stripe.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you consider entering a quilt.  I'd love to see your eye candy! So click on the link after you've read the rest of this post - you might win a prize!

And now for hexies - I do a linky for Hexie Weekends that starts on Fridays. This is to keep me motivated to work on my hexies and see all the goodies other Hexie enthusiasts are working on. Since I've been working on the above quilt for three weeks, I had stopped posting as I regularly do.  Now I can start again!

Here's where I'm at right now:

I'm starting another hexie project using 3/4" hexagons.  They may sound small but the ones I was working on before were 1/2"- LOL.  Don't know what I'm going to do with these yet, but with all your inspiration, I'll think of something.  So do link if you have a hexie project you're working on, have finished, or dream of doing.  Linky below. And for more eye candy overload there is Amanda Jean's finish.

An InLinkz Link-up

Design Wall Monday

Still on my design wall is the commissioned quilt. Here is part of the back before I sew on the binding. Yes, I'm almost there. Today I decide on a label. Once that's done and I bury the threads I can say "finished!". Can't show the front until the reveal Saturday.  The back is really a brighter, softer apple green. I had to adjust the color so you could see the quilting. Please go to the sidebar to visit all the linky parties and to Judy's Patchwork Times for eye candy viewing.

Have a great day!

Me, Again. Coming up for air

Oh, I have so much to tell you! I solved my fabric photo problem; solved the noise problem - learned a lot about working with invisible thread and found another minor problem. Have the border to do and I'll be able to bind it! But first I have to go eat supper - made big pots of food earlier in the week, so I didn't have to cook - and then to decide on a border motif. The weather is crazy - back to low 60s and a cold wind. Ah me! Blessings!

FYI: MQU Giveaway!

Post by Machine Quilting Unlimited.

This is a cool magazine - so much great quilting info!

Listen and Help please.

No, I take that back - it sounds more like it's coming from the shaft that goes up and down. Should I be worried? It does sound louder than the camera picked up. I may have to get noise canceling earphones - lol.

FMQ - Stippling on white

with invisible thread!!!  This is the hardest thing I have done while doing FMQ.  I have to take a 20 minute break after each triangle so I won't go cross-eyed.  Can't show the quilt - it's a surprise. Back to Leah's to view eye candy.

Hexie Weekend is Quilting Weekend this time

No hexie progress here. But I'm happy to report I am pin basting the commissioned quilt at this time, so hopefully I can start the quilting this afternoon.  Here's what the test corner block looks like(different fabrics):

I'm wondering if you can guess what the layout is other than on point blocks.  

As for hexies,  go to:

Sarah's, Rosa's, the Hexie Blog, and Karen's for some lovely hexagons and hexie progress. Leave me a comment or your hexiness or whatever eye candy you are making and I'll send someone 100  1"  hexagon paper pieces (made from recycled cards).  Good luck and thanks for stopping by and sharing.