This N That Week 6

First, the Grow Your Blog giveaway is still on - ends February 14th.  Go here to enter to win the book. 

Second, my stash report is not much to crow about - used only .02 yards for another block for my friend: 

I saw this Twinkle Star at Angela's SoScrappy blog and fell in love with it.  I'm putting together a Christmas quilt and I wanted to find a star and this is it! This one is 6 inches square when finished.

I also now have a photo of those three blocks I made last week.  I was trying to use up two fat quarters and was able to get three blocks out of them.  

I did donate some fabric to my Guild - another 1.5 yards out, so my new YTD total is 15.48 yards. Not bad for week 6.

Hope she can use them:

These are on my design wall.  The quilt that was there is being quilted.  I've finished the grid and SITD work.  Now I will start the FMQ.

Let me show you how I hope to fill in some of those larger spaces:

I wanted to use as motifs some of the elements of the background material. So before I cut up the last of the fabric for the last border, I photocopied the length of fabric.  Then on the front side, I matched up partial flowers and stems to fill out with ghost quilting - Linda of Linda's Landscapes heard of this technique in a Martha Ginn article, example seen here.  After finding some spaces and the motifs I wanted to add, I traced them on freezer paper and cut them out.  Because I abhor taking out those itty-bitty pieces  when I stitch over it, I cut apart my motifs whenever I can so that I am stitching around the motif than through the FP.

Here's one I've cut out and you can see the cuts.  I have to keep the paper in tack so that the pieces stay together.  Here it is ironed onto the quilt top.

The one on the bottom left needs to be cut out. The one on the top left doesn't have to be completely ironed down as half the flower is there to guide me.  Hmmm. Looks like I need to continue that stem in the center top.  Photos are so helpful as we make quilting design decisions.

I'm linking over at Judy's Patchwork Times,  Esther's WOW, Lyn's BOMs Away, and Lizzie's Free Motion Mavericks.  Go check them out.

Blessings as you start your new week.

WIPs Be Gone, Flower Finish & Sandwich

My least favorite step of quilting is the sandwiching. And yes, I've tried the spray (too messy) and the fusible (too fussy).  The pins work best for me, but oh my aching back!  I still have to do big ones on the carpet and I'm getting too old for that.  I really must research a good table to buy.  Where did you get yours?

Despite all my groaning, I did manage to cut 6 battings for some tops and sandwiched WIP #1. I used all of a roll for a king size quilt - 120 x120 for those six.  So glad the WTBQ pile came down.

My Two BOMs in One is ready to be quilted.  I'll start on that tomorrow morning.  And I picked out the next two wips I'll be working on.  I'm going to make a pillow cover out of that crane block (#4). The appliqued blocks (#5) are ready to be put together with sashing for my July wall hanging. And I finished another hexagon flower for WIP#3. Phew!

How are you doing on your WIP?  Would love to see - doesn't have to be a finish, but we'll admire those, too.  Linky below - remember it doesn't have to be a new post, just one that shows your WIP.  Ends Monday, midnight. Since I finished a flower I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Friday and Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop? Lots of eye candy there.

An InLinkz Link-up

Blessings, my friends.

Woo Hoo! My Wip has gone to the WTBQ Pile

WIP is gone! Now I didn't say finished, but the top is made and is waiting to be quilted.  I hope to get  to it soon because it has to be shown soon.  Maybe by Friday.  I just couldn't wait to show you.  I wished I had had a bit more of the background so that the last border could have been 1/2" wider, but it wasn't meant to be.

Off to pick another UFO I can make into a WIP. I'm linking to Esther's WoW. She has a beauty there. Go and visit.

PS: The GYB giveaway is still ongoing. You can read about it here.

This n That Week 5

 The Grow Your Blog Giveaway is still on.  So many blogs over there!  You still could win the book by going here. Gosh a whole month of 2015 gone?!  Where does the time go?  I used a half yard for that last border of my first WIP now a WTBQ top. Then in my frenzy used another 3 yards for those B³quilts. And lastly, I made three blocks for a friend to whom I'm sending orphan blocks. So my destashing was 4.08 yards for a YTD total of 13.96 yards.

My design wall has my WIP #1 back on it.  I've made three sides of that border. Hope to finish it up this week, but if life gets in the way, that's all right as long as I have some progress to report on Friday.  It's too dark for photos tonight, but if I get a chance in the coming days I'll show you some of those other B³quilts tops.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times.  See you there!

Another WIP I need to get finished.

WIPS Be Gone, Finish and Giveaway

The Giveaway is still on and so is the Grow Your Blog.  I'm finding some really nice blogs at Vicki's event.  Here's the book I'm giving away:

Just go to the previous post and you'll see the various ways you can enter to win it.  Ends Feb 14th. And don't forget to go to Grow Your Blog - you will have lots of fun there.

Now for my WIPs Be Gone!  I'm happy to say, I do have some progress.  Here's the first section of a border I'm  adding to my WIP #1:

 The prairie points aren't that hard. You can see a tutorial for these peiced points in my previous post.
It's just finding the time to do them.  I've been creating another B³quilt for my guild and in the process made 4 more (some for St. Anne's).  LOL - I couldn't stop!

How did you do with your WIP progress? I'd so like to see what you did - even if it was only a little bit.  Linky below.  It ends Monday, midnight.  So looking forward to seeing your steps forward.

An InLinkz Link-up

Here's my finish for the week.  One of those 4 I mentioned.  Now how can a quilt top be a finish?  That's my part of the process for St. Anne's .  I make quilt tops; others sandwich, tie and bind.  Sometimes I will quilt a top, but most are tied.

I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Up Friday, Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop? and Julie's Pet Project Show.  See you there!

Giveaway and Pieced Prairie Points

The Grow Your Blog event is ongoing! While I didn't get to join this year, I want to encourage you to go find new blogs over at Vicki's and meet a lot of wonderful bloggers there.

Many of the participants have giveaways!  And it's so much fun making new friends out there in the quilting world.  In honor of this annual event, I'm giving away a book about machine applique.

Beth shows you in detail how to machine applique.  It includes 9 lovely projects plus templates. There are several ways to win this book.  Leave a comment telling me of a new blog I should visit from the hundreds at the Grow Your Blog event for a chance.   Or visit Linda here and leave a comment for her on her Ghost Quilting for another chance. Then tell me you visited and what the pin cushion is used for and have a third chance!  Good luck!  The giveaway will end same time as the Grow your Blog - I will ship anywhere.

Now I want to tell you how I make pieced prairie points.  They're for a border I'm making for one of my WIPs.
Here we go.

 1. For every 4 prairie points I needed one 3 1/2" background square and one 3 1/2" (PP) prairie point fabric.  I also needed two 3" squares of background fabric. You can change the dimension as needed for the size of your prairie points you want.  I wanted my units to finish at 2".

 2.  I took the two 3 1/2" squares and drew the diagonal on the back of the PP fabric. I then sewed a scant 1/4" to the right of the diagonal on both sides.  I then cut it on the diagonal.  I sewed all the pairs I needed at this step to take advantage of chain piecing.

3. I then lightly pressed one seam allowance toward the PP fabric and one toward the background , then trued them up to 3" hsts.

 4.  I then took my 3" background squares and paired them with the trim hsts I had made - two at a time at this point.

5.  Next I placed my ruler with it's diagonal line on the left side of the block as pictured and cut the paired pieces on the diagonal formed by the edge of the ruler. I did this to both pairs.

6.  Here's what they looked like.

7.   I then sewed them together using a scant 1/4" seam. I cut these in pairs from the chain piecing to keep them together.  I then pressed firmly to be sure one of the short triangle seams went toward the light and one toward the dark fabric.

8.  Now the units are ready for their second truing up. The ruler's diagonal is on the long diagonal seam, and I center the lines for a 2 1/2" square so that there is some fabric to trim from all four sides. This keeps my units from being lopsided at a side.

9.  When I turned the two paired units over I check that the seams will nestle when I go to sew them together with a scant 1/4".

 10.  Once the seam is sewn, I press the seam open to spread the bulkiness of the seam to each side.

And my two prairie point units are done, ready to be sewn to others to make my prairie point border.

I'm linking to Connie's Linky Tuesday party.  Hope to see you there.

This N That Week 4

First, the linky party to WIPs Be Gone where we share our progress is still open. Ends Monday, midnight. Would love to see how you're doing so we can root you on. It's the previous post to this one.

Second, it's time for the Grow Your Blog event! While I didn't get to join this year, I want to encourage you to go find new blogs over at Vicki's and meet a lot of wonderful bloggers there.

Many of the participants have giveaways!  And it's so much fun making new friends out there in the quilting world.  In honor of this annual event, I'm giving away a book about (what else) applique.

Beth shows you in detail how to machine applique.  It includes 9 lovely projects plus templates. There are several ways to win this book.  Leave a comment telling me of a new blog I should visit from the hundreds at the Grow Your Blog event for a chance.   Or visit Linda here and leave a comment for her on her Ghost Quilting for another chance. Then tell me you visited and what the pin cushion is used for and have a third chance!  Good luck!  The giveaway will end same time as the Grow your Blog - I will ship anywhere.

On the home front - I used another two yards in making another B³ quilt. That makes a total of 9.88 yards used for 2015.  These 30"quilts are so much fun! More on that Friday. I'm still working on my hexies. Here they are in a group shot - well most of them:

Six not shown and 10 to go!

And lastly there's something new on my design wall:

Two more pieces to finish the border on this charity quilt.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Lyn's BOMs Away, and Esther's WOW.  See you there!

WIPs Be Gone Week 4

Woohoo, I can officially say my WIP #2 is out of the WIP pile and into the WTBQ pile.  What is that you say?  Waiting to Be Quilted - LOL.  Actually, it is still a work in progress because it has to be quilted and bound before it is a finish, but at least it is onto another level of the quilting process.

I also totally finished my first B³quilt. And that is:  Baby's Big Block Quilt.  Yep, just one block to make a 30" baby quilt.

This is going to our regional hospital's Neonatal unit.  The block is the Baton Rouge Square block - an old traditional block.  It took me 4.5 hours to make it from cutting to binding.  I've written a pattern and you can find it under my free pattern tab.  The block requires three fabrics but I couldn't find three pieces the right size at first so I just went with four.  My second one just has three fabrics, but I'll wait til next Friday to show it to you when it's all done.

Did you work on a WIP?  Would love to see what you're been up to - a little or a lot of progress - either is fine. Linky below - it ends Monday, midnight.  Off to pull out another WIP to take the place of #2.

An InLinkz Link-up

I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Up Fridays and Sarah's Can I have a Whoop, Whoop? because I have a finish! See you there.

This N That Week 3

Now let's see:  I added 2.48 yards to my orphan block quilt in borders and blocks. Made two charity tops for another 3.3 yards. That includes one back.  Made some of my border for WIP #1 for another .10 yard for a grand total of 5.88 yards - that's a lot for me. So my total YTD is 7.88 yards, nothing in and nothing donated yet.

Nothing has changed on my design wall as I was quilting a different charity quilt - one for St. Anne's.

This is quilted around all the major elements of the panel and the straight lines of the blocks and strips.  The pins you see is where another member will tie it using orange yarn to the back, so all one will see is the stitch on the right side. I used warm and natural which can be quilted up to 10 inches apart.  With the ties it will be more like 5 inches apart.






Here's a closeup of the
pternanodon.

My part is done with this quilt.  I then started another one.  This one is a panel I deconstructed and put back together again.  I showed it before.  Here it is getting quilted by Ms. Juki.  Center is almost all done - then to the border.  It measures 36" square.  I hope to be done with it by Friday.

Alas no applique but I did cut some 1" hexagons from my scraps.  I don't know why I didn't think of using some of my scraps to make hexagons for a scrappy quilt before.  I have now and last night I cut out 14 as I worked my way through a pile of scraps.  I'm cutting them ala the Bonnie Hunter method. I filled a basket full of the sizes Bonnie recommends.  She has given so much to the quilting world!

So how goes it at your quilting studio?  Leave me a comment and I'll come over to see your eye candy.  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Esther's WOW and Connie's Linky Tuesday Party.  Lots of goodies there!

WIPs Be Gone Week 3

Hey, I have been working on that hexie flower quilt all last year so that makes it a WIP - hehe.  So that's WIP #3.

Here's the latest flower on the right. Made it during the four hours I spent at the doctor's doing some of those annual things they always want us to do.  And I figured out a border for WIP #1.  I have to make 72 of those little sections - it will take me a while.

WIP #2 is one I also started in 2014 - My Happy Scrappy Orphan Block Quilt by Rosemary Young. She made two gorgeous ones!

  I need to vary what I work on so that's why I pulled this out, plus it's mostly using orphan blocks and making a left side to this top. So I hope to be done very soon. Rosemary's is a lot bigger - I don't want mine so big.  Also I'm running out of blocks and I wanted to get rid of blocks, not make more.

How are you doing on your WIP?  Would love to see - doesn't have to be a finish - even a little progress is great.  Linky below - remember it doesn't have to be a new post, just one that shows your WIP.  Ends Monday, midnight. I finished a flower so I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Friday and Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop?  Lots of eye candy there.

An InLinkz Link-up

This n That Week 2

In my efforts to reduce computer time and have more time for other things, I'm combining Stash Report, Design Wall Monday and Applique Tuesday into one post.  I'm calling it This and That.

First off, I used 3 yards last week in putting together a B³Quilt.   B³ stands for Baby's Big Block.  In 2013 Quiltmaker had a Big Block Baby quilt in each issue for that year and I was very intrigued with the idea.  Go here to read more about them.  I even made one (mine has one large square in the middle):

  At first I called this my ugly quilt, but then I found the blue for the border and dropped that title. I like it now. I'm renaming it Feline Mug Shots. It's 30" square and will be given to the neonatal unit for which our guild does community service.  Here's the back:

Since, besides WIPs, I planned to again make charity quilts this year - I think I will work on making a "Bcubed" quilt each month.  I'll even write out directions and share them.  All part of my making my quilting my own. Thanks QM for inspiring me. You can go here to buy their patterns.

Jan 8th we met at my friend Torre's house and held our annual St. Anne's Sewdality Potluck brunch.  We always have a White Elephant exchange.  Here's what I got by chance:

Isn't she cute?!  She's pretty banged up and probably not worth much, but will make a great decoration to my sewing room.  I'm thrilled with it.

So my stash report is now 3 yards out, nothing in.  A good way to start the year.  My design wall hasn't changed.  I've figured out a border for my WIP, but no real progress to show yet. As far as applique - alas, none to report.

I'm linking to Judy's Fabric Report, Lyn's BOMs Away (I did make a few units for that border), Connie's Linky Tuesday and Esther's WOW.
Have fun this week and let's make those WIPs be gone!

Blessings!

WIPs Be Gone Week 2

My first week is over of making WIPs Be Gone. And I am happy to report I have some progress to show you.  After moving the blocks on my Design Wall all over the place, I came up with a design I liked, cut one block down to fit, and made one block I needed to fill it all in. So here is the center of Two WIPs in One:

Measures 34" square.  Now I have to figure out a border - think 2 more borders will do it.  Can you figure out which block I cut down? You'll have to look at last Monday's post for clues.  First one to comment with the right answer gets enough 3/4" hexagon papers to make 5 hexagon flowers.

How did you do with your WIP progress? I'd so like to see what you did - even if it was only a little bit.  Linky below.  It ends Monday, midnight.  So looking forward to seeing your steps forward.

An InLinkz Link-up

I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Up Friday and Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop? See you there.
On one last thing.  To see my Hexie progress or summary (actually) go here.

Design Wall Monday

For my first WIP Be Gone I put these blocks from two different BOMs on my design wall. One was the Just Takes Two BOM of 4 years ago and my local guild's BOM from last year.  Both I got in over my head with all the rest I had to do. I'll be taking what I made and combining them to get to Done.

Question is will I count this as two WIPs done or one?

I'm linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday, Lyn's BOMs Away, and Esther's WOW (See sidebar, right). Don't miss them.

WIPS Be Gone

A Recap:  Looking back on posts for 2014, I found more and more, quilting was interrupted by life's demands. Certainly, my mother's recent health issues were a wake up call. I need to spend more time with family and less on the computer. It can be such a pit of sedentary activity. So change is coming to this blog. I want to take this opportunity to thank every one who ever linked to Hexie Weekend. My plans were to work on hexies during the week and show them off on the weekend. More and more that didn't happen, and I kept finding other lovely bloggers who also had linky parties for hexies. So much eye candy there! I will still be doing hexies, but I'll be linking over at the more dedicated hexagon bloggers.

 I still would like to see what you are doing. It is very inspiring and educational to see what quilters are creating. My goal for 2015 is to make it the Year of the WIP. I have so many - do you? So starting this week, Hexie Weekend has morphed to WIPs Be Gone. I'll be hosting a linky party each Friday for your WIP projects, either a blog post or additions to your photostream. If you have neither you can also tell me about your WIP progress in a comment.  Be sure you're not a "no reply on Blogger" so I can answer back.  I hope you will share with me and the other readers. It's so much fun to see what you're bringing to life. Who knows I may even have a giveaway now and then.

I made a button.  If you'd like to put it on your blog as a reminder to come by on Fridays, that would be so nice.  You'll find the code on the right sidebar.

Lastly, I'll be listing my finished WIPs.  Let's see how many I can do in 2015. You can check the tab above by the same name for any finishes.

Hexie Weekend Farewell - Welcome WIPs Be Gone!

Hello, here we are at the start of a new year.  Looking back on posts for 2014, I found more and more, quilting was interrupted by life's demands. Certainly my mother's recent health issues were a wake up call.  I need to spend more time with family and less on the computer. It can be such a pit of sedentary activity.  So change is coming to this blog.  I want to take this opportunity to thank every one who has linked to Hexie Weekend.  My plans were to work on hexies during the week and show them off on the weekend.  More and more that didn't happen,  and I kept finding other lovely bloggers who also had linky parties for hexies. So much eye candy there! I will still be doing hexies, but I'll be linking over at the more dedicated hexagon bloggers.

I still would like to see what you are doing. It is very inspiring and educational to see what quilters are creating.  My goal for 2015 is to make it the Year of the WIP.  I have so many - do you?  So starting this week, I'll be hosting a linky party for your WIP projects or additions to your photostream.  I hope you will share with me and the other readers. It's so much fun to see what you're bringing to life.

For this week, I do have a hexie to show besides the ones earlier in the week. Having been at my mother's for the last two weeks, I'm pleased to announce I got 10 more hexie flowers done.  Here's the one I'm working on now:

Only two petals sewn to the center so far.  And that's a Christmas table runner it's sitting on - not the eventual background. Maybe I can finish it for Slow Sunday Stitching. I'm so happy to report Mom has gotten a clean bill of heath and will most likely not need any other type of medical intervention for her breast cancer.  Praise God!!

The other reason I didn't get more hexies done is I started to hand quilt my bed quilt again. Got one more block done:

Have two more to go and then I can start on the sashing and borders of this queen size quilt.  This has been 24 years in the making - yep, 24.  See why I've started on those WIPs.

Lastly, I do have a finish - the last one for 2014.  I finished it yesterday waiting for the New Year.

This was a project a friend gave me. She got it at a estate sale.  There are some projects that should be finished and others that should not.  This for me, after I finally finished it, was one that was a should not. The blocks were made with that really airy and puffy batting of the 50s, 60s. Oh the trouble it caused.  Every seam had to be basted to be sure it worked out right. Seven blocks were already done - I wasn't about to take them apart! Much  of the fabric was polyester/cotton - stretchy and thin - oh my.  The stitching was falling apart in places. The sizes of the QAYG blocks ranged from 14" to 11".  While it is not my best work, it is done.  Here's the back:

I had to make two blocks and patch one - the blue one was already made.

So what are you working on?  Linky below. Ends Monday, Midnight. I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Up Friday and Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop?

An InLinkz Link-up

At Last! An actual Applique Tuesday

Still at Mom's.  She is doing great!  I still have to remind her sometimes not to pick up something heavy or lift her arm over her shoulder, but she's getting there.  This is a time when no pain can be a hindrance.  Tomorrow we go to see if the drain comes off.  If it does, my nursing days are over.  Thank you so much for all your best wishes, concern, prayers and thoughts for us.  They are most appreciated!!!

And while here, I actually finished some applique:

 Here is the 7" Anna's Garden block I have been working on. I brought this block because it is the smallest and most portable of my applique projects.  Half is is now stitched.

Here at Mom's I decided to add all the other pieces that needed to be prepped.  I began with the nest. The inside of the nest is reverse appliqued and I then made the egg.  Somehow it was too big!  So I had to keep making it smaller to make it look to scale with my pair.  I find my pieces grow as I trace and cut out. I've had to keep reminding myself to cut inside the pen line so they will stay the right size.

Next I added the leaves.  I had very few choices of fabric with the leaves.  The block now has all the pieces fused in place.  I would start on the stitching, but I didn't bring thread that will work with this fabric nor invisible thread.  I'll save this for Slow Sunday Stitching.  I wonder if Kath will be doing it next year.

What are you working on?  Would love to see your eye candy.  Leave me a comment and I'll come for a visit.  Happy New Year this Thursday!

No Camera

I'm at Mom's still playing nurse, so I didn't think I could post my hexies cuz I forgot my camera - then thought the word SCAN!
I realized I could scan my hexies with the printer, import as a jpg to the computer and here they are:

A white flower and two more fussy cut ones for my golden triangle in the quilt top.

I'm linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.  Lots of goodies there.

Hexie Weekend and a Finished Top

Did you see the 4 hexies I whipped out last week?  If not see the previous post.  I'm working on some more, but none finished yet.  I was home for a bit and did make the last Block Lotto block and finished putting it together.  I like it!

If I add any border it will probably be a narrow white border. You can see Sophie's masterpiece here.
I can now say I have a sampler quilt  top of my own. Now to quilt it.

I'm linking to Amanda's Finish it Up Fridays and Sarah's Can I get a Whoop, Whoop? ,and Bonnie at Quiltville. Link button below - it can be an old post - If you're like me, you're too busy right now - something from this past year will do.

An InLinkz Link-up

Still concentrating on handwork as I'm still keeping Mom company to do some nursing duties.  We saw the surgeon today,  and he shared the the most wonderful news - she is definitely Stage One - the earliest type ever and will not need any other treatment.  Praise God!!

Hope you are having wonderful holy days!

Quick Stop on DWM

Hello. Back from Mom's for a quick stop before returning.  First, thank you all for your kind wishes and prayers for Mom. She sailed through the surgery and left the hospital staff in shock and awe with her recuperative powers. When the nurse called Friday, the day after surgery, and asked about her pain, she said: "what pain? I haven't had any."  We praise God daily!

Here are the few hexies I managed to make while waiting at the hospital:

I like the strippy one so much I think I"ll make two more to add a golden triangle to my quilt top.
And my wonderful friend, Deanna, gave me this gorgeous embroidery for Christmas. Thank you so much, Deanna!

I'm thinking of making a medallion wall hanging from this.  What shall I surround it with?  Stars?

I'm linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday and Lyn's BOMs Away.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Busy Week Ahead

Mom home from her 6 weeks in TX. A busy week awaits us with tests, travel, and surgery. This may be my post for the week.  I've used 1.5 yards making two more charity quilt tops.  Piecing batting for one and the other is sandwiched. Quilting a third.  I'll take fabric with me to Mom's house to make more hexies - that's about all I'll be able to do around nursing duties. Say a prayer, please!
 My design wall hasn't changed.  See my De-stashing numbers on my right side bar.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times and Esther's Wow. Check them out for great eye candy.  Merry Christmas to one and all!