Geometric Bee :: Take Two

One of my first 2020 finishes was a paper pieced Pink Geometric Bee by Kristy Lea (Quiet Play).  The bee is one of many patterns from her Pattern Club 2019.  I always enjoy Kristy's designs and love making them.  Someone asked if I could one for them using yellows and golds for the wings instead.  Music to my ears!  I'm always willing to remake a pattern that I enjoy and any time I can paper piece...it makes me happy!!

Geometric Bee
10" x 10"

It's not a huge quilt, so 10" square it has a few touchy spots that if you aren't paying attention to can trip you up.  And at one point...I was not paying attention!

After getting the fabric for the wings pulled and approved by my customer, I quickly got to work.  I printed the pattern templates, made one wing section...and saw that I totally messed it up!  I had a color in the wrong place, but worse than that...I discovered I didn't print the templates at 100%!  In this case I was glad I messed up!

The other mistake and it was a costly mistake, was one of the legs!  See that red circle?  I used a piece of background fabric instead of a piece of black fabric.  It looks he has an amputated leg...not good!  

You know what was even worse than that?  I didn't notice it until I had the entire block finished.  Had I saw it in the state of the above photo it wouldn't have been so bad.  But, no such luck.  I ended up having to rip out the leg section, reprint the leg template and make an entirely new section.  Then, insert the piece and make it look like nothing ever happened!  I did it, but I didn't like doing it!

Crisis averted, moving on!  I did almost the exact quilting on this bee as I did on the pink one.  Stippling in the background, straight lines on the body and basic quilting inside each wing color. 

The back detail along with corners to hang.  I added a scrappy pieced binding because it matches the wings and give this little quilt some pizazz!

Other than extra time for all my mishaps, this block goes together fairly quick.  I always enjoy  paper pieced projects big, small, simple or complex!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY  

Girly Delight :: Baby Geo

I can't resist the color combination of pink and coral!  I'm sure it's obvious that pink is my it color and has been for some time now.  This Baby Geo quilt was my first project in my new work space and it showed me that even with limited space and a high traffic area, I can still manage to create.  There are challenges, but it can be done!

BABY GEO
34" X 45"

To piece a quilt like this it takes less than a day.  Perfect for someone who wants a quick finish.  Half square triangles are good for that!

The part that takes the longest is the quilting part!  That is if you want to go hog wild and quilt it to death.  Which is my preferred method with these geometric HST quilts.

This was the first time that I did a special kind of motif in the center of one of the squares.  I figured I may as well play a little bit and change things up.  It's basically a pretty simple design, but it added a special touch to the finish. 

The back shows the detail a little better.  It seemed like the perfect place to embellish with quilting.

For the square and rectangle I used Aurifil Peony (2440) and the remainder of the quilt is Aurifil Bright Pink (2425).  There was an exception made for the center of the square where I used 4 different colors.  Other than that...I kept it pretty simple!

 

There's a lot going on here!  Diamonds, grid, 1/2" lines, 3/4" lines and free motion quilting.  However it all works together I think.  I really like to quilt this way.  The kitchen sink of straight lines and all you can do with them.  Since I don't really have a concrete plan when I quilt, half the fun is making all the sections fit together seamlessly.  Like I actually did plan it out! 

Some people love taking photos of their quilts with a twist in the middle...I love throwing it in a pile!  It seems to be my go to photo!

My next Baby Geo will be using a dark blue for the rectangle and lighter blues surrounding each shape.  It'll happen soon as it's a custom request for my sister.  She knows a friend who is expecting...and I'm here to help!

PATTERN AVAILABLE HERE:  GEO POP

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY  

Heart of the Home :: Townhouses

This isn't a new project, but since it's a real life finish I thought I'd share just the same!  You all know my obsession with mini's, and as of late I've made an entire village of random 

'Heart of the Home' houses.  

'HEART OF THE HOME' TOWN HOUSE
9" x 5"

My plan was to design more houses that were all shapes and sizes that would eventually become one quilt of some kind.  I thought a row of townhouses would be a great addition to the mix.  

All my houses are under 'construction' and tucked away on a shelf, until someone on Instagram asked about this trio.  They were interested...which in turn made me interested in finishing it too!  A little motivation was all it took!

I quilted each roof with a different design for tile texture, the sky is a swirl of movement, but the actual houses were quilted simply and exactly the same.  I've never lived in a townhouse, but I imagine they keep a tight rein on design when building a complex.  Since fabric is the 'siding', I took the liberty of giving each home it's own personality!

The back is fabric that I'm trying to bust through and it works well with these minis.  Add a binding and it's a finish!

I'll need to replace this trio of houses for my village idea, but I don't hate that idea!  

Today I'll hopefully finish quilting a lap quilt that has been hanging around waiting on me to muster up some quilting chops.  And then...hopefully...new and exciting projects can be started!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY  

True Love :: Ombre

Gotta say, I fell off the creating wagon once again!  I had high hopes after finally piecing a quilt top. I thought perhaps it would get me on my crafty way.  It did and it didn't I guess!  I haven't got all creative, but I did make a few fun ombre mini hearts!

OMBRE HEARTS

5" X 5"

While I was anxiously waiting for the 'magic time' of a rescheduled doctor appointment, I decided I might as well sew up a paper pieced ombre heart...or two, three, four to pass the time.

With many projects, they sometimes look complicated or difficult when in reality they are just about as simple as they can be!  Which is why I love making these hearts.  With me it takes longer to pick the fabric than it does to sew them up.

As you can see, the template is quite simple and straight forward.  These are exactly why I save scraps!  You never know when you might need a long skinny piece!  

You know when you get a new box of crayons and you have to see what each color looks like?  It's exciting right?!  I get that same feeling when pulling colors of fabric for each heart.  The magic happens after each strip is sewn together...thats the payoff!

While I was debating how I might quilt each one, I couldn't resist pulling matching thread just in case.  Whatever color you need, Aurifil has it.   

 

I kept the quilting to a bare minimum on the heart.  Sometimes less is more.  I wanted the ombre to speak for itself.  

Mini Mini's are addicting!  I can't stop making them...I love making them...I wanna make more!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY  

Back in the Groove!

Change is never easy but it's often necessary and very welcome.  On Memorial Day weekend we received a call from my son who lives in New York City saying he has had enough of the city life.  His relationship was over and he wanted to get out of town.  Which meant he was coming home after 3 1/2 years.  We could hear the anguish in his voice and knew this was serious.  We were all looking forward to having him back home again and were more than willing to make the changes needed in our daily lives.  Which meant...I no longer have a sewing room.  

You never know how comfortable and efficient a sewing room is until you have to 'relocate'.  I found a small space in our kitchen nook to set up my sewing station.  For the past couple weeks I've tried to 'fit in' and make it function.  About the only things I've managed to make are pot holders and mini mini quilts.  With the space in the center of all activity, I couldn't focus for much more than something small.  Inevitably someone needs water or ice, makes breakfast or lunch, or just gathers together for conversation!  

Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond thrilled to have my son home again!  I just need to find my groove again!



Here is the new normal for me.  A corner off the kitchen that houses my quilting essentials.  



I had to take a picture off the wall to hang one of my design walls, but didn't cover the nail in the wall.  It was driving me crazy so I hung my 'masked mascot' up to ease the unease!

A couple days ago I decided it was time to try making a quilt.  Albeit small...it was an attempt to put the space to the test.   

I pulled fabric, cut a stack of squares, chain pieced some HST's and...

...trimmed with ease.  I think I found my groove again!

The design wall behind the table is less than ideal.  For a small quilt I can almost layout and arrange blocks without having to contort myself in an unnatural way!  I will need to pull out the table so I can work behind it when I work on large quilts though.

'GEO POP'

I did finish the quilt top, which made me very happy!  I felt a sense of accomplishment and relief that I can make this space work.  This quilt pattern is available here 'Geo Pop'.  

Another problem to solve is photos!  Before I could snap away without worry, now I get a different 'glow' and I've yet to solve that problem.  I will...I most certainly will!

POT HOLDERS
9" x 9"

One of my small projects was this set of pot holders.  I could probably have sewn these is a closet, but I had to start somewhere to get the feel of the new digs!

BONUS HST MINI
4 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Of course I saved the bonus HST's from the pot holders and promptly made this mini mini quilt.  Another accomplishment! 

Hopefully my mojo, groove, spark will continue as I settle in and adjust.  Change is a good thing!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY