A Sticky Situation

Believe it or not, I'm actually ahead of the game!  I may have learned my lesson after getting three months behind on my Technicolor Galaxy block of the month. This was my last post,  In A Galaxy Far, Far Away,  which shows just how grueling it was! 

We are on Block #7 ~ Hexie Flowers.  Little 5/8" hexies, stabilizer templates and glue.  Glue. I have used glue to stick a template to fabric and hand stitch around the edges, but I have not glued the edges before.  There sure is a lot of gluing in this BOM!  

The first problem I encountered were the templates.  I bought the pre-cut stabilizer templates, and it turns out I didn't read the fine print.  This block needs 84 hexagons, clearly you can see the bag contains 60.  I didn't think it was a HUGE deal, until I tried to find a template online for 5/8" hexagons.  It is a weird size?  I found every other size except what I needed.  At the end of my rope I came across this site:  Incometech,  You can print graph paper shapes in squares, hexies, octagons ~ just about anything and you can make them any size you need. Really very cool!  I printed a copy on a stabilizer sheet (after making sure they were the exact size and the pre-cuts), cut them out and was ready to roll.

     

Fabric was the next step, one I thought would be easy.  I won't go in to detail, just know that I didn't like it not one little bit!!  But I played along. I picked. I cut. I counted. I searched. I did it.

I grabbed the glue stick, snatched the templates out of the bag (plus the ones I laboriously cut), and started gluing one template to each little square and you know what?  This blew my mind, there were not 60 templates in that bag.  Nope.  Not 60 at all.  There were actually enough for all my 84 hexies and then some!!!  Crazy talk!  I may have said a few 'swears', more than a few...but dang!

Putting that behind me, it was time to get crackin'!  This would be my night time entertainment! I'm so out of control, a wild party girl, stop me now!!

It was slow going.  Trim the fabric, glue the edges.  Sticky fingers.  Like really sticky!  I may be doing it wrong, but the glue stick wasn't really that cooperative.  I felt like a hot mess. With a few flowers finished, I called it a night.  

   

...and picked it up the next night...

...until I ended up with...

84 of the cutest little glue filled, hexagons!  

...put them all together and you have 12 colorful flowers...

There is still work to be done in the form of hand stitching.  

Marked and ready.  One, two, three...

Quilt Porn Picture of the Month

Progress.  And ahead of time for a change!  Block #7...you are soon to be history! 

My first ever hand stitched hexies completed!  I was hoping a rhythm would come to me once I started, and it did.  I've always admired people who do English Paper Piecing.  Now I see why they love it so much.  There may be more of this in my future!  

I used a whip stitch to join the hexies.  I think I did it right! 

For those who are participating in this Skill Builder BOM, Jenn @ A Quarter Inch From The Edge will be hosting a progress link up on the 12th of each month starting in September and going through December.  A fun way to share our progress no matter how much or how little you have done.

Who out there uses glue in their quilting?  What are your thoughts on this technique?  I see the benefit in a dab of glue for hexies or for that first piece of fabric in paper piecing.  I'm not sure anything beyond that is for me.  We'll see!

Vice Versa BOM ~ Finished!

Whew!  I finished my first block of the month with a mere couple hours to spare!  It isn't like I didn't have plenty of time to finish this quilt.  That is if I had started earlier!

First of all, I loved making each of the blocks in this quilt.  I really enjoyed my first BOM experience and hope to do this again.  

Last year, Anne Marie at Gen X Quilters announced the Vice Versa BOM.  It looked intriguing and fun so I decided I would jumped in!  I could handle two blocks a month.  

The hardest part for me was deciding my colors.  In the end I went with some special hand dyed fabrics that my daughter dyed for me.  They had been sitting in my stash for far too long and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use them.

9" blocks

Let me tell you about the quilting.  I thought I would throw caution to the wind and do a little free motion quilting.  Believe me, I was stressed about that!  With good reason too! My plan was to stipple the blocks.  Side to side, end to end.  I did just that on the center blocks. Seemed easy enough.  Until I turned it over and saw it looked HORRIBLE!  Since I rarely FMQ, it didn't occur to me to check the back.  Now I know.  Lesson learned.  I spent 3-4 nights ripping out the stitches hoping I would be done in time.  

I wasn't going to let that stop me from trying it again!  Come hell or high water...I was going to FMQ and finish this quilt!   

The second try was so much better.  I felt good about this go around.  Checked, checked, and double checked the stitching.  To be honest, the stippling isn't perfect.  I crossed over a couple times, the stitches are certainly not perfect to say the least!  

Last night I finished sewing the binding and threw it in the wash.  After pulling it out of the drier...I was giddy with joy at the results!  It's amazing how a good crinkle can hide the inconsistency of my stitches!

Not bad!  I love the colors, love the blocks and love the quilting!

I did a little stippling, a little straight line and a little finger (?) quilting.

Thank you Anne Marie!  I loved this BOM and you were the perfect hostess!  

LINKING:

GEN X QUILTER

FABRIC FRENZY FRIDAY

CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

BOM ~ Vice Versa Quilt

Nothing like taking my time on putting this one together!  I cannot believe that it has been nearly a year since I started my first Block-of-the-Month.   Anne Marie Chany of Gen X Quilter put together an exciting and beautiful BOM Club and I hate to see it end!  

Every month there were 2 blocks to make.  Vice Versa ~ opposites.  When I started this project I knew I wanted to use hand dyed fabric.  The beautiful aqua blue background is a Bella Cotton.  Picking the fabrics was the hardest part and I certain was on the fence about the colors at first.  After a few blocks it grew on me!

Last week I decided it was high time to assemble the quilt top.  Nearly ever fiber in me was screaming to finish this differently from the pattern.  You know ~ just to be different. Not just that though.  I have never ever made a square quilt.  For some reason they make me uncomfortable.  I've come to the conclusion it's because in my mind I am not 'square'...I'm 'rectangle'!  I know!!!  How crazy is that?!  

In the end I decided since this was my year of firsts, I was going square!  Follow the directions.  Play along!

As I was sitting sewing last night, I looked over at this quilt draped over the rail.  I was struck by the crispness of the rich, dark hand dyed fabrics against the background.  I think that was the point (finally) that I knew I picked the right combination of colors.  How about that?  It only took a year! 

I still have to baste and quilt it.  I haven't decided on the quilting design yet, but I know it will come to me.  Eventually.  First I need to decide on the backing fabric.  I believe I will dye some fabric for that.  So, I had better hop to it!

This quilt will end up 57" x 57" and they are 9" blocks.  

So, have you done a BOM?  

Do you love them?

I would love to do another one, so if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear from you!

* W.I.P * B.O.M * O.M.G *

And the list goes on and on!  Orders, restocking, writing patterns, dyeing fabric!  This has been one of the busiest month's ever!

I'm a little behind in my Vice Versa BOM show and tell!  Yesterday I finished my August block finally.  It didn't work the way I had hoped, a little 'off' and I didn't use one of the colors I should have.  That's what happens when I don't read the directions thoroughly.  

Be that as it may, I shall share anyway!

I especially love the second one even with the flaws!  

August BOM

July BOM

July's block was tedious!  Those flying geese were so, so small!  See the blue in this one...it was suppose to be in the August blocks as well.  I kind of had to improvise when I discovered the mistake!

I have yet to start writing the pattern for this quilt: Feverishly Finished.  The good news is I'm in the process of making it again.  Another custom order.  I'm happy to give it one more test run.  It's better to give it a few test runs before I put it out there!  Thank you to everyone who commented and those who so kindly offered to pattern test it for me!  It's thrilling beyond belief for me!

This is the fabric we settled on.  Pat Bravo~Rapture.  I got this bundle from Hawthorne Threads.  When it arrived I was thrilled!  This fabric is so gorgeous in person and it feels like heaven!  We also decided on Canary (Pure Elements). 

I want to give a couple different options for fabrics in my pattern.  The original was 30 different solids (great scrap buster), but maybe someone wants to use some prints?!  I need to figure out how far they will go!

By the way, this quilt will be for a little girl named Reese.  Her Mom says she is an avid reader and they are looking forward to snuggling underneath this quilt for many years to come!  Reese has a little sister who will be next in line for a quilt!  I was told that in anticipation of these new quilts...the girls room has been painted!  No pressure, right?

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing.  The lure of the great outdoors is ever present.  But first, gotta get those blocks done!

My June BOM is done.  Actually I have had it done for a good week or more.  And since the next series will be hitting the 'in' box, I thought I had better share this before I get behind! 

This time I actually followed the directions and didn't mess either one up!  I am getting so excited for the end of the series.  Only because I am getting antsy to put all these blocks together.  Participating in my first block of the month has been so much fun.  I definitely would and will do another one!

Many thanks to AnneMarie of Gen X Quilters for hosting the Vice Versa BOM!  I'm sure it was a lot of work, but she pulled it off beautifully!

I was lucky enough to steal some time (mostly from weeding) to hand dye some baby onesies!  

I decided to do the first batch using a 'dip dye' ombre method.  The ended up pretty good, but next time I think I will do much better.  They are cute...and tiny!  Are babies really that small?!

For the last two, I wanted to try something a little different.  Shibori is a little time consuming, but I love the effect you get from it.  Radiant Orchid for this little outfit!

Can't forget the boys!  Blue!  I doubt that I would do so many tiny circles on the next ones, but it sure turned out cute!

There it is.  My little world.  In between weeding.  And more weeding.  Oh, did I mention I'm weeding again today?!  

Catch Up!

Happy Monday Morning!  I know its early, but so far this week is starting off pretty great! How optimistic is that?!

I realize I have some catch up to do.  A few projects to share.  An update.  Maybe a little rambling on.  I'm not sure where time goes.  I know there are plenty hours in the day, days in the weeks and weeks in the month...but really?  It seems like there isn't enough!  (that was my ramble)

So, let me up date you!  My last post was about this big queen quilt:  Well Worth It.  After stressing out on so many levels about this, my customer received it.  Turns out she loves it!  Whew...load off my mind!  She and I discussed pillow covers for the next phase.  I thought she was talking two.  Turns out its four!  Two square and one rectangle.  And one that is, dare I say HUGE again?!  I guess you would call it a body pillow that is used as a bolster.  I'll be back in improv/abstract mode before too long!

Here is my Vice Versa BOM blocks from last month.  Another few days and there should be another pattern...whatever will it be?!

I love the border on this one!

It wasn't until this very second...seriously....that I see I messed this one up!  It looks different from the first one!  It appears I didn't place the corner pieces correctly!  ARGH!  I think maybe I will be doing this one over again!

They look good together even with the mistake!  I'm still scratching my head over this!

Just a pretty little stack of zipper coin purses!  I am loving this color combination!  I have a story behind these!  However, it will have to wait for the next post!!  

Linking:

ANYTHING GOES MONDAY'S
LET'S BEE SOCIAL!
WIP WEDNESDAY

Vice Versa BOM Update

This time I finished block #4 days before the end of the month!  I'm getting better. And I'm getting excited watching the stack grow!

The are block #4.  Star in a star.  I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that these are 9 1/2" blocks. We had a choice of two sizes and I went with the smaller one.  I wasn't sure If I would have enough of the hand dyed fabric to complete all 18 blocks in the end.  I'm still not sure...we shall see!

Together they sparkle like a star in the sky!  Well, not really.  I had a moment of poetry in me!

I pulled out all the blocks after I finished the one above.  I needed a visual on my progress.  I liked what I saw.  

I love the outcome and so happy I decided this was the year to participate in my first BOM!  Thank you AnneMarie for putting together a great block of the month!  (Vice Versa BOM ~ with Gen X Quilters)

Its the weekend...enjoy yourself!

Vice Versa Block #3

This is a two block a month BOM.  Vice Versa.  I don't usually wait so long to do anything.  Rarely do I have numerous quilts going at once.  I'm a start and finish kinda gal!  Until this month!  March~you kicked my butt this time around!  In the end I won!  I got it done with hours to spare.....ninja warrior, that I am!

I like this block.  Bear's Paw.  I'm leaning towards the block on the right as my favorite.  Maybe!

The more I see these and the other two, the more excited I get!  I cannot wait to put them all together one day!  There are six more months.  Twelve more blocks.  It'll be a while.  Good thing I have the patience of a Ninja...

What do you think?  Which is your favorite?  

ANYTHING GOES Monday

Back At It!

I was so excited and could hardly wait for the 2nd block pattern in the Vice Versa Block of the Month!  You know the feeling...like a kid waiting for Santa!  (that may be a stretch!) That was 3 weeks ago!  I just never got to it!  Little things here and there got in my way of having fun.  

Today was the day!  I haven't made a thing in nearly 2 weeks.  What the heck is up with that?!  Let me share...

First One

Second One (favorite one)

Together at last

I really love this one, so it gets its own special close-up!  I promise not to take so long next time...I will try not to take so long next time...maybe I can get them done sooner next month!

 Gen X Quilters Vice Versa Block Of The Month

Link Up's:

LET'S BEE SOCIAL @Sew Fresh Quilts

WIP WEDNESDAY @Freshly Pieced

WHOOP WHOOP Friday

FABRIC FRENZY Friday

FINISH IT UP Friday

Vice Versa Block Of the Month

If you follow blogs you will know what I'm talking about.  'Blogland' is full of Block of the Month, Quilt-A-Longs or swaps.  I was always intrigued, slightly envious and eager to get off my butt and participate!  This year I decided to jump in.  AnneMarie, the genius behind Gen X Quilters Blog has put together a Block of the Month called Vice Versa BOM. Two blocks per month!  Vice Versa because~well the are positive/negative, ying/yang...opposites!  Easy peasy, right?!  I jumped in and signed up.  

The first of each month you receive a PDF block pattern.  Seriously, I have been looking forward to my 'first' for so long!  Life can get in the way a little and throw you off track!  I just completed my first months block!  For the next, ahem, year...you get to see my progress!  Contain yourself, please!

First off, I had a difficult time choosing the fabric.  I knew that I wanted to use some hand dyed fabrics that my daughter gave me a couple years ago.  They are gorgeous...and hard to pair with anything!

This is the 'feel' the 'vibe' I was going with.  If you every are looking for color combinations, check out Seeds.  Amazing!  Or, Palette Builder is also a great source for color help. 

And here is the fabric I needed to work with.  Yes, needed!  I have hand dyed fabric and stacks of fabric that I cannot bring myself to use because its so beautiful!  I have been telling myself that it will be even more beautiful if I use it in something.  Does anyone else do that?  I'm sure I can't be the only one. 

Hand Dyed

Aren't they pretty?  You should see them in person...stunning!  I still needed one more color and a back ground color.  Without peeking any further, what would you suggest? Don't be afraid.  

Here's what I went with!  Call me crazy!  You can't really see from the picture, but there is a blue tone throughout the fabric.  That should explain the blue background fabric I choose.

Yesterday I set myself up to begin the Vice Versa BOM.  My cutting mat, ruler, iPad (with the block PDF) and a big cup of tea!  Perfect!  I'm ready now!

Gettin' down to the Nitty Gritty!

These blocks included Half Square Triangles and I was pumped when I saw that.  I get to use my Christmas gift ~ Bloc Loc!  If you don't have a set...get one!  They are pretty amazing! 

Squaring the HST blocks

I was trying to be organized.  Neat piles with all the pieces to the puzzle!

Block Pieces

I am still on the fence about my color selection.  I'm still on the fence about this one.  One minute I'm leery and the next it looks fantastic...dang colors!

Simple Block

Reverse Block

I must say the second block is pretty cool.  Both were really fun to make and I do love making fun blocks.  

Side By Side

I'm happy with the blocks.  I'm thrilled that I am doing my first BOM.  And, I cannot wait until February!