Tied With A Bow (Tie)

I might not be a huge fan of prints, but I am a fan of English Paper Piecing!  Or maybe I should say I'm a fan of having some sort of hand stitching to do in the evenings.

I really wanted to use my Liberty of London scraps for this project so the hunt was on for the perfect block.  Enter the mini Bow Tie Block!

MINI BOW TIES
20" X 20"

I started back in May making 2" blocks:  Baby Bow Ties EPP, and by July I had a pretty good stack of blocks finished:  Baby Bow Ties Getting Closer.  



The tiny Liberty floral along with the size of the block is irresistible!  It was so much fun making each block.  I was surprised, excited and delighted with every block.



I had been collecting Liberty scraps for quite sometime and knew the time was right to finally dig into them.  My goal was to make one block in each print.  And with a little help from a couple of dear friends, I was able to accomplish that goal.  



That means there are 100 blocks, 100 different prints and hours of hand stitching!  You might be wondering who in their right mind would need 100 different prints of anything?!  



Certainly not me!  I don't know how or why I got started collecting Liberty, but I will say I only bought scrap packs that were on sale.  



I used Kona white for the background and all kinds of solids for the center squares. 



The quilting is quite simple, orange peel all the way!  There were a lot of threads to bury, but worth every second!



I almost forgot the best part!  I decided to add a little extra loft in the white spaces!  I almost always use Warm & Natural cotton batting and this was no exception.  However I did add little circles of lofty wool batting in each white area.  It gave me what I was after!



What this means is I'm on the lookout for yet another hand stitching project...the madness never ends!

LINKING:

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

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Baby Bow Ties :: EPP

I found another project!  Another English Paper Pieced project that I putz around with in the evenings!

Bow ties have been on my must make list for a couple years yet I've never quite gotten around to making them until now.  As much as I'd like to make a large quilt using these blocks, realistically I just can't seem to fit it in with all the other 'wanna makes'!  The next best thing for me is baby blocks.  



I've been collecting Liberty of London fabric by buying scrap bundles from various places.  The pieces range in size and are never large enough to make a substantial sized block.  Believe it or not, that was my plan.  Small works for me and anything large would be a waste.  In fact, many of the pieces are still too big especially when I make small blocks like these.  I'll have enough Liberty scraps to last a life time!



Each Bow Tie when finished is 2" square.  You can see why I'll have scraps forever making something this size!  The center square is 1/2" with 1" squares for the corners.  Besides Liberty, I used Kona White for the background.  I figured it would be the best way to accentuate the delicate designs in the print and highlight the colors.  And it seemed like a good idea to use a complementary solid for the center square.

I'm trying to bring harmony to these little bow ties!



This is an example of how the blocks will come together once I get a batch done.  I won't sew these together until I determine the size of whatever it is I'm making. 



The plan is to use one print and one print only for each block.  How big will it be?  Certainly not a full size quilt!  More than likely a mini quilt that will indulge my need to stitch and become something that is irresistible!

This is slow sewing, so don't expect a finish anytime soon!  I'll share my progress along the way just to satisfy your curiosity...and mine!



I completely gave up on my Lucy of Boston EPP blocks.  These blocks use 1/2" honeycomb shapes and I couldn't figure out how to use the prints I have to make them look amazing.  My favorite blocks happen to be the solids, which isn't a big surprise to many of you!  I like the black, pink and white block, yet not enough to pursue it any longer.  

Back burner, back of the closet...that's where these will end up!  Maybe one day I'll pull them out and figure out a way to use them.  It's okay!  My intention was always to have something to keep me busy and these did just as planned!  Now that doesn't mean I wouldn't be happy to gift them to someone if they ever wanted them...just saying!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

I was in a Mood :: Two Moods!

I wasn't planning on this...but it happened.  Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and let things happen.  In between a couple projects I was wondering what I should work on next.  While contemplating the next step, I came across a stack of 8" Me + You Indah Batik Hexagons.  I had two sets of these and actually made a rainbow quilt with the print blocks, but the solids were still there...waiting.  

 

Why not!  May as well use them while the mood is right!  I had almost every color I needed to complete a rainbow with the exception of two colors.  No problem...I have plenty of solids to round out the spectrum!

The only thing I had to do is cut the Kona Snow triangles.  Pretty easy and fast.  Last time I used these hexagons in a quilt I sewed the rows diagonally and said it was confusing.  In the comments people wondered why I did that when I could have saved the trouble and sewed horizontal rows instead.  Well, live and learn!  It had never occurred to me to do that, but I certainly did just that this time!



It made the piecing process so much easier!  It was a palm to the forehead moment!



The blocks were pretty simple to line up and with a few exceptions it was pretty perfect.  There will always be exceptions especially when this is a project that is my 'in between' ideas project.



I've got it half way pinned right now and hope to start some quilting on it very soon!  I'm not sure how detailed I want to get with quilting.  The wide open spaces are tempting, but I may go simple like the last one.  

Another project I've been testing or playing with, is English Paper Piecing honeycombs.  When I was at QuiltCon I naturally bought a few things and honeycomb templates were one of those things.

  

I'm always in the need of an evening hand stitching project especially when I don't have bindings to sew on.  I came across a booth that had a bunch of finished Lucy of Boston blocks and they were so pretty it peaked my interest.

I glanced to my right and saw a smaller version and that was all it took!  Instead of the usual 1" honeycomb templates, I opted for the 1/2".  They even had 1/4" templates...I'm crazy, but not that crazy!

I also bought a few things from different vendors like some 100wt Poly Invisifil thread, an adorable hummingbird needle threader and a very cool old time vinyl zipper pouch.  Everything from this haul along with scissors, glue pen and fabric fit nicely inside and if I ever went anywhere, would make a great travel kit!



I've mad two blocks and as you can see they aren't show stopping!!  This is why I don't get along with prints!  Even the Liberty of London prints I used can't make up for the lack of pizazz!  I'll try again with some other print, that I'm sure of.

The first block I cut the fabric with the acrylic template but found that there was just too much to wrap around the paper template.  The second one I trimmed it down and it did make it easier.  

As for the 100wt thread, it's strong!  It's also thin!  You have to be mindful that you don't accidentally wrap it around where it isn't suppose to go and only discover that you did later!  I really do like it though and maybe it'll make me a better stitcher or give the illusion that I've improved! 

You might have noticed that I made a new header for my blog.  I have two options, this one being the most minimal of the two.  I'll probably switch back and forth until I decide which is the best fit.  I had a vision on the logo and my son helped to bring it to life.  





What do you think?  Please be brutally honest with me!!  One or two or neither?  Any ideas on how to improve or change it?  I'm not a graphic artist and have no desire to be one, but I do like feedback!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Finishing Projects :: Fresh Start

The past week or so I've been focusing my attention on getting projects finished before the new year.  And while that is happening, I'll be sharing a few of them in the first part of 2019.  I can't believe I'm saying 2019 already!  This year has flown by and it's been a crazy fun one to look back on!  

I love having some sort of hand work to do in the evenings, whether it's hand sewing bindings, English Paper Piecing or really anything to fill the time.  When one of those kinds of projects ends I feel almost sad!  Weird, right?!  It's probably because I have to figure out the next one to keep me busy and it can be difficult to pick one.   

VIOLET CRAFT PATTERNS

Luckily this pretty Peacock landed in my lap at just the right time.  A friend from our Guild graciously gave me this Violet Craft Peacock EPP kit!  I was beyond happy and still cannot believe it happened.  I've wanted to try a Violet Craft EPP project for quite sometime!  Peacock, Giraffe, Wolf, Elephant or a Chicken, she has something for everyone!  Click on the link under the photo to check out her shop.

19" x 19"

I had the top finished for a few weeks before I decided what to do with it.  A couple of days ago I decided I wanted a new pillow cover for my couch.  

As you can see from the pattern cover I didn't change a thing!  I used almost the exact colors as the original which made it to much easier!  The kit comes with reusable templates that are marked with numbers and symbols making it easy to know what fabric to use and where it goes.  I found that part very helpful and easy.

The hardest part for me was figuring out the best way to stitch the pieces together.  I powered through, but you can see my finished top is slightly wonky!  

 

I rarely use anything other than Warm and Natural batting for all my quilts, but this time I grabbed a scrap of fluffy wool batting for this one.  I don't think I would ever quilt an entire quilt with lofty batting, but for something this small it was worth a try.

I quilted 1" diagonal lines in two directions ending up with diamonds.  Simple and fast was my goal!    

The feathers on the Peacocks head was the hardest section to stitch!  Those black strips are skinny!  

The back is a chaotic mess...luckily we don't have to look at that side!  

My very favorite method of finishing pillow backs is with a hidden zipper.  I used this tutorial: Hidden Zipper tutorial from Svetlana at SOTAK Handmade.  If you haven't tried putting in a hidden zipper, I highly recommend this tutorial!  You'll be surprised at just how easy it is and it looks great too!

I enjoyed this pattern and one day I wouldn't mind getting another Violet Craft pattern to fill my evenings!  Which one would you make? 

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Michael's Garden :: The Finale

Getting to the other side of a long process is both rewarding and bittersweet.  Without going too deep into the details, this quilt took well over a year to finish.  It was a year of real quilt therapy full of happy and sad moments.  Hand stitching every single piece was my way of working through what life had thrown me.  But let's not go there!  It's a happy quilt that I will cherish forever and I'm sure it will bring me only happy thoughts from this day forward!

If you'd like to read about every step of this quilt, these are the links to all the previous posts:

August 2017:  Star Light, Star Bright
October 2017:  Diamond Hexie Stars
November 2017:  Diamond Hexie Stars 2
December 2017:  The Real Work Begins

April 2018:  Hexie Diamond Update

July 2018:  My Therapy Quilt

MICHAEL'S GARDEN
58" x 78"

The final piece to the puzzle was the quilting.  I knew I could never do it justice on my own, so I enlisted the services of Jill Zollinger @sewsouthern_jill who is a member of our guild and a crazy talented long arm quilter.  I knew she would nail the quilting so I gave her free reign over the design.  

My one request was to do a different design in the gray star that represents my brother Michael.  Jill added lines in the gray and the black received triangles.

  

This is a bright and busy quilt!  It's so hard to get good clear shots of the quilting when there is black (Kona Pepper) and a saturated busy print such as these Kaffe Fasset fabrics.  

You'll have to trust me that it's amazing and I love it!  



I'm so happy that I threw it in a pile on the floor!  Actually, the happy part is true and the pile on the floor is a photo shot I just love to take of any quilt! 

Looking back, I don't think there is anything I'd do differently.  It started as just a project to keep my mind occupied and grew into something I never imagined I'd ever do!  Who would have thought I'd ever hand stitch a quilt from beginning to end?!  The extent of my English Paper piecing projects have been small pieces.  A pillow, a wall hanging...but this one was so different.  Let's just say I was compelled to keep going...or maybe it's a testament to my need for therapy! 

The edges had me on edge so to speak!  I wasn't sure what to do.  I ended up trimming right to the diamond hexies on the sides.

The top and bottom starts and ends with a point (triangle) of the star to the edge.  



I added a corner label using the letter setting on my machine.  It isn't perfect like a super fancy embroidery machine would do, but I like it!



It's final resting place for the time being is tossed across my couch in a big heap!  It will receive the ever important wash and dry for the crinkle effect and it will absolutely be used on a regular basis!  It may have taken a year to complete and fully hand stitched, but that doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be snuggled under and used!

I very much doubt I'll ever make another hand stitched quilt of this size again!  Been there, done that rings in my ears!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

One Year Later :: My Therapy Quilt

When I started this quilt I had no idea where it was going.  I was in need of a project to do by hand that would occupy my mind, heart and hands nearly one year ago.  Unbeknownst to me when I started, but this quilt has taken me on journey.  I went from deep sadness and heartache to happiness.  I won't say there isn't still that sadness, but not to the degree that was there in the beginning.  Losing my brother and my four legged best friend at the same time was devastating.  They say it gets easier and it does.  We never forget, we always have our moments, but we continue to take one step at a time until things get better.  

Since this quilt has become more of a celebration quilt, lets just get to it and revel in the joy of it all!

I sound like this is a finished quilt!  It is not!  I have a top, a flimsy...the finish won't happen for a couple months yet!

Much like my last quilt, this one kept growing.  In fact I think it is too big!  Last time I shared my progress I was wondering how I would deal with the edges.  As you can see I added more black triangles.  As for the top and bottom, well I ended up adding an extra row so that I could trim it to have full black stars.

After today there will only be one more post about this monster!  You can check out my adventures with diamonds in these posts:  

August 2017:  Star Light, Star Bright
October 2017:  Diamond Hexie Stars
November 2017:  Diamond Hexie Stars 2
December 2017:  The Real Work Begins

April 2018:  Hexie Diamond Update

I was left with a big pile of templates, yet it doesn't reflect the actual number of triangles and diamonds in this quilt.  I would make my hexies stars and take out the center templates so I could reuse them for the next batch of stars.  After a while some get pretty messed up.  I would print off sheets of them on an as needed basis. 

The template/triangle/diamond reality is this:
78 - Hexie Blocks 
936 - Diamonds
199 - Triangles

Now that's a lot!!



I've been calling this quilt 'Michaels Garden' after my brother.  The gray star represents him...front and center, loud and clear!

All the fabric is Kaffe Fasset, the black is Kona Pepper and the gray is Kona Steel.  The bright solid diamonds are a combination of everything...whatever was on hand and I could get six diamonds from it was fair game!

I cannot believe I actually hand stitched this entire quilt!  One thought that crossed my mind, besides me thinking I had lost my mind, was back in the day that was how things were done!  Imagine having to cut each piece of fabric,  hand stitching the pieces together, and then finishing it off with hand quilting.  I think my current productivity would be cut by 90%!!

 

Not every point is lined up perfectly perfect.  Then again perfection is in the eye of the beholder.  It doesn't bother me, not even in the slightest!

I had fun cutting out prints for each star!  At first I had to have three exact matching diamond groups, later on when my supply was dwindling, I ended up being much more flexible.

The back is a mine field of seams, dog ears and threads!  I used glue to hold and fold the fabric around the templates, which meant that some of the fabric was hard to pry loose!  There's a lot of fabric threads that ... don't judge ... I don't care about and I'm going to leave as is.  Seriously, there are hundreds, thousands or more!  Plus, I'm keeping the quilt for myself and picked Kona Pepper for the backing for added camouflage!

It was bitter sweet when I finished the last stitch.  This quilt became a part of my nightly routine for so many months and frankly, I wasn't ready for it to end!  It was time though and I can always start another EPP project!

This quilt will end up being about 60" x 90" and weighs a ton!  I first thought I'd quilt it myself, but I came to my senses pretty quickly!  How could I spend all that time hand stitching every piece and then mess it up with basic quilting?!  I could not!  A member of our guild will take on the challenge and work her magic!  September will be the magic month for a real, total and complete finish!

Would you take on the challenge of making an entirely hand stitched quilt?  I might again...one day!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL  

MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD  ● TGIFF ● CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

Hexie Diamond *Update*

It seems like a long time since I've shared progress on my English Paper Pieced Hexie Diamond Star project.  For something that was meant to keep my mind and hands occupied nine months ago, it has become much bigger than I ever imagined! 

I don't know if that's good or bad!  I think I'll go with good!  If I don't look at it that way I wouldn't be motivated to keep going.  I couldn't imagine putting all that work into it and then not finishing or liking it!

Here's the scoop!  My adventures with diamond hexies documented over the past nine months!

Star Light, Star Bright
Diamond Hexie Stars
Diamond Hexie Stars 2
The Real Work Begins



Since my last post I figured out the layout.  In a way that was the easy part.  I've never tackled an English Paper Pieced project on this scale.  Following my usual 'jumping in with both feet' philosophy, I pretty much went for it.  I had no idea if there was a proper way of sewing the rows together or if there was an easy method to go about it.  Eventually I developed a way that worked for me and from there...there was no turning back!

  

I had all my rows labeled (seems to be a theme for me lately!), and on the backside of each hexie I marked where each black triangle would end up.  After sewing the triangles on, I moved on to row assembly.  

The method that worked for me was sewing each row in two sections.  Then sew row one, section one to row two section one together and repeat with the remaining sections.  Once that was complete, I'd sew row one and row two section one to row one and row two section two together.  And with that I have totally confused you!  I can see your eyes have glazed over and you are thinking 'this girl has totally lost her mind'!  

Trust me when I say...it works for me!!



One thing I did not think about before this madness began, was how I'd end the rows.  Is anything easy these days?!  I'm playing with a few options right now, but I certainly wish I had worked that out before hand!  I put myself in a quandary.  I still have time.  As of today, right now, right this very second...I still have the last two rows to assemble in my ever so 'mad as a hatter' way!

Hopefully the next installment of 'Harebrained Hexies' will be all about how I solved the side issues and finally...finally have the top finished!  

LINKING:

Oh Scrap

Main Crush Monday

Let's Bee Social
Mid Week Makers

Needle & Thread

TGIFF