1/2" Hexie Kaleidoscope

I've been semi feverishly trying to finish up a small stack of quilts.  Quilting is going well, yet there are still a couple more to get to.  It always seems to take longer than I'd like for this process!  

In between the large quilts I've tried to work in a mini or a wall hanging just to break up the monotony...it's working for the most part.  

After I finished the first 'Hexie Heart' wall hanging I was determined to make another.  The process of hand stitching the hexies together goes super fast and you end up with a fun design.  For the second go around I decided to use solid fabrics, stay in the rainbow theme, but use 1/2" hexies instead of 1".  I'm so glad that I did!  It's ten times as adorable!

KALEIDOSCOPE
18" X 18 1/2"   

Oh the magic it makes!  I decided to use a dark background for a change of pace.  The fabric is Kona Gotham and I think it makes the hexies electrified!  They stand out in the best way possible.

 

With my hand as a reference...you can see just how small the hexies are in real life.  



Once all the pieces are together it measured 10" x 10", that will also give you reference to the size.



And what would a English Paper Pieced project be without a shot of the papers on the back?!  I made myself a chart of the design with each color section labeled.  Once I had that figured out along with my fabric choices, I wrote a corresponding number on each hexie so that I could get the colors in the right position.  A simple guide that makes sewing the pieces together much easier.

  

When I made the first one, I actually pieced together hearts to go inside the circles.  This time I decided I'd quilt a design in the centers instead.  It made it so much easier.  Plus, you can quilt some pretty great designs especially when you use colored thread.  



I grabbed my Aurifil rainbow mix of colors and proceeded to quilt some geometric stars.  They aren't the most perfect starts, but I love when I can use my walking foot instead of free motion quilting.  The walking foot wins out every time!



I stitched a tiny zigzag around and inside the hexies using a variegated rainbow thread (see back photo!).  I like that look better than the first go around with this design.  I then quilted 1/2" lines in a hexagon around the center using a dark gray thread.  From there I did a few rainbow 'flower' rounds and finished with many more concentric gray rounds. 



Why I don't use a dark background with rainbow designs I'll never know!  White backgrounds feel crisp and clean and you think they will make the colors standout, but a dark background seems to enhance the colors.  I'm a fan and I'm drooling just a bit!   



With every design (this one included) I tend to figure out better ways to accomplish or enhance things.  The center design, the quilting design, background colors, quilting...just to name a few.  And when that happens you know there will be another project along these lines.  I'm always trying to make it easier or faster or better!  Some things are hard to resist!

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 :: Getting Closer!

I wanted a project that was long term and depending on what your definition of long term is, I feel like it has become just that! 

The evenings are when I sit and relax, yet I still have to have some type of hand project to do.  I guess it makes me feel like I've accomplished something!  If there isn't a binding to sew on the next best thing for me is a little English Paper Piecing.  

A couple months ago I started my Bow Tie EPP project and it has grown quite a bit since then.  Two months ago I had 6 blocks finished, now I have 73 with 17 more to go!  Quite an accomplishment!



The Bow Ties finish at 2" square, 1" for the corner squares and center is a 1/2" square.  The block itself is pretty simple to sew together and once you get in the groove, it goes together quickly.  By quickly, I mean each block probably takes 30-40 minutes to hand sew together.    



I was finally able to use my Liberty of London stash, yet with the blocks being small I didn't use all that much!  My goal was to use a different print for each block, and with the help of a couple friends, who graciously offered some of their treasured stash, I was able to achieve that goal!

Thank you Ellyn and Jenny !  You both are the best and I appreciate your generosity!



I've seen so many gorgeous bow tie quilts and had always wanted to make one.  I never imagined I'd go in this direction!  I like when a block has options.  Color, fabric, layout...endless possibilities!  



My plan is to go with this layout, but I honestly haven't explored my options.  Maybe once I get the last blocks completed I'll play around and see if I can come up with something different. 



Once I decide on the layout I'll sew four blocks together at a time.  I plan on adding a white border to finish it off.  Plans can change!



It always feels good when I can cross something off my bucket list!  This one has been on it for far too long.  It would be nice to cross a few more off my list, but for now I'll just enjoy that I got one done!



This little adventure will be continued!  Once I get near (nearer) the end of a project like this, it's hard to slow down!  I get excited and want to finish it!  I'm not very patient at this point!

LINKING:

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

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF 

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

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

Topping The Table!

Far be it from me to let a block or seven sit unused for very long!  I mean, if I put hours, days and months into had stitching each and every piece then every block was going to be used in some way or another!



As a refresher, I made a quilt all hand stitched that took me a year.  My Therapy Quilt.  I won't go into detail, but it was most definitely a labor of love.  Once that quilt was finished, I had some extra blocks that I thought would be perfect for a table topper, and perfect for my Mom.  She sat for hours by my side when I started making the blocks so many months ago.  Now she'll be able to see what I was up to, and hopefully it will bring a smile to her face!

The bright solids worked so well with the vibrant Kaffe Fasset prints, and the Kona Pepper and medium grey brings it all together given the shape of this quilt.  If that wasn't enough!  There is nothing like quilting to put things over the top!



I was mesmerized by the back and quilting design that I only took one picture of the front!  I love quilting small quilts!  Because of the size I can get much more detail and not kill myself in the process!

I quilted the center star first using a dark teal thread and from there it was like magic watching the design shine!



It looks complicated, but it really wasn't!  Once I figured out the lines it was easy to go around and around and around the star!   Except for the center star, there were no threads to bury.  It helped that I was able to start at the edge!



One of my favorite parts of the quilting is at the points where the thread meets from all the rounds.  It kind of shines!!  

I just happened to have the perfect Aurifil thread for this project.  I used 50wt in the following colors:  Jade 4093, Light Jade 1148, Medium Lavender 2540, Medium Purple 2545, Dusty Rose 2452, Magenta 2535, Light Emerald 2860, and Light Blue Grey 2610.  



I'm not sure if the colors would have been quite as spectacular on a light fabric.  It makes me curious, perhaps curious enough to try!   

If I could do this kind of quilting on a big quilt I would do it in a heartbeat!   

I'll pop this in the mail next week for my Mom.  I think she'll like it...after all, Mom's have to like their children's art!

LINKING:

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

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

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