It was a long time getting done!

I can't believe it's done...three years after starting it. It saw me through the worst time of my life and it saw me through picking up the pieces and it helped...more than it could ever know...

And now it is on my bed and I am happy to report that I had sweet dreams last night!

This quilt has consumed me for the last couple of weeks. As I got closer to finishing all I wanted to do was quilt and quilt and quilt some more...I was a little obsessive in fact.

And so what is a quilter to do when it is over? How about clean up her sewing room and look to see what is on the neglected pile?

So today I cleaned and was tempted by the call of some geese...

I got to work on my sashings!

It is going to take a lot of geese..

I also found the pieces for a quilt I started that I'd like to donate to the

 Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

Here is a possible layout..

What a great week! Happy Stitching!

For my Neighbour!

My neighbour reminded me today that it has been a long time since I blogged. She wondered what I have been working on and although she is welcome to come see anytime I will save her the long trip across the driveway! She was right-it has been quite a while since I blogged...I have been working quite hard on my hexagon quilt..in fact almost every night is spent in front of it, trying to get as much quilted as possible.

See that door behind my quilt frame?

That is our seasonal front porch and where we love to have morning coffee, read a good book and watch the town drive by. We open it up in April and close it up in October. This weekend we will get it opened up again for the summer, but my quilt is in the way so I'll be taking it off the frame this weekend and finishing it in the hoop.

Up in my sewing room I have been working on these pink and brown blocks.

I started off with a collection of pink and brown fat quarters. Two fat quarters will make 8 blocks total- 4 of each combination.

Here is what I have done so far by just finding a little sewing time here and there...and don't forget to multiple each block by 4- that's 48 blocks done!

I also have the rest of the combinations started and ready to finish.

When I am done it will be another 40 blocks!

And good news...another week and I'll be at a quilt shop...that means fabric for my flying geese!

Happy Stitching!

Still Quilting...

My hexagons are slowly getting quilted but I find I have spent so many hours working on it already that I can only quilt for an hour and a half or so and I need to do something else.

So I have a couple of something else's I have been doing.

First I finished another pair of socks. Can a person have too many hand knit socks? These were the Spring Forward socks from the Summer 2008 Knitty. And yes, I did make 2 of them!

When I finished them I went into my yarn box and discovered many small scrap balls of sock yarn. I have been wanting to make another pair of bed socks so what better to use...

And here is the first ugly sock all done and the next sock started. They are going to be easy to take off in the middle of the night when my feet get too hot! And the best thing is that I'll only see how ugly they are when I put them on.

And yes, I needed to start a new quilt. I had been eyeing this Wild Geese Quilt from the Bloomin Workshop and then saw a couple similar quilts in a magazine and online somewhere (of course I couldn't find it again!). I figured it was meant to be! I love the setting. The wild goose chase block is so often set on the diagonal and that's ok too, but I really like this setting.

So far 8 blocks are done - many geese left to make including all the sashing!

And 2 are on my little design wall that is behind my sewing machine.

I'll be making 25 blocks set 5x5 and it is going to be perfect on my bed!

While I am asking questions, how many bed quilts is too many? Is it ok to make one for every month?

Happy Stitching!

A Little of This...a Little of That...

It's been a while! Now that my quilt is in the quilting frame most of my free time has been devoted to big stitching it! So far, I'm loving it!

I'm using 1/4" masking tape and quilting just beside it on each side. It is coming along slowly, but it is a satisfying process. The downside is that I don't have much else to show!

This weekend I did go to my local quilting retreat. Remember those hand dyed fabrics from long ago? Well I used them all up this weekend sewing log cabin blocks.

There are 2 of each color combination. I had 30 colors in all. My mission for the weekend was to piece all 30 blocks and I did! Yeah!

It will take me some time to figure out the best way to lay them out, but that is the fun part!

I wasn't very smart this weekend though because I forgot all about my camera until I was home and there was lots of show and tell! Next time...

Thanks ladies for the fun and productive weekend.

Some of you may have noticed I didn't get around to doing the Free Motion Quilting Challenge this month. I'm afraid that for part of the month my sewing machine was behind boxes of my belongings while we put new flooring down in my bedroom.

It is so much nicer than the carpet that used to be there and so much easier to keep clean. My bedroom is just through a doorway from my sewing room and I had a lot of threads tracked in. Now a quick Swiffer and it's all clean! Well worth missing a Free Motion Quilting Challenge. I`ll make it up though!

Happy Stitching!

Finally Ready to Quilt

It's basted and ready to quilt! I am so excited to be starting the quilting...finally! And I measured it too! As it turns out, it is a little smaller than I thought it would be but it will still fit my bed-

 it measures 83" x 97".

And while I am not at my quilt frame, I'll be finally using those hands dye's from long ago.

After so much debating I have finally decided to make a log cabin quilt from them. I have started cutting them so that means I must be committed to the project!

Happy Stitching!

There Should be a Warning!

When starting an English paper pieced project, there should be some automatic warning system that tells you...even after spending hundreds of hours sewing, you'll still have many hours ahead of you taking out ALL the paper! But it is a chore that is now done!

I filled my laundry basket 3/4 of the way just with the papers I removed!

And I saved the 'nest' of basting threads!

Time to clean up (it was quite a messy job) and get my backing ready!

Happy stitching!

Two Halves!

Every spare moment has been taken up with sewing my hexagons together and as of last night I had 2 halves! Just one more very long seam to sew! It's been a project 3 years in the making and still has several months of quilting ahead of it, but I will have a new summer quilt for my bed this year.

And I am SMITTEN with it! It's not even my colors...

...half #1 (ignore my paper labels!)

...and half #2

The one thing about such a large project is that I won't have much to share for a while, so as the quilting starts I probably won't be posting on my blog as often. I'll make sure I show my progress once in a while though!

Happy Stitching!

It's a Puzzle!

I love this part of a large project! 

The anticipation is almost too much to bear.

My hexagon puzzle is coming together. I can now see the end of the endless nights sewing them together...to be replaced by endless nights of big stitching! Another week and I'll be removing the freezer paper.

And another project finished! I am smitten with how cute this pineapple is...it's just 18" square!

Now it is time to dig out the next UFO....

Happy Stitching!

A Little Christmas...and Hexagons!

Yes, the Christmas spirit has arrived! I got to work putting together a little log cabin Christmas quilt.

I had great plans to quilt it. And the test sample was perfect. I didn't take into account all those seams this delicate thread would have to travel through though.

All the thread did was keep breaking, so I had to switch to plain red thread for the quilting...still nice but not shiny and gold.

One thing I'd like to share though is that before putting on binding I always baste the edge of my quilt about 1/8" in.  It really helps to prevent tucks and puckers.

The finished quilt....about 24" square. It is going to look great on someones table!

I have also been working on my hexagons. I have a map now. Most of the pieces are assembled into strips of 3 blocks. This is my pile...

And this is my first section so far....

It is going to be so very beautiful on my bed!

Happy Stitching!

Progress!

I have been slowly working on those big hexagons and finally I have some progress!

So far I have 4 strips of 3 blocks put together. This will give an idea of how it is going to look. Definitely NOT my usual colors but I am liking it! I still have a very long way to go but I am happy with how quickly it comes together now.

I hope the next post I'll have some amazing show and tell! I am off on a trip to New Hampshire and New York City! I can't wait to see what the quilt shops have!

One stop is the American Folk Art Museum! And the garment district in NYC! And.... Can't wait!

Happy Stitching and I'll be back soon!

Something Old, Something New!

Let's begin with the old... just a couple of years in the making so far!

I finally starting to work on my hexagon quilt again after quite a long time away from it.

I had been searching for the background fabric and until I found it it had just stalled my enthusiasm! But I think this fabric will work wonderfully for the diamonds and triangles that go between the hexagons. I'll start cutting my freezer paper templates soon. For now I still have some hexagons to sew together.

And now for something with a bit of old and a bit of new....

I noticed a while ago that my 'old' scrap pile is growing and growing and growing. I really don't like it when it gets too big. It becomes overwhelming and too much work to go through it if I'm just looking for a little scrap of something.

 I found a great project to start! So I have started pressing the scraps.

 The plan is to cut the darks and mediums into 1-1/2" strips. I'll post more as it comes together!

And finally something new... but just in the planning stages.

I photocopied my 10 degree ruler to see how I could create a design in each wedge.

So far this is what I have...flying geese! I was playing with the proportions and now that it looks pleasing I'll draft it in EQ7 so I can play with color. The largest goose is 2" tall and the smallest just 1/4" tall. I can hardly wait to see the possibilities!

When the 36 wedges are together it will make a 50 inch circle. My plan is to have an applique border all around it but that is a long way from this stage!

I hope you enjoyed a peek of what is to come!

Happy Stitching!

Hexagon quilt
scraps
planning ruler