Friday, September 3, 2010

Floating Hexagons



It's finished!! And I'm so pleased with how it turned out! This is the quilt I made for my partner after a couple of draft attempts. I always have so many ideas, but until I start creating them with actual fabric - it's hard to know just how well they'll turn out. The half hexagons were fun and easy to work with; I've got some ideas for future layouts involving them. It went together very quickly and pressing the seam allowances open avoids all the potential bumpy intersections. (Hate those!)



I will send it off to my partner on Tuesday; I still need to add a label to the back. Somehow, I always forget about making a label...maybe next time I should do it first. ;D

Hopefully, my partner will like it. I think it suits her tastes...it really was fun to make.

And I received my quilt from my partner a few days ago...it is cute and sweet and thoughtful. I can't wait to hang it on the wall of my sewing/doll room - it is so perfect for me! I want to do a blog post about it; maybe next week.

This week has been more than a little crazy; the electricity has gone out in my sewing room. The overhead light and all the outlets are just dead. It is not a problem with the breakers - checked those and the other upstairs room on the circuit is fine. I need to call an electrician, but first I must move an enormous quantity of stashed fabric/books/dolly stuff/yarn/misc. craft stuff out of the room so the poor man can get to the walls. Yes, my sewing room is a perfect candidate for one of those de-junking TV shows. But that's not gonna happen! I really want to keep my fabric and most of my other stuff...I just need a better storage solution. A serious clean-out was in the plans, just not this week! So I've spent hours sorting through mounds of stuff, some of it to be sold or given away, some to keep. The silver lining is that once I get it out of there, I can go to Ikea and get the shelves I've been coveting and get my room in better shape. And I'm not buying even another fat quarter until I've got it cleaned up and organized! Better yet, I need to use up some of my stash; so many projects that I've planned and just not found the time to make... So it's either make the quilts or de-stash the fabric! Can't wait to see how my new sewing room turns out!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

DQS9 - Deadline is just around the corner!!

Which means I am just getting started on my little quilt! Well, the cutting/sewing part anyway. I've already spent countless hours stalking my partner (in the best way ;D) and sorting through fabric and design ideas.

My partner seems to like modern quilts and retro-mod stuff for her house, too. Favorite colors seem to be blues and greens. She likes hexagons - who doesn't?

So my first idea was to make a little quilt following the instructions from the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along on Flickr for a hexagon quilt. I just used 1.5" strips instead of 2.5". I found a fat quarter bunch on Etsy with that kind of meets the color requirements; it has owls which are cute, but I don't want it to be too cutesy. Anyway, here's the first batch of blocks.


That's Essex Linen that I'll probably use for the triangles...I think. Boy, that stuff is hard to find!

I have some other ideas, too, that I'll play around with tonight and tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe something using half hexagons, or maybe a double hourglass quilt using the Essex linen and the other fabrics I've got in my stack. I have to be careful about doing anything too scrappy - my stash doesn't really stretch that far. It always amazes me how someone who has as much fabric as I do never seems to have the fabrics I need...

Happy Quilting!!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Scrappy Spiderweb Pincushion



I had so much fun making this little pincushion! I think I'll be making more!!

I started it several weeks ago but haven't had the opportunity to really focus on finishing it until last night. My kids' swim season has finally wrapped up and I can sit and sew! I had wanted to try this block for awhile now, and decided to reduce the size to 4 inches which is the perfect size for a little pincushion. The fabrics are mostly Amy Butler from a 5 inch square pack I bought some time ago.

I wanted to used Essex linen for the solid but couldn't find any locally. I'll be on the lookout for some for my stash so I have it on hand. The other thing I wanted to try was crushed walnut shells for the filler. The nearest pet shop doesn't carry it and the shipping for the online stores was as much as the shells. So I'll be looking for some of that to stash away somewhere as well. With the craziness of the last 6 weeks or so, there just wasn't time to go hunting for anything I didn't have on hand.

This was fun and easy to make; and it really didn't take very long. I'm already looking over my scraps for more possibilities!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Jennie is having a giveaway!

And so I'm making a blog post! Wish I had some quilting to show, but I've been keeping pretty busy with some t-shirt quilt commissions and other sewing for Etsy.

Jennie makes quilts, too. Really cute ones. I met her (well, not in person) on Flickr through the Doll Quilt Swap and I follow her on Twitter. Her blog can be found here: http://sunflowerquilts.blogspot.com/ And she is celebrating 300 (!) blog posts with a terrific giveaway. So she not only makes more quilts than me, she blogs more, too!! Hop on over and check out her blog. Pretty cool!!

And because I'm posting, here are a few pics. I took these last week at Cox Arboretum, near Dayton, OH. Lovely spring we are having this year!!





Hopefully, I'll be back soon with some quilt photos soon!

Happy Quilting!!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

DQS8 - Mission Accomplished!

I received my quilt today. It is a wonderful little quilt made by Brenis, aka Hey Diddle Diddle Woolies on Flickr.



See! Isn't it just perfect?? I love polka dots and the bird in the middle and the circles and the quilting and...well, you get the idea.

I enjoyed this round of the Doll Quilt Swap very much. I am already looking forward to the next round!

And since I've been a very lazy blogger, here is the quilt I made to send to my partner:



It has a lot of black, which is a bit different for me. But really, this quilt just sort of made itself. I started with the little baskets in shades of aqua and green with the white and black spotted background. From there, it just sort of came together on it's own. The only fabric I purchased to make this quilt was the border fabric. Again, kind of bold for me, but it seemed to suit the quilt. Hopefully my partner will like it. I don't think it has arrived yet; it had quite a long journey and I've got my fingers crossed it gets there safely.

Can't wait to see what is next in DQS9!!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Another Swap, Another Post...


The Plan
Originally uploaded by On a Whim | LittleWhimsies
I really am not a very good blogger. But as DQS8 gets underway, I actually have a little quilt in the works. So I have something to post. The end of the year and holiday season left me with little time to sew for fun so I am really looking forward to making this little quilt.

As usual, after reviewing my partner's favorites, I got into EQ5 and started playing. Now, I'm not sure that this exact style of quilt is really her thing but she does seem to like color so maybe this will do. And I have been wanting to make this quilt forever so this is what I am currently considering.

I've created three different color options in EQ5 and don't know which I will make, if any. I may do something simpler which may be more to my partner's tastes.


Option 2:


Option 3:


Now I don't actually have these exact fabrics but I do have a number of similar ones and may be able to find some of the ones I used in EQ5. But the color scheme/values would be very similar. So, which one do you prefer? I find it hard to choose; I just want to keep making more color combos in EQ5...it's so much fun!! Maybe I'll get around to making one or more of the others for a giveaway...

Leave a comment if you have a preference -- I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Quilting!

Friday, January 1, 2010

100 and 1/1/10

This is my 100th post! Should probably celebrate somehow; but since I'm such a sporadic blogger, I think I'll just make a resolution to do better in the future. It is a new year and a new decade after all...

Anyway, I was thinking about the quilts I'd like to make this year and thought maybe it would be a good idea to make a list. Maybe if I write it down, somewhere it won't be easily lost, maybe I'll actually make the quilts. I have already purchased the fabric for several and even done some preliminary designing in EQ5. My fabric stash has grown beyond the bounds of what I can manage. So rather than having a stash busting sale, which I could still do, I'd like to see if I can use some of the fabrics as I originally intended.

So here is the list of quilts I've been thinking about today:

Laney's Quilt - Pinks, reds, oranges; made with pre-cut Fassett squares, pattern not determined

DQS8 - I plan to participate in this swap; just love the fun process, due in March

Family Room Throw - Taupes, coral, blue, green, some fabrics in stash, others needed; modern square pattern

T-shirt quilts - Two for my own kids and I have several potential commissions

Amy Butler Quilt - fabrics in stash, pattern not determined

Kaffe Fassett Quilt - fabrics in stash, pattern not determined

Well, that's good for a start. Hopefully committing my ideas to a published list will help me to follow through and get them done. Time just seems to go faster and faster; and my list of things I want to get done just keeps growing.

Happy New Year!