Another Monday....

Ok so I've been MIA for a couple of weeks.  I know!  I do this sometimes.  And I have a pretty good reason this time.  [Don't I always?]  lol

I've been focusing on getting a certain quilt finished and I don't want to show a lot of it since I'm not really sure who reads my blog.  

But I can talk about it a bit.  I do have all of the blocks sewn together and was getting ready to attach the simple 6" border .... when I stopped.

You know "they" say that a quilt will tell you what it needs.  

Wellllll ....It was telling me to NOT just slap a border on this very pretty top.  So I laid it out on the floor so I could get a good look at it and thought it really didn't need a border.  

So there.  I made my decision.  

Folded it all up and was getting ready to take it (as is) to my longarm gals.

But NO!  That just wasn't going to be.  I kept pondering that quilt for days and days and then went back to EQ7 and changed the border design and suddenly I knew this was going to work.  One more border to get made and added and THEN it is going to my 'gals'.  I'm happy.  The quilt is happy.  

In the meantime I pulled out some of the Carol Doak blocks that I had made this last year and decided to make a few more.  I do love to paper-piece so once I got on a roll I had three blocks made in no time.

So now I'm heading over to check in at Judy's Design Wall Monday and see what other quilters have been up to.  

I bet they have much more than I do.  ;-)

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Good Monday Morning....

One week of the Olympics are over and I still don't have anything on my design wall.  That's because I haven't been in my sewing room to do any machine sewing.    Glued to the TV.   Just like I knew I would be.

I have been hand sewing though.  Working on my Hexie BOM off and on.   Sometimes it's a little hard to get too many hexies sewn together when I find myself caught up in all the action in Sochi.

Of course this month the Hexie BOM is all about hearts and after choosing several different red fabrics (of course) I quickly basted and sorted the hexies so no two would be touching.
And ..... because of my love for the Olympics and for hexies..... I decided to add just a little to this block to always remember what I was doing while sewing this one together.
Embroidery is really not my thing but I did the best I could.   I can still hear my grandma telling me to rip it out and take smaller stitches.  Sorry grandma.  It is what it is!  And it's mine and I love it!

Feb block done ..... so now I'm going to add my hexie block to the Hexie BOM Yahoo Group

And for fun (and since it's Monday) I'll be linking over on Judy's Design Wall Monday.

And an updated link.... HELP for Hexie-aholics

  

One more Linky party over on Splish Splash Stash: In Hand EPP

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Empty Design Wall....

A & B's Wedding quilt is completely off my design wall.  (Not that much of it was ever there in the first place.)  lol    I wanted to get most of it made before the Olympics started because I knew I was not going to be sitting at the machine sewing.
All of the blocks have been sewn into rows and all of the rows are sewn together.  I thought once I got to this point that I'd be ready to add the borders and get it to my longarmer.
But Noooo ..... as quilts have a mind of their own..... this one just wasn't going to let me slap on a border yet.

I had designed it in EQ7 and was happy with the layout at the time.    This would be what it would have looked like once I would have put a border on it.  It's OK.  But.....

See the illusion of circles once the blocks are sewn together?  Now if I would have left the top as it was designed ..... then all of the outside 'circles' would have been cut off.   That's not OK!  With me.

     Soooooo back to the drawing board (EQ) to try to correct this.  I knew that I would have to make two partial blocks to complete the pattern I was looking for.  So these are the partial blocks.  

 
Then I had to add a block border (adjust the blocks to fit the layout) and inserted the partial blocks I just made.  This is now what the edge of the quilt will look like. 

Much better!  Circles complete.  I now have all of the extra blocks made and trimmed.  So far I've not been away from the O-games long enough to sew any of the border together.   But at least now I know that when those borders are added this quilt will be complete and I'll be a very proud grandma when I give it to my Grand & her new hubby. 

Now I'm linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday.  Let's go see what some of the other quilters have been working on.  

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Today's Quote of the Day...

 Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

It's been so long since I've posted and when I opened my blog this morning this quote was here.  

Wow!  Fitting huh?  

I've been passing time lately by spending it doing bits and pieces of many different projects.  Still sewing blocks together on A & B's Wedding quilt.  I do have some of the rows sewn together and if I'd just get back there and stick with it I'd have this top ready to add the borders.  Instead I've been pretty flighty.  Not able to concentrate on one thing for too long. 

I did make another Soupcon hexie flower.  But now the projects have gotten a bit more intricate and I'm afraid I'm not going to have the time right now to devote the time it will take to continue this project.  I am going to continue following her blog because I am learning so much and when I get these two wedding quilts finished then I can focus on trying these new hexie techniques. 
Sorry the lighting is so horrible.   This was fun to make. 
I am going to continue with the Hexie BOM and this months pattern is a heart.  Of course! 
I'm working on basting now.   And when the Olympics start I will definitely be glued to my TV.  I love the Olympics.  Summer & Winter. 

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

A & B's Wedding....

I haven't had anything to show lately since all I've been doing is cutting, trimming, un-sewing, re-sewing, and slowly trying to get all the points just right.
I really don't want any of those little points to go hiding in the seam (like mine tend to do so often) so I'm very patiently working and reworking some of them.   And I must say it is taking me forever it seems. 
And since this is a very special quilt I really want it to be one of my best. 

All 56 blocks are now made and I'm starting to sew them together.

And here's a closer pic of the Shoo Fly block.

There's just a subtle fabric change in each of the blocks.  Sorry it doesn't show that well in these pictures but in real life the fabrics are really nice. 

Now .... back to sewing.  I wonder how long it will take me to get the blocks sewn together???? 
And even though I'm a day late I'm still going to link to Judy's Design Wall Monday. 
See you there. 
I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Hexies... Snowflake .... and BOM

Over the years I've made my share of BOM quilts.  Some I've finished and some I haven't.  But I've stopped joining them these last several years simply because I'd rather make quilts my way.

But .... now there's a Hexie BOM  over at The Hexie Blog .... and I must do it!! 

January's block is a Snowflake    and here's mine.  I used four different fabrics.  I'm thinking I may use a black background for these monthly blocks.  Of course that's always subject to change.  LOL 

Linking over on Help For Hexie-aholics 

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Trying something new......

Several days ago I ran across a new (to me) blog called Faeries and Fibers.   She has opened a Soupcon FLICKR Group
I was intrigued.  Since I'm fairly new to the wonderful world of Hexies I decided it was time to spread my wings and try out a few more shapes.  AND it was time for one or two more projects. 
So I jumped right in and printed off a sheet of 1" hexies and added a few lines here and there and took away a few other lines until I came up with a 'Jewel' or a modified hexie (as Karen calls them). 
Here's a link to one of her posts that explains how she does it.  So much simpler than I did.  Wish I would have read more of her blog before jumping in feet first.  lol 

This is a scrap of black/white fabric I used to fussy cut the six jewels. 

Now.... let me just say that since I didn't really know what I was doing this first little star was a real stumbling mess.  Thankfully I have a wonderful iron that pressed it into submission.  lol
After this one I think I will be able to do a better job on the next one. 

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

First Wedding....

Did I tell you that our family will be celebrating two weddings this year?  Well if I did .... sorry for repeating .... and if I didn't ... now you know. 

Our oldest Granddaughter will be married in Oct and the next oldest in July.  
Soooo, of course I am in the process of making each of them a quilt to celebrate their Day. 
The only thing I know for sure was that I want to use each girls wedding color(s).  Pattern design was not an issue because I just knew I'd know it when I saw it.  

And I did!   

The first quilt I'm calling 'A & B's Wedding'.  The pattern I'm using came from the Fon's & Porter web site and it was named "Emily's Wedding Quilt"   
Perfect!!  

I did modify the block sizes (12" instead of 9") and the layout is 7 X 9 (94"x106") and the fabrics are not scrappy.  
In fact here's a pic of them.   Coral with Neutral accents. 

I am in the process of making the units for one block.  All Tri-Recs are finished and squared up.  Still a lot of strips to sew together, cut, flip and sew to make the 4-patches.   

And I did make just one block to see how the colors are blending.  I'm well satisfied.  

I'll be posting more along the way.  Stay tuned.

For now I'm linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday. 
I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Slow Stitching ~ In Hand EPP

I'm going to post a picture of the diamonds I have finished but not added to the quilt yet.  I laid them on the floor just to get an idea.  This is NOT the final layout since I still have many many more combinations yet to finish.  But at least this will give an idea to my plan. 

I really need to get back in the groove of working on these whenever I have a spare minute.  Instead of blog hopping and dreaming of 'to-make quilts'.   That fabric doesn't sew itself!! 

I'm linking to a couple of blogs this morning.  Kathy's "Slow Sunday Stitching" ..... and ..... Splish Splash Stash "In Hand EPP".  Come join me to check out some of the great projects other quilters are working on. 

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

January 4th ... And so the new year begins.....

At least for me.  

Today is the day I have always associated with the start of the New Year. 

That's because it's my birthday. 

From Christmas (last year) to my birthday (this year) has always been my time to stop and rest. 

A time to reflect on the past. 

And then a time to anticipate the coming year.  

First subject of discussion ... New Year Resolutions.  Nope!  Don't make them.  Never have.  Never will. 

I do, however, like to make list's.  Lots of lists.  I love lists.  

Grocery lists.  

     Cleaning lists.  

          Have to buy lists.  

               Lists of things I want to make.  

                    Lists of things I want hubby to do.  

                         Lists of quilts I want to give.  

                              Lists of quilts to finish.  

Of course your question probably is....???  Am I able to cross off everything on my lists at the end of the year????  hahaha  

I have a couple of wedding quilts that are on the top of my Quilt list for my two oldest granddaughters and their guys.  They will both take priority these next few months before I do anything else.  

Of course my Hexie quilt will continue to be my Slow Stitching project.  And I'm adding one more hexie project just for fun.   And because Sarah said I could.  ;-)  More info later.  

Those three projects are at the top of my list ... but... I mustn't forget about our "Race". The official name of this race is: LTRTCWSA  (Leisurely Turtle Race To Christmas With Squirrels Allowed). haha  Catchy don't you think?  
This is the third year my Left-Handed friend and I have done this and we are inviting anyone who want's to join us to NOT put away those Christmas fabrics.  And if you already have then dig them back out and start stitching away.   If you want the details she has it all explained on her blog.  HERE  
Join Us!  Believe me you'll be glad you did when Christmas rolls around. 
Oh and By The Way..... Do you want to know who wins?  WE DO!  ;-)  

Ok enough of my gabbing for now.  I'm heading back to sew a few Tri-Recs and then my KC Chiefs are playing today. 

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda