edgy

First friday finish of fourteen & a freezing photoshoot:

my edgy outside in the cold, 60" * 72" with hobbs thermore polyester batting

This quilt is part of my using up scrap mission. It was started and blogged last summer. Sewing uneven strips (made when trueing up fabric after pre washing, into strips wof) to paper it was easy and fun making the top. Concentrating on paring up the colors.

I can see fabric from at least 7 different quilts in there, at least 3 of them are quilt backs... A good record of 2013 and even 2012 quilts.

If my stack of quilt tops wasn't piled so high, I would have loved to hand quilt it in perle cotton.  Hopefully there will be another one as there is and will be more strips from trueing up fabric...

This one is quilted by long arm in a favorite pantogram called "hurricane". Love the result!

From my last post you are right to assume it is my lap quilt no 100. Happy to not keep all of them to myself, this one I'm not going to part with. How could I?

; )))

Finish it up in fourteen is to be continued. Wish you all a happy weekend and hope you'll have enough quilts to keep you warm. Or that you lucky ones will enjoy your summer!

scrap busting III

Inspired by Bonnie Hunter's string piecing on paper I set out to make these 12.5" blocks. A newspaper provided big enough pages to cut out the paper base. Using shorter stitches and the bin of wonky strips I have been saving up for some time (a year or so). I have started separating my strings into three groups:

2.5" strips

any other even width strip

wonky (end of fabric with frayed edges or cut at an angle)

It is fun to revisit fabric from the tops I've made over the last year, combining them in a new way, yet still being a bit selective of what colors to put together. Saving most of my warm color strips for another  project. These uneven strips makes for a bit more lively blocks - really love the bit of whimsy...

There's still more strips in the bin. Enough for a few more batches...

Happy sewing!

wednesday washday

It's been a while since I made my last block for Ringo Pie. Penny's theme is women's clothing and accessories. Finding this fun paper piecing pattern online, I finally got back in business...

; )

So, after a good start, I am now planning my next block. Thankfully, there are patient women in the bee...

Wish you a wonderful wednesday!

my only weakness

is milk chocolate...

Mars thinks I am crazy...

Some of you may know Dorcas Lane from the tv series from Lark Rise to Candleford.  (If you don't, watch it if you can find it.) The thing is Dorca has a favorite expression - my only weakness is ... As the series goes on, you realise her only weakness changes from episode to episode. 

Anyway, my only weakness is milk chocolate.

; ))

September was Leila's month of Ringo Pie bee. Her theme is "my favorite thing". One of my favorite things is Ayumi's SP Quilt-Along paper piecing blocks. And her october release include a lovely block picturing milk chocolate. And as you all know by now - thats my only weakness!

I do hope you like milk chocolate too, Leila! 

This is the first of Ayumi's SP Quilt-Along blocks that I have pieced, yet. She says the difficulty level of this one is 3. The pattern is easy to follow. With this one under my belt, I look forward to try more of your blocks, Ayumi!

I am sorry for any temptations this post may have provided. Only you will know what your only weakness is. I think we are all allowed (at least) one...

y not?

Kerry's house block for the Ringo Pie patchwork bee is my first attempt at sewing a y seam (inset seam). Why did it take me so long? Kerry is a very talented designer and over all seamstress. She makes very intricate and beautiful paper piecing designs using freezer paper. Recently she taught a class at the Fat Quarterly retreat in London "conquering the Y seam with freezer paper piecing". (Together with Penny she has started a business selling their designs at Sew-Ichigo. See the link on their blogs.)

As much as I would have loved to, I didn't take part in Kerry's class. And it's something I really want to learn. So I decided to give it a try...

She specially requested a non-wonky house block. I must be crazy to think this is the perfect opportunity to attempt this dreaded piecing. But then again, why not?

I did use freezer paper and improvising quite a bit, the three y seams came together. Not sure I want you to take a close look at the back, Kerry...

and please don't ask me why not?

; )

... falling a bit behind

on my bee blocks...

When Lynne wanted a british design classic for her month of july, I had a hard time finding a good motif. I do love my morning cup of Twinings Earl Grey, and then it just clicked. Wouldn't you say the tea bag is a british design classic?

One down, I have august, september and ahem january blocks to concentrate on...

Wish you a lovely weekend! Think I'm going to bee busy...

; )

ambitions ...

As I blogged earlier, june is my month of the Ringo Pie Bee. My theme is in the summertime ... and I have been working on a few ideas for designing my block.

One of my favorite things to do is spending a few hours reading ...

in the hammock in our tiny front garden...

smelling the flowers (lavender bush) and watching the occasional butterfly...

fluttering by ...

I might be in trouble now. Aiming high (refering to skills in paperpiecing design & execution). But there's wonderful blocks being created in the bee, and I would like to show that I'm into the task myself...

This sketch is what I'm working from: reading - barefoot - butterflies

Drawing the hammock proved difficult. The feet, too. I am quite worried about actually piecing them. Might end up with no feet and a few butterflies?

Summer is more of a concept than reality, right now. Cold with a sprinkling of rain. Good weather for sewing ...

; )

Do you ever show your plans for sewing, or do you think that is asking for trouble? My excuse is temporary insanity due to the creative wibe in the bee!

( it will take me some time to accomplish this block, since I think I'll have to make two - one for my friend who also suggested reading in a hammock ... ambitions, ambitions...)

you got mail ...

... soon, Ayumi. Just a bit of flying ahead of me ...

Ok, maybe I sound silly, but it is my first original paper pieced block design. So a bit of twittering is ok, I think.

The Ringo Pie {a Patchwork Bee} girls are good at making challenging themes for their month's blocks. May theme was "delivering letters and packages". It took a few attempts and a bit hair-pulling to come up with a good idea.

Inspired by Harry Potter and Sarah, I decided to make a carrier pigeon... started sketching, numbering the pieces, trying to incorporate the beak and the letter. Not easy!

Being a bit late, I started making the block, designing as I pieced. The beak and the letter was solved by using a bit of 3D and adding a separate unit.

June is my month of this bee. My theme is

"in the summertime... things you look forward to, and things you enjoy doing"

I have a few ideas, maybe another paper pieced design is called for? It has to be simple, though!

Summer is still not here, and it's june already. I guess dreaming of summer is as good as it gets these days. Please share with me, what is your favorite activity "in the summertime...". If I use your idea in my bee block, I promise, I will make one for you, too...

; )

... pretty please ...

; ) ; ) ; )

on the other side...

After some friendly requests, I wanted to share some pictures of my hex love wip.

I just finished sewing the top together from two halves. In the process of doing so, I removed the paper on the back, leaving two rows for stability.

Before I removed the paper, I cut away the extra corners that made extra bulk. The top picture shows the two rows along the edge that hasn't had the paper templates removed, yet.

It is a bit of work, snipping of the extra corners, but I'm sure I will be happy about making that effort, as soon as I get to quilting it. So, on the other side...

The top looks so much cleaner without the red stitches holding the paper template!

This small quilt have a total of 574 1" hexagons in 28 rows of 21. I used Kona Snow, and a selection of Heather Ross yardage, some FFA and some Munki Munki pajamas parts.

Stitching these hexagons together, I tried three different kinds of thread. My lovely friend Rita, showed me the one I like the most, Coats Extra strong Hand Quilting (both strong and slim).

No I need to find a backing...

Can I tempt anyone to try hexagons?

; )

more hex love

Making some more of the 1" Heather Ross hexagons. Enjoying and playing with the fun prints.

Not sure how this will end up, yet...

And then some bigger hexagons: 2" this time. I used my charm pack of "1974" by Urban Chicks, and added some more from "Hello Betty" by Cloe's Closet. The 5" charms go well with these 2" paper foundations. Happy to find a good use for some of my charm packs!

Right now I am hand-quilting, using the narrow tape as guidelines for the stitches. This will be a small table-topper.

They are a bit addictive, these hexagons. I found a very good post with lots of resources an tips on how to do hexagons at The Sometimes Crafter's blog. It is well wort a visit!

Have fun sewing...

hex love

Love Lightening bugs and other mysteries by Heather Ross ...

Love paper piecing ...

Love hexagons ...

Love orange ...
Love a little and portable project ...

Love the difference in texture; the poplin, the flannel and the cotton/ linen blend ...

But do i love EQ6 ?

No, no, no - it's a struggle for me!

I managed to make this layout - believe me finding the hexagon layout was not easy.

I did not manage to print the hexagons on paper to cut into templates, and to be honest, that is quite a frustration...

Anybody out there who would have succeded printing hexagon templates (more than one) from EQ6?

Maybe its me, maybe I'm hexed...

a wip

Added a few of these patriotic 6" paper pieced stars this week. I have used my EQ6 for the foundations. I think it is more than a year ago since I pieced the first ones. So it is a slow wip. I love star blocks and this is a way to make some of them myself. 6" blocks are quite small, maybe 9" or even 12" would be a better choice?

wonky stars