March Goals

     This month I get to go to something exciting!!  My first Quilt meeting!!  I joined the Quilters of SC last year and have not been able to go to a meeting yet.  But I did go to thier retreat last spring.   Not only do I get to go to the retreat, but I am going to hear Kimberly Einmo speak.  Then I get to go to one of her classes on Sunday!! Sooooo excited.  More about that later. 

     One of my goals this month is to make a sewing mat for my sewing machine.  I keep saying I am going to make one and haven't.  I found a neat pattern for one here:  

http://so-sew-easy.com/sewing-machine-organizing-pad/

     I think I might base mine off of that!  I didn't want to make a mat that hung over since I know that every seating area I go to is going to be different.   

  Back to my goals!  I almost met my goals for Febuary,  so I am going to try hard to meet my March goals!!!

    There are 2 project Quilt challenges left for the year and they both due this month.  One starts today!! 

    For Ahhhh's I want to finish the small diamond one I have been working on for months!!  And maybe one more!! 

     I am going to do the Pantone quilt challenge.  I want to finish the star center of one of my tops by then.  It will all be paper pieced. 

     I also need to also do a commissioned tshirt quilt.

     I know that's a lot,  so I am crossing my fingers to finish!! 

     Here is my list of goals for 2015 and where I am at. 

1. Scrappy Quilt around the World

2. String Quilt- 12 blocks done

3. Crab Quilt 

4. Jean Scrap Quilt

5. I spy boy quilt- cut

6. I spy girl quilt

7. Christmas I spy quilt

8. Christmas tree quilt- done

9. Civil War quilt

10. Batik quilt- done

11. 2 inch quilt

12. Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2013- I think I am only going to finish the parts I started. 

13. Feed Sack quilt

14. Autism Quilt

15. Crown Royal Quilt- All cut and sewing started 

16. Herbie scrap quilt- Shawn 

17. Bejeweled quilt

18. All Project quilts

19. Yenter Star quilt- working on

20. Anna tshirt quilt

21. Brad's wedding quilt- fabric cut

22. Tree skirt

23. Ahhhh Quilt- finished 3 this year. 

     This should be enough for a hopefully uneventful month!!!

February Finishes

     

     It's time again to post about a year of libel finishes!!!!   In February I finished just about everything, except my Ahhhh's will have to make that up next month!!

     My 2 Project Quilt challenges I finished were,   Charles Heart and The Rain Boot Strip Quilt.  

     I didn't finish any Ahhhh's for my Ahhhh project, but I finished the first star of my "Stargazing" quilt! 

     Here is the one Ahhhh I finished this month,  #52, peaks and valleys. 

     I also finished a top out of all Hexies for the Quilt By Hand Challenge! 

      And I almost forgot!!! The Pat Sloan, Hip to be Square Challenge finish!!

      Now it's time to think about the goals I will set tomorrow for March!! 

Scrap Hexie Flowers

     A few months ago I joined a new Facebook group called "quilt by Hand".  This group is for all skill levels to learn and share about hand quilting methods. 

     Each month the group has a new challenge.  This month the Challenge was to try something new!!  After last months Challenge I had a good bit of scraps left.  I knew just what to do!!  Hard to believe, but I have never done a Hexie only piece.

     For Christmas I received a Hexie punch by Fiskar.  The punch makes 1 1/2 inch inch sided Hexies out of whatever material you punch them.  I literally use my junk mail and office supply trash.  

     Since I had a month worth of pieces all I needed was a plan.  Of course I went to Pinterest!  I saw these Hexie flowers with little embroidery flowers inside.  I thought this would be a good project!!

     Then I cut out and glues my fabric onto the Hexies.  No fussy cutting this time,  I was using scraps.  

     I then put the Hexies up to the White material and decided that it wasn't going to work.  I auditioned black and yellow Yenter blender fabric next.  With my friend Tonya, I decided to do yellow centers! 

     All of the scraps came from only 2 pieces of fabric.  I separated out the ones with like color or patterns.  I then separated them into groups of the 6 pieces that were most alike.  Bagged them up and commenced to sewing Hexies.  

     There ended up being 16 Hexie flowers.  I tried to lay them out in different ways.  In the end I only liked a big triangle and or a diamond shape. After playing with the layout I decided I liked the diamond best.

     I have sewed lots of Ahhhhs and have only sewed a few together. Sewing batches of Hexies really still seems odd. I feel like I am always crushing a piece. 

  

    This is my first top using only Hexies.  The colors blend a little too much maybe,  but I love how this has turned out using just scraps!!!

     

Stargazing!!!! New paper Piecing pattern!!!

     

     As most of you know I am a really big Hillbilly Quilt Shop Ahhhh fan!  Tonya gave me a sneak peak at her newest creation called "Stargazing."  And of course I started it as soon as my pieces arrived! 

   Here is a photo of what she has on her site for the original design. And here is a link to it!!  

http://www.hillbillyquiltshop.com/stargazing/

    The star contains six number 7 Ahhhh's, with triangles on the top and bottom.   

     I used a Jinny Beyer boarder fabric that I fussy cut to make each piece the same. The blue solid fabric and Aqua blender I both purchased as complementary Beyer fabrics. 

     In putting together the star I made the Ahhhh's together first. 

     I then made half an Ahhhh out of 3 stars and sewed 3 Ahhhh's to the other side.   This allowed for an easier process in seeing the completed star together. 

     This is my favorite Ahhhh product I have ever finished.  I really love the center!!!

     I have a plan to make a good sized quilt out of this.  I am going to use 3 stars  that come off a 1/2 star.  As I go I will show you my progress!! 

     Here are some of my photos.  This is one with a black bender background.  I think the look is a little too plain. 

     I like how it looks with the Aqua up against the star.  But it's too bright to use it for the entire background. 

     So my idea is to outline a star in the Aqua fabric and sew it down to the black blender. 

     Here is Tonya's example!!  Tonya from Hillbilly Quilt shop is planning a blog series on this Ahhhh collection.  She made a you tube video as an intro.  Her series will contain a start to finish instruction on paper piecing.  Here is a link to her blog that contains her  video.  I would love for you to follow her.  I have learned so much from her and received so much inspiration from her Ahhhh's!!!

http://hillbillyquiltshop.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-finish-for-real-me.html?m=1

Little Charle's Heart

     This week has been an emotional Wave.  We literally lost one of our Hearts. We lost Grandaddy Humbert.  One the most influential men in both my husband and boys life.  He truly will be missed by all.   I just pray that my boys move on into  the future with ease knowing that "Little Papa" will be at peace.  

     This week has made me feel like I am back to my first season of project quilt, a last minute finish. 

     When this weeks challenge was announced,  I knew exactly what I was going to do.  A big Twister heart quilt.  Months ago I bought the big twister tool and had not used it.  Over time I loved the twister heart quilts I saw on Pinterest.   So I looked them over and figured out a plan.  There are actually a lot of different designs out there for a heart.  

     I picked out 17 different pieces of fabric to make thirty-four 10 inch squares.  I decided to use a paisley white on white fabric as the background.  I was so proud of myself that most of these fabrics came out of my scrap bin!! I was even able to cut an almost entire kit for another heart twister quilt. 

    The pattern is pretty easy.  You lay the pink and red fabric out in a heart design. Then add white 10 inch squares to fill in the holes.  It made a big 70 x 70 square. I then added a 6 1/2 inch white sashing to it.  

     The second cutting part takes some time.  You have to be very detailed and careful since cuts are very close together.   You lay the cutting tool on the fabric to line up to the seam in the blocks. Then you cut around the twister tool. This makes a new 8 inch block.  There are 64 blocks total. 

     The hard part is making sure that you line up the new blocks right.  The twirl that is developed cuts a single fabric into 4 pieces.  The coresponding rows then have to match up.  

     After sewing the blocks together I had to think hard about doing another boarder. The decision was made by time.  I didn't have it so just the blocks would complete the quilt. There is still a little white border all around the heart. The quilt is 62 x 62 inches. 

     I backed the quilt with a pinck fabric with little pink and black squares on it. 

     I did different quilting in different areas.    I have been trying to watch a Leah day video each week and try something new that I learn.  The center of all the twirls have a double loop flower like twirl in each.   I then outlined each twirl with a small wave type pattern.  

     In the outside white area I just meandered and added some small Hearts to my FMQing.   I did this to the edges. 

     To bind it I used one of the pinks from inside the heart.  It is a blender fabric.  I did a machine stitched binding.  

     This quilt will be a present for my neighbors sons bridal shower next weekend.  We have called him "Little Charles" for years, even though he is not that little.  Most everyone who knows him, knows he has a big heart.  So this quilt fits him!!  My son Waylon says "Charles doesn't want a girlie quilt."  He doesn't understand the path of adults yet.  Where life is about what something means, not about its looks. 

     I hope you like the quilt.  It has really taken my heart and soul this week.  Dance on in heaven Robert Lee Humbert and u bet the best grass to be cut is there. 

Rain Boot Strip Quilt

     I wait eagerly each Sunday for the unveiling of the Project Quilt Challenge.  This week I was hoping that the challenge would be something that I could do for a young lady that recently found out she has Cancer.  And when the Challenge was unveiled it was.  It was!!!  The Challenge this week was to finish a UFOS!!  If you have been to my home you know I have PLENTY of those!! 

     As I pulled open my ziplock bag bin of projects I found a few possibilities, but none that I knew were the one.  I then went to my shelf of bins.  The first one I pulled down I knew was it!!   It was this bin full of fabric that I cut leftover from a quilt last year!

 

     This is the quilt.  And a link about it! http://fosteringothers.blogspot.com/2013/12/rainy-days-quilt.html?m=0

    The fabric Simon + Kabuki by Quilted Treasure.  

    The quilt was cut out of 11.5 inch strips.  I had plenty left.  I accidentally cut 10.5 inch strips.  So I decided to make a new quilt design. I decided to make one long 11.5 inch strip for the middle.  Then two 10.5 inch strips.  Between those 2 strips I was going to put 5 inch strips.   On either side of those strips I put a black and white dotted 2 inch piece of fabric. 

     I cut the pieces going into the strips randomly.  The original quilt had a set pattern,  but I enjoy the randomness.  When I sewed the 11.5 inch pieces together they totaled 52 inches.  I made 4 strips out of the 10.5 inch pieces to be 52 inches long.  

     I then evened the 4 strips into 10 inch wide pieces.  Then cut 2 into 5 inch strips.  The 11.5 inch one I evened out into a 11 inch strip.  

     I then sewed the black 2 inch strips onto either side of two 5 inch strips and the top of another and the bottom of the forth.  This allowed the quilt to be seen together quickly.  

     I decided that since this was a lap quilt it was big enough without any boarders.    For the backing I used some Westminister fabric I bought a 5 yard pack of at Tuesday morning for a good deal(we all love those!!)

     To quilt it,  I used my walking foot and made a straight line on rather side of the long sides of the long strips.  In the 5 inch strips I have been practicing doing a circle swirl.  They did not all turn out right,  but I am excited to try them again on a big project!!

     On the 11 and 10 inch strips I I did a small gentle wave.  I think I need to practice on the evenness of these.  When I get FMQ I like to go fast.  But I need to remind myself to slow down.

     I bond the quilt in a green umbrella print that I only used in the center strip of the quilt.  This really brought out the green.  

     Today I am taking this quilt to Kayla.  My prayers are that she is wrapped in love with Gods healing.  She is a beautiful strong girl that I know will an asset to this world one day!!  You have this fight Kayla!!!

     I take my photos in places that relate to the person I am giving them too when I have time.  The area I took it at use to be a volleyball court where Kayla's mom played each Sunday.  Those days I thought about are now long gone.   The Chickens though enjoyed following me around!!