Follow-Up-Friday: What I've Been Up To!!!

Hi peeps! 

How's everyone doing today??? We are having crazy weather…sunny and up to 55 degrees one day, then cold and rainy the next!!! It's really doing a number on my migraines and the Fibromyalgia…grrr!

As promised in this post,I had some fun playing with my citrus HST's. I came up with the above placement and sewed them all together yesterday. I have to say that this is the first time ever, that my HST's have worked out! This time I was very careful to mark my sewing lines and I actually trimmed them too! What a difference that made!

I also promised to show you what I get up to in the evenings while binge-watching Netflix(we are on season 4 of House, MD and season 3 of House of Cards). Well, I sew English Paper Pieced hexagons(1" sides)…a whole lot of them!!! 

Pictured is a pile of about 75% of the hexies I have already done for the Kid's quilt.  These ones have already been sewn together in threes…which I call "triplets".

Once I get all my "triplets" done, I sew three of them together, side by side, into "niners". Sew, sew, sew!!!

I store my "niners" in a plastic shoebox. I have them wedged in there very tight, so they actually press themselves. This also keep them nice and flat as when I sew them together they kind of curl up at the ends.

Once the "niners" are all sewn together, I stack two of them to make an "18-patch". 

This is my basic block and they are all super scrappy. This quilt, like the one I made for us, will have 216 of these 18-piece blocks and will measure 96" x 113", plus a 4" border. It makes a pretty huge quilt, but that also means you can double it over on itself and have a two-layered quilt for especially cold nights.

These are the half-hexagons I have already basted. The ones like the yellow one on the left will be for going down the right and left sides of the quilt and the ones like the red one on the right will be sewn onto the top and bottom blocks. 

Once I have my "18-patches" done, I lay out the ones I want for the top and bottom as well as the right and left sides, then I attach a numbered label(i.e.: T1-meaning the top left-side block). That way I know which blocks go where and can attach the half-hexies. It would be way too cumbersome to have to attach these small pieces once the body of the quilt is all sewn together.

Question of the Day:

Have you ever made a quilt using the English Paper Piecing technique? If not, would you be interested in a tutorial on how to baste the fabric to the paper shapes, then sew the shapes(hexies) together?

Sharing is caring!!!

Don't forget that I am happy to share…feel free to pin to Pinterest, post on Google+ and Facebook, and Tweet away*! Just please make sure your posts link back to this blog. 

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Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline 

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Bella Clutch, aka camera bag!

Howdy folks!

So, here is my modified Bella clutch all ready for my camera. I lined it with soft baby flannel, in pale yellow. I didn't have the metal hardware needed for the handle, so just inserted the handle strip into the side seam as is. 

Please note that my bag is much deeper than the original pattern. I needed it that way so it could hold my camera and a few necessities.

Thanks so much to Clover and Violet, for having this great tutorial. I will have a link on my Cute Tute page soon. Have a look round their blog, it is packed with lots of tutes and other great ideas!

I made this table runner a few years ago. I will try to find the tutorial for it…might be lost in the Forbidden Room, aka; my sewing room!

Here's a close-up. You can see I did a bit of simple hand quilting in the white border. I used to do a lot of hand quilting, but since I had Carpal Tunnel surgery on BOTH wrists I don't have full range of movement anymore.

Got some Happy Mail from Christa's yesterday! Just love, love that juicy gumdrop print! I had been eyeing that cube of Double Wedding Ring sticky notes for ages. She is having a close-out sale and I got the last on at half price!

Also fron Christa's, these cuts of Kona cotton. This is; Azure, Sand, Robin's Egg Blue and Lipstick Red. I got 3 yds of Sand and 2 yds each of the other three. I should have got more of the red. It is my favourite shade of red…but it is so hard to tell on a computer. She is all sold out of Kona now.

Last, but not least, I got this Cheese and Crackers boy quilt kit. It was $60, but I got the last one for $30! Such a smokin' great deal; an Atkinson pattern, 10 fatties, half yard of the blue and yardage of Kona-white.

That's all for me today, the hubs needs the computer…grrr..I can't complain though, his need is directly tied to getting a paycheque!!!

Another hexie shot! Can't get enough of these little, happy bits of scrappiness!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Crummy weather

Hi all!

So, I was planning to shoot a tutorial today, but the weather isn't cooperating…grrr…it is overcast and starting to rain. Bah…

I thought I would share a pic of my winnings, from the semi-annual Sew Mama Sew Giveaway. They arrived safe and sound and Tina, of Seaside Stitches, had included a nice little card, too! The tiny lapel pin is so sweet. I can't imagine foundation paper piecing such a small item! I think I will stick to my scrappy hexies!

I thought I would share a photo of my beloved Pffaf! She is Model# 7530-Quilt and Craft Pro. I have had her for over 14 years, can't believe how the time has flown by! She has quilted so many quilts and other crafty projects. Every once in a while, I think I will go ahead and get another machine, but she is such a good old gal, I really don't need to. 

I have never had a Bernina, but have lusted after them for sooo long…it is a Bucket List item!!!! 

Which kind of machine do you sew on?

The guy who lives behind us has been running his table saw all morning and now I've got a Migraine on deck.

See ya later,

Jacqueline

Got some Happy Mail!!

Hi peeps!

Look at this yummy fabric I got a few weeks ago from Fort Worth Fabric Studio! Those turtles are so darn cute I just couldn't help it!!! I am going to trim up some flour sack towels with the coffee bean and apple prints. I bought what they had left(3 yds) of that juicy Amy Butler print and might make myself a Washi Dress for the summer. 

See what they give you in your order? Some hot choco(this brand is hard to find up here) and a nice, thick pen. My order was wrapped in a clear plastic bag(not a zip-top one though), and sealed with a sticker. Yay!

I did get my coordinating Fabric Boxes done yesterday. I wanted to see if I could make a tall one for my scissors and a large spool of thread. I made the 10" square, then measured 2" in from the corners to make it skinny. 

It was a bit fiddly to sew down the inner flaps and sew on the buttons, as I have kind of big hands, but I managed! As you can see, I totally changed my ideas on the buttons. I think the little red ones are super-cute!

Here they are with my cute scissors that were sent to my by a friend in England. I am so, so, sorry, I don't know how to make my pics stand up straight!! If anyone knows how, please comment!!! Thanks!

I dug this book out of my sewing room and did up some tea towels for my Dad for Father's Day.

It has tons of well-photographed stitch how-tos.

I would love, love to learn how to make a Bullion Rose. So pretty!

Here are my ideas for trimming the towels; the red paisley is too dark and I am leaning towards the antique toys print. Any thoughts? I'd love some help on this one. The prob with the Debbie Mumm stars print is that I don't have much of it, so the trimmed edge might be a little skimpy.

This is my one and only finished hand appliqué project. Just not my thing I guess. I have large, fat hands and find needle-turn too fiddly.

A gratuitous shot of some hexies I did last night.

I store my basted hexies in a plastic shoe box from the dollar store. I wedge them in there tight so they self-press. No ironing for me on this project!!! I can fit about 1,000 hexies into the box and when it gets full, I dump them in a large, clear plastic bag.

I am ready for my close-up, Mr. Deville!!! Ha ha ha 

They look so good, just like a handful of potato chips! YUM!

I am off to sit in the shade,

Thanks for reading,

Jacqueline

A new addition...

Hi all! 
I'd like to welcome my new followers! Feel free to share with your friends.

Soooo….guess what the UPS lady brought me last night??? Woo-hoo!!!! My purple camera has arrived!!! I have finally joined the 21st century! 
Thanks, hubs!

Now I can show you a few things…

This is my shoe box, get it? S.H.O.E. B.O.X. (*wink*). This is where I keep my pre-cut fabric for hexies.

 This is a view of what's inside.

These are my new quilting and embroidery books that my guys gave me for Mother's Day! Aren't I spoiled???

Last night before bed I decided to do a little rummaging through my fat quarters. I wanted to pick 2 coordinating ones to make the quilted fabric box mentioned the other day. Found them and then started playing in my huge glass button jar(it used to be a Biscotti jar, I love to re-purpose!)…well, the hubs gets out of bed and comes roaring into my sewing room, hollering "do you know how loud you are being?". It never occurred to me that my mindless fondling of all and sundry buttons was irritating the poor man! What could I do? I had to find some matching buttons, and yes, I did have to do it at that moment! He was not amused….

This is sneak preview #1 of the giant hexie quilt. Little blurry I know, I must learn to not breathe when I take pics!

This is sneak preview #2 of the giant hexie quilt! I love those blocks with the kitty cat faces and the one with the cactus.

Had my appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon yesterday. Turns out I have 'early' Arthritis in my knee and nothing can be done about it, surgery-wise. He gave me a physiotherapy exercise to do and told me to lose weight. Not so helpful, but I will do the exercise and cut back on the sweets. Groan…

The kid got called back for a second interview at the cinema, so he is quite excited and so are we!

It is a beautiful day, so I am going to have the hubs unearth my lounger and have a rest under the tree with my new quilting books.

Has anyone got any new books lately? I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks for reading and have a great one,

Jacqueline

Just a wee note

Hi all!

Look what I won in the latest SEW MAMA SEW GIVEAWAY!

This is a mug rug, key fob and cute little FPP lapel pin! These were made and offered up for grabs by the lovely Tina @ Seaside Stitches. Have a look at her fun website and tell her I sent you! I can't wait till they arrive!. Now I have 2 things to wait for…

Netflix was on the fritz last night so no binge-watching for us. The hubs found a Criminal Minds marathon, so we watched that until Lewis came on(PBS) at 9.         

Got a bunch more hexies basted. I have to say that I am now used to the(much smaller) seam allowance on the hexie pieces I cut with my AccuQuilt Hexie die.

That's all for me today,

Jacqueline

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A job interview...

Hi peeps!

My teenaged son had his first ever job interview last night. It is for the local cinema, which would be awesome as it is a 5 minute walk from home. Please send good thoughts! I will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed!

This is a pic of the almost 4,000 basted hexies that I used in the King hexagon quilt. At this stage, I had already sewn them into 'triplets'. The photo is not the greatest, having being taken on the kiddo's iPad. In the corner is yardage of some really nice white muslin, ordered from Hancock's of Paducah online. Also some jelly roll strips for a Strip Disco quilt, cut them out of my stash.

Connecting Threads is having a great sale…and their wonderful house-brand threads are on sale too @ $1.95(and it's a big spool)! They are backordered on white and red, but those colours are supposed to arrive before the thread sale ends on June 16. I use this thread(it is 50-weight) for most of my piecing and hexie basting. It is very smooth.

I have been ordering from them for years, and they have a great selection and customer service is superb.

You may wonder why I order a lot of things online…we live in a small town and the nearest fabric store is over a hour's drive away, and it is only a chain fabric store at that. The nearest LQS is not local to me at all, so I do most of my purchases online. Due to certain medications I take for my chronic illnesses, I do not drive anymore. So getting to a LQS is almost impossible, at this moment.

I have included the CT sale email for your perusal. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading and follow your star!

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Day 2!

*This is me, at 9 years old!!!

Hi all!!!

Last night, we were watching Netflix(Contraband, starring Mark Walberg), I started basting the hexie fabric I cut with my Accuquilt cutter and new, $80 hexie die. The die has 2 sizes of hexies, one for cutting the actual-sized hexies out of card stock and the other(which is larger by about a scant quarter inch on all sides), for the fabric pieces. Now, before I got my new die, I had always cut my fabric pieces at 2.5" square, which allows for a generous fold over. Not any more!!! I now have to get used to a much smaller fold over. As I had been using up the remained of my 2.5" square pieces from my last hexie quilt, it wasn't until last night that I actually started on the new pre-cut pieces(of which I have already cut about 3,000!). Oh my goodness, what a change. I used to mindlessly baste, but now I have to pay attention as the very last fold/baste stitch is a bit tricky with less fabric to work with. I managed, and by the end of the evening(we also watched Frost on PBS), I had got the hang of it. I did have a scary moment…what if I can't get the hang of it and I have already cut a shoe box full of them???…but, as you now know, that has not come to pass! Whew!

We had to get some groceries, so we walked over to the grocery store. Boy-oh-boy, is it ever muggy today. It is overcast and I thought it was going to be cold, and put on a jacket…big mistake! In 5 minutes I was steaming! We got our groceries and then hit the chain pharmacy as I had some coupons for things that were also on sale. Talk about a double savings…that's my all time favourite way to shop! Got my fave ice cream(BREYER'S Mint Chocolate Chip) on sale and bonus store points too! I am saving up my points, as for one month in the summer you can get extra items(to the tune of an extra $50 worth of free items!!!). Every little bit helps! I wobbled home, and that was it for me and the stairs today(I have a bad knee, waiting for surgery).

Well, gotta put the leg up and hope the swelling isn't too bad...