WIP Wednesday

I tried to post this earlier today, but Blogger wouldn't let me upload my photos. Grr. Did errands and had a drink with a friend. (Peach iced tea at Dunkin'- yum!) Hope you're enjoying a lovely summer day, too!

Start & Finish:
Camera Strap for the new camera. Not too girly so the boys can use it, too. Assuming Julia and I ever put the camera down long enough for one of them to use it!

New Projects:
4 X 5 Modern Quilt Bee- I'm glad I joined this bee, but what was I thinking? That darn peer pressure! All the cool quilting bloggers are doing it! Here's my Pink & Orange inspiration mosaic for the bee. (If you click on it, you will be taken to Flickr, where you can get the links for each photo.)

Teeny Weeny PP Bee- These paper piecers are my peeps! How did it take six months for me to find them? I signed up to make 4 blocks in July and asked for 6" star blocks in return. I went with the same colors as the 4x5 so I wouldn't have to stress over choosing another color combo!

Ongoing:
Nonna's Garden- Making progress! All the corners are pieced but need to be attached. Then I need to find a darker green to border the whole thing.
Kaleidoscope Quilt Along- All cut and ready to sew. I did sew one block to see if I liked it. I do!
Wedding Ring Star- no progress, but I did move the bin to a more prominent shelf. My mother asked me why I am not working on it. I don't have a good answer for that. It takes too much effort to keep the pieces in the right order? I have to think too much? I'm afraid I'll mess it up? I know I need to bite the bullet and work on it soon. I do own a couple of seam rippers, after all, and I have successfully completed this pattern before! This really needs to be my top priority for the rest of the summer.

Girl Scout Quilt- no progress. Today is officially the first day of summer vacation (I know- finally!), so I need to invite some girls to come over and work on their blocks.

Completed Quilts Awaiting Labels & Delivery:
Brownie Heartstings
QOV Heartstrings for Tony

Completed Tops Awaiting Quilting:
Mod Bento SwapSugar Wave
Super Bowl Twist (some quilting done)
Charming Christmas

On Hold:
3 X 3 Swap
Block Lotto - June & July blocks complete, ready to ship
Red & White fabric swap- ready to help Karen sort!
Polka Dot Swap- waiting for fabric to return
Christmas wall hanging repair for my sister
T-shirt Quilts- shirts all cut down (sleeves and backs cut off)
Bears in the Farmhouse- donate to Habitat for Humanity
Guild tops for Habitat for Humanity

This Week's Stats:
New Projects: 3
Completed Projects: 1
Currently In Progress: 17+

Thanks for stopping by!
Off you go now to see the other goodies!

In the Garden

I'm still having fun with the hexies! I'm starting to piece the setting diamonds for the corners.

I'm having fun playing with the new camera, too!

Is it bad that the best blooms in my garden are weeds? These morning glories are wild!

I'm linking to Sew Modern Monday. Off you go to see all the other goodies!

Finally!

Yay! After years of whining about my point and shoot cameras, we finally broke down and bought a DSLR. While the battery was charging, I read the manual and made a camera strap cover from this tutorial. (Bill asked me to not make it too girly!)

The first photo I took was of my hexie project! Then I took photos of the kids and Bill and flowers and birds at the feeder. Pete had a baseball playoff game last night and I took about 100 pictures!


And it only took us 20 years to replace the film SLR that took a swim in Hilo Bay.

Julia is planning to join the photography club and work on the yearbook, so once school starts again in the Fall, we'll be fighting over the new camera. Hmmm. Who do you think will win that battle? (I used the Minolta during my senior year of high school, but I bought it myself.)

Kaleidoscope QA- Cutting Day

I know it's hard to believe, but I set aside the hexie project and haven't sewn a single stitch today. Yet!

Today was cutting day for Elizabeth's Kaleidoscope Quilt Along!


My kaleidoscope will be somewhere between the two sizes she provides instructions for. I had enough background fabric for 24 blocks, just barely. I did need to piece together the extra bits for the last 5 pieces.

Stacks of pieces are so satisfying!

Visit the Flick Group to see the other amazing fabric combinations. I'm working completely from stash, so I'm a little jealous.

If you want to play along, it's not too late! Click on the button!

WIP Wednesday

I'm making progress on my Mini Grandmother's Flower Garden. I'm trying to think of a name for this piece. Maybe Nonna's Garden, even though we didn't call either Italian grandmother Nonna.


OK, so maybe I'm a little obsessed. Whenever I sit down, I pick up a hexie. I don't enjoy seeing big piles of basted hexes, so I'm working in stages. I made all the flowers, then started adding the cream row, then the green row, one flower at a time. Baste enough cream (18) for one flower, add them on, then baste enough green, add them on. Attach that flower to the rest. (I did the red in the wrong order, so that's why I have two flowers with cream rows waiting for green.)

Here's my plan for filling in the corners. Buds! There will be a total of 547 (1/2") hexagons! I originally planned to fill in the whole corner with cream, but I didn't have enough fabric. I had just enough for Plan B, with 1/4" leftover!

This was supposed to be a baseball game project, which it is, but I can't get enough! I'm stitching for hours in front of the TV, too. Pete's team won their first playoff game, so he's got a few games left. (not sure why he's swinging at that pitch) Julia's ankle is healing, but she's not ready to play yet.

There has been no progress on any other WIPs this week, so if you want to see my list from last week, click here.

Now, off you go to see more WIPs!

Etsy Update

I finally update my Etsy shop!

Don't the pins look cute in my Anthro mug?


I usually photograph them on the piano because it is the best natural light in the whole house. This time, I decided to prop them up between the keys. So cool!

Do you call this block monkey wrench or churn dash?

Apron by Julia

Julia's BFF's birthday is today, so she made her an apron. Genevieve loves to cook and bake, so an apron was the perfect hand made gift. I shopped the stash with Julia, then she went to town. I didn't see her again until she was wearing the completed apron. I'm really proud of how far she has come as a sewist.

She used this brand new tutorial from Maureen Cracknell Handmade. It is a generous size, so it looks like a skirt in the photo. The focus fabric we pulled first is Philip Jacobs' Waltzing Matilda. Then we chose a couple of coordinating batiks. Genevieve's favorite color is purple.

I'm confident that Julia will have no trouble making the skirts she is planning to wear on vacation this summer. She is inspired by Summer of No Pants and What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear.

I'm linking to:

We know summer is here when the monarchs return!

Hexies at the Diamond

I basted 40 little hexies at the baseball diamond today during Pete's game. I will be adding a row of cream around each flower, then a row of green in between the flowers. Very traditional!

Hexie Needle Case

This morning, with yesterday's WIP list looming, I made a needle case.
Do I need another needle case? No!
Did it take me way to long to select which fabric to use? Yes!
Do I love it? Yes!


It will fit nicely in my Hexie-To-Go kit.

If you need to waste some time making something cute, you can find the tutorial at My Three Sons.

WIP Wednesday

The end of the school year is usally a busy time around here. Add a trip to the ER and crutches for Julia and things get just a bit more complicated. She's doing fine, but is exhausted at the end of the school day, requiring a long nap!

I decided it was time to get my WIP Wednesday post into the same format as Lee's, so here goes...

Finish:

Hearts for Heather
Friendship wedding quilt for a young guild member.

New Projects:

Kaleidoscope Quilt Along
A basket full of purple fabric has been pulled. Can't wait to start cutting next week!


Polka Dot Swap
Does a fabric swap count as a new project? Well, it will be a project as soon as I get the fabric back!


Ongoing Projects:
Hexies To-Go
I got a couple of flowers done this week at baseball games. I'm thinking about keeping this one small and donating it to the guild miniature auction. I might use the green dots as the garden path.

Wedding Ring Star
Waiting for a chunk of time to work on this, but there doesn't seem to be one. Hoping to have progress to show next week.

Girl Scout Quilt
The troop quilt will be worked on throughout the summer. Lots of girls need to finish their blocks before assembly can begin.

3 X 3 Swap
Piano keys for borders are being cut as fabric is pulled for other projects.


Completed Quilts Awaiting Labels & Delivery:
Brownie Heartstings
QOV Heartstrings for Tony

Completed Tops Awaiting Quilting:
Mod Bento Swap
Sugar Wave
Super Bowl Twist (some quilting done)
Charming Christmas

On Hold:
Block Lotto - May blocks shipped, June blocks complete
Red & White fabric swap- ready to help Karen sort!
Christmas wall hanging repair for my sister
T-shirt Quilts
Bears in the Farmhouse- donate to Habitat for Humanity
Guild tops for Habitat for Humanity

This Week's Stats:
New Projects: 2
Completed Projects: 1
Currently In Progress: 18 (yikes!)

I'm hoping that having a complete list to work from will keep me focused through the summer. We have a guild show coming up in October, and that is always a great incentive for me to finish quilts.

Click the button and jump over to Freshly Pieced to see what everyone else is working on!

Purple Passion

I've jumped on the Kaleidoscope bandwagon with Elizabeth's Quilt Along at Don't Call Me Betsy.

I decided to finally use up this basket of purple fat quarters and scraps that I've had for almost 10 years!

Neatly folded = much better!

There is probably enough fabric in here to complete the quilt, but I'm sure I will be tempted to purchase a few modern pieces of purple. I will definitely need to buy the background fabric. Solid or print? We shall see.

Click on the button to learn more and to get started!

ER Quilts

Julia sprained her ankle playing softball. She rolled it coming into 2nd base. It had rained for a couple of days, so the infield dirt had been compacted and not safe for sliding. She started to limp off the field, so her coaches ran over to support her. Then I saw her knees buckle and down she went! She passed out from the pain, just like her father does. I've seen it happen to him 3 times in the past 21 years and it still freaks me out. This time, he got to see it happen to Julia, so now he knows what happens to him!

So the rescue was called and we got a ride to the ER in an ambulance. The ER was packed, but since she just needed an X-ray, we took the express route. Just two hours later, we were leaving with an ace wrap and crutches.

She wouldn't let me take her picture in the ambulance or in the ER, so I'll show you the ER quilts she was given to prop up her foot. Ladies at the senior center and local churches make these cuddle quilts with two 1 yard cuts of cute fabric, pillow turned and simply quilted. We will wash them and bring them back to the hospital.

Pete still has the Red Sox quilt he was given after his ambulance ride in 5th grade.
OK, kids, you're even. No more ambulance rides, please!

Swap Season

I signed up for a couple of fabric swaps. The first one is Karen's red & white swap. I delivered 125 red charm squares to her when we met for lunch yesterday! I didn't take pictures. How non-bloggy of me!

The second swap is Wendy's polka dot swap. I just cut 80 charms and packed them up to mail.


I wanted to list the names of the prints, but only two of them had selvedges. The purple one is Freckles by Free Spirit and I'm guessing it is at least 10 years old. The candy dot print is "bijoux dot" from Alexander Henry, 2006. I love selvedges with dates, so you can tell if they are ripe!

Hearts for Heather

A young member of our quilt guild got married in May, so naturally, we made her a quilt! I asked members to make a 6" heart block, with a red or pink heart on a cream or white background. I pieced the top and back on Monday, quilted it on Tuesday (after running to the LQS for batting!), and bound it on Wednesday, so we could present it to Heather at the meeting on Wednesday night.


To quilt it, I stitched in the ditch then did my loopy swirl in the background of each block. The cornerstones have a quilted heart.

There is a lovely assortment of techniques on display.
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Here we have hand applique, crazy quilting and lace, string piecing, and an embroidered bee (this quilter keeps bees!).


Machine applique, linked hearts, fancy stitches in metallic thread, and log cabin piecing.

More machine applique and text(!), hand applique, another pieced heart with reverse applique, and a Bible verse.

Hand applique on a pieced background, machine applique with variegated thread, clever piecing and reverse applique, and a napping heart.

I was lucky to find the perfect print in my stash for the backing to pull together the pinks and reds and that bit of blue.

Rose decided the husband needed a bow tie! One quilter made an extra block, so I signed that one.

The lovebird motif on the label is from the book Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection by Aimee Ray. (It is half-price right now on Amazon!) I thought I would embroider it, but I wasn't in the mood for such tiny work. I think it is cute in ink, too.

I meant to show you this photo as a sneak peek on Wednesday. Is it weird that I'm looking at the grass thinking that the mower blades need to be sharpened?

This mock orange shrub is right next to the deck, where I photographed the quilt. The scent is heavenly! I can even smell it from here at the desk as I type!

I'm off to enjoy a rare sunny day with no thunderstorms in the forecast!