WIP Wednesday

I wasn't able to do much this week while my wrist healed from tendonitis. I'm feeling so much better, but not quite 100%. I'm returning to quilting slowly.

New/Old Project: Since I couldn't sew, I cleaned out my sewing room last weekend. I found 25 hexagon flowers that my mother started about 20 years ago. When she moved into her apartment 5+ years ago, I rescued a couple of her WIPs, including this one. Most of the flowers were done, but there were some cut hexagons waiting to be pieced.


At some point, I had finished the piecing and decided on a layout. I had planned to piece them together with muslin paths, but since they were hand pieced, not using English paper piecing, they are all different sizes. Piecing them together would have been a challenge, so on the shelf they sat.


When I pulled the pile off the shelf, it was wrapped in a very large piece of muslin. Divine intervention suggested machine appliqueing the flowers onto the background! All the flowers have been pressed, starched, and seam allowances basted under.

Last night, I drew out a hexagon grid on the background with a water soluble pen and started the applique. I started in the center, and I'll work my way out and around. The grid and all the flowers are numbered. I pinned down the first one before stitching. With all the twisting and turning, it got a little poofy. I glued down the second one with a washable glue stick and it worked like a charm!

I'm hoping to finish this by the end of the month as a birthday gift for my mother. This really has become the Year of the Hexagon here at Seaside Stitches!

Have fun visiting the other WIPs!

Fresh Fabric

Julia and I have gone a little crazy buying fabric this past week. We HAD to buy a little at the Mod Conn meeting at Colchester Mill. And then Folk Art Quilts, our hometown quilt shop, is having their semi-annual sale this weekend, so we HAD to pick up a few more things. At 30% off! Hello? How could we not?


Most of it has a project planned for it. Julia will be making pillowcases for her friends for Christmas and she needs to replace a tote bag she made for herself years ago that she can't find. I picked up the tone on tone modern prints, hoping to use them in the next round of the 4x5 swap, but Julia might use some of them for pillowcase cuffs. Look, Jackie, I bought some teal!

I've been de-stashing to make room for these lovelies. I'll show you my progress soon!

Mail's Here!

I have this problem with mail. I can hear the truck coming from a block away, like Radar O'Reilly on M*A*S*H. Some days, the truck is just pulling away and I'm already out the door to snatch it out of the box. Bill and Julia don't share this need to pick up the mail as soon as it hits the box, but Pete will grab it if I'm not fast enough. I came home late on Saturday afternoon and no one had gotten the mail yet! (Pete was at Boy Scout camp.) How can they let it just sit there all day?!

Anyway... Monday was the best mail day ever! My mother had stopped by for some crafting help, so I picked up the mail as I walked her to her car. I ripped open three squishy envelopes right there on the sidewalk!

This is a 4X5 block from Charise. Isn't it an amazing block? I love this pattern!

And another 4x5 block from Rachel. I love the fabrics she used! I don't have any of these prints in my stash, so I love it!

There are still openings in the next round (4th quarter) of the 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee. So if you are interested, sign up today! I might just do one more round to end up with 12 blocks. It's been so much fun so far, though, I might need to do all four rounds!

The third squishy held one of the last blocks from the teeny weeny paper piecing bee. I love these little (6") blocks, and I'm so sad that the bee is ending. I'm waiting for one last block for a total of 12. Perfect for a little quilt.

I'm thinking about starting my own bee. It will be for Rhode Island bloggers. I'll be sending out invitations soon to all of them who I know (8 or 9?). If you don't get an invite and you blog and quilt in Little Rhody, send me an email!

WIP Wednesday

I was on a roll, getting a ton of stuff done in the past few weeks. Well, I'm paying for it now. (See below.)

Finished:
Mini Ninnie Hexie Star- this little piece will be donated to the Ninigret Quilters silent auction. Hope to meet some of you at the show!


Blocks:
October Block Lotto- Quilter's Choice in blue & cream. Sophie liked my group of blocks, so she made it the thumbnail for this month's link on the Block Lotto home page.


Orange block for Mod Conn - These blocks will be set with squares of teal fabric. I haven't purchased teal fabric since 1994, and now I'm seeing teal everywhere! Did you know it is one of the hot colors for Fall fashions?


In progress:
Mini Zig Zag- this one will eventually be finished as a doll quilt to sell at the holiday fairs.


On Hold:
EVERYTHING! I have tendonitis in my left hand. When we got home from Mod Conn Sunday night, my hand felt a little funny. By the time I went to bed, it hurt a lot! The doctor gave me a splint and told me to rest (no sewing) for 7-10 days! It's a good thing all my quilts for the show were done early. That is so not like me! I'm feeling much better already, but I will continue to rest, as the doctor ordered, for fear of a relapse.


In other news, Julia will learn how to call AAA when she gets home from school today. She had hoped to take the car to school today, but left the lights on when she came home last night, so the battery is dead. Lessons learned.

Off you go now!*

*Our beloved Irish pastor used to dismiss the kids for their Children's Liturgy of the Word with is phrase.

Mini Ninnie Hexie Star

I finished a little piece this weekend! The blocks are from this Hexed Stars pattern. I pulled the Philip Jacobs Delphinium print for the border first, thinking it looked a little Fall-like, then found the batiks for the stars and background. It went together so quickly!

The triangles that make up the hexies are 1.5" tall, and the overall piece is about 12" wide.

I quilted it with this gorgeous metallic thread from Superior. (40 wt. #025 Variegated Gold) I only broke the thread once, which I think is good for a metallic. I used a Superior topstitch needle #90/14. Love their needles and thread!

This little piece will be auctioned off at the Ninigret Quilt show on October 16. Proceeds of the silent auction will be donated to the W.A.R.M. Shelter and the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center.

I was planning to make another one for myself to keep, but it will have to wait. You know how I was on a roll? Well, I'm paying for all that sewing now. I have tendonitis in my left hand and can't sew for 7-10 days while I recover. : [

I'm linking up with Sew Darn Crafty for Autumn Theme Week!

Weekend Update

I had a fun quilty weekend! Saturday was judging day for our guild show and I was one of about 8 volunteers. About 45 quilts were judged in a variety of categories. It was fascinating to hear the judge's comments.

On Sunday, Karen, Julia and I drove up to the Mod Conn meeting. You can see lots more pictures in Jackie's post. Here are this month's blue blocks with some apple/lime/honeydew/yellow-green to coordinate. My block is the one on the bottom with the row of geese.

I made an orange block on Saturday night, but didn't have a teal fabric to coordinate with it. I had to buy one at the shop when I got there. I haven't bought teal fabric since 1994!

Heide is an amazing young modern quilter! And she's friends with Kate Spain and Jennifer Paganelli! Too cool.

Jackie showed her amazing top that she made at a Judy Niemeyer retreat in Montana!

In non-quilty, family news...
Julia was in a play called Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. It is a moving piece with first hand accounts of the LA riots. The kids appreciated learning more about this event that took place before they were born. Julia portrayed Rev. Tom Choi, a 6' tall, Asian minister. She was awesome!

Pete's band, Attractive Dan, played at an open mic night and closed out the evening. They played a couple of original songs and Pete did some cool stuff with timpani mallets on the drum set.

I just remembered that I should link up to Sew Modern Monday!

I have another post coming with a mini finish. See you later!

October Block Lotto

Here are my October blocks for the Block Lotto. It is Quilter's Choice month in blues and cream. We were allowed to choose our own patterns, but could only make as many as three blocks in each pattern, so the winners will receive a nice assortment.


The first block is Duck Tracks.

This one is called Waste Not.

And this one is Block #1 of the Blogger's BOM.

These were fun blocks to work on. Still waiting and hoping for my first win!