Category: Uncategorized

Uncategorized

Monday Morning Star Count – 2014/10

quiltstudio62

I hate it when my real job gets in the way of my progress, but it is a necessary evil!  So I really did not make much progress this week.  I was able to finish three flowers so that is better than no progress at all.

I have tried three different thimbles this week and will try to post my thoughts, likes, and dislikes along with the pictures of the thimbles this week.  I really appreciate the advice I received from everyone.  I am linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts for the Monday Morning Star Count.  Come join the fun!

Uncategorized

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/8

quiltstudio62

What a busy week!  I took some time with my granddaughter, Gracie, to teach her basting hexagons.  Gracie was born at 31 weeks, has a form of autism,  and struggles with her small motor skills.  She actually used the needle 🙂 without my help, and stayed focused long enough to complete 7 – 1″ hexies.

When she first started she poked her finger and cried.  I gave her a big hug and told her she would get the hang of it.  Although she was hesitant, she took my thimble (she refused it at first) and put it on her thumb and carried on.  Now for the funny part, when she was finishing her last hexagon, I said, “See, there is no crying in sewing.” and she replied (very seriously), “G-Mom, there is no crying in sewing until someone pokes themselves with a needle!”  I couldn’t help but laugh.  So here she is:
And look at how proud she was when she finished!  She chose all of her own colors and this is the very first time she basted all by herself.  I am so proud of her!
And so now for my progress.  I was able to add one more section and completed 3 more flowers.
And thank you to everyone who provided suggestions for thimbles!  It was very helpful and I ordered several to try.  I will write a separate post next week with the results.  You are all wonderful!
I am linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts!  Check it out and join the fun!
Uncategorized

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/7

quiltstudio62

I did not get as much stitching completed on putting the sections together as I had hoped.  I did however add one more section and completed 3 more flowers for the quilt.  I am still getting used to handling the larger size of the quilt section and it actually took me an hour to add one section.  I am sure as I go I will be able to figure out how big to keep the sections so they are manageable and then I can sew those larger sections together.

So here is my progress on sewing sections:
I think the best part was removing the paper pieces 🙂 – it made me anxious to stitch more together!
And here are the addtional flowers that I completed:
I am also trying different thimbles.  I am having such a hard time getting used to wearing one, but when  I was stitching the sections together I actually pushed the needle into my finger so deep it spurted blood….not a good thing!!  LOL.  So I purchased a few different ones to try and I will let you know how that goes next week.  Do you have a favorite thimble?  Is it always hard to get used to?
I’m linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts for the Monday Morning Start Count.  Check it out and join us!  The more the merrier!
Uncategorized

Monday Morning Star Count – Week #6

quiltstudio62

Well…at least I made progress this week!  I finished 4 hexie flowers.

And I now have 16 flowers, 19 flower sections with the added background hexies, and it looks like I should start putting some sections together!
My hexie box is getting low :(, but that means I have made a lot of progress!!
This week my focus is to make more sections and start stitching them together.  I can’t wait to see how it looks!  I’m very excited to be linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts!
Uncategorized

Ahoy Matey!

quiltstudio62

I started this quilt about this time last year and finally have it finished.  I made it for our grandson to use in our camper up in Maine.  He is 5 years old and totally in love with pirates….then again, what little boy doesn’t like playing pirates?

This is our grandson, Carter, with his sister Gracie.  I can’t wait for him to see his new pirate quilt!
I used Riley Blake’s Pirate Matey fabric along with odds and ends of fabrics from my stash to get the quilt the size I needed for the full size bunk in the camper.  The overall patter was the ‘Disappearing Nine Patch” that I learned from one of the Craftsy Classes that Jenny Doan teaches in Quilting Quickly I.
The back is a plain grey, but has patches of left over blocks and the binding is made from scraps left over from the project. 

 The pillow sham is pieced from left overs and a few blocks that I tried out from the Craftsy 2013 Block of the Month class.  The front of the sham is shown below.
The back of the sham is shown below:

Uncategorized

Monday Morning Star Count

quiltstudio62

OK…so it is Monday night, not morning :).  I actually made a lot of progress this week, but not without a few challenges.

Sooo….this is what happened when I turned my back on my puppy (just for one minute).  And I thought I only had to worry about the grandkids :).  He left quite a few bite marks and a lot of saliva….not sure I can salvage this!
Then, on Friday night I put the grandkids in bed and sat down to stitch. I stitched up a storm and about 11pm, I made this mistake.  Has anyone else ever done this?  For all the times I worried maybe hand-stitching wouldn’t hold up, I take it all back – it took quite a bit of working to rip this out!  I am glad I only stitched one wrong!
So even with the setbacks, I finished adding the 3 background hexagons to 18 flowers.
I counted all of my basted hexies – I have 530, which is way more than I thought I had.
This week I am heading back to making hexagon flowers and cutting more background fabric so I can be ready to stitch the 3 background hexies on a new set.
Phew…..I have never gotten so much done in a week!

Uncategorized

Monday Morning Star Count on Wednesday

quiltstudio62

I am linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts for the Monday Morning Star Count and hoping for inspiration to keep focused and make progress!  This is my very first English Paper Piecing project and I am in love with the method and the simplicity and relaxation that it brings.  I started this project this past summer.

I chose Bonnie & Camille’s Marmalade line for the hexies.  I will be making a quilt, but have not figured out the finished size yet.  I will do a full tally for next week’s post 🙂 and that may help be figure out the size.
Right now I have completed basting about 300 – 1 1/2″ hexies – this is just one box of them.  
Here are some of the hexagon flowers completed:
For placement, I used Jessica’s concept from the diamonds tutorial, and add three hexies in the surrounding fabric.  This allows me the chance to play with placement.  I have only completed the main section that I will use to build off.   I have about 15 sections to add the 3 plain hexies to and then I will need to figure out what size I want to make the quilt.
Uncategorized

The Finished Quilt & Little Gracie

quiltstudio62

Okay…so not quite finished, I still have to bind it, but pretty close and I couldn’t wait for Gracie to see it.  This quilt will be on her bed up in Maine next summer and she is on her way over to see it now.  Hope she likes it!

The picture above is the front.  I don’t think it is bad for my first time!  
Here is the back of the quilt.  I do think that next time I will use a solid back as it did prove tough have the top and backing pieced.
And here is Gracie with her quilt!  She loves it and thinks I am the best G-Mom (grandmother) ever!  She is so funny…I think she likes the back better than the front!
OK – I ran out of fabric to make the binding so I need to order more and then I will post a picture of it completely finished!  On to my next quilt top….I have several waiting to go.  Get ready Grace & Jane!