Patchwork of the Crosses Progress!

I have three blocks completed and am well on my way with the fourth block!

 These are quiet time consuming little blocks!

Quiet delightful though!

I am working hard to finish an afghan that I am making for my son and his wife-to-be (1st Dec).  You are probably wondering about those long chain stitch sections.  They get twisted into a cable once the entire afghan is done.  I can't wait to get to that point.  So far I have used seven skeins of yarn and probably have the same amount to go!  It is going to be a generous size blanket to say the very least!
I will show progress on this project!
I hope you are having a good day!

A Bit of This and a Bit of That!

Its the time of year for chrysanthemums!  I love their cheerful colors!  I planted two pots for my front entrance and they looks so lovely!

This week I have built some more houses from scraps!  Don't even want to know how far behind I am with the whole process!

 I needed to cut out papers for my hexes!  Did a whole bunch as you can see from the scrap paper!

 And stitched this little treasure together!

Wishing you a happy Friday and thank you for stopping by!

Oblong Centerpiece DONE!!!

I am so happy that I have a finish to report.  I had to stitch row 10 today - it is done in two parts of 28 folded triangles each.

 Then the binding had to be put on.  Watched a TV program while hand stitching down that binding.

Then off to its designated spot on my sideboard!  I am loving it!!!  I am loving the finish more!!! I get to tick something off of that very looooooong UFO list!
Have a great day and thank you for stopping by.

A Boy, A Cathedral and A Quilt!

My middle son attends The Citadel in South Carolina! He is a Junior this year.  At the beginning of his Freshman year, The Citadel Regimental Band was invited to participate in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo!  For a whole month during the summer, they entertained crowds of delighted people.  It was such an awesome experience.

One of my sons absolute favorite places in Edinburgh is St Giles Cathedral.  It has the most beautiful blue ceiling.  Here are two pictures of the ceiling.  I decided that I would make him a quilt to remind him of the Cathedral.  Quite some time ago I had bought  "The Patchwork of the Crosses" and have been wanting to make it.

 Here is one completed cross block! I am using the English Paper Piecing Method.  I had the difficult task of finding fabric to use around the blocks.

 I found a Moda Bella Solid Sky Blue which is a very good match to the ceiling.  I thought Stonehenge Limestone would be good for the background as it looks like the stonework of the Cathedral.

So far I have made two crosses and number three is well under way.  Gavin is really excited about the quilt.  He is a very talented person who loves to make things in his spare time and has a real appreciation for handmade things!

This and That!

I've been working like a crazy woman on fussy cut hexies!  My poor sewing machine has not worked for about two weeks now.  I need to do some quilting of a couple of projects and I just have not been "feeling" it.  I don't know about you, but I need to be in the mood to machine quilt.  It makes it easier that way.

 The scraps left over from the 1 1/4" hexies are being used for my 1/2" Quiltmania hexagon quilt.  So I am making two sizes at the moment.

 I have attached a few more yarn hexies to the afghan.  It is growing nicely!  Just in time to be warm on my lap whilst attaching new hexegons to it!!!

Hopefully I will have something different to show you next time I blog!!!  Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!

Collecting some Fussy Cut Hexagons!!!

 I have been playing with striped fabric again and am having so much fun with all this fussy cutting.

 The effect is just so beautiful and is almost always a surprise just how pretty they are when you stitch them together.

 As for layout!!!  I like to have connectors to define each block.  I butted them up together and really like the look.  It makes them look extremely old world - as in positively medieval!  I really like it and am going to stitch them together this way. No connectors for me in this quilt!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are having a good day!

A Fall Centerpiece!

 My sweet sewing buddy and I decided we needed a quick fall project - something to make and finish really quickly in amongst our other huge slow projects.  This centerpiece required 16 different fabrics, so we decided we would each make two sets of 8 and then swap a set!  I love swapping with Joy because our tastes are the same but we have different fabrics.

 Here are my two sets, basted and ready!

 Three of the hexagons have a little motif embroidered onto them!  A pumpkin, an acorn and a leaf.

Next you stitch them all together!

 Then you layer the centerpiece with your batting and backing and machine stitch all around the perimeter leaving an opening for turning.

 When you are done, quilt as desired.  I just outline stitched.

 This cute pattern comes from Quilts and More magazine.

We have now decided to make a Christmas one, maybe a Valentines one, a St Patrick's Day one, an Easter one, a Fourth of July one.......

Fussy Cut Hexagons

My Pinterest is full of fussy cut hexagons  at the moment.  I have been wanting to try fussy cutting along a striped fabric instead of just getting a motif onto the hexagon.  Isn't this pretty fabric.

I have a collection of acrylic templates that are kind of odd sizes.  This one is about 1 1/4", but not quiet.  It seemed to be a size that would work well.  I auditioned a few.  Then I cut my hexies out of freezer paper.  I positioned the freezer paper on the same motif for all six pieces.  

Basted and stitched them together.  Both of these hexagons are made from the same striped fabric, but with a very different result depending on where you decide to position your paper.

Give it a try!  I promise it is lots of fun!

Some more Fall!

 A little pumpkin Quilt!!!

 My turkey Penny Rug!  Isn't he a fine fellow?

 Sorry about the really bad lighting in this picture.  The crow is really a handsome fellow.  I'm sorry you can't see just how handsome he is.

 Ripple stitch afghan in halloween colors!

 More crows!  I just love them.

First part of round seven waiting to be stitched down! I'm beginning to ask myself if this project will ever end!
I'm slowly plugging away at projects this week.  Hopefully you are too!

Progress on Hexagon Afghan

 Do you remember the top photo from a previous post.  I was so proud of my then 9 hexagons.  Well it has grown somewhat.

I had to take my car for it's state inspection yesterday and the bag of hexagons went with of course.  I hate wasting handworking time.  This is a picture of the inside of my project bag.  Got two hexagons done while waiting for my car.

 On the way home I stopped at Hobby Lobby and bought two new shades for the blanket.

Added a couple in the afternoon!

Added some more after dinner.  Its coming along nicely.  I like the colors.  I am crocheting the blocks to the blanket as I do the last round so that I don't have to sew them together after making all of them.  It works well this way.
Hope you are having a great day.  Wishing you happy stitching until next time.