The Days Get Away From Me

It's kind of amazing, actually, how a week goes by so quickly! But I've not been lazy in my days. A couple more tumbler tops are ready:

 I wasn't able to get a good pic of the purple and green, but it's the one I started at Epworth last weekend. It's quite different.

Sometimes I find a pattern  intrigues me and I want to try it out in lots of different fabrics. This is the case with the tumblers. Also I find that I've been able to use up some of my stash I this quilt pattern. It goes together so quickly! And cutting was a breeze because I used the Accuquilt cutter. Zip,  zip, done!

I've also been working on the binding for the gray & Kaffe tumbler, and I've been stuffing pincushions for gifts at Empty Spools in the spring. Hexies have not been forgotten! Chair work (not requiring sitting at the sewing machine) has many project possibilities!

The weather has finally broken, but it will be back up to 80 by Tuesday. Oh, how I long to live in a cooler climate! But...not in the cards at the moment.

The world continues to be crazy. Violence. Voters suppression laws. Craziness spewing from the mouths of the politicians running this country. People expressing shock that we spy.  That's sort of like that scene in Casablanca where the police chief is shocked, SHOCKED, to find gambling going on at Rick's.  Ah well. The lunatics are running the asylum: what else can we expect? Sometimes I think I need to live in a cave. Instead I turn off the TV and pretend, for a day, that we're not all nuts.

Meanwhile there's fabric to keep me sane. Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Retreat Day 2

Yea, I sorta missed day 1, but so it goes.

My guild is at Epworth By the Sea in St. Simons Island, GA. 

 I packed some tumbler quilts to work on while I'm here.  I lay out these quilts at home on the design wall then stack the rows for easy sewing when I'm with a group.  Funny thing about the first one ... 

....I got to row 8 and saw that I had forgotten to stack the main color! Whoops! So, put that one aside till I get back home.  But being one to never leave home without waaaay too many projects, I started the second tumbler.  

I got the top finished just in time to call it a day. Lots of good friendship with fellow quilters in a beautiful "old south" environment. What a way to spend a weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

Just Hexies

Most of the day was spent getting ready for the Honeybee Guild trip to Epworth. I had cooking to do. I made the first batch of rustic roasted apple sauce for this fall. I'm pretty strict with myself about only eating fruit that is in season, and grown in either the U.S. or Canada: it has flavor because its ripe. So it's apple season now, and time to make Michael Chiarello's delicious applesauce again. Luckily, apple season lasts for a long time!  Other things were made and will be taken on the trip, as well. 

Bottom line: I only had time for a few hexies.

These are 1" hexies. I'm using those little bits of fabric that are left after subcutting strips, which is why you see bright fruity ones and soft pastel-y ones.  No, they aren't going in the same project.  In fact I don't have a project in mind for these. I'm just making them because they're fun.

Now off to the sidewalks for my morning walk.  Stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by.

 

The Day

I've been avoiding the sewing machine for the past 10 days or so. I got back to it today after pushing through the whining wall. Here are my results.

This is one big quilt! I had all the blocks made, and 2 of the rows put together. Now it's ready for quilting (as soon as I make a back). One thing I really like about the current modern quilting movement is that most of the designs don't have borders. I love being finished with the top once the columns and rows are together.

I started the day by re-reading the directions for Judy Niemeyer's Autumn Splendor quilt. (Have you ever done one of Judy's patterns? The instructions are like the Sunday New York Times!!!!) Two years ago I took 3 classes with Judy at Quilting By the Bay in Panama City Florida. I've worked on the parts off and on, but it's been awhile since the last time. It all came back, though, and this part went together quickly and easily after the refresher. I highly recommend taking a class from Judy, or one of her many certified instructors if you can't get to her. You'll be amazed at how easy the cutting and piecing are. I hope to get a part or two done daily now that I've refreshed my brain on the how-to.

I ended the day making a whole passel of half-square triangle blocks. These are 2" (finished). After finishing the quilt top, above, I was still in the mood to sew (it's amazing what happens once your push yourself to just do it).  I did a browse through my project bins and stumbled upon a bunch of fabrics already cut, just waiting to be made into HSTs. My guild just started a HST exchange and I know I'll need more, so....what the heck! I made 102 tonight. Then I quit sewing! 

It was a good day.  Thanks for sharing it with me.

Playing

I read about  how to sew hexies on the machine. What?!?! Knowing I could also use the glue method instead of hand-sewing .... I'm in! 

Ignore that badly scorched pressing board.  I can sit in my chair in the evenings and hexie myself into oblivion.

I finally got this top done and to the quilters.  It sure is big!

Can't wait to see it finished. That's all for now.