Through the Hexagonal Window …

No nerdy tutorial today as I’ve had a day of cutting fabric and playing with hexagons, squares and triangles!

I started piecing with gingham for Katy@ ImAGingerMonkey’s Spring Carnival a while ago and I’d decided that I was going to applique them onto individual blocks of some beautiful heavy dark grey linen, to allow me to treat it more like a sampler quilt.

I’d like to do a wholecloth applique, but I’ve read so many posts in the past from people saying in retrospect that they wish they’d pieced in blocks, that I’m as yet undecided.










I thought I’d try using the negative space of the grey a little more …






Then Lynne@Lily'sQuilts just posted about one of her annual summer epp projects – a kind of mutant spring carnival block – The Georgetown Carnival …




So, I just had a little jigsaw play with what I had already basted … I think it’s a wondrous good idea … and with some careful fabric planning could be just delicious!  Yay! I’m thinking a mahusive, many-rowed centre piece could look pretty funky too ...




What is it about the summer that makes us all rush to the EPP?  What have you got planned?

3rd Quarter Finish-Along - ta-da/to-do

Hello if you’re playing along over at Rhonda’s for the 3rd Quarter Finish-Along.  Hello if you’re not.  That’s everyone covered. 

July?  Really?  Summer? Really? 

Due to circs beyond, I missed the deadline for what I managed to finish last quarter, but aside from my Quilt of Good Intentions for Siblings Together, which has been finished and sent off to its new home, there was zilcho action, so this is a ta-da/to-do post …

Frankly, we could save us a heap of time if we just went to my 2nd quarter post - you’ll see the same guiltily unfinished projects.  Sometimes I feel like my Finish-Along journey is akin to visiting a home for unwanted abandoned pets - you love them all but can’t commit to only one so end up leaving empty handed.

Obese Swoon is far too big for my pathetically weedy machine and my sanity, so I’m going to wait until (a) I get a new machine OR b) I have saved enough to have it long-arm quilted.


 So, she has a bye until next quarter.


1.  This one, however is still shivering like a whippet in the cage of shame and is my first entry into the next quarter:



The Not The Wedding Quilt was finally deconstructed back to triangles about half way through last quarter.  It has remained thus for the remaining half of the quarter, so it’s a must do for the summer.


Unfortunately, I am still not even started on piecing the Wedding Quilt Mark II that this is supposed to be replaced by – Hey, Rhonda? Wanna rename this the Start-Along? …



2.  Next up is my FQ Winterkist Designer Challenge, which I need to finish by the end of August.

I’m going to rag quilt a Crimbo Bath Mat …

These are the fabrics Lynne@LilysQuilts sent me … Squeee! I love Monica@HappyZombie’s eye for detail in her prints.  The colours are lovely – not too highly saturated - the red is a lovely Heinz Tomato Soup red …

Hols are beckoning (from next Monday YAY!)  and I’m hoping that a ridiculous amount of time will be filled with lovely languid EPP-ing –

I’m doing a scrappy gingham-centric version of Katy@ ImAGingerMonkey’s Spring Carnival and not putting myself under any finishing pressure for that  …

Peace out.

Fabric Fame at Pink Castle Fabrics

Have you had a go yet?  It's such fun! Read all about the challenge here at Katy @ Monkey Do - you could win your own bundle and have it listed in Brenda's store! Yay! Fabric Fame!

Brenda @ PinkCastleFabrics has such a great stock of delights to choose from, it's almost painful to narrow it down to 12.


Here's my selection (click pic to see more details of fabrics)

I was kind of channelling Mad Men, lipstick, crisp shirts and dirndls with a walk in Central Park ....

You've got until March 31st to enter .... Go on ... you know you want to. 

My heart says yes … Swoon-Along

Are you joining in with Katy over at Monkey Do ?? 

She's hosting a Swoon-Along

I really really want to …

do you?

Another quilt? Have you ANY idea what you’re doing?

Eeeeek!! I don’t know … It just kind of happened …

Imagine!  It’s just like the old buses adage - you wait for ages and then three come along at the same time!  

So, while I’m procrastinating wildly over the binding on the echino quilt, I’ve cut, and am now putting together, the blocks for this one.  

I wanted to prove to myself that I could make something fab out of the few remaining ruby star rising scraps Melody Miller sent me … I thought it would be cool to mix them with some of the Andover fabrics that I won from I’m A Ginger Monkey … 

The colours are bolder and more blocky to give the whole thing (with any luck) a strict graphic theme and tie those wildly different fabrics together.

Even back in October I never ever really thought that I would make a quilt using yer actual sewing machine; I’m just so delighted that I have learnt enough to even consider giving it a go, and then trying another one to learn more!  

I’m not up to learning the whole machine quilting at this stage, no time - am making presents after all! -  so this one will also be tied, and then big basic long stitch sashiko style quilted, with embroidery thread.  I like it.  I like the way the rigid machine sewing perfection is broken up by my sometimes wonky hand-stitching on the echino:




One day soon I’ll give the machine quilting a go, i.e. when it doesn't have to get wrapped up and given to someone else, but for the moment I’m really excited to be doing something using plains, prints, measuring, cutting and sewing!  All my crafting phobias in one! Muhwahhah ...

Phew!  And to think you lot out there in the Blogolopolis can all just whip up a quilt in a weekend ?  Ha ha ha … Sorry, let’s be more festive … Ho Ho Ho! I've got lots to look up to :)




 
 
 
… don’t forget -  click on the pic to enter my giveaway - I’ll post pictures of watchageddin tomorrow …

My Creative Space - Happy Thanks-giveaway-ing

So, today’s the real Thanksgiving, eh?

Well, my creative space is brimming over with thankfulness.

While yesterday I was being thankful in low key reflective mode,  today I’m jumping about with much more cheery thankfulness:

On an entirely material level, I am thankful for Giveaways!  

Last night my return from work was greeted by a whopping amount of randomly generated booty from I’m a Ginger Monkey’s Scrap Vomit Technicolour Yawn giveaway! 


Honestly !  There isn’t a “Yay!” typographically big enough to describe my squeaky jump for joy happiness as I lifted the lid of a rather yummy brown cardboard box to reveal this not-so-little lot.

pic from I'm a Ginger Monkey

Wowza Katy, thank you so much! it was like opening a treasure chest!  I don’t think I’ve ever had that many new FQs in me mitts before. (Other than when doing a bit of furtive fabric stroking in shops, that is)  

I am truly thankful.  

-- Especially as one of the fabrics seems to be the key piece that brings together all my random thoughts about the (as yet still imaginary) quilt project ...

... Stay tuned … I think I may be onto something ... more pics another day …

I promise to pay it forward with a new giveaway very very soon - 

But until I do, there’s another fab giveaway over here at I’m A Ginger Monkey - it’s only open to the UK though  … but it’s for this fantastic stack of 19 FQs of solids, THE HURRICANE, from Backstitch - go check it out! - it runs until November 29th :)

pic from I'm a Ginger Monkey

Don’t forget you’ll have something else to be thankful for if you pop on over to Kirsty’s and take a while to immerse yourself in all that lovely talented creativity …