Design Wall Monday

Design Wall Monday 030413

I haven’t had an update in awhile. I’ve been busy working on putting the next row of diamond hexagons together and finally finished the fifth one yesterday. Here’s my excuse 🙂 hubby decided we needed to reorganize all the hard drives on our network (including buying 2 new ones!). So I spent quite a few days moving files and renaming things. Then I was sick over the weekend – as in I was so cold that a blanket AND a fire didn’t help! Feeling much better now, but not much got done while I was sick. Oh yeah, I did read Jennifer Chiaverini’s The Giving Quilt that came out last fall. I liked it, but would have like more story around the main Elm Creek Quilter’s. Hopefully the next book will have that!

So I did get 2 of the diamonds attached last night, the other 3 are just in place and I hope to get attached tonight. I had originally planned on getting this done by the end of March. I am finally realizing that I was WAY too ambitious. Since we still not sure when the RV will be ready I guess it doesn’t matter. Besides, we don’t have the first camping trip planned yet! So I will keep working and see what I can get finished.

I was looking for something the other day (can’t for the life of me remember what it is now) and found a ziploc baggie with yo-yo makers and some fabric scraps. Red, white and blue of course! I’ll need to get these ironed up and run them through the Go, just need to decide which die to use. 2.5″ squares, chisels, drunkard’s path….so many choices! They really aren’t big enough to do anything else with, I’d rather make them into a size I can use.

I spent some time on ebay recently and found some really cute Valentine’s Day 2.5″ squares – 200 of them and for less than $10!! Of course I had to get them! Haven’t decided if I am using them as squares or if I will turn them into hexagons and them make something out of them. I’ll decide eventually, too many other projects in line before them! I have something else coming that I finally won, I’ll talk about that once it gets here!

Design Wall Monday – 2/18/13

Manged to get another row completed in the last week. I’m really liking how this looks. I’ve picked the next 5 diamonds for the next row and will be starting them this evening. I was wondering how I was going to be able to get a decent picture since this is getting so big. Usually I stand on a chair and hold the camera (or phone) as high as I can to take the picture. Lucky me, hubby decided that I could get a new phone and we picked up iPhone 5’s yesterday. The new panorama feature on the camera is so cool! Took me a few tries to get a good picture, only because Alex wanted to play on the quilt since it was on the floor. Hoping to get the next row completed in a week just because I want to get this done so badly. I want to see the whole thing done and quilt it. I know exactly how I’ll quilt it on the machine.

In between working on the diamonds and sewing in my office I’ve been working on my hand quilting. I now have the entire center of this completed and I need to move the hoop to work on another section. It’s not a big quilt and I’ll use it as a table topper somewhere when it’s completed. I am thinking about doing another test piece before I start working on the first hexagon quilt, just so I can work on the rocking motion some more. I have a table runner using my favorite equinox fabrics I made back in 2008 that I still haven’t quilted. So I’m thinking of hand quilting it and doing cables or something in the ribbons. I have some time to figure out exactly what I’ll do, but I have pulled the runner out of the closet so I can start thinking about it. I think I even have some equinox sitting here I can use for the back!

Back soon with more finishes! This is linked to Design Wall Monday at patchworktimes.com

Design Wall Monday – 2/11/13

I’ve been working hard the last week to get more put together on Hexagon Diamonds. I officially have 3 rows completed and I’ve started working on the fourth row. All the pieces I need are basted and ready to be sewn into diamonds. I’m hoping to have this fourth row completed by mid week, just so I can get started on the next one! There are 13 rows in the quilt and if my calculations are correct from the EQ yardage sheet, 2,477 hexagons.

I ordered a few things from 123 Stitch last week, some more of my thimble pads, some thread heaven, ultra thimble and a book of cross stitch ornaments. I’m thinking they might be nice to work on while we are camping. I like to have multiple projects when we go on vacation, mainly because after awhile you want to work on something different. I thought these might be good for Xmas presents this year. If I don’t get them done, it’s ok there’s always next year! The tracking shows that it is delivered, which means it’s in the mailbox. So hubby will bring it in when he gets home from work, I have to wait until 6! I might take a walk with Alex when he gets up from his nap to get the mail, we’ll see how cold and windy it is when he gets up.

I need to get working on the order for my sister’s preschool/day care, I’ll be back soon!

I’ve been working hard on my hexi diamond quilt. Since I decided to use it in the RV I have a deadline – self-imposed since we don’t have a delivery date or a camping date! I have a few more diamonds completed, they just haven’t been added on yet because the colors are too similar to these and I want to spread them out. I’m hoping to get another row added on in the next week, I managed to get an entire diamond put together while at my MIL’s for dinner last night. Head over to PatchworkTimes to see other Design walls!

Design Wall Monday – 061112

Well, I haven’t been working on the galaga cross stitch lately, thanks to the awkwardness of the frame my shoulder was hurting and I needed to let it rest. However, this has given me time to work on the hexagon quilt. I have started working on the third border. I’m really liking how it’s looking now that more borders are on. I can’t wait to see it with the fourth border! I already have the thread for quilting it, I just don’t know how to hand quilt yet! Still hoping to find a class in the area so I can learn to do it right, but if I can’t find anything I’ll just do my best!

I decided a couple of weeks ago to create a hexagon flower using 4.5″ squares and quilt it by hand to see how easy it is. Problem is that I need the frame that galaga is on! So the plan is to work on the large quilt and get the borders finished, then work on galaga and hopefully finish it (only about 4 pages left!). Then I can quilt the hexagon flower and then hopefully do the quilt itself. Basketball season is almost over, hubby’s team is in the finals so we’ll be watching them, and that gives me time to work on projects. I also need to start thinking about backing fabric, I don’t know if I should use something I have at home or buy something, I’m going to have to ponder it 🙂

Design Wall Monday

Well, I’m making progress! I’m now working on the final row before adding the scrappy border. I have the 6 remaining flowers done, I’m prepping the rest of the white I need to finish the row. I’m hoping to start on the border by the end of the week.

I’ve been asked to teach EQ7 at Amherst library again, this time instead of doing 2 classes (beginner and advanced) we are just doing 1 class. I need to start looking at the manual and learning all the new stuff! I haven’t had time to do much with it lately, but I have it on my mac using a free virtual software, so I can start working on the lessons while Alex plays!

Head on over to Judy’s to see what everyone else is up to!

Design Wall Monday

I’ve been working hard the last week on my hexagon quilt. Every night after Alex goes to bed I can sit and watch basketball and/or shows with my husband and work on it. I have a very small section left and I will be halfway done. I stopped last week at my favorite quilt shop Anna’s Sewing Center and picked up 5 1/4 yards of white on white. The white sections were starting to look the same, I needed some more variety. Hoping to get the last section put together tonight while we watch tv and either get it added on tonight or tomorrow while Alex plays. Then I need to start working on more flowers! The picture is a little blurry, I took it with my iphone and was trying to keep the dog and Alex off of it. It is so large I can’t get the picture on my sewing table anymore, it has to go on the floor.

Head over to Patchwork Times to see what everyone else is up to.

Design Wall Monday

I thought since I finally started working on stuff that I’d participate in Judy’s Design Wall Monday over at PatchworkTimes. I think I said the other day I was going to redesign my hexagon quilt, now it’s 50 x 50 and boy do I need a lot of flowers! I am going to need 56 flowers, currently I’m up to 24 – 20 of them are currently sewn together. I’m shocked at how much work I’ve gotten done in just under 3 weeks of hand work. I’m finding that I have a lot more time than I thought when I can work on hand projects, mostly when Alex is playing and doesn’t need me. I used to just sit and read, sewing is better! 🙂

Here’s an export from EQ of what the quilt is going to look like, the browns are actually scrappy, but all will have the red centers. I’m also thinking that the red border will actually be scrappy reds, I just haven’t decided if I want to stick with 1 color for the blue border (scrappy blues) or do totally scrappy like I did with the flowers. Anyone have an opinion? I don’t think I’m going to do the binding following all those points, I’m pretty sure I’m going to cut them off even and square it up.

I spent all of Saturday afternoon up working on getting mom’s quilt tacked so I can get it off the frame and give it to her to quilt. Then I need to get going on quilting the one for my sister, I guess she’s redo-ing her bedroom and this quilt plays into that. Hope it’s big enough for her bed!!!