Category: Hand Piecing

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 🙂

Galaga Update

I’ve been working hard on Galaga and making lots of progress.  You can’t tell, but I messed up counting on the left and threw stuff off, but it’s really not noticeable.  I’ll just have to keep it in mind when I start working on that side!  This is the first time I’ve used Q-snaps on a project and boy does it take some getting used to!  I’ve used 5-7″ hoops for 30+ years!

I finished putting on the first border last night, spent a good 90 minutes working on it at the car dealership while I waited for the truck to be worked on yesterday and decided to just finish it up last night.  Now I can start prepping more hexis and start the next border.  I’ve also decided on how I’m going to test hand quilt this quilt.  I printed off some 4″ hexi’s from EQ and I’m using 4.5″ squares cut with my Go to make the hexi’s.  I’m just going to do a flower and then I’ll quilt it.  That should give me an idea of how easy/hard doing the whole quilt will be.  I hope!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day!  Thank you to all those that have served, past and present!

IHSW Update

Well I managed to complete the first page of Galaga this weekend.  Just 11 more pages to go!  I think this will go fast, there’s really not that much to it, the issue is there’s so much “white space”!  I spent an hour or so this afternoon working on it and almost have a second page completed.  I hope to finish it tonight.

I was hoping to get to work on the hexagon quilt, but unfortunately there just wasn’t time for that.  I need to get the first border attached.

Framed Cross Stitch

 Yesterday I stopped at Catan’s and bought frames for a bunch of finished cross stitch.  Darth Vader only took me about 10 days (on and off) .  Hubby is taking it to work for his desk.  This was a very easy, quick stitch.

The heart piece was started many, many years ago.  I think it only took an afternoon to finish it up.  I may have started it right after my grandfather died, but that was back in 1998!

Blessed is the Piecemakers was finished last year and has been sitting on my sewing table waiting to be framed.

The Love Is piece is a free chart from DMC using color variations thread.  I couldn’t find a couple of them at the time, so I substituted other colors.  This one will go with all the other Love Is framed pieces in the hallway.  I still have 4 pieces left to frame, the Dream, Believe, Hope and Imagine ones.  I have 2 frames that will each hold 2 of the pieces.  Hope to get that done this weekend too and figure out where everything is going to be hung! I am hoping to start working on Galaga tonight while we watch tv.

 

Yesterday I worked on putting together the first border on the hexagon quilt. I’ll work on this on and off while I work on Galaga, I already have the thread for quilting, but the borders are going to take me awhile I think.

Another Cross Stitch Finish

I’ve put the hexagon quilt on hold for a little while.  I started working on the border and was causing some wrist pain while I was holding the pieces together for stitching.  So I’ve decided to work on some of my huge backlog of cross stitch projects.

I don’t even remember when I started this one, probably some time after my grandfather died in 1998.  I know how I’d like to frame it, with a heart shaped mat, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to find one.  Getting one custom cut will most likely be expensive.  I’ll have to see what I find.  Next I’ve decided to work on one for my husband for his office at work.  It’s Darth Vader from Dork Stitch.  It looks like it will be a nice quick stitch.  Not 100% sure how much time I’ll have to work on it in the next few days, our favorite baker is coming to spend a couple of days with us.  We are hoping to go to the zoo while she’s here.

Hopefully I’ll have a new update soon!!

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!

A Finish!

Well, a finish times 4!  I finished Dream, Hope, Believe and Imagine last night.  Boy were those beads a pain!  They do look awesome though!  Somehow I managed to have a least 1 bead on each piece in the wrong spot, but I don’t think it’s very noticable.  Just need to find 4 matching frames and decide where to put them.  Now I can concentrate on the hexi quilt, only 2 rows left to complete then I can work on the border!

Dear Jane Siggie Blocks

Well I got my blocks done today, they are all packaged up and will be picked up by the mail carrier tomorrow.  I love being able to print shipping labels online and have them pick it up, I don’t have to go to the post office anymore!  All of mine were done with some form of green outside of the center square.  At least I have 50 blocks done and it will be shipped way before the deadline!  I did get some more white on white fabric today at Joann’s and I already have them all cut up and in the 2.5″ square bin just waiting to make some more hexis.  Planning on work on the beading the rest of the night, I’m hoping I can get the first one done tonight – it is a possibility!

Design Wall Monday

Well, I actually got the next row attached on the Hexagon quilt last night!  I have 2 rows left to do and I already have the flowers ready, just need white hexis!  I mentioned here that I wasn’t sure if I should do a scrappy border or solid colors.  I’ve decided that I’m going to do scrappy.  Especially now that I have all my 2.5″ strips cut up into squares!  I love my Accuquilt Go!  I mentioned in February that I got the 2.5″ squares die that has 9 squares on it.  It was so easy to line up the strips and just keep running it through the machine.  I even found a stack of fabric I didn’t realize was there and cut it with the chisel die.  Not that I have a plan for a project, the strips were just the right size!  Alex and I are going to Joann’s today after his Dr’s appt, I need a different container for these beads, a different pen/marker for the Dear Jane Siggie blocks, and maybe some more fabric, we’ll see what I find.

Head over to see what everyone else is up to over at Judy’s.

It’s been awhile

I know, I haven’t been around lately.  I’ve been busy!  We now have an 18 month old, and man is he active.  He never stops!  I mentioned last time that I joined a SAL on Facebook.  I have all 4 words done, just have to do all the beading which is totally new for me.  I think I need to get a beading needle, I found some that might work, I just need to try them.  If not I’ll go to Joann’s after Alex’s 18 month Dr appt and get some.  I don’t have pictures yet, I hope to have some this week as I finish the beading.

I now have all of my Dear Jane Siggie Swap blocks done, I just need to stamp and sign them all.  Had to make 50 blocks!!  When I get a chance I’ll have to start designing the layout, I should have them all back sometime in the beginning of May because they are due to the coordinator by May 1st.

While I was finishing up my siggie swap blocks today I was looking at the pile of 2.5″ squares on my sewing table.  I have a basket of colors and was going to buy another basket for the white/lights.  I also have a basket for 1.5″ strips and 2.5″ strips.  I decided today that since I never use the 2.5″ strips and might not ever, I’d rather use my 2.5″ square die for my Go and cut them all into squares.  Since I’m working on the Hexagon quilt using the 2.5″ squares, this will give me some more variety.  I actually threw some strips away, I don’t know where they came from and the fabric was just so thin I didn’t like how it felt.  I got everything ironed and waiting on the cutting table, hopefully I can get it all cut up in the next day or so.

I’m working on adding the next row to the hexagon quilt, hoping to have that done tonight so I can get a picture.  I have the next row of flowers done, just need to get some white squares prepped, I’ll have lots of papers for them once I get the row added.

See you soon!