New Quilt/Learnings

Well, I’ve been busy this week!  I posted on Monday that I started a new quilt, it’s now done!  Here’s my question though, does it need another border?  It’s about 36″ x 36″ and I’m only planning on using it as a quilt in the car, for Alex or if we go on a picnic or something.  I won’t be quilting it until I get my new stencils – and I don’t know when that will be since my order says Pending on the site!  It went together very quickly and I love that I used fabrics from the stash, NOTHING new was bought!

I’ve been thinking about my next hexagon quilt this week and I think I’ve got it designed the way I want it.  The example I found on PaperPieces.com has the diamonds vertically, but I think I like them on their sides.  None of the colors in the EQ version match what I’m actually going to use, since I’ll be pulling from the 2.5″ square bin to make all the diamonds.  I think I’ll do all the diamonds and then put them together with the white, or at least I’ll see how far I get with the hexi papers I already have printed out!  I’ve figured I need 59 full diamonds and 12  half diamonds and this one will finish at 79″ x 85″.  Huge for me!  I just checked sizes and it looks like that might be large enough to fit our king size bed!  I’d have to put big enough borders to hang down the sides, although I might put it on the bed in the guest room.  It’ll be awhile before it’s finished, so I guess it doesn’t matter right now!

I was playing with EQ today while Alex played and hubby was busy on his laptop and learned some new things.  I didn’t realize that you could create a quilt layout from a block!  Here’s the caveat though, the block can only have horizontal and vertical lines – no diagonals or it won’t work. I also figured out how to break blocks apart in Word so that you can show how to make a block, that’s cool!  I did find something I’m disappointed in though, I created the new hexagon quilt in EQ on my mac (using software called VirtualBox to run windows) and created it in a new project.  I can move blocks, layouts (uncolored), photos, fabrics into another project but not colored quilts!  I wanted to move the new quilt into my hexagon project, that sucker took a long time to color in!  Oh well, maybe in the next version?

Well, I’m off to start working on the new hexagon quilt, I think I’ll print out some more papers, I think I’ll need them!

It’s done!!!

Well, I finished galaga last night, practically falling asleep as I took the final stitches.  It looks pretty good, just need to decide what kind of frame to get for it and give it a quick wash.  Started it on May 19th and finished June 24th, just over a month to do, with some breaks when I decided to finish up the hexagon quilt.  Now I need to decide what the next cross stitch project is going to be, I’m thinking maybe of finishing up my Love Is flowers.  I already know what kind of frame that is going in, I think it’ll fit in a long frame with 3 4×6″ spots in the matting.  I don’t think it took me long to do the other 2, so this might be off my list pretty quick.

As I was putting away all the equinox fabric last week I found a plastic bag with a zipper that was full of scraps.  All kinds of odds and ends from previous projects.  I spent a day and ironed everything and got it cut into the 2.5″ squares so it’s ready to use.  I also found the remainder of the 6″ novelty prints that I bought years ago to do Georgia’s quilt.  So yesterday I decided I wanted to make an I spy quilt for Alex.  Designed it up and started working on it.  The 4 patches all use my 2.5″ squares and they are all put together.  I have the center sitting on the cutting table waiting to be sewn together.  I still have to iron all the 4 patches for the border, but that won’t take long.  I’m hoping to get most of this put together this afternoon while Alex naps.  It’s not that big of a quilt, 36″ x 36″, so it should quilt fairly quickly.  I want to put it on the frame and meander – maybe take an afternoon to quilt? We’ll have to see.

Top is finished!

I did it!  I finished my hexagon quilt last night!  There are 1,033 1″ hexagons in this quilt.  Now I just need to learn how to hand quilt it!  I’m waiting to see if the quilt shop closest to the house is going to offer the hand quilting class any time soon.  The owner was the speaker at guild last week and I asked about it, she said possibly, so I’ll have to wait and see what she decides.  I started this on February 7th, so it only took 5 months to complete, while also working on cross stitch projects.  Tonight I get to start working on galaga again, hopefully it won’t take too long before I can finish it and work on something new.

Hit the Motherlode!!!

I haven’t been buying much fabric lately, mainly because I don’t have as much time to work on stuff.  But I happened to be on ebay Friday and ran one of my saved queries for Blank Textiles Equinox fabric.  Usually it only comes up with someone selling FQ’s, but this time I found someone that was selling her stash!  I picked up 10 different colors of the fabric totaling approximately 48 yards for about 3.50 a yard!  You cannot beat that deal!  I can’t wait to make something with them!  I couldn’t tell in the pictures on ebay, but one of the greens is my favorite one that I thought I’d never find again.  I have like 3 yards stashed away for a project for a 2 color quilt.  I need to figure out a way to spend more time quilting!

I finally got Dream, Hope, Believe and Imagine framed.  The picture just doesn’t do them justice.  Now I just need to figure out where to hang them!

I spent a little bit of time yesterday and made a diaper clutch that I found on pinterest.  I’ve given up the diaper bag and gone back to a purse.  The diaper bag is just too big and I just don’t need to carry as much anymore.  I can fit 3 diapers and a package of wipes in it and it fits nicely in my purse.  Of course I made it out of Equinox fabric since I knew I had more on it’s way!

Headed off to work on a project, hopefully I can get the hexagon quilt finished tonight, still working on attaching the last border!

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.

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend

Well, I added my link to the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend that is coming up this weekend.  I know we have some plans both Saturday and Sunday, but I know I’ll be able to stitch after Alex goes to bed and it’s time to relax.  I’ve made some more progress on Darth (no pictures, sorry) and I hope to finish him soon.  Not sure if I’ll start Galaga right away or work on the hexagon quilt for a little bit first.  We’ll have to see when I’m done with Darth Vader!

Talk to you soon!