late nite chopping spree

Believe it or not, I've never made a full-on hexagon quilt! I've had a few attempts, using the EPP method, but quickly lost interest. When I spotted a pattern that could be made on the machine, with large 3" hexis, and no y-seams, I thought why not try it out.

My plan for "Another Story" {a pattern by Joana from thimbles and needles} is slowly emerging. 

Using colour inspiration from Rachel at stitchedincolor, I pulled out an initial selection of bold & bright bohemian AMH florals along with a few other large scale prints. It's a delightful array of colour to play with, where the fabrics do all the work. 

I'm using a selection of green prints to add to that sense of layering for the setting triangles. I'm thinking 'green' is my new neutral! And the two tone stripe has a strength that could be perfect for an inner border, yes? 

Not much sewing happening yet though,

fussy cutting takes A. Lot. Of. Time 

However, after a late nite chopping spree, lots more hexis & triangles are now cut out & ready to go.

Until next time, Linda

a mixed bunch

Well, it was nice while it lasted! Here in Auckland, NZ we are now back in lockdown... luckily I managed to get to the library before they closed AND I have a few sewing projects underway to keep me busy. 

Admittedly, it's been a bit of stop:start kind of week in the sewing room. And yes, it's a bit of a mixed bunch of projects, but those little bits of time spent sewing do slowly add up! 

I'm an expert starter and hunkering down at home is the perfect excuse to begin something new!  "Another Story" {a pattern by Joana from thimbles and needles} will hopefully keep me sane!

I pulled out an initial selection of bold & bright bohemian AMH florals along with a few other large scale prints. A delightful array of fabrics to play with, something very colourful to keep me smiling. 

After a few auditions, I opted to use a green solid for my connecting triangles. I decided to use green rather than my usual go-to blue. And, as what often happens round here, I won't have enough for the whole quilt so I'm including a few other green prints to add to that sense of layering. I'll play with these to see how best to work them in. 

This quilt will be entirely from my fabric stash. Even better, it's going to be machine pieced. 

Broken Dishes is a traditional favourite, and I've been playing with a few early Kaffe fabrics, just trying to use up the stash! Another green colour story, it'll be all in the details with this one. . .

I'm working on my "evie" quilt too, a delightful string vintage quilt I started a couple of weeks ago. It's still up on the design wall, with a view not too different from my last post!

In the interests of keeping it real, 

here's todays mess . . .

And my "to be read" pile is a real mixed bunch too.

Love to hear your thoughts if you have you read any of these

"The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt" by Riel Nason is a delightful read, oh my when you are a quilt instead of a sheet, being a ghost is hard! It's a lovely message about finding and embracing your uniqueness. And, it's kept Evie busy making her own little ghost and reading out loud to all of us in turn. 

Back to cutting out more hexis,

Linda

show & tell on the Peninsula

It's been awhile, but I finally remembered to take my camera when my friend Glenys & I had our weekly catchup. She has been sewing on & off over the past few months, but like most of us, it's all in-between family & friends, and other life stuff. Here's what's been happening in her sewing room.

First up, her plaid quilt. She chose pink & gold with splashes of green as her colour combo. She had it professionally quilted, with a vintage sheet for backing and a yummy Kaffe stripe for binding. Have a peek . . . 

And her 'coming up roses' quilt is all finished too. It's an early pattern by Sarah Fiekle from the 'material obsession quilt two' book. Glenys started this way back when, tucked it away, then dragged it out recently. Much to her delight, she had actually pieced ALL the 36patch blocks, had the Kaffe border all there ready & waiting, and it was simply a matter of getting it all sewn up together. She had it professionally machine quilted as it's quite large, 285cm {112"} square. 

Scrappy, beautiful border, lots of stripes, what's not to love 💕 

And finally, do you still buy quilting magazines? I haven't for quite a few years now, so I was very surprised when Glenys suggested we go halves in the latest digital issue of Make Modern. And I must say, there were a lot of tempting ideas tucked away in there, like the "One Ways" quilt by Heather Black. It's an easy fun triangle sampler quilt that she & I are both working quietly on in our own little sew-along, here's a collage of her progress …

et moi?

no sewing here this weekend, but still dreaming in colour 🌈

Linda

string quilt love

 

one test block ✔

It’s not perfect and it’s got a lot of scrappy colour going on, but I do really like it 

I'm sharing a new start today, the "Evie" quilt. I began with a pattern from Tara @ 'quiltdistrict'  {or see over on her blog here} inspired by a delightful vintage quilt in her collection. Well, I must admit this quilt captured my heart straight away with the name, one of my granddaughters is called Evie too 💕

I made up a test block and then it simply grew … with just a little planning on my part.

My block started out a lot softer than other kaleidoscope versions I've seen. I was going for a soft floral countryside vibe, but super happy now that I stayed with those darker pops of black & teal colour too. I'm also mindful of making those alternate sections more light to light /medium for better effect.  

I'm using whatever fabrics catch my eye in the basket under my sewing table. Lots of strings and scraps, checks, spots, vintage florals, leftover pieces, etc...….eclectic and unlikely combinations.

I'm sure more blocks will continue to happen over the weekend

Linking up with Kelly for 'needle and thread Thursday' here

 Linda

sweetpea: progress photos

 

 up on the design wall. . .

 and all joined together . . .

Quilt design by Emmamarydesigns and I used a fabric pack from queenoffabric as my starting point.

Call me old fashioned {wink wink} but nothing beats the colours & smell of pretty sweetpeas 

Finished quilt top size 42" x 56".

Linking up with Cyndy for 'oh scrap' here

Dreaming of summer,

Linda