stitches – Juanita Collins

August 27, 2013September 3, 2013

Sewing a Hexagon Quilt

There hasn’t been much in the way of quilty stuff on my blog lately. Probably because I’m living out at the lake right now, and no electricity equals no sewing machine.

But I wouldn’t let that stop me, eh?

My friend Melissa had sent me a little care package containing (among other wonderful goodies) a jelly roll of Free Spirit Pirouette a month or so ago and I couldn’t wait to cut into it. Her instructions were to experiment, play and enjoy. I took this literally and decided to do just that by learning a technique that was brand-new to me.

I have always admired heritage quilts, and have always wanted to make a quilt entirely by hand. One day I saw that there was going to be Hexie-Queen Blog Hop, and since I had never made a hexie flower before, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn.

I took the jellyroll to my LQS and paired it with soft grass-green for the flower centers and garden path, and a creamy/buttery pale gold for the background. I loved the way the prints seemed to sink down and make themselves at home in these two complementary shades.

Having decided to take the plunge, I looked at a couple of tutorials and then jumped into the deep end with the decision to start a hexagon quilt.

I am slowly sewing 1.5-inch hexagons all sewn together into a Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern. By hand.

I carry it back and forth to town and work on it in the car.

This antique glass butter dish is the perfect little container.

It’s going to take awhile, but that’s okay. Handwork is relaxing. Why rush it when I enjoy it so much? I can already tell it’s going to be beautiful. 🙂

Today is the last day of the Blog Hop. Thanks for visiting, and don’t forget to check out the hexie-goodness on these other participating blogs:

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

Also linking up with Lily’s Quilts Fresh Sewing Day

August 12, 2013

Pets on Quilts

…because so much cuteness simply can’t go unmentioned!

Entered into the Pets on Quilts contest under the “other” category – because there is a category for dogs and one for cats. But not one for dogs & cats together, lol!

This is Samson and Spooky snuggling together on the quilt in our master bedroom. This is an old whole cloth, machine quilted quilt that can be safely washed every time a cat barfs on it – which is often, and of which Samson chewed a corner off when he was a puppy. As long as I have pets who mainly sleep on my bed I will never be able to put an heirloom quilt on it! I don’t mind. Cat barf is a fact of life…and so are puppy needle-teeth. 🙂

August 2, 2013

A July start

I started a new project last month…I “discovered” hexies (clever me!). I will be making a quilt entirely by hand. I like them because they are portable, I can make them when it’s too hot to sit with the big quilting project on my lap, and because they are traditional. I love the connection with women throughout history that working with my hands gives me.

July 29, 2013

Sunday Morning Sunshine

The sun has come out after a showery
Sunday morning
and I have taken my handwork
onto
the deck.

The air smells of wet wood,
soil
and lake
water.

Quiet and still, I hear a gull calling in the distance.

The campers in the campground next door
have not yet emerged
from their tents
and their travel
trailers,
and I savour the moments
of stillness
before their children
re-discover the chill of the water
and dogs
begin the business
of chasing squirrels from the trees.

Across the lake, a lone fisherman
drifts,
and I can hear the faint tick-tick-ticking
of his
reel.

I sit in the hot sun
until I begin to feel the trickle
of sweat
behind my knee
and behind my neck,
under my hair.

Eventually
the quilt becomes
too hot
to hold on my lap.

I put stitching daisies
and feathers
aside
until the cool of the evening
entices
me to return
to it
once
again.

May 12, 2013

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

My goodness…I opened up the website to write a mother’s day post and saw that this will be post number 201! Now how did that upcoming milestone get past me, I wonder? I think I better start planning ahead a bit better because surely a prize would have been appropriate. Well, never say never, and I will put some thought into that!

Meanwhile, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, whether you are a mother or not! I have had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Look what I was served for breakfast!

I adore French toast. And didn’t he set a beautiful table, oh my! I must have raised him very well, if I don’t say so myself!

Chef Michael:

And on the sewing front, I picked up Heidi’s quilt for the first time in too long and did some hand quilting whilst we watched a movie on TV last night.

Yesterday I worked on my 3×6 bee blocks. I decided to make disappearing 9-patches this time around. Sometimes I feel badly that I make such simple blocks for this group, but everyone makes the best of their ability, and you are placed in a group by first-come, first-served. So there are very experienced quilters making some very advanced blocks in the group, and then there are the beginner “me’s” who make simple blocks. So anyway, I felt that the disappearing 9-patch was going to be a challenge – and it was, but in a different way than I had expected. The challenge wasn’t in the sewing, it was in the fabric selection. A couple of the blocks I made over because while the colours looked like they would be perfect, when the block was actually sewn, they just didn’t cut it.

So what is a disappearing 9-patch, all my non-quilting friends are wondering? Well, you start off by sewing a straight-ahead 9-patch block that looks like this:

Then you cut it into quarters, like this:

And then you twist and turn the quarters around until you like the pattern!

Pretty cool, eh?

What I learned is that strong colours work best, especially a contrasting colour in the center of the original 9-patch. All of these squares are the same pattern, and the colours I used are according to the chosen palette of each person in the bee. See what you think:

Happy Mother’s Day to you all, and especially to my own mother!

I hope you all had a great weekend, and if you’re hungry, I’ll share my French toast with you.

Bonn Appétite!

May 4, 2013

Because You Matter: Boy Quilt #2

I’m really moving right along with these sibling quilts! Here is quilt number two:

It measures 43″ x 30″ – a nice size for a preschooler. I was digging around in the bottom of my stash and I came up with six 6″ squares of bright cartoon jungle print that my friend Karyne had given me years and years ago and that I had totally forgotten about.

I dug out some jellyroll strips in bright primary colours, cut up a dark blue cotton pillowcase donated by Pam for the background and sewed up six wonky courthouse square blocks.

I hand tied it with red yarn and ran around the outside border with the machine. I’m pretty sure that the machine lines are a lot straighter in person than they look in the picture. And if they aren’t, well, I guess they’re just a lot like me, lol!

Don’t ya just love pictures of quilts all rolled up? I do! Something about the colours against the binding just makes me smile.

I’m linking in with Cat Patches for her New Fabric Object linky party. We’re supposed to show what we started in April. I started the project of making three quilts for three little boys. Two down, one to go!

Ciao for now!