Feline Friday - 8/29/14

Remember how I was enjoying Momma's box o' quilt last week?

Well...Wednesday she brought home 3 big boxes of smaller boxes and spread them all over my dining room table. Something about pulling escrows from the tax bills...


Dang it - she photo bombed my spotlight shot again!!

I'm not sure that Momma's super impressed with my latest place to hang out and chill. Something about "No, No, No" which really sounded like "blah, blah, blah."

Of course, she wasn't impressed with the mouse I eviscerated on the lawn either. There is no accounting for the taste of ones parents...



PS - Momma says to not forget that next Tuesday is the next Bibliophile Files report. She thought she just did the last report a week ago...silly Momma.

Wednesday update

I'll spare you the details but things are all out of whack at one of my other paid jobs which means the sewing I had planned to do this weekend has been shuffled to evenings this week.

I've been working on my Jared Takes an Asian Wife. I am still stalling on choosing the center fabric (altho yellow seemed the winner, there was also interest in the green or a two color option as in my photo) until I get more parts done to lay it out on the floor for a real live look see :-)

I have the parts for the 4 all-red corner blocks done except for assembly with the center fabric.

I also have all the sections with black points done and I'm working on the rest of the red bits. Can you see that the red is directional? I cut enough red to do all the points, not yet knowing that I was going to use the black. I'm trying to work methodically enough to not do more red than necessary since time is of the essence: 23 days 20 hours 34 minutes and 51 seconds!

I also need to make a table runner for an upcoming class...I tried and tried to get more purples to play nice together for a scrappy look but finally went with just the one fabric. The paisley-ish fabric will either be down the center and on both sides:

Or I could put the wandering geese side by side and use the paisley-ish fabric just on the out-sides.

The 2 purples on the front are from the same line as the backing :)

Design Wall Monday - 8/25/14

After a second and final camping trip for the year, I am resigned to stay-cations for the rest of the year. Boo hoo! I will definitely miss my usual third camping trip but it just didn't work out for the year.

This was just a quickie 4 day trip to meet the rest of the family who was camping for 10 days. The weather was ok, except for the lightening strike the first night I was there. I had "pushed" the rain all the way to the mountains and it finally poured just before I got there.

A couple hours later, it was raining again while we were fixing dinner. We saw a tremendously bright flash of light and within just a second the loudest boom of thunder I have ever heard. We assumed lightening had struck a tree - we just didn't realize how close! I'll start by telling you no people were hurt altho the guy tossed across his campsite (who started laughing wildly cuz he was happy to be alive) was taken to the hospital for observation.

Just 3 or 4 sites away, lightening had struck 2 trees at the same time. The short tree was obliterated, leaving a crater in front of their car which had blown a rear tire. The car starts but the engine smokes so they had it towed. The taller tree was split in half with half just blown to bits and the other half still standing but cracked.

There was also a pickup on the same site. One of the hubcaps was blown off but even tho there was no other sign of damage it won't start so they had the truck towed too. Unfortunately, the strike also blew the electric to the 2 closest bathrooms. It was a little dark if we forgot to bring our flashlights...

So...everything else after that was just ordinary and exactly what we wanted!

I was able to finish this rose star block - if you recall I had the brown and blue pentagon shapes basted after my July vacation but needed more of the kite papers. This was a quick finish.

I also was able to finish this Value Proposition block - I think I had just started round 2 before vacation. It's amazing how much better this looks than I even imagined!

 

I was also able to start this Value block - I think it's #7 while the one I finished was #8. Oh well. My nephews always want to see what I'm working on - they gave this block a partial thumb up because it's pink and not purple. I have trained them well to know my fav color :)

I suppose I should have taken pictures of my new fabric...

I finally decided I'll use red and white/cream fabrics for my Bonnie Hunter class in 26 days 6 hours 47 minutes and 21 seconds. I stopped at a new-to-me store in Rome which also got me out of the detour on the highway. Double Bonus. I also shopped at the store that is just about 6 miles from our camp ground. It's amazing what different items you notice when you have a different shopping list. I don't think I saw either of the reds I bought when I was looking for batiks in July.

Feline Friday - 8/22/14

On Monday, Momma came in from mowing and found me doing this on the dining room table. She tried to tell me that Zorro was being a bad influence because I've "never" been on the dining room table before and he's always trying to get on the DR table. Hah!

Momma says I look like a deer in the headlights.
Auntie Denise says I look guilty.

Hello?! Look who copied ME on Wednesday!!

Momma thinks it's somehow important to add that Z did this after taking a bath in the wet tub.
I think it's much more important that I was able to photo bomb Z getting into trouble again. Bwahaha!

Just who is the bad influence here at Casa Grande??!! Let's blame Squeaky!

Design Wall Monday - 8/18/14

Thanks to good swift cyber kick in the butt from Frances yesterday, I made some progress on my "Jared Takes an Asian Wife" which is my spin on Bonnie's quilt. I would like to complete the quilt (at least the top) before I take a class with Bonnie in mid-September.



This was my status as of May and it hadn't changed a wink.

 

Yesterday I fiddled in EQ7...

The center 4x5 layout is completed and shown above with super model Zorro

 

The green/neutral corners have been done since May.

 

I have very little black left so there was barely enough to do the interior star points on the outer round of blocks - I think the red star points really makes the whole thing sing.

 

All the other parts are cut except for the star centers. I know where I am leaning but what do you think? Yellow centers like the left side of the layout or green like the right side? Red was a last minute contender.



The yellow and red are direction in case it makes a difference...

I had originally wanted to make the quilt bigger before adding a border but since this 6x7 layout is 72"x84" I probably won't add one. That's subject to woman's prerogative tho!

HeLP for Hexie-aholics!

Yes ladies - HeLP for Hexie-aholics has arrived again! Today's the day we share our English Paper Piecing projects whether they are current, UFOs, antique or just a dream. Any shape or vintage is fair game and will probably inspire someone!

Did you catch my Twisted hexie tutorial earlier this week? I'll get it added to the Hexiology tab someday - I need to finish fair week and go camping again first. Selfish, aren't I??!!

I've been taking my hexie box with me to the fair all week and getting some work done. It's not dedicated/productive stitching like camping but it's still fun to share with newbies. I did take out a few projects Wednesday tho. I was just being too over-optimistic and needed the space for what I was doing that day (sitting at the LQS booth and demoing).  Don't worry, they will be moved back to the box shortly for another quick camping trip.

The (new/clean) biohazard bags were dropped off at the LQS for us hexie girls to use.
They are perfect for our projects and it's a fun inside joke.

I think this is Value Proposition block #6. Yipper, I'm behind but really enjoying the value challenge, fussy cutting and finding fabrics hidden in my stash to play with. I have the next 2 blocks kitted up and need to work on kitting #9 this weekend. This photo was taken Thursday morning and should be completed well before the time this post goes live on Sunday. The debate will be to work on the sashing or start the next block...

Hmm...didn't mean to use the pic with the "stink eye" but she wasn't happy with me trying to pose her so it is what it is.

 

Always a sucker for a new project, I have actually been working on this while at lunch this month. One of the not-so-LQS has small scrap bags of coordinated fabrics. This bag had the orange/pink/yellow batiks and the wild fabric on the left plus a small bit of brown batik and was called "Vibrant Autumn." I had to substitute the brown for a larger piece. I'm not sure that it will have the same impact but it appears to work. I'll be using the brown where the paperpieces.com pattern shows black. I have yet to decide what to do in the center/gray or outer corners since I plan to use the wild fabric on the back and maybe the binding. Maybe I can find a red to match the background of  the wild fabric. This will probably just be a small ~12" doll quilt/cat mat since I have very little of the batiks left.

Alright - show us your current projects, your dream projects and your recent hexie related purchases. Please remember to link to a specific post and not to your blog in general. I can help with that if you need..

Feline Friday - 8/15/14

I must! I must! I must rub my supple cheek on every blade of grass and every weed.

I must! I must! I must munch on every single blade of grass with my sharp teeth.

Oh wait! I missed one over here...

PS - Momma says "Don't forget that HeLP is coming this weekend!"

Fair Thursday

I've been a lazy photographer at the Fair this year...partly cuz I haven't yet had time to wander and partly cuz I'm having fun doing what I'm doing and not thinking about taking pictures. Yesterday I did my hexies at the LQS booth and then The Boys wanted me to ride the rides with them. It's good to be loved!

Ryan and Tyler

As far as my Home Arts entries, I got a red on my chickadee quilt. The judges comments read along the line of great fabric, nicely quilted and good binding but wavy edges. I think the real issue is the outer border has less quilting (feather) than the inner border (~ribbon candy) and when I washed the quilt it became a little wavy. Of course that is just my translation of the vague comment.

I also got a blue on my hexified jean jacket, doll quilt, table runner and beaded soap dispenser.

As for my Antique entries, I got a blue on everything: salt dips, cheese knife, tea cup, iron bank, tatted hankies and tatting shuttles.

I always help Mom with the antique judging (we run the department) and this year we had a new judge. She was very knowledgeable and willing to answer questions. Awesome, since I know little to nothing about glass/china. She told me that one of my salt dips can be placed in a sunny window for the next 2 or 3 years and depending on what is in the glass, it will change colors and stay that way forever. If there is cobalt it will turn purple. If there is cyanide it will turn yellow. I think I am going to put them all in the window and see what happens.

And my new fav fair food?

Fried Ravioli!!!! Not overly greasy or crunchy but crisp and warm in the center. Yummo!!!

Twisted Hexie Tutorial

Today's post is my final vacation post. As you may know, I love to hike in the Adirondack Mts. and when I was asked for this tutorial shortly before I left for the ADK I asked if she was in a hurry because I thought it would be fun to tie it in to my hiking trips. Let me know if you would also like me to post a tutorial without all the "extra" info.

My first hike, on Tuesday, was around Moss Lake.
 I had hexies with me but the weather wasn't promising so I didn't stop to enjoy much of the view.
When I finally found a signal and called my brother, he insisted on telling me how bad the radar looked so I really had to get moving on my 5.5  mile hike.
Luckily I finished about 30 minutes before the torrential rain finally arrived.

I just love how the trees make due with where ever they landed as seedlings.

On Wednesday, I took the chair lift to the top of Mt McCauley in Old Forge, a local ski mountain. Obviously the weather was greatly improved. Still a little chilly but sun can make a world of difference.

To start a twisted hexie I baste one of the half hexies. I use 3 clips to hold the fabric in place
and start basting in the bottom right corner, working counter-clockwise to the bottom left corner. 
I do not baste through the papers but because I use 2" half/hexies, I do catch the fabric with the thread once on each of the sides. It helps to keep the fabric taught and I'm less likely to snag the thread later on.
Tie off/cut the thread after basting this half hexie.

Baste a second half hexie but do NOT tie off the thread.

We are going to start attaching pieces now.
Layer the 2 basted half-hexies as shown above, being careful to line up the ends and hold them in place with a couple clips.
Whip stitch the pieces together along the short side of the first half-hexie
(which is half of the long side of the second half hexie). Do NOT tie off the thread.

When you are finished basting the short side and open them up, it looks like this.
 

Don't get lost in the view as we have more work to do!

Next we will be starting to add the central hexie the half-hexies are twisting around.
One side of the (black) hexie should fit along the remaining half of the (red) half hexie we just whip stitched in place.
You can cut your thread after attaching the central hexie.
Leave the first half-hexie hanging in the wind - it will make finishing the rest of the block easier.

After a few hours of stitching and hiking the trails at the top of the Mt. I decided it was time to hike down the mountain. I could have taken the chair lift back down but I never would have spotted all the butterflies or little streams had I done that.

You might find (on any project) that for some reason your pieces don't seem to be the same length.
Can you see in the photo that the clips are holding this in an "S" shape?
I clipped the ends together to match and then I clipped the center seams to match.
I then gently bent the project between the clips so that the longer piece was on the outside.
When the pieces were matched, with no gaps between the layers, I added clips to hold them in place.
Once you finish whip stitching, no one will ever know that one side was too long!!



On Thursday I climbed Sawyer Mountain. An easy hike but the cold front that came through overnight made for a chilly start and a chilly rest at the top. Translation: I didn't stay long.

After basting the next half-hexie, clip it to the central hexie/short side of the red half-hexie and whipstitch in place.
Tie off the thread.

Repeat basting, clipping to the central unit and whip stitching until all 6 of the half hexies are attached.

On Sunday, after packing up my campsite I always hike up to Bug Lake to scope out the Loon family before heading home.
This is the inlet from 7th to 8th Lake.

This year I finally took the spur over to Eagle's Nest Pond. It was a nice quiet area but not much in the line of seating opportunities. I did manage to finish adding the final 2 half hexies here. I would have been happier had I  which would have been much easier had I remembered to bring more clips with me. I am used to using three but only had 1 with me. I had to fudge some pieces that didn't fit perfectly.

After adding the 6th half-hexie you can see that the first is still hanging in the wind.

Next I finished the hike to Bug Lake, named for all the water bugs which were causing ripples in the water.
I did find the Loon family with 2 little ones but this was one of the two situations where I miss my real camera over my iPhone - the zoom is not as great so I decided not to strain your eyes trying to find the loons in my pictures.

To finish the twisted hexie, fold half-hexie #1 down to meet the center hexie and short side of half-hexie #6.
Whip stitch in place. The center hexie paper can be popped out now or after you have pressed the piece. You will notice that all my paper pieces have a hole punched in them so I can use my little scissors to easily pop out the papers.

Ta Da!!!!!

I hope I have included enough photos for you to understand how I assemble the Twisted Hexies but please feel free to ask questions!!

Feline Friday - 8/8/14

Sometimes, when it takes a while for the help to answer my bell ringing, I relax a bit.

Then, when the help finally gets here I let them know my displeasure by ringing the bell with BOTH paws.

 

It's really hard to get good help around here...

Bibliophile Files

Hello All - I hope by now you are familiar with the reading challenges I am doing this year.

If not, I hope you'll pop by the tab up above and catch up.

I also hope you'll link up a post of what you read last month. Remember that you must link to a specific post instead of your blog in general but also remember that you could have read a novel, quilt magazine or cereal box!


July was a really good month for me thanks to 10 days of vacation. I'm now 58% finished with my challenge with 2 more books very close to being finished!! No, I don't remember every word of what I read this month (nor any other month of any other year) but I enjoyed each story as I listened or read it :-)

Fat Tuesday (7/5/14)
Man in the Brown Suit (7/6/14)
*A Wilder Rose (7/9/14)
Unnatural Acts (7/10/14)
Predator (7/12/14)
Green Eyed Lady (7/13/14)
*Unhinged (7/14/14)
Endangered Species (7/15/14) - this is the second book I've read in this series. The main character rotates working at national parks around the country which is a good way to keep a series alive. Can't wait to read more.
Yellow Raft in Blue Water (7/17/14) - this was one of my favorites for the month. The (almost-same) story is told from the view point of three female generations of the family, each of which knows different or more parts to it. I love stories told in this manner.
Fourth of July (7/18/14)
*Haunting of Josie (7/18/14)
Bone Deep (7/20/14) - I don't think I've read a book in this series that I haven't loved. And now I have to wait for the next one...
Under the Dome (7/28/14) - this audiobook is not for the faint hearted - it was 30 CDs! A good story altho a little goosey at the end. I had heard the original titles for Steven Kings 2 original works that became Under the Dome and had a different idea of what would happen. If you ignore the previous titles you won't expect anything. I'll add that I kept thinking Lord of the Flies as I was reading this.
N is for Noose (8/1/14)

Currently on my night stand and stereo: Assault & Pepper, Death Angel

Alright - I'm excited to read what you've been reading!!

Design Wall Monday - 8/4/14

Thanks to a Friday off work I was able to get enough of my quilt quilted for next week's county fair that I could attach the binding and take it with me over the weekend.

My quality control officer was always ready to lend a paw while I was quilting the black squares.

Between duties at the golf tournament on Saturday, some leisure time enjoying the music at the Pioneer Picnic Sunday and a Lord of the Rings marathon, I have all but part of one (short) side bound!!

Of course, I stalled quilting this quilt. I didn't want to "ruin" the quilt but finally it was do or die. And don't you know I had the border done in 90 minutes. Good Grief - what was I stalling for? Can you make out the feathers?

I still want to add a simple quilting design to the outer black border and I have no idea if or what I will add to the sashing. All the major seams were ditch stitched so the quilt is stable if I run out of time to keep adding more...


Cya back here tomorrow for The Bibliophile Files!!

Feline Friday - 8/1/14

Momma has been trying to quilt this birdie quilt for the fair next week. I'm not so happy about that cuz I just want to sit on the pretty quilt, get cozy and dream about the birdies but that's absolutely impossible cuz she keeps swinging it all around the slippery table.

Grrrrrr....

The other day she pushed the quilt out of the way to change the bobbin so I took advantage and she decided it was time for a dinner break. Showed her didn't I??!!

Ahhhhh...much better...