Key ring

I experimented with makinf a few key rings this week. A while ago I made two of the rectangular wristlet type, using the hardware from Dritz, 

I used some ribbon that I had on hand that was an inch wide, just the right size to fit the clamp.

I also had some narrower ribbon and some large split rings on hand, 

so I made this other style...

the. decorative part is made from two layers of felt, with a fabric hexagon topstitched on to one of the layers of felt, (before it is assembled)

This shows how I made the connector part, 

I just topstitched the ribbon on to some wool felt, trimmed it so that the edges were neat, and then folded it around a ring and stitched throught the layers close to the metal.

the two on the left I used for the key rings below, and the one with the longer ribbon part I just left as is.

I finished them off with some simple embroidered embellishments.  I made some others that aren't embroidered yet, but they are nice to work on in the evening while we are watching t.v.-- currently we are going through the British series, Inspector Lewis.

I guess that I will be ready for Christmas with a bunch of stocking stuffers on hand.

the EPP continues

I've been working on the first Rosette for the millefiori hexagon quilt along.  Its the largest one in the quilt:  its the orange one in the diagram below.  

This is a little photo journey of my progress

First up is to get organized.... figure out how many of each shape to prepare, gather supplies, 

then cut out the fabric pieces to baste to each template

while sewing the first round, I wasnt sure about the hexagone I made for the center, which was the orange one.  I had sewn several hexies from the book, so I auditioned them,

while laying out the pieces of the first round, 

I tried placing the second round hexies with the pink bits on the outer edge, 

then with them on the inside edge of the round.

in the end I decided to have them on the inside.  I sewed another possible center,

and then I sewed a third one... which is the one I decided to use,

This is how it looked with the second round

Then, to prepare the pieces for the third round..

glue basting is saving my bacon.  I probably wouldnt do this with thread basting the pieces, but glue basting goes way faster, 

There are 18 pieced hexies on the third round, so I had to play with them before I sewed them on to the rosette,

that was fun.  

then, I sewed them on.  And this is what it looks like now!

It is quite big, over thirty inches across,

I did a little bit of fussy cutting in the white ring fabrics, 

Well, now I am all ready for next months blocks!,

Remember, if you want to participate in this project, its easy.  All you need to get is a copy of the book, The New Hexagon, and sign up on Katja's web site and she will email you the instructions each month, 

there is a facebook group for it, and hashtags for instagram too, so its easy to see what fabrics others are using...   (just check my previous post for the links, )

progress on Hexies

I've been working on this project on and off for a year or two.  It is done with English paper piecing.  

lots of bright colors set of with black and white

And having just spent a few days up at the lake with no Wi-Fi, I finished piecing the central unit. Hurray,  i even had some prepared hexies to use for something else...

I'd initially planned for the diamond shapes to run vertically, and to add a pieced panel above and below them. However I'm not that excited about the project to commit to all that work

Instead I've decided that the big diamonds will go from side to side

So I appliquéd the whole thing down onto some black borders. I suppose I have to figure out what to do next whether to add some bright borders or to quilt it as is,   

 Any ideas?

Ongoing hexies

Although I like the quick projects, I do have a few long term projects on the go.  One of these is a hand pieced hexagon quilt.  It began with a pile of vintage partially peiced blocks that I bought at a quilt show.  I started adding to it last year, and this is my progress so far, 

I think that I will add six more of the "flowers",

That will give a square unit, 

So I cut out six more sets of solids for the third round on each flower,

I'll also nee 26 more black and white joining triangle units.  It will be exciting to start joining the larger units together.

I thought that the letter garland I made was looking a bit somber with a bit too many dark colors.  

I changed the ribbon to a lighter color, 

Then I decided to make some more happy looking tiles, 

I need to get some more bright coloured thread.   Also, I want to make some that incorporate some hand embroidery...

Lots of things to try!

Block 8 whirligig

This is block eight of the sticks and stones color way of our Saturday surprise Sampler program. It is called Whirligig:

I mentioned yesterday that I was doing some backstitching on the cotton linen blend that is new at the stoRe.  I  Did make some hexagon frames for the two birds that I stitched.  now I need to decide which background to use, the gray or the blue. Right now I am prewashing them to see what they look like washed.   I backstitch around the edges so they won't fray in the wash.

I was sorry that I had to cover up a little bit of the owls tail. I suppose I should have made the frame first and then made the stitching to fit within it.  Oh well, I'll know for next time.

the Hex N More Ruler

Lately it seems that quilts using hexagons and equilateral triangles are very popular.  In the past I have made one or two projects with hexagons, but I always used templates to cut out the pieces, not a special ruler.
So, I decided to try out the Hex N More ruler by Jaybird Quilts to see if it made it easier to do.  The quick answer is yes, it does.  Not a big surprise, but it also seems to encourage a lot of new ideas for quilts!

   I decided to make some samples to show some of the types of designs that the ruler is used for.
I cut most of the pieces for the samples from 2-1/2" strips.  for the larger pieces, I had some co-ordinating fabric scraps from a previous project.
 I made 4 samples, and I think I will go through them step by step over 4 posts so that it is not so overwhelming for me to write.

First, though, this is the ruler:

 It comes with a sheep of instructions for how to cut the various shaped pieces.  You can cut from 4 different sizes.   I went with the size that was compatible with 2-1/2" strips.

Sample One;  Hexagons offset with triangles

 to do this, you need to cut two shapes: a large hexagon and small triangles

I started with the small triangles, because of the 2-1/2" strips, this is pretty easy. 
The ruler has the tip of the triangle removed so that cutting is standardized for strips that are a multiple of half inches instead of some strange measurement.  Also, it provides a guide to how to place the pieces for sewing -- more about that later. 
The hexagon size that co-ordinates with the 2-1/2" triangles is the 4-1/2" size. 
You cut the hexagons from a 4-1/2" strip.
Cut one side of the hexagon, flip the strip over and cut the other side.

 Sewing: 
The triangles will be sewn on two opposing edges of the hexagons.  You can line up the little cut off end of the triangle with the side of the hexagon, or you can just center the triangle on the edge. 

 here they are pressed, and they are now diamond shaped,

 then you just sew them together into a row, again, just being watchful where the intersections are

If you were making a quilt, you would make several rows, and sew them together, with the diamonds on the top and bottom of the hexagons.  This sort of piece would also make a nice border.

that's the first sample I made with the ruler,

Other works in progress

When I made the page about the works in progress, I only listed the ones in Saskatoon. Now that I am in Savannah, I must own up to the fact that I have projects on the go here as well. These are two that I have worked on this week. One is star quilt that I am making from a free pattern download From the Westminster fabrics site. Westminster was taken over by free spirit fabrics so may be the pattern is on the free spirit website. I will look it up when I go on my laptop. Right now I am just on my iPad.
The fabrics are nearly all from art gallery fabrics, that had just come in to the store a few days before I traveled to Savannah. They are and Shades of turquoise, gray, white and gold. I really like this color combination.
The other project started with some vintage grandmother flower garden blocks that I purchased in Houston. A few months ago I decided to set them with triangles of Black and off-white prints.
I had them on my design wall when I took the photograph. Just now when I was looking at it I rotated it to see how it looks when hexagons are oriented the other way.

More hexies

I was pleasantly surprised when tidying up my sewing room to find a stack of hexagons already basted to paper pieces that were left over from a previous project. The great part is that they will be useable for my current project! Yay.