Showing posts with label EPP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPP. Show all posts

27 August 2021

Hexagon Mystery - Finished

 Well, I am feeling pretty pleased with myself!

I started the Mystery Hexagon Quilt as a distraction to all things that were happening at our place back in September - and 5 clues behind everyone else.  

It took me 37 weeks and several lockdowns to finish what was scheduled as a 35 week project.

In the end, I did stray from the original pattern and changed the final corner instructions from straight lines to continuing the pattern to the edges.

The next job was to Appliqué the borders on and they didn't take as long as I thought they would. 
(A quick Click and Collect to GJ's for some Roxanne Glue helped) and reminded me that I actually like Applique!


It was very satisfying to put in the Last Stitch.  

Under normal conditions it would call for a Celebratory 'Coffee and Cake' down the Local Cafe - But sadly not this time!


So here it is.  Not a terribly Good Photo as it was attached to the Garage Door with Magnets!
I will leave the 'Glamour Shots' for when it has been Quilted.

For the moment it is now as finished as it can be and waiting for this Lockdown - (Are we still in #6 ?) to be over so I can hand it over to be Quilted.




26 July 2021

Mystery Quilt - Another Catch up

The last Progress report on my Mystery Quilt from Jemima's Creative Quilting was back in March where I had just finished Part 10.


Part 11 involved making 24 Rosettes which were to begin the rows that Square up the Quilt.

They were all finished by the 11th June.


The quilt is getting much bigger and I can no longer work on my knee while watching TV.

The hexagons were also getting damaged requiring some repairs. 

So moving to the sewing table was the best place for stitching them to the growing quilt. 

However - At that time we were also Cat Sitting for our Son. 

Doogal apparently, is an undercover member of the Quilt Police and decided I needed to be observed intently!

In the meantime I have been unsettled with working on this project.  I remember that I started this to take me out of my 'comfort zone' in Colour and Fabrics but there was just something that wasn't right.



DH came to the conclusion that the Centre was "Too Light and Unbalanced" and suggested replacing the centre Hexagon 
(Yes - the First piece of the Quilt) 
with a darker fabric.


It took a bit of work to reinsert all the papers carefully back into the Second row before unpicking the Central Light hexagon and replacing it with a Dark Blue. 

His idea, was that this will now draw your eye to the Centre and not be overwhelmed by a lot of Lights.

It is better but in hindsight I would choose different Light Tones for the Quilt. 

There was just not enough definition between my lights and mediums for the Centre.


Part 11 is now complete.

I am working on Part 12.  

Now that The Quilt is no longer a Mystery, I can choose to work on each row or complete a Corner at a time.

Something to Contemplate!



25 July 2021

Half Hexi Challenge.

Since January I have been participating in a Challenge Group on Instagram that is making Blocks from Focus (Fussy) Cutting HALF HEXAGONS.

It would seem that I haven't given my Blog Readers an Update on this project since April.

MARCH: Our Theme was BOOKS 
(and International Women's Day)

My Blocks featured:

The Adventures of Blinky Bill
Pooh Bear
Jungle Book
The Thursday Next Series
as well as A Bookworm in the Library

Also a Tribute to all the Women in Science

APRIL: Had a Theme of GARDENS.

My Blocks showed that I have a Bee Hive in my Garden,
New Holland Honeyeaters visit  our Grevilleas on occasion
and Snails  - They come out at night and graze on the Lawn!
As well as the Fish Pond - with no fish at the moment.

MAY: Was a month that featured the SENSES.
I used our Trip away as inspiration.

Starting with the Sound of Music I also included the Sound of the Train on the Tracks.
The Smell of freshly Ground Coffee. (A Good Cup was hard to find.)
Sight - A Classic Aussie Outback Sunset.
Taste - The Food and Wine that was available for all to enjoy and Finally Touch
My block was made of 'Gold Leaves' for our visit to the Perth Mint.

JUNE: The Theme was TRAVEL.
Was I ahead of my Time or an Inspiration? I didn't ask!

These blocks saw me finding Fabric with Medallions from all the Capitol Cities in Australia (That I have visited.)

The Wheels on a Yellow School Bus from Michigan was my Hidden motif.

Caravanning "Down the Peninsula"  hit the brief for our Pattern Matching week.

AND - April in Paris!  A 'Never in my Wildest Imagination' Trip away.

That brings me up to date with the Focus Cutting Challenge - marking our halfway point with Week 26.




Note:  You can see my Posts on these Individual blocks on AUSSIE.KILTED.QUILTER on Instagram.





30 April 2021

Catching Up - Half Hexies

I am managing to keep up with the "Focus Cutting" Challenge I signed up for this year, although with Instagram taking over the Progress posts I have completely forgotten to update my Blog!

February Theme was "Getting To Know You"


Week 5 - "All About Me"
I chose to represent  The Royal Exhibition Buildings in my Home Town of Melbourne by using Leesa Chandler's Melba fabric which is also made by my favourite fabric company Robert Kaufman.


Week 6 - "My Favourite Colour"
The Central Hexagon in this block is my favourite shade of Teal,  a timeless colour I have worn for 40 years. And I styled the Photo against some Teal Mugs in the Tea Cupboard.


Week 7 - "Things I Love"

Footsteps in the Sand walking around Wave fabric centre depicted my 'Happy place".

The Smell of the Sea, Wind in my Hair and Sand in my Shoes.



Week 8 - "My most Recent Fabric Love"
Mackinac Island by Moda was bought for my Hexi-Mystery Quilt and with only 40cm I just had enough for the Quilt and this block!  The photo taken on Most Favourite fabric ever - 'Fusions Mist' by Robert Kaufman is sadly no longer available.



I am happy with my February Blocks - March is Book Month.




28 March 2021

Still Plodding On ...

My last post for Jemima's Mystery Hexi Quilt I had just realised that sewing blocks around the Quilt without referring to the instructions was not a good idea! 

The block marked with the arrow was not supposed to go on what will become the sides of the quilt.


Fortunately I was able to remove One Hexi on each of the incorrect pieces. 

Replacing them with a Dark Blue and extending the block to create a Part 10 section.


I have now remade all the replacements.  

Finished Part 10 and I am Good to Sew!

I must admit the couple of cooler Autumn evenings we have had have been perfect for stitching this project.




22 March 2021

One of THOSE days..

Well, it has been one of THOSE months!
The only thing I can say in my defence is....

By the time I have dealt with what is on the calendar, there have been several other things that weren't on the calendar that weaselled their way into my week.

All very necessary of course.

And none of them was "Do a Blog Post about Today".

When I look back for my "Year in Review" post I am going to say "Whatever happened in March?"




March has been spent making these - lots of these!

and of course sewing them all together into the required "Flowers".



12 Blue and White

6 Pink and White


And I also worked on the next section

Which were these Part 9 Fillers.

Things were going along beautifully - I even started to stitching them onto the main Quilt


Until . . . I ran out of  "Filler" blocks.

A Classic Case of "When all else fails - Read the Instructions!"

Fortunately I have only TWO of the blocks to modify and get myself back on track.


Just hope I have enough of the Blue Floral Print!



16 February 2021

Hexie Headaches

I haven't been too concerned about placement of fabric patterns when cutting the Hexagons.  Most patterns have been fairly random - until now.

With the next row of Flowers I needed a Medium Dark fabric and the one DH chose (Both in the Shop and for this section) needs to be Fussy Cut.

So the first task was to count how many circles I had.       Was there 144? 

A pin in every 10 helped me keep track!

Just to keep me on my Toes 

NOTHING aligned!

Every piece has to be individually marked, measured and cut.

With just ONE medallion to spare there is no room for error!

Yet another headache awaited...

The pattern could not be read from the back of the fabric, so placing the papers became the next challenge.

Using a lightbox didn't work.  I had to place the papers behind the fabric with my work light behind.


Then a pin into the FRONT of the work.

(A tip I picked up from Leesa Chandler who picked it up from ......)

I am now Good to Go with tacking these down.



* * *


And just a bit of Nostalgic Fun.

The things you find "In the Bottom Drawer"

I have no Idea when I bought these.
  
I suspect it was from the Local Haberdashery Shop that closed down circa 1970 and sat like a time capsule untouched for the next 20 Years, when it was bought "Lock, Stock and Barrel" by a Couple who had no idea of the Treasure Trove they had purchased!












15 February 2021

Making Life easier?

I have been working on a Mystery Hexagon Quilt since before Christmas.
It is my first attempt at a "Real" Hexie project - So I have a LOT to learn.

I bought fabric in lengths that could be divided into 2 1/2" squares and then learnt that my Hexagons are actually cut at  2 5/8" x 2 1/4" (65mm x 56mm)
Which shouldn't be a problem only that some of my fabric wasn't cut quite ... to size.

I found I could get more use of my fabric and sometimes more Hexagons if I cut them 'Points across' rather than 'Points down'.  

I can cut 36 pieces one way and 42 the other from this piece of fabric.

So I had to find an efficient way to measure and cut my strips.


Eventually I hit on THIS idea.

By sticking an actual fabric Hexagon to the back of my ruler (With the ever trusty and removable double sided tape) I not only achieved a regular size to cut to in either direction


Trimming each piece became a lot easier

and

It also made my small ruler -
Non Slip!




29 January 2021

Tool for a Job

 They say "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" 


and I needed to come up with a Cheap and Easy replacement for these!

At $15.00 (AUD) for a pack of 12 they are out of my price range for something that doesn't last all that long.

Also, having to go out and source them or wait for the Postie... when I was on a roll with my Hexies I needed an alternative fast.


So - what do I have in the Sewing room?

Double Sided Sticky Tape from my Scrapbook Project. 
($1.00 a Roll from most $2 Shops.)

And Some Faux Suede and or Leather offcuts that date back to when I was making Soft Toys.

(Also just a few $$ if you buy a minimum cut or a Craft Square.)


It certainly has done the Job.
No more Punctured fingers!!

The Suede is soft enough to not notice I am wearing the Pad, and the tape peels off easily and is re-stickable.  
And when it does stop sticking, I just replace the pad or the tape!


Now if I could just convince my Hand Model to finish those Flowers......



28 January 2021

Not quite Hexies

 As if I didn't already have enough to do I've started a new Challenge Project on Instagram this year!

"Focus cutting" is a project that sets a Block constructed of Half Hexagons each week that follows a Theme.

January - Pantone Colours of 2021 Yellow and/or Grey.

Week 1.  The Brief was an Identifiable Motif.

Fairly simple and I had fun doing it and then I realised that finding prints with enough clear space around them for 1 1/2" Half Hexagons was going to prove challenging.  

So - I downsized the blocks to a "hopefully" more achievable 1" size.

Week 2.  Obscure Sections.

Take a Fabric and cut it so that you cannot tell what the original fabric design was.

No one guessed that my "Butterflies" were actually Ballerina Tutus!


Week 3. Pattern Matching.

The idea was to match a pattern across the seam. 
I suppose I could have taken some of my Bugs from Week 1 and marched them around the block - but decided to pattern match an entire motif instead.

Week 4. Freestyle!

Focus Cutting on all 6 half hexagons.  Whole motifs, Central motifs, Pattern matching, Sections or a Whole scene. 
The choice was Ours.

I chose pretty flowers from a fabric I  would not normally buy to create 'Sunshine and Rain' for my Block.


The Focus Cutting Sewalong is Hosted by UK Quilter Naomi Clarke

If you are Interested in joining this group or seeing what the other talented quilters are producing - You can 'click the link' above or Go to Instagram and Search
#focuscuttingsewalong Hosted by @naomiealicec

 



22 January 2021

Jemima's Mystery Update

 I haven't given up on Quilting!  I have actually been quite busy since I last did a Quilt related Post, so time to do an Update.


Jemima's Quilt Part 1 took me out of my comfort zone with both fabric choice and committing to a large EPP project and was completed back in December.



Part 2 was an easy Six piece block turning Part 1 into a Star. 


Part 3 was a bit more interesting with another different shaped block.



In the lead up to Christmas
we were given an easy Block for Part 4




It was good to see the Quilt taking shape once all the parts were stitched in place.

Part 5 was a familiar flower design but came with a whole lot of problems starting with running out of Fabric.

I needed to wait until the Shop opened after the Christmas break before I could get more to continue with the required blocks.

And then while happily stitching the flowers in place, alternating fabric patterns in the light centre hexies, I discovered I had stitched TWO blocks in the wrong order!



Once these were carefully unstitched and repositioned the next section was completed.

Looking forward to Part 6.



If you are interested in this Mystery
Check out the Clues at www.jemimascreativequilting.com/blog Hexagon Quilt Along