The Ups and The Downs

I don't like change!  How about you?

It took me a while (as I'm sure it did you) to settle into a Covid way of life and find a level of contentment in what I could safely function.  Now it seems I have to reverse engines and go back the other way.  The question is how far back do I want to go? 

As things would have it, an official diagnosis of arthritis in my back last week will be a factor in my return to "normal" (whatever that is?).  It's been suspected for several years and I've actually been taking steps to manage it with monthly maintenance sessions with a physical therapist, monthly massages, and a morning stretching routine since it was first a possible reason for my back issues.  But something about having the doctor say where it's located and that it's "severe" threw me for a bit of a loop and I spent lots of time last week fretting about what this means long term -- the DOWNS.

  I have to fret -- that's how I deal with change -- but today I'm done with the fretting and ready to make changes that will enable me to feel energetic and as pain-free as possible.

Thank goodness for my sewing!!  It has been my default for a long time when fretting -- the familiar actions of piecing calm me down and allow the rational, practical part of my character to activate.  While I haven't had any finishes for almost a month, I've made lots of progress on a variety of projects since doing anything more than 30 minutes at a time leads to backaches so lots of changing up around here!?!

My version of @jemimas_creative_quilting EPP project has finally reached part 7.  The auditioning for each part goes slowly and I waffle about fabric choices though being a couple steps behind the release of the mystery parts is a bit of an advantage because I know where the design is going.  Actually, as I write this and look at the picture, I think the picture will help me make a couple of decisions.  I work on it during the evenings (watching murderous English TV series) and during webinars about native plants and pollinator insects (which are abundant right now).

I finished the blocks for Forever Friends (in the  book, Sisterhood of Scraps) -- settled on 24 blocks and started adding the sashing and setting the blocks together. 

 It should be about 40" by 60" -- nice laprobe!

I think I found a pressing misprint in the instructions for the strip sets in steps 6 (page 39) and 8 (page 41).  I noticed I was having to re-press every corner unit as I set the blocks together.  I tried pressing the strip sets opposite to the instructions and didn't have to do that anymore.  So if you try out this pattern, keep that in mind and see if you have the same experience.

 

Yesterday, I tidied up all the strips and had an inspiration -- drat?!?

Warm versus cool log cabin or pineapple blocks!?!  Sorted and ready to go!!!

But I'm not allowing myself to start that until I get this top quilted (and there are a few ahead of it in that queue) -- I need to cut more warm strips anyway.

 

For the moment, I'm caught up with Katja Marek's current sewalong, too!  Weeks 1 through 10 are pieced!  

This is a close up of the "wreath" so far.   I'm using stash fabrics and my only fear is that I'll use up all my light blues . . . . but then I'll have to shop!!!

I'm a little behind on the pressing but doesn't it look great when it's done?

Week 11's flower is pink and I'll use it as "leaders and enders" as I assemble the Friends Forever top.

I managed to get back into my early morning machine quilting habit over the weekend -- finished one small piece and started working on this small quilt.  Seems to be the best strategy for me -- quilt 30 minutes first thing!

How's this for a cheerful bouquet?  There are a half dozen amaryllis bulbs in this big bowl -- I have more red than I remembered but a couple have yet to open so hoping the white one and the red and white striped one are among them.

We are expecting a week of mild weather here in Northeast Ohio -- that will be good!!

It  makes it so much easier to convince myself to go outside!  I'm looking forward to spring "firsts" as always -- the first red-winged blackbird is here, the turkey vultures are back, the garden witch hazel bushes are blooming and skunk cabbage has been sighted.  Singing frogs should be soon and I'm checking everyday for the rhubarb plant to poke through.  That also means it is time to cover the strawberry bed so the deer don't browse the plants and shift the pots full of spring bulbs to the patio entrance.

Looking forward to a week of being UP!

Mary

My Dodecagon Quilt Top!!

 While I gave myself the "one monthly goal" challenge to use the entire month of February to get the five large sections of my dodecagon quilt together, once it started to happen I was anxious to see the finished top because it is so beautiful!!

(My pictures are a bit dark -- blaming cold cloudy Ohio winter days -- but you get the idea.)

I calculated that I needed to stitch twelve 1" seams every day to be finished!

First the upper right corner. 

Then the lower right corner!

And the lower left corner!

On Monday evening, I pushed to finish the upper left corner so I could take it for "show and tell" at the EPP group I attend at my local quilt shop, The Quilted Thimble in Chesterland, Ohio.

Three of the "tall" gals held it up for me and while it isn't a perfect picture, you get the idea.

The top is 70" wide and will be 97" long when I add a rows of these 80 modified hexies to the top and bottom to square up those edges.  They are all basted and I'm currently stitching them into two long bands to join the quilt top.

I made these pieces by printing out several sheets of 1" hexagons onto light cardstock.

I use this website to create a PDF which I can print out - click HERE. 

Then I cut them apart, a single sheet at a time as you see below -- the pieces with an "X" are sloppy cuts and needed to be discarded in the interest of accuracy. 

I made twenty-one dodecagon blocks using templates and papers from Marge Sampson-George (now available world wide through Broderie on Etsy).

The layout I used is my own design - a combination of several ideas I've seen for mosaic quilts over the years.  Marge's pattern uses 42 dodecagons and sets them together with a single band of hexagons. 

 I have counted and counted and counted -- my numbers might be off a couple but I cut and basted and stitched -- 348 pink hexagons, 216 yellow hexagons, 564 black hexagons, 954 green hexagons, plus 80 modified green hexagons for the upper and lower edges and 64 half hexagons for the sides for a total of 2226 (give or take a couple) hexagons. Most of the prints are reproductions or pieces that blend well with them -- all of them from my deep, deep stash.  Even the beautiful floral fussy cut motifs in the center was a piece I hoarded back in my shop keeping days!

The color scheme evolved as I played in my stash making the dodecagons -- from the beginning I wanted to use reproduction prints but I could not have told you what the color scheme was going to be at that point.

I've pulled some big hunks of fabric for backing auditions and I don't know how I will quilt this other than to say I intend to do it by hand.  Hopefully, I'll be quilting it soon - but I have a sweater to finish knitting and the applique of my #sharkdinnerbom tiles to finish before I dedicate my hand stitching time to quilting this!

In conclusion, I have to say "I can't believe this is all together".  It's taken about 3 years and a rough estimate of around 500 hours of stitching time.  It's a huge achievement and reinforces my belief that making steady use of 30 minutes here and there eventually produces the results!

If you'd like to revisit some of my past posts about the construction of this quilt top, just type "dodecagon" into the search box and a list will pop up for your reading pleasure!

So exciting!!

Enjoy the weekend!

Mary

Linking up this week with TGIFF -- check it out for a cute scrappy quilt idea, too!

The Quilting Has Begun!!

The quilting of my scrappy blue hexagons quilt has begun!!

Found the perfect thread in my stash and revved up my APQS George for the first time all summer!?!

  I'm keeping to a simple grid that follows the ditch of the seams and crosses through the center of each hexagon.  

I've used this approach before and like the simplicity, the sturdiness and the effect.

I can come and go from the stitching over the next few days and hopefully be binding this sweet little quilt next week!!

After a record fast trip to eastern Pennsylvania to watch my oldest grand-daughter play field hockey last week (soccer with sticks?), I was too tired to do much but sew over the weekend.  While I was finished assembling the scrappy hexagon quilt top, I thought of a few more things to share with you about the piecing process I used for this quilt along with some pressing tips.

  

My "go-to" Bernina 1031 had a weekend in the spa

and with the hexagons in four sections 

and all my #100blocks100days2019 block finished, it was easy to keep the chain piecing momentum going.  

The Bernina 180 which is my traveling machine, stepped into the void and we kept the flow going!

At this point, the piecing seems tedious -- so many short seams (only 2" at a time) and the stop and go work can be a turn-off for sure.  That's one of the aspects of Set-In Piecing Simplified that I really appreciate -- by bouncing back and forth between two projects to keep the chain piecing going, it reduces the tedium.  

Because the sections are getting larger and the rows of seams longer, I do more pinning at this stage to control the increasing bulk and prevent sewing the wrong two seams together.  (While that creates interesting two-dimensional surfaces, it does nothing to move me towards the finish line!?!)

I prefer to pin parallel to the seam

so I can leave the pin in place until the seam is stitched plus the pin is easy to pull out when in this position. 

It was a pleasant afternoon with lots accomplished -- two big sections joined and great progress on setting together the #100blocks!

With the completion of the piecing, it was time to press the seams.

Another (potentially) tedious task!

Here are a couple tips -- first, turn off the steam because there is lots of close to the fingers work.

When I'm working with smaller hexagons -- 1" or less -- I use my little travel iron. 

All the seams will swirl around the hexagon intersections.  If you don't get the cute little tumbling block on the back side, it could be that you didn't pivot far enough for the stitch off part of your seams.  But don't worry about it this time, just press for flatness now. 

The three seams coming into this intersection are swirling in a clockwise direction.

As you follow the lower left seam out of that intersection, it will set you up to swirl the seams counter-clockwise at the next intersection. 

I flatten the intersection (carefully) and then press the remaining two seams coming into that intersection.  

Then I work out of that intersection to the next one -- usually moving towards the left across the patchwork until everything on the surface of my ironing board is pressed.

It's beautiful when the pressing is finished!

Notice that all the horizontal seams are facing down.

If you trace your finger up the seams diagonally from the lower right to the upper left, you'll notice they all face the same direction. 

This uniform pressing means that as I stitch in the ditch, the ditch is always on the same side of the hexagons as I progress across the piece resulting in straighter lines and less jumping out of the ditch.

I have also seen quilters use a grid that avoids the ditches completely stitching across the hexagons at the center of each side.  The finished look is similar but I think my grid is easier to execute (no marking!!) especially if you are working with a ruler foot and edge guide like I do.

It seems like it might be good for me to stay in the quilting mode for the rest of the month!  I've gotten way ahead of myself with piecing over the summer and need to move some pieces off the "ready-to-quilt" shelf.

 But tomorrow is baby day!!

I'll be hanging with these three while their mom putters around in her garden for the afternoon.

The smiles are getting more regular and bigger!!

(Miss "middle" there already seems to know how to work the camera.)

So much fun!!

Have a good weekend!

Mary 

Linking up today with Needle and Thread Thursday!!

Scrappy Hexagons Progress

I'm still piecing hexagons -- how about you?

I had to stop stitching for a couple days last week to get ready for Auntie Alison's birthday dinner and the triplets first visit to Grandma's house!!

(it's a selfie)

They are getting cuter by the day and starting to smile!

Then I have to keep going to my favorite birding spots because it's fall migration and a new bird might have appeared over night!  If I had not been here at this exact moment, I would have missed the 22 turkey vultures sunbathing in the dead trees one morning last week!

I have made good progress on the sewing, too -- only about 65 short seams to go!!

But layering and quilting will have to wait until next week as I'm heading out for a quick 3-day trip to catch my oldest granddaughter's last field hockey game of the season!

It better not rain!!

So since I'm not at the stage I had hoped, I am going to share some "sketches" that I generated in  EQ7 for other setting ideas for a random assortment of hexagons.

They are draw in white, gray and black to represent light, medium and dark. 

I prefer to design in a monochromatic palette rather than colors.

If I don't chose a group of colors I like, it can ruin a potentially good design for me.

The first one was inspired by some vintage quilt photos.  I would divide all my scrappy hexagons either by value (light, medium, dark) or by color families for these layouts.  

I like the lattice look of this one and fabric selection could be simplified by choosing one fabric for all the light/white hexagons.

This layout would be good with a large assortment of colorful hexagons to create a rainbow. 

This simple arrangement of hexagons sorted by value could be a striking way to showcase a special collection of prints. 

As so often happens when I start puttering around in EQ7, designs get more and more complex especially when I'm working with hexagons.  It would be fun to set this star askew or off-center and play with the values of each ring to emphasis or minimize the contrast.

Or how about a large medallion?  Add some fussy cutting using modern prints and there's no limit to the possibilities with this idea. 

I also had a "finish" this week -- my Shetland Wool Week #roadsidebeanie!!

Once this is blocked, I'm ready for cooler weather!

I love the way the top star worked. 

The pattern was designed as a free pattern for knitters going to the annual Shetland Wool Week.  I'm not there but it is too cute not to knit.  If you need a smile, click HERE to see a sea of Roadside Beanies on the heads of knitters who are there!

And if you are curious about this festival, click HERE.

(This might be a "bucket list" idea.)

I hope we all have a productive week and hopefully I'll be ready to share my quilting ideas for the Scrappy Hexagons next time!

Mary

So Much Temptation!! So Much Stitching!!

The blue hexagon quilt is not ready to layer up and quilt because apparently, one of my retirement goals is to start as many projects as possible concurrently?!?

Not really, but I do have more "oars out of the boat" right now than might be a good idea.

  I did make good progress and am certain (?) I'll have it ready to quilt next week. 

There have been a few little hiccups as I discover two of the same print setting next to each other (the work of gremlins in the night), not just once, and if it bothers me now, it will always bother me.

So taking a deep breath and fixing them.  

Since I don't have any extra hexagons, it means I have to switch each one with a hexagon in another part of the quilt top.  Since I haven't joined all the units at this point, it is less work than it could be.  Because many of the seams are on the bias, I snip every fourth or fifth stitch . . . . . 

. . . . . flip it over and pull on the bobbin thread to remove all the stitches without stretching the edge.  One thing I have learned -- always do this "stitch-clipping" with the hexagon being removed on top!

If I don't do that, I sometimes undo the wrong seam.  

Grrrrr. 

Two hexagons out, switched and ready to stitch back in place! 

I've been in the studio quite a bit and am keeping up with my #100days100blocks blocks -- I pieced the 85th one today while switching the hexagons!

I tidied up the fabrics I'm using that have been living on the floor for the past 85 days

 and cut the next few days blocks this morning while waiting for my morning tea to kick my brain into gear.  Ahhh, the zen of rotary cutting!!

The quilt is looking great and I've started to stitch some of the blocks together into groups of four.

If you go onto my Instagram feed (@hueymary), you'll see some pretty cute hedgehog peek-a-boo happening!

During the past week, I also accomplished my #onemonthlygoal for September by assembling the upper left corner of my current masterpiece using Marge Sampson George's Dodecagon blocks.

Just two more corners to assemble!  My traveling stitching box is full of green, yellow, and pink basted hexagons to assemble into the various units needed for the next corner.

I'm continuing to assemble these large English paper pieced tiles from the #sharksdinnerBOM -- nine are ready for the background and I should finish basting the last few pieces for the tenth one this evening to assemble by the end of the month!

The challenge I set myself (using Kaffe collective fabrics with my stash) may be the undoing of me with this project as there's not as much cohesiveness as I'd had hoped.  The blocks are terrific individually but I may have either two quilts (a warm color palette and a cool color palette) or twelve large pillow covers if I can't resolve my frustration with the color palette as I add the background fabrics.   

I will say that my EPP skills have improved as a result of this project!!

And @lemonshark is a very creative designer!!

Because all that isn't enough to have going on -- this week, I started the #littlemisssawtoothqal!?!

I didn't have to leave the studio to find the fabrics and I have a purpose for the finished quilt.

Surely that is enough justification??

The layer cake I'm using has been on my shelves for at least three years (along with 1 1/2 yards of the polka dot background).  Plus my youngest grandson will need a big boy bed quilt (in a couple years) and his middle name is Fox and early indications are that might be his moniker, so . . . . .  I'm good, right?!?

So this morning's tea worked and it's been a good day!!

A morning in the studio followed by a tidy up in my office (even washed windows and changed the valances) and still hand stitching to look forward to this evening!!

I think I might go for a walk just in case I crash and burn tomorrow.

Mary