Last Hexagon Flowers

I am finally finished making hexagons. The total is 91 flowers = 637 hexagons. It measures 39" from side to side. The hexagons are all sewn together and I have picked out a fabric to go around them. I will applique the hexagons on to six inch wide strips that are joined together at 60 degree angles. The fabric has a navy blue background with silver and royal blue dots all over it. I will then layer & quilt it. The binding will match the strips. It will be a table runner for my dining room table when finished. The following picture doesn't do justice to the background fabric. The silver dots just make it look gray and dull, which it isn't. I will try for a better picture in daylight the next sunny day we get. I only got borders sewn on five more of my block of the month squares. My only excuse is that I did read all three books in the Hunger Games series. I found them rather disturbing but couldn't not continue reading as I needed to find out how everything turned out. I will use the dark brown fabric in the corners of the frames as corner stones, with a yellow batik as sashing and the first border. A multicolour batik will be the final border. The colours in it that stand out are the five colours that I used as frames. Hopefully it will tie everything together. These are shown in the following picture. I have a lot planned (non sewing) for the next week, so am not sure how much sewing I will get done. I am really hoping to finish the hexagon table runner as I am already planning my next handwork. How many of you have done a Cathedral Windows quilt? I am going to start small and try a throw pillow to see if I like doing it. No, I haven't forgotten my youngest daughter's table runners, but they will wait for my block of the month quilt to get sewn. I will fit them in, before I start quilting it. It has been working out not too badly machine sewing during the day and hand sewing in the evenings. I just got behind on my machine sewing this week as I was reading during the day as well. Enjoy your week & I hope you get some sewing time!

Still Block of the Month & Hexagons

I got the frames around 15 of my block of the month squares. I had to overlap them to fit on my design wall. I also have the layout figured out for all 30 of them. These squares will not be touching in the final quilt, but will have sashing in between. I now have 80 hexagon "flowers" sewn together. I just need 11 more to finish the dark round that I am working on. They are missing from the bottom left and the very bottom. I hope to get them finished this coming week. I have the fabric picked out for the bottom left, so just have to decide on the bottom row, before I go ahead and get them all cut out. Just so you know the side measurement of each individual hexagon is one inch. With 560 hexagons making up the 80 "flowers", this project is really growing! That took care of my week. How did yours go? I hope to have another great week for sewing coming up, so should have lots more to show you next week. Happy sewing!

Fun Quilting

I had a great deal of fun sewing in the past two weeks. First of all a model for my granddaughter's dog scarf. This is Stella! I finally got back to my block of the month and finished what I thought was the final eight blocks. It was the final eight blocks of the pattern, but as usual I wanted to change from a single bed to a double or even maybe a queen. As a result, I needed six more blocks. The series of patterns is done, so I made up my own. I just took some of the left over strips and started making HSTs and squares. I spread these out on my table and played around until I had some interesting ideas and then cut a few more things to complete the ideas and ended up with some pretty and mixed up (more than two colour) blocks. Then it was on to my design wall to get them mixed in with the regular blocks. I think that I am satisfied with this arrangement. This is all thirty 8" blocks. The pattern now calls for a 2.5" (mine will be 3") frame to be sewn around each block, with HSTs in each corner. I have changed this, so that I can use up most of the 2.5" Thangles (cut from 3" strips) that are left over from making the blocks, rather than buying a package of 2" Thangles. I am really not thrilled with using Thangles, so can't see the point of getting any more. To be different, I have chosen five different fabrics to do this frame. I don't want these to be in any set pattern, but I always have trouble getting a scattered look, but I will try. I will also be increasing the width of the sashing, the frame (1st border) around all the squares and the final border, once I decide whether it is going to be a double or a queen size quilt. This is what I have really been working on since I started my vacation! Lots more hexagons! The four at the top right haven't been sewn on yet. The single hexagons across the top and down part of the left side are really piles of cut out hexagons to make more flowers. This project has been on my dining room table for so long, that I think I might end up making it into a large table runner for this table. Usually my sewing projects stay in my sewing room until finished, but it has been far easier to plan this one out closer to where I am working on it, in the living room while I watched the Olympics and then the US Open tennis. My husband seems to have gotten used to my company, so I shouldn't have trouble continuing this project in the living room in the evenings, while working on my blocks during the days. It is a good thing that I have a nice long vacation as I have quite a few things that I want to get going on. Have a great week and happy sewing!