Back to Stonefields - Blocks 5 and 6

 Hello Everyone  

I hope you're doing well today.  It looks like we're about to have another thunderstorm.   We don't usually lose power, but just in case I'll get this typed and ready to post.  

Here is Stonefield's blocks 5 and 6 called Orange Peel.  You probably could have guessed that.   

 My pattern has pretty decent line drawings, so I'm able to put the pattern and my background piece on the light box and draw the applique lines.  Then I draw the orange peel shape onto freezer paper, iron it and trace around it with either a Frixion pen or a chalk pencil depending on which one shows up better.  Now I don't always trace 8 orange peels onto freezer paper and then trace around them.  Sometimes, I just draw a couple and hold them on my fabric with my thumb and trace around them.  (I know a lot of you are cringing....but, it works for me.)

Here are a few of the hexagons for the outside border.  They are 3/4" hexies.  I know some people that are making this quilt may not be doing all of the flying geese and hexagon borders, but I think that just adds so much to the quilt.   So I'll keep going.  This is a REALLY long term project.  I'll try and not get too sidetracked.  BUT, these blocks are a bit tedious so after awhile it's nice to work on something else.

So, here's the kinds of things that I do.  I was just looking for something when I came across this zipper bag with a container and another zipper bag inside it.  I guess for me, it's kind of out of signt-out of mind.  I found these 1" hexagons.  They are all sewn like I typically sew my hexagons.   I sew all 6 hexagons together leaving an opening to sew the center in.  

This is what was in the container inside the zipper bag.  These are 1" hexagons that I've collected to be sewn in the center of the ones that were there in that zipper bag.  The only thing I can say for myself is that 1" hexagons really aren't my favorite.  I really like the look and feel of 3/4" hexagons so that's mostly what I sew.  Maybe here is where I should say that sometimes I am forgetful.  

I have another container of 1" hexagons that are in bright fabrics.  It's probably time that I put these together into some kind of quilt.   I'm open to suggestions.  

I hope you are finding some time to stitch today.  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Now how do I quilt my small quilts?

 Before I start this post, I want you to know that I'm not an experienced machine quilter.  I enjoy it and love to do it on smaller quilts. Remember, this is just how I do it.  Anything that's too big goes off to a long arm machine quilter. 

 This quilt is Social Climber, the latest one that our Simple Whatnots Club did.  

In a lot of the quilts that I've quilted, I let the piecing of the blocks be my guide.  When I quilted Social Climber (above), I just did straight lines on the nine patches.  The squares in the nine patches are 1'" so straight lines seem to work best for me.  That is an easy way to do nine patches or anything with squares where you can mark a straight line (the longer, the better) and just sew across the quilt.  

This quilt from the Simple Whatnots club is Box of Chocolates.  I used a chalk marker that you can find on Amazon to mark the lines.   The straight sewing is pretty easy with just squares.  

This is the small Strawberry Table Mat that I did the tutorial for in this blog post.    You can see that I did a swoopy thing in each block.  I did that because I think it's harder to quilt straight lines when you've got half square triangles in a quilt.  

So here is how I quilted the Strawberry mat and the basket blocks in Social Climber.  (Thanks to my husband for drawing the graphic.)  If  you start at number 1 and follow the numbers, you will eventually end up at the top right hand corner and will finish quilting across the top and end up back at number 1.   This is what I call the Swoopy Design.  

The quilt below is Star Drift.  That's the first quilt I did from the Simple Whatnots club.  I did some swooping and straight lines on this one.  

This table runner, Out for A Spin,  is our project for next month.  

Here's what I really like to quilt.  If you Google Angela Walters Paisley and watch her video or any of her quilting videos, she really makes you feel like you can do it.  I go to the dollar store and get a sketch pad for $1.  Well, I guess it's $1.25 now, and I get a marker.  Then I watch her video and  try and draw what I've seen in the video on the sketch pad.  I start in the corner of the page and draw what  I've seen and try and work my way across the page filling it with the design and then try and get the whole page covered.  Like I said before:  I'm not good, but I really enjoy it.  

Our Simple Whatnots leader, Nancy, draws up a design each month for a charity block so if we want to make a few to donate to her, we can.  Then she makes them into tops and quilts them to donate to different charities.   I have some  a lot of Lori Holt fabric so I used some to make the rail fence blocks.  

This month's charity block is a half log cabin.  Here's what I've made so far.  

I've been doing some embroidery,  and of course I'm always gluing hexagons.  I don't really have much else to show right now.  Doing the little quilts and making the charity blocks is keeping me busy for the most part.  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  

I hope you're finding time to stitch today!!

Where has July gone?

Hello Everyone    I didn't mean to stay away this long.  Things are fine; I've just been busy.  

I didn't take one photo of our July 4th get together or the food or the cupcakes I baked and our grandsons decorated, so I'll show you some of the decorations I still have out.  

I made this wreath a couple of years ago from one of the Stitching with the Housewives videos.  

 

I made up the pattern for this afghan.  I can crochet granny squares without a pattern.  I just pick up a hook and some yarn and do it without thinking.  

I had leftover yarn so I made this square.  

The quilt and pillow are more of my designs.  

This little flag is from the Little Quilts book from years ago.  

I have more cross stitch to finish into pillows.  These are from last year.  

 

This pillow is a diagonal crochet pillow cover I kind of made up.  It's not perfect in the back, but the front is OK.   The quilt is Turkey Tracks a pattern by Bonnie Hunter.

This is one of my patterns for sale in my Etsy shop.  

Patriotic cross stitch.  

My daughter made the Stars and Stripes diamond painting for me.  

This pillow cover is just 2" squares hand quilted with big stitch quilting.  

I've worked a little bit on the Tea and Cake quilt by Judy Newman.  I don't now what it is about that blue round, but I had to lay it out on the table and fit the pieces in like a jigsaw puzzle.  I don't know if it's the shape or what.,  I think it might be that there is really no  rhyme or reason as to how it goes together (or at least that's how it seemed to me).  I've got this much sewn together so I picked it up and have wandered off and am working on something else.  

We didn't see too much smoke here from the Canadian fires, but it was pretty hazy for a couple of days,  I don't know if that's what accounts for the beautiful sunsets we've been having or not.   Here is just one of them.  

 

I'll try not to stay so long next time.  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  

I hope you're finding some time to stitch today.