Earlier this month I began making hexagons, something I swore I would never do. Never say never. The Lynette Anderson BOM that I am working on called for hexagon flowers last month. Little ones! Despite myself, I enjoyed the handwork, so I thought I would try a larger size. These red hexagons are ready for sewing together. They measure 2 inches on a side. I've been busy in Pinterest looking at hexies. I'll do more of these, but in the meanwhile, I've been distracted with other projects. Sound familiar?
My Tacoma Lakes quilt group worked on this Sebago Totebag recently. It is made from pre quilted fabric. I still need to attach the handles. This is a nice roomy bag, perfect for the summer.
I joined my Back Roads friends last Saturday for a charity sew-in. We worked on precut squares of fabric to make some small quilts to give out when there is a need in our community. These are a few of the blocks that Judy and Sylvia made. This is the Jacob's Ladder block, an old favorite.
Krista and Donna worked with purples and laid out this design. There was another sewing day on Sunday that I did not attend. I sewed from 9-3 on Saturday and had a really nice time with everyone. So much gets accomplished when we all join in together and we have such a good time with a lot of laughter and sharing.
Bonnie Hunter came to Maine again recently. Several of my friends went to hear her lecture and trunk show. I found a quilt I wanted to make in one of her books. The quilt is called Tulip Fields. The block is the Cross and Crown block and it finishes at 7 inches. 7 inches! That means the little blocks in the corners finish at 3.5 inches. I made over 100 of these string pieced blocks. Now I am adding the triangles and squares.
I'm using up many of my scraps for this one! I didn't realize how many bright and novelty fabrics I own. I didn't pay much attention to what I put next to each other. When the total quilt is done it won't matter; it will be a lovely, lively swirl of color.
Okay, this is a boo boo. I found directions for the cross and crown block online and this is what it said to do. Wrong! This is why you make a block up before you string piece 100+ seams!
I've been having a wonderful time sewing this quilt. I love working from my stash and seeing many of my old scraps. I used pages from an old telephone book for my foundation and the paper is easily removed. I've been listening to Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel while I work on this. Are you watching the show on Masterpiece? I listened to the audiobook some time back and now that it has been made in to a Masterpiece program I decided to listen again. Very enjoyable. Imagine living in Britain and learning history that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years? Growing up it seemed every school year started with 1776 and we might get up to the Civil War.
I'm savoring my sewing time because I start a new job on Monday. I won't be able to attend Tacoma meetings anymore and will miss my many friends and all our activities. What a great quilt group with lots of fun things to do and see. However, many of those same friends go to Back Roads, so I will see them there as we meet in the evenings, not during the day.
I'll be working full time Monday-Friday. This is a Good Thing and I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life.
Happy Quilting!
