1,2,3....Baskets!

Here's my basket-a-day.  I've noticed I need to add more lights to the quilt, so I pulled a light peach for the background - really it's a flesh tone.  I was having so much fun....

I made two more!  Both of these have that wonderful Kaffe pencil print background.

And the group shot!  Every day I rearrange the blocks a bit on the design wall, trying to balance the color and value.  I can see now that I need to do more rearranging.  I can't tell you how helpful it is when making a quilt to take a photograph and look at it on the computer.  You can see much more this way than just standing back and looking.

Do you see what else I added?  I placed a couple of sold blocks at the bottom, along with a striped filler triangle.  Trying to figure out the edges of the quilt.  When Alex Anderson made a quilt like this, she used nine-patches around the outside edge.  I'll stare at it awhile longer before I decide.

I'm still working on the appliqué of hexies!  LOTS and LOTS of hexies!

Tonight I'm going to our local guild's Christmas party....at Flavin Glover's house!  I hear she decorated with her quilts - can't wait!  Full report tomorrow.

Baskets!

I actually made TWO baskets today!  Yippee!  I love them both.

This afternoon we went for a LONG bike ride.  My heart was pumping and I'm sure my legs will be sore tomorrow.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  We saw three deer during our bike outing.

Then we stopped off at the Auburn Conference Center to see the gingerbread campus.  So amazing!  These are actual campus buildings depicted in gingerbread.

Now I'm settled in - ready to hand stitch the night away.

Basket and Shopping and More Thanksgiving

I got my basket making on this morning!  Love this Kaffe print - the block ended up with a sweet carrot in the middle of the basket.  :)

Group shot:  22 blocks done!  It's amazing how fast these little baskets seem to multiply.  And remember, these only take about 10 minutes per day.  I'm working on a few other quilts that I can't show.  I'm loving my new Block-a-day plan.  Even though I'm working on quilts for a book, I can take a few minutes a day and before I know it I have a fun quilt.

I also quilted two sections of the Gee's Bend quilt.

Here's a shot of the Thanksgiving table with my wool acorns scattered amongst the silver pumpkins.

And here's the family photo just before we all dug in!  You can't miss me - I'm the one in bright orange.

This morning hubby and I went shopping for all the remaining Christmas decorations we need.  I put up our tree yesterday.  While in Birmingham, we used a lovely 7 foot "slim" tree.  It worked great in a corner.  However, that same tree looks kind of puny here.  We now have higher ceilings.  Last night I searched online for a taller pre-lit tree.  The ones I like are more than $1000 - that's not going to happen!  I put my thinking cap on (went to bed).  Overnight the solution hit me.  Why not elevate the 7 foot tree we have, and put two smaller trees (we already own) beside it?  We tried it this morning.  We put the 7 foot tree on top of a 2 foot tall firm ottoman.  Then we put the two smaller trees beside it.  IT WORKED!!  How's that for making do?  We just had to buy some new ribbon for wreaths, some live poinsettias, and a couple more small items.

Tomorrow morning it's supposed to rain here.  We'll use that time to decorate the trees.

Fall Craftiness by Sleeping Beauty

This morning I got my craftiness on.  Thanksgiving will be at our house and I want to make the dining room table especially nice.  After Halloween, I hit up Hobby Lobby for a load of half-price pumpkins.

I spread them on a tarp this morning and first spray painted them all cream.  In between paint layers I cleaned an area in the garage, preparing for the refrigerator delivery tomorrow.

Then the pumpkins got a coat of shiny metallic paint along with a quick spritz of water - the effect is supposed to look a bit like mercury glass.  This technique is really intended for Looking Glass spray paint, but I couldn't find any.  The shiny metallic paint was good substitute, I think.

The pumpkins dried to the touch quickly and I brought them inside to cure overnight.  I'll set the table tomorrow -stay tuned.  Within an hour of finishing the project, the rain came along.  I finished in the nick of time.

After a bit of hand sewing and lunch, I lay down for a nappy.  Next thing I knew, it was dark outside!  Oh, my!  Just call me Sleeping Beauty.  Well, I don't know about the beauty part, but I certainly did sleep a long time.  I'm chalking it up to the dregs of the yuckity-yuck.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

So it was after dark when I ran upstairs to make my basket-a-day.  Deep plum - yum!

And the group shot: 15 blocks done!

Isn't this little tree pretty?  I love this time of year!

Kantha Vest Progress

I was so productive today!   I decided it was high time to finish my Kantha Quilt vest, so it was first on the agenda.  I finished all the seams - now the "wrong" side looks as good as the "right," so yes, indeed it can be reversible!

Then I made oodles and oodles of bias binding and stitched it all around the perimeter of the vest and around the arm holes - ready for hand stitching!  But I won't be leaving well enough alone - I think I need to embellish here and there with....some HEXIES, of course!

Basket-a-day: found these dots hiding and paired them with some neon lime.

And the group shot:  14 blocks done.

I also found these Kaffe Fassett stripes hiding - hmmm, maybe I could throw some of these in with the baskets?

Yes, I think it will work!

Hubby is doing a bit better - yay!  I took some time out this afternoon to head to Lowes where I bought a refrigerator for our garage.  We had two refrigerators at our old house - left them both for the new owners.  I really can use extra space during the holidays when I cook so much more than usual.  I knew I'd better get one soon since Thanksgiving is almost upon us.  It will be delivered Tuesday.

Cranking up the HQ

Basket-a-day.  Cute one, huh?

And the group shot.  12 blocks done!

Okay, now I'm getting back in the swing of things, slowly but surely.  I decided to dust off the HQ Sixteen to get it ready to quilt Gee's Bend.  I haven't touch this machine since we've been in Auburn!  I plugged in all the plugs and re-installed the light on the top.  Then I gave everything a good wipe with a damp rag - oh, she was dusty!  Then I filled a bobbin and was ready to go.  It's been so long....I decided I'd better warm up on a small quilt sandwich.

I need to adjust the tension a bit before I quilt on something "real," but I'm getting close to being ready. Also I can tell she needs a good dose of machine oil.  Now where is my oil?  It's got to be here somewhere!

How Small Can I Go?

I decided to see how small I could go with the Quick and Easy Hexie technique today - yup, getting my quilting mojo back!  These hexies measure 3/8 inch across - easy peasy!  I know I couldn't have done this with English Paper Piecing....

  

The yellow and gray color combo was inspired by this vintage cotton dress I bought way-back-when from an antique mall.  I think this dress may soon become a quilt border.  It's the true spirit of Making Do!

Basket-a-day!  A bit of kelly green!

And the group shot.  11 blocks done.

Settling in for a hexie evening....

Slow Day, Some Piecing Tips

Basket-a-day.  Glad these little blocks don't take long to do!  I've got it down now.  Maybe I'll time my block tomorrow to see exactly how long one block takes me.

You know, I've always said that I'm not a good piecer.  But the last year I thing my piecing skills are finally improving.  The keys things that are important for me are:

1.  Careful pressing:  I have to be very mindful of which way seams should be pressed, and make sure I  press each seam carefully and flat.

2.  Use a SCANT quarter inch seam!  See the photo above.  In the past I would have sewn that horizontal seam a quarter of an inch from the top edge of the fabric, crossing over the middle of the X made by the 2 other seams.  But I find it works MUCH better to use a very scant seam allowance, sewing on the outside of that X.   In the past, I never allowed for the tiny amount of fabric required to fold over the seam allowance.  That tiny bit adds up quickly!

3.  Take you time!  Slow and steady wins the race.  Even though a block is simple to piece, rushing through it usually causes small deviations in the seam allowance.  If I take my time, all the time, clip threads, press correctly, my results are always better.

Group shot - 9 blocks done!  Happy little baskets.

I didn't do much else today.  Still battling a touch of something.  Plus we've had a workman here ALL day.  Hubby took a day of vacation to oversee the work.  I didn't know how many trick-or-treaters we'd have here in our new home so I bought TONS of candy.  We didn't have many.  Only 8.  Lots of candy for me and hubby!

Under Construction: Kantha Quilt Vest

Progress on the vest was made late yesterday afternoon.  I sewed the pieces together and tried it on.  Baggy!  So I took in the sides just under the arms to the waist area.  Then I trimmed a couple of inches off each shoulder.  I'm getting there.  I still need to finish all the edges and seams.  And I may decide to put a partial belt in the back - one that will button on and off.  The back side still seems baggy, but I think a little belt-let will pull it in and make it more flattering.  I want to be able to take the back belt off to give me the option of wearing a leather belt with it occasionally.  Basically, this vest will hardly resemble the pattern I started with!  I'm really making it my own.

Today's basket block.  A touch of gray.

Group shot: 8 blocks done!

I've been battling a scratchy throat today, hence not much energy or sewing.  Mostly I've been in a chair making hexies - they don't require much effort!  I've almost filled a shoe box with hexies over the last few days.

Don't forget to check out The Hexie Blog!  I'm posting some incredibly inspiring hexie projects there while we count down to the release of Quick and Easy Hexie Quilts!

Kantha Quilt Project

While I had my cutting table opened up and in the middle of my studio from yesterday's quilt basting, I decided it would be convenient to spread out my Kantha Quilt and cut the pattern pieces for the jacket I've been wanting to make.  It's been a LONG time since I made a wearable!

The first problem I encountered was that the quilt was simply not big enough to cut all the pattern pieces!  What to do?  I decided to turn my jacket into vest.  No sleeves.  I'm okay with that.  It will still be reversible.
Second problem?  There wasn't enough length to cut all the pieces.  What to do?  Piece them!  I sewed one quilt scrap to another to make a piece big enough to fit the required pattern piece.

Since I want the vest to be reversible, I need both sides to look good.  So when piecing, I used a 5/8 inch seam, then pressed the raw edges underneath, and top stitched the edges.  I only had to piece the collar/facing.

Here's the smallish pile of Kantha Quilt scraps I had left.  I'm going to hoard save them.  Maybe they'll go into a bag project, a pillow, a Christmas ornament or two?  Who knows?

Looking forward to having a big reveal of this vest soon!

Basket-a-day!  Mint green!

Group shot: 7 blocks done!  I rearranged them on point today - I likey like this!

I didn't start the Gee's Bend quilting yet.  But now that the vest is cut out and my cutting table has returned to it's usual location, quilting will commence at any moment.