Hexagon Quilt Finished

Well here she is, after almost a year of working on. The hexagon quilt is officially done and ready for use! I kept the quilting straightforward and simple. I outlined the star and the inside pattern of the block. I used a turquoise print for the binding, my favorite color.

I got creative with the back, I only had 3 yards of the flower and bird print. So... using the leftover triangles from the blocks, I pieced them into long rows and added them. I had the pink in my stash and it was just the right color, so I added a strip of that to the bottom.

This is for sure the hardest quilt I've pieced, but all of that hard work and unpicking of seams and re-ironing was worth it. It's such a pretty quilt. The fabric I used is called Plume. Tula Pink designed it for Moda. It was a jelly roll, with white background fabric. Julie at Jaybird Quilts had a quiltalong for it. I really encourage you to make one!

I'm all over the place

After a quilting power session on Sunday morning I was able to finish the quilting for the Hexagon quilt. It turned out nice, and I am getting ready to bind it now. I was asked how I quilt this? I have a Baby Lock Quilters Choice sewing machine, it has a table on it. I do all of my free motion quilting on it. This can be done on any machine, you really need an extension table though. Since I quilted this quilt with straight lines, I used a 90/14 needle and a walking foot. I lengthened my stitches just a bit, and off I went! It requires a lot of patience, and a lot of breaks. I can usually quilt 15-20 minutes at a time, then I have to get up and walk around. So, if you all want to give it a go, you should :)

This week I am teaching quilt class at church. I’ve been teaching a block of the month to whomever is interested. It has been a lot of fun. This month we are learning the leaf block. I am using all aquas and oranges for my blocks. It’ll be fun to see everybody’s come together.

I started cutting up the stack of fabrics I had put together that are green, orange and brown. I am using the tutorial from Oh Fransson! called Crazy Nine Patch Lattice Quilt. It's super fun! Elizabeth is brilliant.

So many projects...

On Saturday the sun came out here in Portland. This is practically unheard of for January. Mark and I decided we had to get out and do something, so we headed to the Columbia River Gorge to do a hike. We went to Beacon Rock State Park. It is in Washington, and the hike is straight up Beacon Rock (850’), with a great view all the way up. Then you wander straight back down. It was a very fun hike. I had to stop and rest on the way up, my kids ran up the whole way, they are crazy!

After that we drove back to Vancouver, and went to Fort Vancouver. We love history and this place was fascinating and just beautiful. It helped of course that the sun was shining, and not a cloud could be seen. We had fun exploring the building and learning all about the trades that went on in the 1800’s. No money was exchanged really, the currency was beaver pelts. How cool!

My shoulders hurt

After consulting my BFF Becky on how to quilt my Hexagon quilt, we came to the conclusion that stars should be outlined. Of course that would look good right??? When I came home and considered that even more, I realized just how much it would require moving, stopping, moving, stopping, readjusting... oh man! This is why I love free motion quilting, it's not nearly so involved. As much as I wanted to just stipple quilt this top, I did the right thing and am outlining those stars. With pink thread!

I'm almost half way done... my shoulders are killing me! Off to do some yoga, maybe that will loosen me up. I think quilting this quilt totally counts as a workout in itself. :P

Stash...

I joined a Flickr group called StashPact11. They are trying hard not to buy any fabric (or yarn for those knitters out there) for the whole year. You can make your own pact, and write it down over there, and we all help each other to stick to it. It’s going to be hard, I’m not gonna lie. I love buying fabric, I am addicted to it I think (I know). So, this will be fun to talk to other people about it, and it’ll be even funner to use all that pretty fabric I’ve got in my house waiting so patiently.

So, in joining this group it has focused me looking at the fabrics I’ve got, and all of my patterns. I plan to get started on this right away. I’ve been making piles of fabric and joining them up with patterns that might look good with them… it’s soooo fun. There are stacks all over my bedroom right now!

Here is a stack I am loving right now. I want to make a baby boy quilt using these greens, browns and maybe a little orange. I can’t decide for sure on the orange, but I kind of like it. I want to do a simple square in a square pattern.

This fabric is for another red/blue/tan quilt. I made one last year and gave it to my coworker. My sister is needing one now too I think. I’ll probably do another half square triangle quilt with them, and use a different layout.

And this pretty jellyroll I want to use and make this quilt from the Jelly Roll Quilts book I am constantly drooling over.

Then there is the quilt from Elizabeth Hartman’s book I am loving. I have a lot of fabrics that would look adorable with this pattern I think…

But what about my Rural Jardin Fat Quarter bundle? Cathy is making a quilt using these fabrics, which led me to commenting on how pretty it was, which led her to commenting back that I should use mine and we could sew them together… which is leading me to wanting to start this quilt right now. *edited to add* The pattern is called Stella Blue and is by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company :)

This is too fun isn’t it? Now you go to your stash and do the same, you’ll love it!

Rectangle Squared Quilt Top

I’ve been in a sewing mood lately, as in, all I want to do is be home and SEW. I dream of quilts all day long! I am in La-La Land! This week I have been working on the Rectangle Squared Quilt. The pattern is free over at Film in the Fridge. She made her quilt a bit smaller than this one, I added another row of blocks to it. You know me, I don’t like making small quilts.

I played with the layout of it for awhile…

Made a big mess on my kitchen table (yes, I sew on my kitchen table)

And last night added the final border to it, using that pretty fabric called Love by Amy Butler.

This is another quilt top that I need to get quilted up now :D Woohoo!

Re-decorating

Mark and I went on a date last night. We wanted to get out, even though we were both really tired from the busy week we had. First we went to eat some Pad Thai, it was delicious. We both looked at each other after eating and said "now what??" We started driving towards downtown Portland, and ended up somehow clear at IKEA. So, we made the best of it! We had fun looking at all of the stuff, that place is so huge. We ended up getting some cool decorations for the kid's bedrooms. When we got home from our date we told them if they cleaned their rooms really good they'd get a gift from us, we didn't tell them what we got. Well, today we cleaned and cleaned for hours... I am exhausted! It was really great to get it all done though.

I really want to paint their bedrooms, but it seems so daunting. All of the bedrooms in our house have huge vaulted ceilings, so the walls go up forever and ever. Putting a color on a wall that big freaks me out! Jessie's room needed a new light fixture, and since she has those high ceilings she got a big one. I love this light, it's so super fun isn't it?? It's like 30" in diameter haha!

Also in Jessie's room I put up some new pictures on her wall, just because. We went to an artsy show a few months ago, and I picked up the cutest postcards from Oh My Cavalier!. Her art was so interesting and pretty. I framed three of our favorites and hung them in Jessie's room. The mirrors I bought a long time ago, and it's about time they were hung.

Curren got a new chair, it hangs from the rafter in his room. He sat in it for hours today playing his Nintendo DSi. He was in HEAVEN.

Happy house, happy kids. Life is good.

Hexagon Quilt Top

You guys, I finished the hexagon quilt top! Can you believe it? I am so excited about how it turned out. It was one of the hardest quilt tops I've ever pieced, but I learned a lot and loved the process. A challenge is always good... which is why it took almost a year to complete the top :)

The quilt is a lap size, it's not too big. All of those little pointy corners were a bear to put together. I feel like an expert on them now though :) The fabric I used is called Plume designed by Tula Pink for Moda. I used a Jelly Roll and white yardage. Julie at Jaybird Quilts started it all, with the hexagon quilt along. I also used a book called Sizzlin' Sixties by Heather Mulder Peterson. There are a lot of tutorials and good tips out there, so if you want to make your own hexagon quilt, jump right in!

This is the backing I chose for the quilt, I bought about 3 yards of it, and it won't be enough, so I'll have to find some other stuff in my stash that will match it. It's so pretty isn't it? I love Tula Pink's fabric designs, they are so artsy.

Now, to figure out how to quilt it...

PMQG exchange from Jen

For the Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting in December I shared what I had made for my exchange partner, the Schnibbles quilt. The exchange I received was made by Jen. She is such a nice person, I was really excited that she got my bag of fabrics. She went a little crazy and made lots of fun things out of it.

She made this super great bag, it’s lime green, I love lime green! It even has a pocket on it.

Then, she made lots of little zipper pouches, and a journal cover too.

Thank you Jen for the beautiful bags and journal, they are already getting lots of use.

Scarves

I've got a thing for scarves, never in my life have I worn them much. I bought a shiny silvery scarf in the fall and love wearing it! This weekend was a fun one, Charissa and I went with our families to the beach to hike, and in Cannon Beach is The Center Diamond. The had the cutest beachy fringes! The two on the top with the shells were what I picked up there, the one on the bottom I've had already. I found the silky aqua fabric on clearance at Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe on Saturday.

Amy Butler's book In Stitches gave me the inspiration for the fun scarf. You'd think I could think of these things on my own, but I am not that smart :P

How fun! I love the new scarf. These would make great gifts don't you think?? I hope so, I've got lots of this fabric left over LOL!

A New Year

A fresh new year is always pretty fun. I love thinking of all the things I can learn and do in the upcoming year. I accomplished many of my goals for 2010 that I had made for myself in quilting. I want to step outside of my sewing and stitching haven this year though. I’ve worked part time for a whole year now. It has been life changing for me and my family. I feel like a whole new person. I’ve been trying to find a good balance for myself, how much time to devote to certain things.

This year in sewing I want to continue making quilts from my stash. I’ve enjoyed that a lot last year. I have so many quilts in my head! I won’t list them all out, I am not going to pressure myself with deadlines right away. I will try to implement a monthly “to do” list though, this helps me stay on track. In stitching I want to continue finishing the current WIP’s that I’ve started over the past several years. There are 3 big ones to do, so I will try and finish two of them at least. I will try not to buy so much just for the sake of having it.

Last year was the year of simplifying my life, less clutter, less stuff in my house. I did pretty well I think. I want to continue with it, and make a few challenges for myself by buying less stuff this year. I.E. clothes, shoes, decorations, etc. I have enough and I am content. I need to stop buying :) Oh, I am such a consumer. I love shopping, I need to love other things more!

I want to start running. My husband is a runner. He hasn’t ran for a few months however. I found online the “Couch to 5K” program. I want to start this in January. The only problem with running here (in Portland) is the rain, it rains like crazy! I suppose I can put on a rain poncho and just go for it. I am hoping if I can start running, my husband and I can do it together. I have no interest in running long distances or for long periods of time. I want to run to be healthy and have more energy. I hike a lot, ride bikes a lot and play with my kids, but I need a more steady (and cheap) workout that isn’t inside of a gym.

There are some things I want to study more. Several things, but I’ll list a few. I want to study how to use and operate my new camera. Maybe this will require taking a class or something, or just plain studying the manual and practicing with it as much as I can. I love taking photos, and this new camera is awesome! Also I would like to study my scriptures more, and continue strengthening my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I feel so grounded and happy when I take the time to do this.

Traveling is always a priority in our home. My husband is always traveling for work, and our families all live outside of Oregon. We have to travel. This spring we are planning a family vacation, this summer another vacation to West Virginia to see Mark’s family. I hope to see my family in the late summer in Colorado. We are so bad at planning ahead for trips, we usually just get tickets a few weeks ahead and go, this year I actually want to plan it out so I don’t feel so scattered.

I am rambling on I know, but it feels good to write it all down, and even have people read it. It makes it feel real. These are all hopes and dreams, if I can accomplish even one I will be ecstatic! Here is to a hopeful and fun 2011!

Gina Queen of the Sea WIP

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful day. Our friends are in town visiting, so today the men took all of the kids to the mountain to ride dirt bikes, us girls got to go shopping at Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe, it was such a fun day.

I decided to put a photo up of my current stitching. I started the cross stitch "Gina Queen of the Sea" by Ink Circles in 2008. I pulled it out again during the Christmas break we've had. I decided it was the one to continue working on now. The colors are very pretty, and I love the sea theme.

Yesterday we took our friends and the kids for a hike at the beach. Ecola State Park is our most favorite beach around, and they have a good 2 mile hike there, so we braved it in the freezing cold. I am glad we did, it was beautiful.

Look at the big log, it's so huge! We could have fit several more people :)