Desire vs. Reality

I really want to be this happy.....

or this content.....

But this is how I really feel....

Is that really a monkey on my back....uhhh I mean stomach?

Design Wall Monday

Well, the Hexagon Star top is not completely done, but I've started the borders and the star is only basted on the background. I'm liking how this is turning out. I had some other border options but decided on this one because it's relatively simple and I didn't want to distract from the star. I'm thinking that I'll quilt something special in the large open corner areas, perhaps using a variegated holiday thread.



The striped fabric in the first border is the same fabric that I used for my guild retreat quilt, only this time I used it horizontally rather than vertically. I can't find the picture of the finished retreat quilt right now, but I'll keep looking and post it later. My friend Rachel quilted the quilt for me and here's a picture that she took, but it doesn't show the borders.

This quilt (wallhanging) is made entirely from fabric left over from that retreat quilt and I'm really happy about that. I think the finished size will be something like 45" x 55". It feels good to finally use up those Christmas fabrics that have been hanging around my sewing room for a long time! I think I'll inventory the Christmas stash and make pillowcases, stockings, or something else and use up that fabric so I can replace it with more current holiday wares.

Check out what other quilters have on their Design Walls today by going to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 35

Not much stash used this week, but I've been making progress on the Hexagon Star quilt. I should have all of the outer hexagons added by tomorrow night and then I just have to applique it on to the background, add borders, quilt and bind it. Boy, when you write out all the remaining steps, it sure feels like I haven't made much progress. I am really looking forward to finishing this project. I hope it looks as good in reality as it does in my head!

I spent some time cutting up clothing for a memory quilt that I need to get working on soon and I always enjoy that. Part of me thinks I should be able to declare the clothing for these memory quilts as fabric because I cut up A LOT of clothing for these things. Of course I would then have to declare the same clothing as being added to stash and I wouldn't want to do that.

So, even though I worked a lot of extra hours this week and I only used a yard of fabric, I feel like I accomplished a fair amount and I'm happy. Of course that could also be because Nikki, Zach, Quinn, and Sadie are here!

Here's the weekly report:

Fabric Used This Week: 1.00 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 214.00 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 105.75 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 108.250 yards

Check out the stash reports of other quilters at Judy L.'s Patchwork Times blog.

It's Not Going To Happen...

There is really very little chance that I will get the Hexagon Star top completely done this weekend. Nikki and family will be here tonight because of a death in Zach's family and I have to get things ready. Of course I'm not going to want to do much sewing when I could be playing with Quinn, holding Sadie, and visiting with Nikki and Zach! Here is what is done so far.



I'm happy with the progress and I've been playing with some layout ideas. I plan to applique the star on a black background, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do about borders. Hopefully I'll have come up with something for Design Wall Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Hexagon Star Progress

I've been at work a lot more hours this week so my Hexagon Star progress is a bit slower than I had hoped, but I now have the center part of the star complete and 3 of the star points. I have all of the hexagons basted to finish the star points and I should be able to get them sewn together tonight. Then I just have to sew them to the center, add the final gold hexagons to complete the star and applique it to the background.



I'd love to be able to get this top completed by the end of the weekend but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I've also been working on our local Bras for a Cause project which is part of our annual Girls Night Out. This is a really fun and worthwhile event and feel free to e-mail or call me if you have questions. If you'd like to participate, by all means do so. Entries are NOT limited to local paticipants.

Design Wall Monday

I'm teaching a couple of classes over the next month or so at a local quilt shop and I'm taking time to get my supplies, samples. and lessons in order. Besides the Weaver Fever Quilt, I'll be teaching English Paper Piecing (EPP). I'll be teaching the technique of EPP and not an actual project, and when I teach a technique rather than a project, I like to have a couple of possible quilt layouts or other projects for the students. I do this because I think it helps "sell" the class and I want them to have a project to make so they can practice and perfect the technique.

As you know, I've been working on piecing 60 blocks for my king-sized hexagon/grandmother's flower garden quilt and I have 14 blocks done.



I don't plan on putting the entire quilt top together until I have all of the blocks made so I'll have them "together" on a portable design wall to show what the final product will look like (I'm a control freak, remember? I need to have the flexibility of arranging the blocks before I start sewing them together .)

Anyway, after reading Bonnie Hunter's blog a few days ago about pulling out a hexagon UFO to work on, I was inspired to make a small sample using the hexagons - but in a total different type of setting. Below is the beginning of the sample and a quick sketch of what I'm planning. Of course this means that I have to set aside my other blocks to work on this, but I'm excited to see how this turns out. Actually, as we all know I NEVER work on just one project at a time so I'll probably work on both of these hexagon projects, Sadie's quilt, the couple of memory quilts that I need to finish, and whatever UFO I happen upon that "speaks" to me again. :-)



I'll applique the finished star onto another piece of fabric (probably black, to match the look and feel of my guild retreat quilt) and make this a wallhanging to go with that quilt. I'm using left-over fabrics from the retreat to make this project so I'll be using stash!! YEAH!!!

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls by going to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 34

I didn't get nearly as much sewing done as I had hoped this past week, because I had to work quite a few more hours this week than I had anticipated. It looks like the next week is more of the same so I don't have much faith that I'll get much sewing done before the next report. :-(

I did make three more hexagon blocks so I now have a total of 14 and I did add the first and second borders to Sadie's quilt. I'd really like to get that done before Labor Day weekend, but we'll see.

Here's the weekly report:

Fabric Used This Week: 1.375 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 213.00 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 105.75 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 107.250 yards

Check out the stash reports of other quilters at Judy L.'s Patchwork Times blog.