Naughty or nice? A little bit of both

I'm so sorry for the silence. That puts me in the naughty category I guess! I just seem to have lost my blogging energy over the past few months but I have been sewing, teaching and doing trunk shows. Thank you to everyone who dropped me a line to make sure all is well. That was very nice and very much appreciated. All is indeed well with me.

This is one of the quilts I've been working on. The quilt is made of hexagons that are just over 1/2". I folded it up and put it on my sewing machine. Every rosette is fussy cut and I'm thrilled with how it looks. My plan is to add pieced borders to this quilt. Jinx decided this would be a great place to roost. Definitely naughty but I have to admit that he looks nice on the quilt!

In February I'll be doing a trunk show for the Region of York Quilters' Guild. February is Pieceful Quilters' Guild and April is Twisted Stitchers (what a nice name for quilt makers). Trunk shows are nice and I do enjoy sharing my work with others! I've been teaching at Country Clothesline / Spark Fabrics in Toronto (very nice). I know that registration is open if you are interested. There are two different workshops so far. The first is an introduction to English Paper Piecing and I call it "It's Not Your Grandmother's Flower Garden". The workshop is on Sunday, February 5. I designed two quilts for this workshop and patterns for both are included in the registration fee. The first one needs a border but the English paper piecing is done. It is called "What The Hexagon". This quilt was a great way to use up leftover scraps and that always feels nice.

The second quilt is called "Cotton Candy" because of the juicy candy colours! This isn't my usual colour palette but it is nice!

The second workshop is Fussy Cutting for English Paper Piecing and it builds on the first class. The quilt that Jinx is sitting on is one of the quilts that I will show at the workshop. It is scheduled for Monday, February 13. You will find more info here.

I've also been working on another project - very naughty when there is so much to do! I do love hexagons so here I go with yet another hexagon quilt. I saw an old quilt on Pinterest. It was made of rosettes surrounded by hexagons made of polka dot fabric and the path was made from a chintz print. I managed to find some polka dot fabric. Actually what I found were two different polka dots so I bought them both and mixed them together.

The white background was not nice (too stark) so I boiled a pot of tea and in went the fabric. Well actually, in went the pieced blocks that I had made so far, paper and all! I soaked them for a bit and then rinsed them in cool water and the result was very pleasing to my eye....nice! So I tossed the rest of the dot fabric before cutting it up for piecing. I'm really happy with how these hexagons are looking and can't wait to make more. This quilt will be all about the colour and print with no fussy cutting at all! Can you see the naughty fluffy toes in the upper right hand corner of the picture. He figures that he is being helpful but I have a different point of view!

I didn't have a suitable chintz but came across a new line of fabric, Pumpkin Pie by Moda. I had received a free pack of charm squares and the toffee colour background print worked perfectly with the blocks I had made. I received a 20% coupon from an online quilt shop that carried this line so I ordered the fabric for the path. I think this quilt is going to be very nice when done! I haven't decided how the edges will be finished but am mulling over a number of ideas all of which are nice.

So there you have it - a little bit of naughty and a little bit of nice. I'll try to be more regular in my posting. Until the next time, happy sewing!
Karen H

"Do you know where my shirt is" and Gutermann thread

This will be a surprise for my friend Babs! She came over to baste a quilt top that she made and when it was done we folded it up to pin baste another quilt top. She packed everything to go home but guess what she forgot to take with her? Her quilt! Perfect opportunity for me to share it with you! I think it has a real French "provencal" feel to it!

Yellow Bird by Babs, 2014

She calls her quilt Yellow Bird because that was the name of one of the fabrics she used, the black, white and yellow border print! She combined it with the subtle yellow background print. It gives the quilt such a lovely fresh look and feel. But this beautiful quilt has a dark side! Each of the hexagon flowers had a black and white check hexagon in the center but the fabric didn't come from a quilt shop. No, Babs cut up her husband's favourite shirt to make those hexagons! Naughty Babs but honestly it was the perfect choice for the hexagons! Good thing he does his own laundry! He has no idea that his shirt was repurposed!

Here you can see the border print used as a border.

It was also used to make the fussy cut hexagons.

The hexagons were machine appliqued to a lovely yellow background.

The hexagons were appliqued the squares were stitched together. Single hexagons were appliqued over the intersections. Babs used these same techniques to maker her quilt What the Hexagon? She likes making the rosettes of hexagons but didn't want to spend time making a path so this method was a great alternative. It also allowed her to use hexagons of different sizes that were leftovers from other projects or that were given to her. The diamond hexagons were made by my Mom and given to Babs. She wanted to use them so this quilt was the perfect project!

What the Hexagon by Babs, 2011

If you use Superior Threads you will know that the cap pops off so you can anchor your threads. I also use Gutermann threads and there is a little spot where you can wrap the cut end of your thread so it doesn't unspool. You can see it at the bottom of the spool on the left. I was looking at the spool and wondering if the piece at the bottom could be popped to make wrapping thread easier and guess what? It does! You can see it on the spool on the right! Who knew? Well now you know!

The following has nothing to do with quilting but I wanted to share. This is Dog the Cat, 7.6 petite pounds of cuteness lounging in the yard two days ago. She was a beloved member of The Girl's family.

Dog had a rough beginning but when she was rescued by The Girl and Goat she found a loving home where she was cherished and adored. Some thoughtless person put out antifreeze likely to deal with local skunks and raccoons. It is a cruel thing to do to any being. While Dog's suffering is over thanks to the compassionate care she received from the veterinarian The Girl and Goat are beside themselves. Dog was a tiny little girl with a big personality and her passing has left a huge void.

Until I post again, please go and give someone you love a big hug!
Karen H