Valentine's Day hexagons

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! It is cold here today but my heart has been warmed because I recently received some sewing gifts in the mail. I thought I would share this hexagon heart that I made as part of The Hexie Blog's 2014 quilt along.

This lovely little pincushion was made for me by my friend Paula in California. She hand pieced this little gem which sits in an antique tart tin. The whole thing is made with lovely little fussy cuts. I love birds and so does Paula. Thanks Paula, I will treasure (and use) this little pincushion.

I also received a wonderful red pincushion from Tubakk of Norway who blogs at Den Syende Himmel. Tubakk is making the La Passion hexagon quilt which was designed by Grit Kovacs. You can see the original hexagon quilt made by Grit (along with the free instructions) here and Tubakk's version done in greens is here. Tubakk put out a call for bright green fabrics and I had some in my stash so I sent them off to her. As I watched the progress on her quilt I could see bits and pieces of those fabrics in the quilt. So exciting! As a thank you Tubakk mad a red pincushion for me. How perfect is that for Valentine's Day? She also made me a lovely little card from fabric scraps and I can seen a bit of one of the green fabrics in the card!

A quilt maker can never have too many pincushion. I have oodles of them and I use and enjoy every one of them!

Carli of Good Earth Quilting asked a question about the fabric requirements for my 2016 Quilt Along (QAL). I will be sharing the fabric requirement very soon. What I can tell you is that the quilt is mostly made from scraps but there will be three fabrics for which you will require specific amounts of fabric. The three fabrics I chose are a solid white, solid Empire green and a slightly darker Empire green print. I would like to get the quilt top put together so I can calculate the amounts of fabric needed and you can make the decision about your fabric choices. The good news is that I am making really good progress and should have a quilt top to share with you very soon. Just to keep you interested here is a picture of the centre medallion now surrounded by the solid Empire green. Unfortunately the green looks a little washed out.There are another two steps before the medallion is complete.

That's it for today. It is still very cold so I'm going to make a nice hot cup of tea and then work on my QAL quilt top. Until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H

Pincushions galore

I love making and collecting pincushions of all descriptions because a quilt maker can never have too many pincushions. Everywhere I like to sit and sew you will find a pincushion. Some, like my Tiny World Make-Do Pincushions, are more elaborate. I do use them but I also have made myself a collection of them that I keep them in my bookcase. In the following picture the canoe, teepee and trees are my own creation but the starting point for was Mimi Kirchner's pattern. I have a whole gallery of tiny world pincushions which you can see here.

Teepee at M'Chigeeng by Karen H

Today I thought I would share some more pincushions, two of which I made very recently.

The blue pincushion in the upper right is reversible. I've written a pattern and it will be published in the September/October 2015 issue of Hexie Love magazine. The magazine is devoted entirely to hexagon projects and there are all sorts of patterns, articles and ideas inside each cover. The magazine is published by Julia Wood of The Hexie Blog. It is priced at $5.99 USD per issue. You can't beat that price!

This is the reverse side of the pincushion. I've made a few of these pincushions and they are great fun!

The second pincushion is a prototype. I just finished it this morning and plan on making another but I'm going to try to sew it a little differently from the first to see if the results are better.

The third is a combination pincushion/needlecase. This is my own design. I've made quite a few of these over the years. I've never written up a pattern but may do so in the future. The top is pretty and it also serves as a pincushion.

Needles can be tucked away safely inside!

I hope you've enjoyed my little show of pincushions. I love each and every one of them.

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

A new pincushion and a peak at another hexagon quilt

Recently a friend did me a huge favour  and I wanted to give her a little gift as a thank you. I decided to make her a pincushion. She is a quilt maker and quilting teacher so it is a gift that I am sure will be put to good use!

I like little details - they make a huge difference no matter what it is you are creating and they really don't take much time. What little details did I add to make that bit of difference? Tree trunks, a door knob and a chimney!

I've got oodles of quilt tops waiting to be quilted but they will have to wait until after the quilt show. Here's a little teaser of one that is waiting to be quilted! The hexagons measure just a whisker over 1/2"! I'll share more pictures in the near future!

Another friend has asked me to quilt her Soucpon quilt . She registered in the Quilt Show so it has to be finished by September 19th. I'll get the quilt tonight and hopefully start quilting tomorrow! I'll be sure to share pictures of her quilt and my quilting as I go along!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen

Tutorial: Hexagon Scissor Fob Pincushion

Time for a new tutorial! I made a little scissor fob/pincushion and many of you were interested in detailed instructions so you could make one for yourself so I am pleased to share with you how I made mine!

Hexagon Scissor Fob Pincushion Tutorial

Basic Supplies:
2 - 1 1/4" paper hexagons (use larger if you prefer)
2 - pieces of fabric, one for front and one for back
12" cording
Assorted beads (2 larger beads for cord, seed beads and 5 pony beads for corners)
Fiberfill stuffing
All the usual sewing necessaries (needle, thread and scissors)

Construction Method:
Baste your fabric to the paper hexagons in the usual manner.

Thread both ends of your cord through the two larger beads. I like to place the larger bead close to the hexagon fob so it will be closest to the cut ends of the cord. Tie the loose ends making a good double or triple knot.

Place your two hexagons with wrong sides together. Use a thread that matches your hexagon and begin sewing at the right hand corner as indicated by the red circle.

Sew until you get one stitch short of the top corner. At this point you will want to insert the cord. Do so by tucking the knot between the hexagons. Take tiny stitches on either side of the cord and also through the cord.

Continue stitching the hexagons together for another 1/4" and stop for a moment. At this point you will want to make a knot in the cord so that the beads don't slip off. I don't make this knot beforehand because it makes it more challenging to stitch in the cord.

Continue sewing the hexagons together until there is one side still open. If you squeeze the sides gently it will pop open making it easier to stuff! Stuff it so it is nice and firm making sure to get the filling right into the corners. HELPFUL TIP: I like to use a bamboo skewer or and orange stick to tuck the stuffing inside because the wood "grabs" the stuffing.

Once it is stuffed stitch the opening closed. Do not tie off the thread - you will use it for the beading.  At this point you can remove the basting threads or you can wait until you've finished beading. The papers will remain inside the the fob.  To bead the edge take a pony bead (the red one) and a seed bead (the green one) on your needle and slide them onto the thread.

Take your needle through just the pony bead and into the hexagon. Bring up your needle a few threads over; this is the point where the next bead will be attached. Draw up your thread to snug the beads up to your hexagon. The green seed bead will appear to sit on top of the red pony bead. Continue adding beads in the following manner all around the hexagon: slide a seed bead on your needle, take a stitch into the hexagon through the same spot as your thread and bring the point of your needle up a few threads over. Draw up the thread to snug the bead up against the hexagon. When you get to each corner you will pick up a pony bead and a seed bead and you will take your needle through just the pony bead.

At some point you may run short of thread. When this happens take a few small stitches as though you were sewing the hexagons together. Take a stitch in the same spot to make a loop and run your needle through the loop two or three times. Draw up the thread and a tiny knot will form on the sewing line. Take your needle through the same hole and draw it up on the back. Clip the thread.

To start a new thread make a knot in  your thread. Bring the needle up through the back hexagon and up on the sewing line where the next bead will be stitched. Give your thread a tug to bury the knot. Take a stitch to anchor your thread and continue beading.

When you get to the last bead you will want to take a few tiny stitches to anchor your thread. Take one last stitch in the same spot to make a loop and run your thread through it two or three times. When you draw up your thread a tiny knot will form on the sewing line.

Take your needle down through this knot on the sewing line and draw it up on the back hexagon. Clip your thread. If you haven't already done so, remove your basting stitches and you are done! The paper templates will remain inside the fob.

And here is the finished scissor fob!

I hope you've enjoyed my little tutorial for making a Hexagon Scissor Fob Pincushion! You can make them so pretty with a piece of fabric that is fussy cut and some gorgeous beads. My Guild has a quilt show coming up in September and there will be a members' boutique where we can sell our wares. I plan on making some of these fobs to sell! I hope that they will be a hit!

Speaking of beads, I am addicted to them and can never resist adding to my collection. One of the shops I really like is BeadFX. If you are like me you'll be drooling over all of the gorgeous beads that are available! A girl can never have too many sparkly bits!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Holiday treats for your sewing friends

I had lunch with some lovely quilting friends this week and look at what I got! These are lovely little Christmas ornaments that are perfect for a quilter! I've already got them hanging in my sewing room.

Red and green was a very common colour combination in antique quilts so these little gems are perfect for display all year long.

They come from a lovely little florist shop in Toronto, Canada. The name is Sweetpea's and she has all sorts of lovely little treats and gift items including Grinch Christmas trees. I didn't have my camera with me so I could take a picture but they are gorgeous little table centre pieces!

While I've been busy working on my 2014 QAL I also managed to finish two more Tiny World Make-Do Pincushions. The e-pattern comes from Mimi Kirchner.  If you need to make a last minute gift for a sewing friend these would be perfect. You'll have the pattern in your inbox in a matter of minutes and then the fun will begin!

Here I go again extolling the virtues of variegated floss....I only used two colours for this pincushion. I used a variegated green for the French knots in the garden path and a rosey pink/tangerine for the French knots in the path and the window boxes!

And lastly here are a few little crazy hearts that I made for the Christmas tree several years ago! They would make great small pincushions!

This hearts measure roughly 3" by 3".

 I cut a piece of scrap fabric that was roughly 4" square. I traced this pattern on the fabric and then foundation pieced in the order indicated. The next step was to embellish with embroidery stitches. The beading was NOT done at this point.

I then placed the right side of a 4" square of fabric that would be the back of the heart against the right side of the pieced heart. I machine stitched on the outside line of the heart leaving an opening for turning. I trimmed the excess fabric, clipped where necessary and turned the heart right side out. The heart was stuffed with fiberfill and the little opening was hand stitched closed. The final step was to bead the heart, make a tassel and voila....you're done!

Hope you enjoyed this little holiday treats! Until I post again, happy sewing!

It is summer in the winter!

A Challenging Year

I've finished the fourth Tiny World Pincushion in my series of the Four Seasons. I found these cute little creamy coloured Wedgewood cups at the thrift shop and decided to make four identical houses but each would illustrate a different season. I drew my inspiration from my quilt A Challenging Year which is a year in the life of a cherry tree.

Here is the fourth and final teacup, Summer! A friend suggested that the little shrubs should be trees. Upon reflection I agreed with her since they were intended to be cherry trees. So all four now have tree trunks!

Summer

 

 

I used a variety of red beads for the cherries!

 



Summer close-up

Here are the four seasons together.

Close-ups of the other three seasons for your viewing pleasure!

Autumn close-up (before the trunk was added to the cherry tree)

Winter close-up (before the trunk was added to the cherry tree)

Summer (before the trunk was added to the cherry tree)

This is the cherry tree through the seasons in A Challenging Year.

The Tiny World Pincushions were made from a pattern by Mimi Kirchner. The instructions tell you all you need to make your own unique creations. You can see Mimi's latest pincushions including a castle here!

Now I've got a craving for cherries so hurry up summer! Until I post again, happy sewing!