more hexagons

While the sun streams through our windows, I can sit & stitch more hexagon petals for grandmother's flower garden quilt.

And my. oh. my. It is because all of you boosted me up SO high with your incredible support & inspiration to work on -- and finish -- these blocks.

Each individual flower block does not take that long to stitch. And seeing them come together -- well, I have to wonder why I stashed this away for so long.

Thank you. You all have charged me with a huge magical dose of initiative to stitch these beauties.

grandmother's flower garden

Motivated by Robyn and her great love of hexagons, I have once again tackled these gorgeous blocks that seem to always get tucked away somewhere.

I seem to tackle them with such gusto, only to put them back in a plastic ziploc and re-shelve them. I can only attribute this undesire to complete them because they are all sewn by hand.

If you are familiar with the paper-piecing method, then you know that each hexagon is cut out and then 'sewn to' a paper hexagon template -- all by hand.

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Now -- I love, love LOVE this pattern. And I love, love LOVE even more the grandmother's flower garden quilts that are done in all of their beauty & splendor.....

But all of these hexagons can be a bit daunting.

And a bit time-consuming. Okay. Very time-consuming. Notice that I have not told you how long I have been working on this quilt. And. I. won't. *grin*

But Robyn's enthusiasm has bowled me over. And she has completely kick-started me into diving once again into stitching these retro blocks. (btw-if you haven't been on the receiving end of her love of quilting -- you must visit her -- and heartfelt prayers for her as devastating fires have made their way into Australia.)

Close-ups of some of the blocks:

Isn't that one of the greatest pleasures of quilting? -- putting the different fabrics together in such a harmonious blend?

And these vintage fabrics that look as if they came from my grandma -- undoubtedly fabric choices that are some of my favorites!

bmmmmmmm

Huge gulp of breath because I know that I have to complete sooooo many more before this will ever grace my bed. But being part of the Great Hexagon Quilt-Along, well -- I feel as if these women are sitting right here & motivating me with each stitch that they are taking.

bbbbbbbb

Time to sew.

huge to me

Although this may appear to be just tiny bits of stuff -- just ask my husband & kids about the tiny bit of 'stuff' on moms.craft.table -- I am actually busy.
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ahem.
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Okay. So maybe I'm just playing around with ideas for a crochet granny square purse using purples, pinks and golden yellows of the softest yarn.
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But I am also working on paper-piecing these flower garden hexagons. A project started many moons ago, but the with the house quiet and the sun finally streaming through the windows -- these tiny projects are somehow so huge to me -- I can't wait to get my fingers on them.
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Oh, and here's a peek at Georgina the Giraffe -- yes, I found a pattern! More pics tomorrow.

showing some sewing love

(Disclaimer: If your name is Harley ---> Stop reading now.....

you'll ruin the surprise...)

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I am participating in Dandelion Quilts

Show Some Sewing Love Swap

and this is what is on my 'design table' for that swap.

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What begins as a blank canvas turns
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into -penciled in- ideas

& sewn paper-pieced blocks.

Add small stitches of embroidery

& those 3 simple blocks turn into

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a kitty-approved wall-hanging.
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(Fabric is bits & pieces from my stash -- mostly Hobby Lobby yardage
& the paper-pieced block patterns come from

Carol Doak's 300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks book.)

thankful

Being thankful for ~

*faith*family*friends*

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I am paper-piecing these pumpkins with scraps from my fabric stash & using the 'Pumpkin Crazy' pattern from the Nov. 08 issue of this magazine ~



I am hoping to get this wall-hanging done just in time for Thanksgiving....but hopes aren't necessarily a reality in my world. (On a more personal level --> our Golden Retriever, Jake was hit by a car yesterday and the event has been a devastating detour in our somewhat 'normal' family' life. He is recuperating on the couch and thank goodness we have 3 Florence Nightengales -- in the form of 3 children -- who see to it that all of his needs are being met.)


And seeing my fingers doing something with needle or thread calms & soothes the pains that make their way into that thing called---> LiFe.

Still. I am thankful for so much. And yes, w/ smile on my face, I am thankful for all of the friendships from you, dear readers!

at peace with paper-piece & perfection

When I first dipped my foot into the sea of quilting, I was so reluctant to even begin. Browsing through quilt magazine after quilt magazine, I did not see quilts as I might be able to make--

but I saw these mathematical compositions of precise workmanship.

And then I read that most of these women who win highly deserved applause over their extraordinary quilts held PhD's in some mathemathical field-----well, then! there ya go! (You can not combine the words -math-and -my name- in the same sentence w/o a huge 'rolling of the eyes'.) I suddenly felt a little bit better.

But then I found a book on paper-piecing. Page after page of beautiful blocks. I looked at the directions and -- wow! -- finally! I was able sew precise, straight lines and have the block actually resemble something coherent.

This is where it began....

A trumpet....

A bass, a violin.......

And it becomes this....