Things Are Getting a Little Steamy...

I continue to hand stitch little hexies like mad in the hopes that one day this year Minnie will become a flimsy. Many of the units that I had sewn together earlier lean to the lighter colours so I've tried to work in more medium to dark prints to balance things out. And, my hexie box is like the gift that keeps on giving - I still haven't had to cut more hexies!

Because I am not doing EPP my units end up looking like a bit of an ungodly mess when they are all together. The upside - I don't have to baste the hexies to paper or spend time removing them, I can simply sit in and stitch.

It doesn't take long to go from this...

to this. My secret? A good hot iron and a little steam, working from the back of the piece. I know that using steam is frowned upon but it works like a charm giving me nice crisp edges, and I don't have any issues with distortion. I like to iron them into a pattern where the centre hexies sit flat on the back side. This is what it looks like on the shorter units.

The longer units are a bit easier to press.

Here's a front view of the same unit.

I keep thinking that I'm nearing the end but all of these smaller units still need to be made into larger setting triangles and then bordered with another round of hexies, so I think my cutter and I will become fast friends one of these days....M

Bright and Cheery on a Dreary Day

It's dull and rainy today, the perfect time to seek out a little colour. Jane was more than happy to oblige with a few x and + pics from her design floor. Such a happy quilt!

I think that when I first showed it to you I misled you a bit, giving the impression that it was going to be pink, turquoise and purple only. Not so! It's going to be filled with lots of colours - you can see the greens and yellows starting to be worked in.

Right now she feels that she needs 63 blocks and has 52 cut with about 30 of them all together. She's playing it by ear to see what will work for size and has no plans to add a border. They are 10-inch blocks.

For someone who is piecing this by hand she certainly isn't wasting any time, is she?....M

It's Spring!

Here's to the first day of spring! It hasn't really been an exceptionally hard winter for us, but after months of snow on the ground and lots of lockdown it is such a treat to see the grass and buds start peeking through. We're in for an absolutely gorgeous run of weather so I expect that things will be much greener by next weekend.

And look at what's popped up in my mud room - a lovely pair of freshly quilted treats! They are like the first blossoms of the season.

This is just a teaser, but God's Green Earth...

and Snippets are ready for bindings. I'm anxious to see them both on the beds for the spring but want to make a bit more headway on Minnie before I switch gears. Suffice it to say that my sneak peek at them has made me very happy. What would I do without the lovely and talented Roberta?....M

p.s. Happy International Quilting Day!

Remember Minnie?

My Little Trees are piling up nicely but today it was time to cut more background pieces and I just didn't feel like it (sometimes you just want to sit down and stitch) so I cast my eye to the corner where my long lost friend Minnie sits.

When last I touched her the plan was to lay out all of the large diamonds and setting triangles to see where things stood and maybe get an idea of the colours needed for the remaining setting triangles. 

But there were a few units already together so instead I chose the low hanging fruit and started there, sitting down to watch The Players golf tourney and do a little stitching. I've made a little more progress, but in digging into the hexies that are already cut (and there are lots of them!) I think it's soon going to be time to cut a few more because many of the colours that are cut tend to the darker side. Guess I can't avoid the cutter forever...

To keep my strength up, periodically I would head into the kitchen to enjoy a morsel or two of a Beavertail (fried bread dough treats with different toppings) 😏. Anne had dropped by earlier in the day with two in hand for the Official Cookie Tester and I. Hadn't had one in years! I know that because of the time change it was supposed to be Pi Day, but close enough....M

Squirrel!

I don't know, maybe I've just been spending a little too much time watching the squirrels trying to attack the birdfeeders lately. Or maybe it's a sign that I need to spend some time sorting through what is on my sewing table. Either way, I dug under a pile looking for something or other and came across a wee stack of tiny blocks that were started way back when. It didn't take long before I was ignoring my yellow houses and playing with those tiny pieces again.

And I do mean tiny. This was a project to help use up some of my 1" strips that just seem to multiply like rabbits so those little corners finish off at half an inch square.

Hardly the fastest way to burn through a stash, but what the heck, they're fun.

The blocks finish at 3" and then become part of a larger nine-inch Nine-Patch block which will be set on point. My inspiration came from seeing Lella Boutique's Diamond Dust pattern. I like the pinstripe border but am thinking that I might be tempted to use the cherry fabric that I used a while ago for backing and binding Lena's Hugs & Kisses. Not sure how big this one will be, but with only seven nine-patch blocks made to date I'm a ways from having to make that decision.....M

A New x and + quilt

There's the beginnings of a happy new quilt in Jane's sewing basket these days, the x and + Quilt. This is one that I have had my eye on for quite a while so it will be fun to see hers come together.

Her fabrics are a terrific collection of turquoise, purple and pink - very scrap happy. She's piecing it by hand again and when last we spoke, which was about a week ago, she had cut enough for about 25 blocks. Lots of cutting, but she's enjoying it and having fun mixing and matching the different combinations for each block.

There's a lot going on in this block so to tame it a bit and give the overall layout some structure she is using a collection of creams to create a background for the crosshatch that is created by the diagonal and vertical/horizontal grid pieces. Just love that large pink polka dot in the bottom right block!....M