72 And Counting...

I managed to finish up the four hexagons that I had started over the weekend and add two more to the bunch, which meant six more to add to my block total taking it to 72.

And then the temptation to lay a few out on the table in the evening sun to see what they'd look like together became just too much. These are the most recent six blocks.

Not having looked at my blocks for a while it was fun to weed through the pile for a selection that I liked. I can see where there will be lots of moving around before the final placement is decided.

But I'm liking what I see so far. Interestingly, seeing them down beside each other has made me realize that I need to incorporate more large & obvious patterns/prints to really bring the pattern to life.

That won't be a problem - I have lots of fabric to work with, it just means that there's more fussy cutting in my future! I think I also need to incorporate more fussy cuts into the outside ring of fabric in the block to keep it interesting and add more depth....M

Back To The Candy Jar

We were in the car for a bit on the weekend so I picked up my Candied Hexagon piecing and have a few blocks/partial blocks to share with you.

I think that I have mentioned before how tedious the fussy cutting can be but there is a real payoff when the pieces come together - especially with these florals. You get such lovely, airy wreaths. It will be fun to see them all come together.

This is the only block that is fully together but I thought I'd show you the colour combos anyway.

Some wreaths are really defined...

and others are much softer, but the wreath is still there. As much as you imagine it in your head the final result is always so much nicer.

None of theese have been pressed yet, but they are coming together.

I just adore this blue fabric but have only a little bit of it, but that's what makes each quilt special, isn't it? Time to start inserting the border diamonds on these blocks...M

Our Lady By The Lake

Jane's Basket

Our friend Jane inherited their family cottage years ago and since then, thanks to her generous invitations, we have enjoyed many, many happy and relaxing times there, including so many great Canada Day celebrations. It is about a 45-minute drive from here and a real refuge for her from her life in Ottawa. She just started a couple of weeks' holidays so on Tuesday we spent the day together, trimming lots of trees and shrubs in the morning and then settling in for some serious stitching and crafting in the afternoon and into the evening.

She has been talking about making a basket quilt for some time now but I didn't realize that she is already well on her way. This one is made with a lot of old shirts from our friend Martin, who has great taste, so she has some wonderful fabrics to work with. The blocks are quite large - maybe 16 - 18" and she will butt them up against each other without sashing between them.

And she is using lots of great trims to embellish, along with filling her baskets with yo-yo flowers. She's toying with sewing a button in the centre of each yo-yo - not sure yet. And there will also be a few leaves appliqued in among the flowers as well.

With the yo-yos she has been able to incorporate lots of different prints and we got a good laugh out of a red that has skull and crossbones on it - not something that you would normally associate with dainty little yo-yos. The beauty of it is that when all the shirring is done you just see the overall red, white and black - no skulls are apparent!

To this point I am a yo-yo virgin (I've never tried my hand at making one) so she gave me a quick tutorial. I think I need a little more practice because my centres were bigger than I think they should have been, however it wasn't bad for a first try.








She's also making a second quilt from repurposed fabrics that I quite like as well - one that she's calling Summer Picnic. This one is being sewn by hand too. It is amazing how many quilts she whips up while sitting on the deck enjoying the summer sun!

This one has more of Martin's old striped and plaid shirts (and a really beautiful, subtle green paisley print) combined with vintage floral pillowcases that she has been collecting. The overall effect is both bright and soothing at the same time.

While I worked on my blue pinwheels she pulled what she had left of her fabrics from the closet and cut them into blocks, so when she runs out of blocks that's how large the quilt will be. I just love the fabric combos and think that Summer Picnic is the perfect name....M

Happy Canada Day!

One  hundred and forty five - that's how old we are today. It is a beautiful sunny day and just the right temperature - perfect for a birthday party. Happy Canada Day, everyone!

It also seemed like the perfect time to add a few more geese to the pile so in keeping with the colours of the day I now have 66 more red ones to add to the mix.

More Flying Geese

And, as usual, I had to lay a few out to see what a new string of them might look like.

But I still have lots of corners to snip so I think it might be time to put the kettle on and enjoy a little patriotic-looking strawberry cheesecake. Life is good....M