Category Archives: Hexagon quilts

Baby Quilt, Take 2

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I had already made a quilt for my cousin’s new addition to the family due in February, but realized it’s really too large for a newborn and is more of a lap quilt size.  I was playing with some ideas for another baby quilt, when I remembered this was partially done.  So on Boxing Day I got this out of the UFO pile and started adding to it.  It’s quick to stitch, so I’m hoping to have the top finished by the end of the week other than the final setting pieces around the edges. I have lots of diamonds and triangles of the right size already printed on ’30s prints, so will be able to use them for the edge pieces.

I’m very grateful I had started this and had put everything for it away together.  It was nice to be able to just pull out the box and have everything in one spot.  Within minutes of pulling the box out, I was stitching.  As much as I enjoyed making the blocks, I think because I didn’t have a recipient for it in mind it lost some of its appeal.  Now that I have a goal in mind, I’m excited about stitching it again.

Smudge continues to improve.  He’s starting to treat us to some of his crazy poses, like this one.

Lester is being a bit more dignified.

Revisiting China Plates

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Once the baby quilt is done, China Plates will be first in line for quilting.  It’s been languishing now for a few months, so it’s time to get this one finished and bound and ready to hang.  I made this with the 1.5″ 90-degree hexagon Inklingo collection printing the hexagons on a variety of Oriental prints, the centre squares on an Oriental shirting print and the connecting squares and triangles on a black fabric. I’m not quite sure how I want to quilt it yet, although I do have the thread picked out — a variegated YLI black/charcoal/cream thread.

There were a few questions about washing charms.  What does a salad spinner have to do with it?  Well, generally I just swish them in some warm soapy water, rinse them, hang them on a clothes horse for a few minutes and then iron them dry but sometimes spin them partially dry by throwing a handful in an old salad spinner and then complete the drying by ironing them.  I’m always amazed at just how much they do shrink — at least half an inch on one side so that the 5″ charms generally end up as 4.5″ x 5″ pieces rather than a 5″ square.

Four rows left to stitch on the baby quilt!  Aside from quilting China Plates and working on various other projects that are in varying stages, I’m daydreaming about starting a new quilt with stars.  While I am tempted to make something with bright batiks and a dark neutral, I’m also leaning towards doing something with the Japanese taupes that are in my stash and making a very muted star quilt with those.

On Tuesday, Lester was snoozing in the kitty bed — with a toy within paw’s reach.

While Smudge was on the couch.

Another One-Flower Wednesday

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The missing container of hexagons was finally found.   The photo only shows about half the hexagons that are actually contained in there, all .50″ hexagons.  So after what seems like weeks, I was able to make one little flower to add to my garden for One Flower Wednesday.

The back:

This time I tried a different stitching sequence than my normal and found that it’s much faster.  Linda Franz posted this video on stitching hexagons on her blog last week and after watching it, I figured I’d try that stitching sequence.  It definitely makes a difference.

The pieced blocks for the baby quilt are finished.  As soon as I finish some work today, I’m going to lay them all out with the sashing elements and get started putting the top together.  It’s pretty clear now I won’t finish it by the end of August, but I’m still going to try for by the middle of September.

Was something going on with Blogger blogs on Tuesday?  I was able to leave comments on a few blogs early in the day but then had difficulties later in the day leaving comments.

The following two photos are of Queen’s Park — a park near our provincial legislature which is also called Queen’s Park.  It’s a beautiful park with lots and lots of lovely trees and just a short walk from here.

A view north towards Queen’s Park, the legislature building, from University Avenue:

Another view, as one goes further north on University Avenue:

I noticed that some of the leaves on the trees on the roof garden are turning yellow and falling already.  It’s still quite warm, but the light is definitely changing.

Smudge is getting into cooler weather mode, I think, wanting lots of lap time.

A rather soft focus shot of Lester:

Friday Fabric Picks

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For some reason, this group of fabrics is really calling to me.  Somehow a small square or round table mat that could be under a centrepiece keeps coming to mind along with a set of placemats.

This second group is one that I think I’d like to use for a small quilt, possibly of hexagons and stars.  I was actually hunting for my container full of hexagons, with no success, when I started looking at fabrics on Thursday evening.  I got an idea when I started playing with some of the layout pages in the new free Inklingo Hexagon Quilt Design Book which was released on Thursday.  Guess this means the coloured pencils will be in use again unless I become proficient in EQ overnight.  This weekend I am going to spend some time trying to get to the point I can do some things in EQ.  It sounds like it’s going to be an incredibly hot and humid weekend, so perhaps it’s a good time to attempt to learn it.

Thursday night, we were invited to go see Winnie.  She refuses to allow anyone to groom her and her fur mats terribly, so periodically the lion cut is the only solution.

Mr. Q.O. found this video of the lyre bird on YouTube.  It is really quite amazing to hear how well the bird imitates so many sounds — definitely worth a watch!

Along with trying to learn EQ this weekend, I plan to get the pieced blocks for the baby quilt finished so that it will be just a matter of stitching them together with the joining shapes.

On Thursday, Lester had some windowsill time.

A Smudge profile.

Little Blossoms

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No flowers for a couple of weeks, but Tuesday night I decided to make the remaining blossoms for the Little Blossoms Top.  I’m going to use some of the hexagon flowers I’ve made using .50″ hexagons around the outer perimeter of this top and some small stars made with .50″ diamonds.

Right now the little top measures approximately 11″ x 6″.  Once the other blossoms are added with the green hexagons, and then the flowers and stars, I think it will probably finish at about 20″.  I have no real plan but am just playing with placement of the blossoms as I go.

We had a lot of rain on Tuesday.  The heat and humidity are building and it really feels like summer.  This is such a nice change from last year — the year of the summer that wasn’t.  It sounds like the weekend will be quite hot and humid and sunny — perfect for spending time on the roof garden.  My hands feel a lot better so I’m hoping to get Chintz Circles basted on Thursday and start the quilting.  With any luck, I’ll finish the quilting by Sunday and can spend time out on the roof garden tacking down the binding Sunday afternoon.

Smudge was lounging in the pink chair, looking like he was deep in thought — probably about when the yogourt was going to appear.

Lester took advantage of a rainy day and snoozed on the couch.

Wednesday’s Little Blocks

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As the focus now is on my aunt’s quilt, one flower was all that was done to add to the garden.

A few klosjes blocks were added to the collection as well.

On Saturday night, we went to the large grocery store that’s down near the waterfront.  It was still quite warm and humid but the clouds were rolling in, bringing in the rather cool weather we’ve had since.  We got this shot of the skyline from the parking lot of the grocery store.

This is my latest favourite shot of Smudge.  He was very alert as it was getting close to the time for his nightly yogourt treat.

Lester spent a fair amount of time on the windowsill on Tuesday watching the birds.

Many Little Blocks

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A few brighter flowers for my garden.  I had some like these tucked away and decided to make a few more as a plan is slowly forming for this quilt which will involve some of the very delicately coloured flowers together with some brighter ones.

My klosjes production has dropped off rather considerably in the past few weeks, but a couple more have been added to the group now and I hope to make at least two or three each week.

And something that has been in the back of my mind for ages — some 4-patch blocks that finish at 2″.  I’m not sure where I’m going with these but I have a box full of 1″ squares that are ready to piece.  Sometimes it’s fun to just take a few minutes to stitch one or two of these little blocks and slowly, but surely, there will be enough to make a small quilt.  Or I may use these in a postage stamp quilt, which is another long-term project on my quilt “bucket” list.

I was actually contemplating how marvelous it would be to have 48-hour days, 24 of which could be dedicated to quilting.  It was a complete flight of fantasy — I was thinking about all those lovely hours of daylight during the summer and the fact that one would still only need 8 hours sleep per day, even a 48-hour day.  Just think about all that could be fit in that remaining 40 hours!!

Tuesday was another wonderfully hot and sunny day.  The rain they had forecast, and which we do rather need, didn’t materialize.  I think we’re going to have a nice hot summer which will make up for last year’s non-summer!

Smudge was wide awake, lounging on the couch.

Lester, a bit soft focus.

Wednesday Flowers

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Two flowers were made this week — one with 1″ hexagons and one with .50″ hexagons.  To see more flowers made this week, go to the page at Karen’s blog  here where there’s a list of all those making the flowers.

In my ongoing organization, I found these little stars — some of them made by me, some by a friend — made with .50″ diamonds.  That’s a penny on one of the little stars to give an idea of their size.  I have enough of the tiny diamonds printed and cut out to make about another 15 or 20 stars and am playing with the idea of a setting for them that will use 1″ hexagons.  That’s yet another idea that’s going in the ideas book as I’m trying to stay completely focused on the quilt for my aunt.

The back of the little stars.

At the moment, these are the only flowers to be seen on the roof garden.  Tuesday the gardener was busy out there adding soil to the flowerbeds, so I’m wondering if he’ll be doing some planting before the weekend.

There has been a lot of grackle and robin activity on the roof garden for Lester to keep his eye on.

Smudge seems to be not as interested but I have a feeling that if and when the woodpecker shows up, he’ll be on that windowsill in no time.

Wednesday’s Flower

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While I’m working on my aunt’s quilt, I am going to try to restrict the amount I get distracted from it by other projects.   So One Flower Wednesdays will be, for me, truly One Flower Wednesdays!  This week I decided to make another of the large ones with the 1″ hexagons.  The back:

To see more flowers done by gardeners on One Flower Wednesday, go to Karen‘s post here where there’s a list of all the gardeners with links to their blogs.

This was taken a few days ago out on the roof garden:

Something must have told me I would end up making more than one of the Spring Circles quilts.  I have kept the fabrics I’ve used for it in a separate container, which I would not normally do.  It’s going to be quite simple to go through and cut the pieces for the beginning of the new Spring Circles quilt for us when I get the one for my aunt finished.

Tuesday was a very grey cool day here.  It was dark enough that we had to turn the lamps on almost as soon as we got up in the morning.  The cats found places to curl up and sleep.  Smudge with a teddy:

And Lester in the chair:

One Flower Wednesday … Again

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One tiny flower got done on Wednesday for the border of the small quilt, made with .50″ hexagons.  But only one. Hopefully next week I can actually make more than 1 or 2 of these little flowers.  The list of gardeners making flowers on Wednesdays is growing.  Karen’s post here has a list with links to all the gardeners.

On Wednesday, Mr. Q.O. went to a documentary film festival.  The screening to which he went was at a theatre that is part of the University of Toronto, which is within walking distance.  On his walk, he saw these little flowers.

Along with doing the one small hexagon flower, I finished the second Summer Picnic Dish.  As I have learned from doing Spring Circles that joining the blocks as I go makes a big difference for me, I  added the half centre edge piece to join the two blocks on point.  My plan is to use the green fabric that’s in the blocks for the binding.

I finally got caught up on replying to comments and hope to start reading and commenting on blogs over the next couple of days.  I should have been working on Wednesday, but I think the tension of the past few days really caught up with me as I just could not concentrate!  I finally gave up on working for the day and played with fabric, patted Smudge a lot and tried to relax.  Thank you to all who commented on yesterday’s post — it helped rather a lot!

It was a sunny, windy day at first on Wednesday and then it clouded over and we had our first thunderstorm of the season.  Not much of a thunderstorm, but a thunderstorm.  Earlier in the day, while it was still sunny, we got this shot of Lester.  It really shows his whiskers.

Smudge was relaxing on the chair.