Category Archives: Inklingo

One Flower Wednesday … on Thursday

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These little flowers are so fast to put together that I couldn’t resist making 4 of them.  My idea for a quilt using these is changing quite a bit though.  I may be putting these in a quilt of their own rather than with the blossoms seen here.

The backs:

Do you want to see more hexagon flowers being done for One Flower Wednesday?  Karen, the hostess of One Flower Wednesday, is making them as seen here.  Danielle,  Ann,  Sandra and Valentina are all adding flowers to their gardens as well.

Tuesday night I spent some time looking through this book before I fell asleep and, of course, woke up Wednesday morning with all sorts of ideas.  Although the instructions are written in Japanese, it really doesn’t matter as there are tons of illustrations.

There are a number of super hexagon quilts in the book. This is one of my favourites:

Although this picture doesn’t quite show it, at one point Wednesday afternoon the sky got quite stormy looking.  I thought we might have had our first thunderstorm of the season, but we had only a brief downpour of rain.  I just realized we didn’t even have thunder snow last winter so it has been ages since we’ve had a storm.  As evident from the picture, the leaves on the tree are just starting to open.

Lester was at his normal post for this time of year — on the windowsill.

While Smudge seemingly decided it was a great day to laze about.  He always makes me laugh when he stretches out like this.

Spring Circles Update

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It was calm enough Tuesday to get a shot of the Spring Circles/Alabama Beauty blocks out on the roof garden.  There are now 16 blocks put together and 9 circles have appeared in their entirety.   At this point it’s 36″ square.  If I make it as large as I’m anticipating, it will be 108″ by 108″.  That’s going to require many, many more blocks — 128 more, to be exact.  Rather daunting if I look at it that way.  I think I’ll focus on getting each quadrant done and not look too far down the road with this one. There’s something about this block that fascinates me.

There were a number of good ideas for the floral print I showed yesterday.  This weekend I think I’ll try it against some other fabrics and see if I can find the perfect combination for it.  Later today I’ll be working on my One Flower Wednesday hexagon block.

Lester, showing why I think of him as our house lion.

Smudge is usually rather afraid of the window washers and will spend hours under the bed until he’s sure they’re gone.  This time?  This time he seemed to be quite laid-back about the whole thing.  No hiding under the bed.

Five Little Klosjes

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… were made last week.  So now there are 87.  Who knows how many more I’ll make.  All I know is that Sunday I grabbed a few more charms to print with the squares and half hexagons to make more.  I think I’ve got about another 35 or 40 of them prepped, ready to stitch now.

Charm packs seem to hold an endless fascination for me.  Perhaps it’s having a bit of every fabric in a line that I can mix and match with other fabrics.  I do tend to totally mix them up and am doing that with the klosjes.  There’s no rhyme or reason to my fabric choices for these.

We had a pretty quiet weekend.  I woke up Saturday feeling almost like I had a flu, but I think it’s just allergies.  The headache is horrible.  It just will not go away.  While it was a quiet weekend, I had lots of time to think through a few projects in my ideas book.

It was sunny but a bit chilly on the weekend.  The cats were cozy.  Lester in a kitty bed.

And Smudge on the couch.

More Alabama Beauty Blocks

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These two blocks were completed and a third one half-finished on Thursday night, so I think there’s a good chance I’ll get the next row added to the first quadrant before the weekend is out.

They need to be pressed before being stitched into the row and added to the previous rows.  As I keep working on this, I’m finding that these blocks are almost putting themselves together.

They say we may have a thunderstorm today — that will be our first of the season.  The gardeners were busy as could be Thursday adding soil to the flowerbeds again and the window washers are getting ever closer to our windows.

This has been a busy week and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.  There are so many blogs posts to catch up on and comments to which I need reply so that’s definitely on the agenda for this weekend.  And my idea book is overflowing at the moment which probably means that I’ll be printing fabric this weekend for a variety of projects.

I love it when Lester rests his head on his paw.

Smudge on the couch.

One Flower Wednesdays

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I made half a dozen of these little flowers using half-inch hexagons.  To give an idea of the size of them, there’s a nickel in the middle of one.  I think I may alternate between these tiny ones and some made with the 1″ hexagons as I do have an idea for a small quilt using those as well.

Just to show the difference in size, this are some 1″ hexagons with the same nickel:

I really like working with .75″ hexagons as well so think I’ll print some fabrics to make a few of those.  If I’m doing One Flower Wednesdays, I may as well have a variety of sizes.

This week has turned out to be different than I anticipated.  I wasn’t expecting to be as busy as I have been.  As a result, I’m not getting around to blogs as much as usual nor have I responded to comments for a day or two.  Once today is over, then I’ll get caught up!

We had another absolutely glorious day on Wednesday.  Lots of sunshine.  Now I know it’s truly getting warm out there.  Some of the sun worshippers in the building were out on the roof garden Wednesday afternoon in their bathing suits.  That is a first — I don’t ever remember anyone being able to do that here this early.

Lester was busy on the windowsill watching as the gardener was out there adding soil to the flower beds.

Smudge looks rather pensive in this shot, I think.

Planning the Alabama Beauty Blocks

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These three little stacks of pieces represent the next three blocks for the quilt.  I’m still searching for the right name for it, so until then it’s simply “the quilt”.

I can see that working with the quilt is going to become more difficult the larger it gets unless I start putting it together in quadrants.  I’ve pretty well decided on a setting of 12 by 12 blocks, so I think what I’ll do is make four segments of 6 by 6 blocks.  That should make it somewhat less cumbersome to deal with until the end when I will join the four segments.  It’s rather amazing to realize that I’m over halfway done the first of four segments.  This is going together faster than I had anticipated.

On Linda’s blog yesterday, she showed some great layouts using controlled colour placement in the Alabama Beauty blocks that give totally different effects.  One of them gave me an idea for a quilt with the Improved 9-Patch block, which is another block that I do want to play with, although not a king-sized quilt.

I’ve joined in on the One Flower Wednesdays with Karen and Valentina.  At some point today I will be making at least one or two hexagon flowers, which I will show tomorrow.  I have an idea for a small lap quilt that will incorporate a few hexagon flowers made of 1″ hexagons and I think I’m going to use a small border of flowers made with half-inch hexagons to surround this piece when I get it to whatever size I finally decide on as large enough.

We had another gloriously sunny day on Tuesday.  The leaf buds on the trees on the roof garden are really starting to swell and show a little green.  With any luck we’ll have leaves in front of the living room window hiding the other high-rise towers before the end of the month.

This shot of Lester makes me laugh.  This was taken only moments after he had been brushed.  I don’t know why he does it, but as soon as he has been combed or brushed, he immediately starts licking and chewing on his ruff and looks so unkempt!  In this shot, I’m not sure if he’s meowing at something out on the roof garden or if we caught him in the midst of yawning.

According to Mr. Q.O., Smudge was thinking about “where’s dinner?” in this shot.

Alabama Beauty Circle Blocks

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Another row added and now six circles have appeared.  The more of these blocks that I do, the quicker I’m finding it is to stitch them.  What takes more time now is choosing the fabrics for the next row.   I’m trying to not have circles of the same colour next to each other.

It is now 27″ by 36″.  Once the next row is added, it will be 36″ square.  I’m thinking that I may work on this in 5-row sets so that it doesn’t become too difficult to handle.  That will make it a bit more complicated choosing the fabrics for the first row of each set but a little careful planning should be all that’s required.  I hope.  I’m thinking that it will end up composed of 12 rows of 11 blocks but that decision is one I’ll make once I get closer to finished.  I don’t think this will have a border.

I’m still trying to decide on a name for the quilt.  One candidate that keeps coming to mind is Spring Circles.

We got pictures of the cats awake.  Smudge, once again taking over my desk chair.

While Lester was relaxing on the pink chair.

Klosjes — It Must be Saturday

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Not much to show this week in the way of Klosjes, but I did get this one little block done.  It seems the quilt is going to be larger than the 81 blocks previously made.  Mr. Q.O. loves these little blocks so I’ll keep going, I suppose, until I have enough to make at least a lap quilt.

The back:

While I may have only stitched one, I did take a few minutes this morning to print the templates on some more charms and muslin:

We picked up the floor frame from Sew Sisters this afternoon.  Oh, my — it is fantastic!  Wonderfully made and has velcro strips and ribbon to hold up the sides so they’re not draped all over the floor.  Easy as can be to use — no knobs to tighten or loosen.  Perfect for someone with limited hand strength like me.  And it actually looks nice!

We’re taking care of Winnie, our neighbours’ cat, this weekend.  Winnie who makes all those funny sounds when she eats.  She did it again tonight.

Our boys have been resting up, hoping we get warmer weather again soon and that there are lots of things to watch out the window.  Lester was guarding the toy basket.

While Smudge was doing one of his impossibly cute poses.

Piecing an Alabama Beauty Block

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Thursday night I printed some more shapes for the nameless quilt.  I refuse to call it “The Thing” any longer.  It needs a name!  I got the fabrics picked out for the next set of 3 blocks and this block stitched.  I’m finding it easier and easier to plan these blocks.  I lay out the pieces for each block, make sure that the pieces that create the circles are in the right spot and then it’s really a quick block to stitch.

This is the back:

And this is a close-up of the centre of the back.  I had promised someone (sorry, I forget who!) that I’d show a close-up of how I press this block, so here it is:

The batiks I had ordered from Sew Sisters last weekend arrived.  I think a piece of one, if not two, of these is going to be used in the Alabama Beauty quilt.  These were definitely my lucky fabrics!  Tomorrow we’re off to Sew Sisters to pick up the frame.  I can’t wait!

Along with the batiks was this cute FQ of Easter fabric.  Wouldn’t this make a great back for a little doll’s quilt?

Thursday was another rainy, grey day.  Lester spent some time on the windowsill, but there wasn’t much for him to see.

Smudge, on the other hand, decided it was a good day to curl up with a teddy bear.

More Alabama Beauty Circles

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Now there are four complete circles showing.  This is really a fun top to put together as each row reveals another set of completed circles.  It’s like watching a bit of a mystery unfold.  Winning the quilt frame has absolutely decided it.  This will be a king-size quilt.  I was hesitating as the thought of basting it for quilting was rather daunting.  But with the quilt frame meaning no basting, once I finish adding rows and rows of blocks it will be ready to quilt immediately.   It will be solely a matter of getting the batt and a backing ready.

Mr. Q.O. keeps asking me if I’m making drapes with this one.  He’s kidding, of course, but it makes me think of a picture in the book, The Patchworks of Lucy Boston, in which a hexagon patchwork is used as a window treatment.  I’d love to find a fabric that looked something like this that could be used for drapes.

Finding a name for this quilt is already something I’m thinking about.  At the moment, it’s known in this household as “The Thing”.  Not very flattering.  It really does deserve a nice name, I think.

It poured and poured and poured rain some more on Wednesday.  But suddenly, the roof garden is looking greener and greener and the first daffodil has bloomed.  I think we’re to have nothing but rain and perhaps even a thunderstorm or two today.  Hopefully we see the sun again on Friday.

The cats know what to do on a rainy day.  Curl up and snooze.  Smudge, in one of his classic poses that always manage to make us laugh:

And Lester sound asleep.