Working on Something for Summer and a Tip....

I'm pretty much a beginner quilter but that hasn't stopped me from trying to design a wall hanging.  

It all started with this pattern from Buggy Barn.

I just loved the center flower basket.... perfect for wool appliqué.

 I wanted to make something more scrappy for summer in red, white and blue. 

I found some French General fabrics in the colors I wanted. 

I made the center wool appliqué and did the quilt squares. 

One problem..,

I think these squares are too scrappy.  

I love the fabrics.  

I just think I need more solids or smaller prints to make this block work. 

 I just don't like them for this project.  

So with the left over fabric and buying a neutral fabric I made these blocks.

Now these pinwheel blocks look so much better to me. 

I had the piano key stripes cut so I added them to make the wall hanging larger. 

Used the left over red for a border. 

 I like how it all came together.

I have it all pinned and ready for quilting.

 For quilting I want to outline the wool appliqué and stipple the background on the block. 

I'm not sure how I going to quilt the rest.

Now here's my tip....

I take a picture of my quilt to see how the blocks and fabrics are working together. 

I will do this to audition fabrics for my borders too.  

I don't have a design wall and taking pictures works just as well.

Happy sewing,

Leanne

Quilt Show and Hexie Love...

I went to the Quilt Show in Chicago!  

I'll share a few pictures.

I love Red and White quilts and the Quilt Show had an amazing display of them.

Don't you just love these positive and negative houses?

The Log Cabin was the first quilt I made and it remains my favorite block. 

More houses...this treasure is a mini quilt.

The quilting is just amazing.  It's so beautiful.

I did my part in keeping the quilting economy going. :-)

I bought some wool and wool projects.

Love Primitive Gatherings!

I have been wanting to do this quilt for a long time so I bought the kit. 

The vines around the quilt is done in wool applique.

I had to get something Red and White.  I can't wait to do this mini. It has tiny red flower shaped buttons to go on the embroidered stems and leaved.  Once I get a triangle square up ruler I'm going to start this project.

My friend Anne told me about the hexies she was making and how fun they were...making hexagons using the English Paper Piecing method.  

She said I know you will like it.

While at the Quilt Show we saw a booth where a woman was working on a piece using hexies.  She showed me how to do it and of course I had to buy the paper for 1/2 hexies. 

The above picture is my first Hexie.

Thank you Anne for introducing me to hexies... I'm hooked! I got Anne hooked on wool appliqué;-).  

Here's my first star.  I did buy some little fabric bundles and added some fabric that I had because I didn't want it scrappy. I do have to tell you this is not a fast process. It's just something fun to do while watching tv.

I happen to have this tackle box which is the perfect place for all my Hexie work. Please note this box was never used for fishing bait. 

I wonder how many 1/2 inch hexies you need to make a king sized quilt? Way too many to count....lol.

Enjoy your day,

Leanne

Prep, Stitch, Prep, Stitch

I'm back to hand stitching some wool pieces.  I thought I better get back to getting ready for my craft fairs which are happening in the fall.  I like to cut out a bunch of backgrounds at one time, finish them off and start all over again.  

I know I told you these pieces were for my craft fairs but I just might have to keep this one.  It looks so springy looking and I have the perfect spot for it. 

I'm not finished yet it still needs the backing.

It's hard to tell but this piece is a wine color.  

I just love the color.  I wish I had more of this wool.

I always like having hand stitching projects around. 

I usually do a little stitching every night.  

It's so calming and the perfect thing to do while watching tv.

I think I'm stitching this mat in black. I love scrappy....penny rugs and quilts. 

 If you knew me you would be laughing because I am such a matchy matchy person but I just love scrappy.  It's the perfect way to use up the small pieces of wool. I am so frugal with hand dyed wool. If a piece of wool is 1 inch by 1 inch I save it.  I even save pieces smaller than that for stuffing certain pieces. I hate to see any of the wool go to waste.

I just love the flowers on this runner and the lace edging is the perfect way to finish it off.

I have this runner on Ebay right now.  Click here to see more pictures and more offerings.

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful sunny day.

Happy stitching,

Leanne