Finishing up

I got my Bernina back from being serviced. Nice and smooth and quiet. I was able to quilt the last two octagons on this quilt. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the outside border area. I don't want to make it too fancy but it also needs to match the density in the interior of the quilt.

I also want to work on the hexagon maze. I only have these two blocks done, but this is going to be one of those quilts that will be done all at once because of the nature of the pattern. Each hexagon needs rounds of fabric, then they can be sewed together....lots of rounds of fabric. I have the grey done on all 25 except for one piece on each. I got sidetracked yesterday because the Bernina came back and I needed to finish the quilting that got interrupted.

I'm supposed to get my new quilting machine today. Here is a picture from the shop. It is from Bailey's Sewing in New York state and will certainly be easier to use with the large harp space. I'm pretty excited to see how it will work for me.

The finished quilt will be about 70 x 100, so will work for the guest room (I think). I just design and make them I don't plan them :-).

So much going on, but I'm having fun.

I'm linking to Lee at Freshly Pieced Modern today. Check out what others have in progress there.

New--Hexagon Maze

 here are two of the blocks for the new quilt. The pattern is the one shown below. I'm making it up as I go along, which means sometimes I cut pieces that don't fit because I don't measure well...oh well.

I like the pattern. It is going to be a bit complex to piece, but I don't seem to be able to design easy patterns. It took me a bit to figure out how to add that little vertical bit of fabric at the bottom of the block. I decided the easiest way was to top stitch down the sides. I unpicked a bit of the sewing between the grey and blue borders, stuck the bit of blue in and top-stitched. I like it.

The process is slow. I have 25 hexagons and each one has to have at least two rounds of fabric sewed on. I only have These two completed. The other 23 have just 6 of the 6 pieces needed for the first "round" of grey.

I am currently using my Featherweight because my Bernina was making horrible screeching noises. I guess after more than 25 years it needed professional care. I took it in to be tuned up last Tuesday so I should have it back soon.

The Featherweight is doing a great job (after I figured out how to put the bobbin in correctly) but it is a bit slow. It also seems I have to replace the bobbin a lot!

I'm linking up to Judy at Patchwork Times.

New Hexagon Quilt

Since I can't finish up quilting on my lily pad quilt I decided to work on something new. I was looking through my fabric and came across cut sets for these blocks. I have enough fabric to make maybe 10-20 more. They are only 8" across, so won't make a very big quilt.

I bought a light pearl gray and deep blue to go with them.

Using those fabrics and this layout I think I have another one I'll like. Because I don't have enough fabric for the kaleidoscope blocks I think I am going to make some of them from the blue. So I will have a mixture of the kaleidoscope blocks and solid blue blocks.

I'm linking to Esther's blog  and Freshly Pieced to share my WIP today.

...and the Top is Done

I like the way this one looks. I have no idea how I'm going to quilt it, but I really like the way it finally turned out. I didn't want black for the border. I was going to use a light blue around the gray, but I think it's done.

I like the secondary pattern of the stars. It was fun figuring out how to make the borders fit around the hexagons. It's about 67 x 84. It will be big enough for the top of the queen bed in the guest room, but not a whole lot bigger than that.

I just found "Let's Bee Social" on Sew Fresh Quilts and love the blog. She also has a link party, so I've decided to join. If you want to see some more quilts, check here.

I also decided to share on WIP Wednesday on  Freshly Pieced and you can see more quilts here.

Progress

It doesn't look significantly different, but the four columns on the left are now sewn together. I found a tutorial online that reminded me the easy way to sew hexagons together like this. You sew opposing triangles onto the hexagon to make a diamond, then sew the diamonds together on the diagonal. It actually goes together pretty quickly. I don't know what I am going to do about the border on the top and bottom yet, or what color I'm going to use there.

I'm having fun now that I finally figured out how to put it together so I like it.

No Really, This IS the Final Design (I think)

 I was mistaken, that previous post was not the final design. I think I like this one better. I finally realized today why it's called a design wall. Ha!

These are the same colored triangles as before, but with the black I think it makes a calmer design, and with the colors, more interesting. I'll have to recut the triangles, they're not big enough now with the black borders on all the hexagons, but I do like this one a lot, and as a bonus, I get more quilt from the same number of hexagons because they are now larger.

Decided on the Final Design

I decided that the color I wanted to use black for the sashing. I really like the way it makes the blocks look much less busy, and then it really makes the colors pop.

This is going to take me a while. Each block takes about five minutes per block, but I really do like it.

One or Two?

 Left or right? One or two?

Looking at the layout for a while I knew it was just TOO much.

So I removed the stars and I like it better already. Still very busy however.

Move the hexagons apart. I think I like that better still. I don't know if I want white between or not,but I definitely think it's better with more space between the hexagons.

Too Much?

Well, here is what I am working on now. I liked the diagram, but with the actual blocks, it may be too busy. I'm going to have to live with it for a bit before I decide if I am going to put it together or not.

I can't decide right now if it just too much. The colors certainly are bright though. Maybe if I use more pastel colors for the interspersed triangles like the pink and lavender on the left side.

Stack n Whack parts

Here is the fabric I am using for the stack n whack blocks. I saw it a couple of years ago and had to have it. I thought it would make great blocks and it does.  It is a Laurel Burch fabric. If you look you'll see there really isn't a lot of variety in the fabric, but I think it will work out anyway.

The fabrics for the stars that surround the blocks was going to be purchased, but then I was looking for something else in the storage under my cutting table and saw the box of Kona fat quarters I got when I participated in a swap a while ago. Good thing I lost something. These are the colors I chose. I'm happy that I haven't purchased anything yet, all of this was from my stash...so far. I may need to buy fabric for the borders.

And here are the blocks I've made so far. I think they are fabulous. I love the variety, the bright colors, the swirling shapes. I just love stack n whack, what can I say. I'm a simple person.

Up Next-Stack n Whack

 So this is the design (sort of) for the next quilt. The hexagons are the kaleidoscope blocks below, and the colors will be taken from the fabric so they are harmonious. The stack n whack blocks are about 6.5 inches finished so the quilt will be about 67 x 52 (at the moment).

I love making these blocks, they are easy, and the blocks are each a surprise.

Another UFO

 I am trying to get some quilts done. I just added the side border to this one. Now I need to decide how I'm going to quilt it. I don't know if I just want to use fleece for the batting/backing, or actually put together a quilt sandwich. It's so much cozier when it's fleece, but more durable if it has a "real" quilt sandwich. I'm going to let it percolate for a while and try to finish something else while I wait for inspiration.

Teaching a Class

Back in 2010 (June) I did a 15 minute presentation about making Kaleidoscope blocks. A number of guild members said they would like to take a class, and I was willing and it's happening this Saturday. I (with my fellow teacher Jeanie) did a presentation tonight as a kind of introduction. I shared lots of fabric ( I have a ton) and talked about what kind of fabric would work well, and what wouldn't.

Today, I worked with Jeanie and we taught the class. We had 12 students and it was so fun to see and hear their excitement about the wonderfulness of stacking then cutting fabric and the magic that happens.We taught 3 different patterns, isn't that fun. I forgot to get pictures of the original fabrics but you can see how pretty these came out.

A Quick Top...and a Request...and Design Wall Monday

This is a quick top I made today. I'm not loving the fabric I chose (I used some background that I bought quite a while ago that isn't very exciting) and bits of yellow and green I had. The pattern is easy and available for free from Crazy Mom Quilts. She has made a number of them, and I like her color choices much better than this, but it will do. I'm going to use this for a charity quilt donation and plan to make a few more at least. I may piece some of the squares instead of having them all solid colors.

The other quilt is one I'm trying to make a decision about. If you check out this post you'll see that I'm thinking of adding a simple border. Either just the blue I used for the background or one with a narrow strip of peach. Looking at the picture of the quilt here I'm thinking I may just add a 2 inch border (as I did on the top and bottom) to finish it off.

What do you think?

Which Border?

I don't know if I like the orangey bit on the left. Is it a distraction or does it add something. I was going to finish this top today, but looks like I won't get it done now. I need to wait for opinions!

Here is the other top I finished. I now have to figure out how to quilt it.

New Background and the main Fabric

I ended up with a different background fabric. I like this one too. I really like the fact that they ended up being different sizes. My sister asked that I post a picture of the fabric these all came from...so there it is. I bought this a looooooong time ago. I finally pulled it out. I love the colors, and I like the way the blocks are coming together. It is going to be an interesting quilt when it is done. I think I know who it's for, but I'm not sure yet.

Another Stack N Whack

I made a mistake when I cut the second stack, but that just means it will be a different sort of quilt. I think I may just add a border around each smaller block. These are just sitting on the design wall with a possible color for the background. I have enough to make quite a large top. I have 21 of the larger kaleidoscopes, and about 28 of the smaller. I like it already.

I'm liking it

I decided to go with my original plan...and I like it! I have  one more strip of kaleidoscope blocks and then two partial strips of the green and I'm done with the top. I have no idea how I'll quilt it. Hmmm.

I'm Stuck

I don't know which to use for the sashing. I don't like the lavender, so that's one down. I really like the purple, but I don't know if it's TOO purple. The green is sort of blah. So, I need to wait a bit and see what speaks to me in a while.

More Choices

I didn't find a light green that would work, but I found a lavender.I think I'm going to use the green for the smaller border with the lavender in the center. I like it better (I think) than the darker purple.

I've been very distracted studying German...trying to keep the mind active...so haven't been doing much quilting. If I could find a good audio only way to learn, I might be willing to quilt while I listen. I have some that I've found online, but they are BORING.