The blob

It's hard to believe this 16" square has consumed most of the last year of my life:-) I guess that's the difference doing things entirely by hand.

 I started working on these last August with the fabrics I used for the BMQG/Quiltcon challenge, That's So Random.  There are tons of great tutorials on how to make hexies but I make mine the way the awesome Jaybird Quilts does it... all 110 of them.

The one tip I will share is to use YLI silk thread when you stitch your hexagons together.  It's a pain in the a** to work with but your stitches will be invisible!  This shot gives you a great sense of the scale.  These are all 1" hexagons.

For the quilting I started with an offset hexagon around one of the hexagons and then just echoed that shape out to the edges.  For the smaller hexagons I just eyeballed it but as I moved out I got pickier and used masking tape as a guide.  I loved working with this orange pearl cotton!

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 16" x 16"

Fabrics:  Kona Cotton Cyan, Azure, Candy Green, Lime, Chartreuse, Buttercup, School Bus, Tangerine, Medium Gray, Coal, White.
Batting:  Quilter's Dream Orient
Thread:  YLI Silk 224, Valdani Pearl Cotton(12) - 204

Sharing this at Amy's awesome Blogger's Quilt Festival in the hand quilted category.  Be sure to visit all the fabulous quilts over there and don't forget to vote for your favorite;-)

Sending All My Love to Boston

I'm pretty sure I don't really need to explain where these are headed...  how cool is it that I can say (along with a zillion other fabulous quilters) that my art is hanging at the MFA;-)   The quilting community is absolutely amazing when they come together.  These flags have been flying in literally from around the world.

For these two I used a reverse applique technique.  I made my flag from two pieces of fabric according to the tutorial.  Then I stitched around a freezer paper heart and very carefully cut out the top layer of fabric inside my stitching line.  Obviously your background fabric needs to be double sided.  The result is lightweight enough to blow in the breeze:-)

For this one I dug in to my carefully hoarded stack of Out to Sea from the adorable Sarah Jane to make a nautical flag.  In case you're not up on your yachting lore, this is inspired by the maritime signal flag for the letter B.

This one if my favorite!  A love letter sending all my love to Boston:-)

A huge thank you to Berene Campbell and the rest of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild and my fabulous friend, Amy Friend, for making this happen!!!  There's still time to participate... you can bring yours to the May BMQG meeting this Saturday the 18th or mail them directly to Amy by May 21st.

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Mother's Day Me Time

I was so lucky to carve out a little "me" time this Mother's Day and piece together this top for quilts for Boston.

 The incredibly fabulous gang at gather here invited the BMQG to use their awesome annex to start assembling our quilts for Boston blocks this weekend.  They even saved this machine just for me;-)  Thanks, Virginia!!!

It was a wonderful afternoon of sewing with friends.  It's so unlike me to stop socializing long enough to get something done but we were on a mission;-)  There's still time to participate in this amazing project so share some love and make a block.

Washi Dress

There's a rumor that Lilly Pulitzer never wore anything under her shifts... this dress feels so good I'm tempted to do the same;-)

In case you didn't recognize it, this is the fabulous Washi Dress by Made by Rae.  I picked up the printed version of the pattern at Quilter's Way and used this awesome Denim yarn dyed Essex linen. This pattern is extremely easy and goes together quickly.  That said, I totally did it wrong but somehow still managed to pull it off :-)

For the sleeveless version there should only be three pieces.  I missed the instruction to tape the back pattern pieces together and did it in four but must have at least understood the intention and added seam allowance because it still matched up.  It's a little bunchy in the back but I think if I had done it correctly or added another row of shirring it would have been perfect.

One of the best things about this pattern is that Rae provides tons of extra tutorials on her blog for customizing the fit and making variations.  I wanted to do a full lining with this adorable Little Folks voile by Anna Maria Horner.  It was a piece of cake after I watched her videos.

I made a size large and there's just a bit of gaping at the neckline.  Possibly sloppy cutting on my part but next time I'll cut the neckline and armholes for a size medium.  I also had to shorten it by about 3" but at 5' 2" that's pretty standard.  My most favorite thing, the pockets!!!  I've already bought fabric to make another one and will definitely be making the maxi version.  Be warned, I am going to be living in these dresses this summer!

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

W.i.P Wednesday: April Showers Bring May Flowers

It makes me so happy that spring is finally here but it also means we're busier than ever.  With the end of the school year rapidly approaching I'm thinking about those handmade teacher gifts:-)  Audrey is finishing up 6th grade and last fall I had the brilliant idea that her class should make their teacher a Hexy MF quilt as a graduation gift... you know, because hexies have 6 sides:-)

I'm not feeling quite so brilliant anymore;-)

The kids really did a fabulous job!  We had two sessions where the came to make their flower.  All 26 kids had to make at least 2 hexagons, one in their chosen print and the other in yellow which they then signed.

A few over-achievers made all their hexies and sewed them together.  Some of the other class Moms are helping me finish the flowers and assemble the top but I've still got to get it quilted and bound before graduation...  I see a movie marathon in my future!

Check out what everyone else is up to at this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)

W.i.P. Wednesday: Diving In

I can now add quilt teacher to my resume.  Last night I taught my first class at Quilter's Way though "taught" seems like a bit of an exaggeration.  Jaybird Quilt's instructions for Toes in the Sand are so clear I really didn't need to add much but it's always more fun to sew with a group.

Block 1 whips up so easily with the help of the Hex N More ruler.  Everybody was able to make both their blocks while we were there.  I loved seeing everybody's blocks go together just a bit differently.  Fabric placement makes such a huge difference in the final effect.

We're off to a great start.  One month down, eleven left to go:-)

Check out what everyone else is up to at this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)

quilts for Boston

It's hard to believe it was just one week ago when life in and around Boston completely stopped as we watched a massive manhunt for an armed terrorist take place in our community.  Thankfully the situation was resolved.  On Saturday life went back to a new normal and we were able to hold our monthly BMQG meeting.  As we shared our experiences everyone kept saying the same thing: that we wanted to do something to help those affected... and being quilters, what wanted do to help is make quilts.  From that, the idea for quilts for Boston was born.

The response has been unbelievable!!!  It turns out everyone wants to help:-)  I shared what we were doing with the fabulous gang at Quilter's Way and they pulled together these adorable pre-cut fabric bundles in our blue, yellow, grey color scheme.  Because they're so awesome the even let me build my own, Boston Strong 6:-)  These are available online and in the store.  If that wasn't cool enough, they are giving 10% or the proceeds to The One Fund - Boston.

With my beautiful new bundle I couldn't wait to make my block!  I'm still in love with I'm a Ginger Monkey's Aurifil Block of the Month, Heart and Soul, so I made another of those.  I know I'll be making more blocks for this amazing cause but this is is a great start.  Check out all the gorgeous blocks that have been made in the quilts for Boston flickr group.

The deadline to send blocks to the BMQG is May 24th.  Grab the button and help spread the word!

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Sharing our strength at the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.