A Little of This and A Little of That

Since finishing my swap blocks, I've been doing a bit of this and that

and not really much of anything! :-)

I did get my August BOM block done for the HGTV message board sew along~

 

 

This year I am doing my blocks in B&W, with grey and red. 

This block was called Ruins of Jericho, but when I spied

that 6 inch center, I just had to add a star. :-) LOL

 

I also caught hexie fever! :-o

But this time I am making bigger hex's. Instead of cutting around each one, I made my templates with a double layer of freezer paper. They press nicely to the fabric, and are firm enough to hold on to. 

When I'm ready to stitch the seam allowances down, it is just a quick snip of the 4 corners and my 

hex is ready. Little waste, and not trying to rotary cut and create big waste. ;-)

 

 

I think I like the larger size! ;-)

What are you working on?

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

Zippity Do Da!

Ok, so I couldn't think of a title for this post. :-) LOL

I have no idea how it can be the end of July already!

Life has been busy! We took full advantage of raspberry season, and I made jam,

froze some for smoothies, had them over ice cream~ yum!

And just kept myself busy in the kitchen!  :-)

I did manage to get behind my sewing machine a bit too.  I an in beaquilter's

Swoon block swap and got my first block made!

This participant requested Halloween~

We are making 2 blocks for each swapper since we have a small group.  I requested red with cheery colors and a low volume background~ I can't wait to see what my blocks will be like!! :-)

Wait! There's more.....

Odds 'n Ends

Just a little catch up post today. :-)

I have been sewing and will soon have more to show.  ;-)

I made another bird seed bag~ this one for a friend. I love these

bags! They are great for toting things to the PO, the car, etc.

Sturdy and fun. :-)

Love the cardinal! :-)

Little Things

I've been working on lots of little things lately, so let's get caught up~

First up is the new HGTV BOM. I'm not hosting it this year, just playing along. :-)

The first block the new hostesses chose was 

'The House that Jack Built' from Quilter'sCache.

I decided to make my blocks in black, white, & grey with a touch of a solid red.

I don't think I have ever used a solid in a quilt before~ I like the texture that tone on tones give quilts; but I needed to stretch~ so we will see how the year goes. ;-)

Next up is the second installment for the 'I Believe in Snowmen' quilt along.

The pattern is from Bunny Hill.

I have a friend who traces all of her patterns using Crayola Washable markers. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the marker washing out, so when she sent me some of her blocks, I tried one. I purposely didn't use red thread, so I could really see how the marker worked. ;-) 

And guess what?!!

It worked great!! :-)

I had to rinse the block quite a bit, but every last trace of the red came out.

I love it!

Here is my bluework block next to another traced block~

Pretty amazing, right?

I think you can click the photo for a larger view.

I am also doing a 'Mystery Sister' block exchange this year. I send a block once a month to my Mystery Sister, and someone in the group sends me a block. We did get a little say in color preferences. I chose  Autumn-type fabrics/colors.  In December, we picked the fabrics for our 'Mystery Sister' and all the block need to be made from the 5 fabrics we chose; but not all 5 fabrics need to be used in every block.  Of course, I can't show you the blocks I am sending~ my 'Mystery Sister' may be lurking. :-)

But I can show you the first block I received. Whoever my 'Mystery Sister' is~ she obviously has been checking up on me because she chose a star block~ and I love stars!!  I also love the colors

she chose. This is going to be a fun year! :-)

Here is my first block~

She had to remove one of the fabrics because she had 6 on her sample card~ I wouldn't have 

minded at all; but someone noticed and pointed it out. :-/

I guess that's all the news from here~

I need to go dust off my sewing machine and get it humming! :-o

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!