All things hexy

My latest projects have had a common theme.
that cute little six sided block, called the hexagon.

It started innocently enough...I spied a cute button on Katy's website and had to have it for mine. see that  button over there on the right?  About three buttons down.  I love grabbing people's buttons.  Yes!

I'll quilt-along!  I'll join your club!  I'll read Bronte and --well maybe not the Bronte group.  Sorry.  You gotta start saying no sometimes.

Anyway, Texas Freckles has a great little motivating group to encourage us all to do english paper pieced hexes.  I had started, before the quilt along, my own hex project.  Then I  stopped, then I lost my hex project all together, and even started a half-hex as I thought that would be quicker and easier---but it wasn't.  And that's all I'm going to say about half-hexes.  I bravely posted that quilt on flickr and I'm glad I finished it.  And that's all I'm going to say about that.

So since I was trying all sorts of hexagon piecing, I thought it would be cheeky to try the Amy Butler Sexy Hexy as well.    I read Nichole's blog about a very bad experience with the pattern (free on Amy's website).  And the directions are daunting and entirely off-putting.  So my advice--in my humble, novice opinion, I must add, is this:

Disregard the 11 pages of instructions almost entirely.  

there.  I said it.  I hope I don't get struck down by lightening now.

  But I can't make since of cutting 4 of this and 10 of this and so on if I can't see how it's coming together.  So I took the C band, the D band and the middle hex pattern piece, cut out one block at a time and looked thru the sewing instructions.

You sew C to D then all those pieces together--it should look like a hexagon at this point, and applique the middle hexagon.

I had to cut out one block at a time so I could understand the color ranges within the block and with each other.

I laid it out in a flower shape when I had finished 7 blocks and filled in 4 half hexes at the edges.  I thought I could cut the hexagon pattern in half for this job, but it needs extra for a seam allowance.  So note that.

I think I'm going to leave the zig zag edge on one side.  I like it.

So then I sewed the hexagons together and that was my first experience with Y seams.  See the puckers.

I had to rip it out and I learned that if you sew from the center, after the quarter of an inch seam allowance, it lies flat.  

Now I have to figure out my backing and quilt it and I think I'll have that little block out  of my wheel house for a while.  Except, of course, for the hex charm quilt along.  I want one of those cute progress bars like Texas Freckles has on the margin, too...

And speaking of cute buttons you gotta have on your blog, check out the Fat Quarterly button!

Hmmm, I think I stole that one from Katy, Imagingermonkey as well.  

You know Fat Quarterly is an eZine chock full of quilty goodness and inspiration and it's very first issue is Tuesday!  April 27th!!

I hope there's a question/answer section.  I got a lot of questions for those experts.  I cannot wait.  And maybe, just maybe--I'll listen to their advice.

Feelin' Stitchy

Well I've gone and done it.  Reached for a few new projects with no hope of finishing all the other works in progress anytime this month   this spring....   soon.  How did I manage to get so sidetracked by this little blanket stitch?It started innocently enough.  I could manage that stitch much better than a hidden applique stitch for the center of my giant hexy quilt.   I've done seven centers now (still have whatever half-hexes are left to fill it out), 

then I found a pair of holey  jeans (intentionally fashionable holey, but I decided I'm a little long in the tooth to pull that off), made a patch, decorated my $4.00 target pants all hippy-dippy and I'm making slow and steady progress on a broderie-perse applique throw for my mother.


I picked up the blanket stitch from a great little book, Sublime Stitching, which is not only eye candy, but loaded with great tutorials and patterns.    I look at this book and I think  "I WANT!"

Oh and that nifty tool box with "EMB. thread" scrawled across the side of it, complete with embroidery floss wound around toilet paper holders, circa 1974?  I found that in this old house we bought.  It's such a treasure, I haven't had to buy my own embroidery supplies yet.   That's one of my favorite things about  that old house, come to think of it.

You know, the cutest fabric roll came in the mail today.  They called it a "cupcake" because it was smaller than a jellyroll.  Strips of Freshcut from Heather Bailey.  Think I'm going to abandon this hand sewing thing for a while and maybe start a new quilt top...
or maybe I'll just make cupcakes...that sounds good too.

A little more of Canton....

Waiting room for dollsTreasures in a Ball jarOh boy, we almost brought this guy home..."the Judge" was his nameThese old quilts, embroidery, needle point, tatted lace, old tablecloths were loaded to the brim in these bins.

Hop over to my flickr page to see what I couldn't live without.  Actually, now I'm wishing I'd snagged that log cabin on the wall....

Shopping the Canton Flea Market

Ro has a list for a scavenger hunt: 3 commemorative state plates, a vase made out of an animal, a pop gun....

kept her busy.

Iron beds. They just need a little love...and sanding....
Ms. C tried a fried Snickers bar---I think she regretted it soon afterwards.A collection of microphones


Our Louisiana friends at the traditional Thursday night Mexican Dinner Get Together. There's a bunch of us, huh?
Oh, and I found vintage quilts and linens and embroidered pieces....bins and bins of them!

Some found their way home with me. More on that later.

Quilty Cottage Progress

It's shaping up nicely now, isn't it? An island in the kitchen for baking hundreds and hundreds of sugar cookies shaped like the state of Texas or a wedding cake or a flower or a snowman and chocolate covered pretzels and loaves of banana bread...do you smell cinnamon?---oh forgive me, I was carried away.

You see my friend is a very talented baker and I'm hoping she'll make herself at home over here and keep me company in my little cottage, perhaps save some batter for me. Although it looks like I'm eyeing up all that workspace for myself...

See, this is why I'm quite content with my side of the room. An industrial-sized cutting table!

Seven yards of that Anna Maria Horner Little Folks you say? No problem! How much oilcloth is on the bolt? I'll just roll it out right here. Quilting projects and sewing? Fully loaded with outlets! And ...storage! Okay, now I'm just gloating. I'll stop. I'm done. Enough.

Here's my latest love, no not Boudreaux, he's an old love. It's a half hexagon quilt from magikquilter and aneela's tutorials. It began with a comment to Rosie on the Fabric Shopper Online. I admired the hexi quilt and moaned something about getting enough english paper piecing hexes done to cover a journal after laboring days and weeks and months and seasons. Well, she wasn't used to such pessimism ... must not have known I have the outlook of Eeyore and the attention span of Tigger. But I so want to be Pooh. Anyway, that got me thinking about a half hexagon cheat. More on that as it progresses...I'm finding that I can't get away from my slack ways with meticulous cutting and seam allowances, cheat or no.

And lastly, I'm planning on going to the First Monday Trade Days at Canton, TX this weekend.

I know my way around the place pretty well, but if anybody has some great vintage fabric sellers they'd like to point me to, I'm listening!

Whadja get? Whadja get?

Last week seemed a bit like a bust--all the anticipation and then a lack luster launch at Target for the Liberty line. I found a bit of stationery, some candles and a piggy bank. But that was about it. No clothing, no rain hat or boots or gloves. No housewares, no teapot (!).

After trawling thru the net, I found similar stories. Some folks saw the early birds overloading their carts with all those little casters could bear, surely ebay $$ gleaming in their eyes. And yes, over to the auction site, there was the cushion marked up to three times the Target price. The online store was sold out of about half the inventory as of the following Monday.

So I ordered a bit of the picked over stuff online, and tried to console myself with my stationery.

But I got a little text from my sis in Louisiana yesterday chirping about the Liberty Loot she was finding at her local Target. Seems the folks have just been a little relaxed about putting it all out. Launch - schmaunch, they said to themselves.

On my second trip to scout out the Liberty booty, I scored! I could choose between the Sixty print or the Dunclare. Got some ties, some prep bowls and cereal bowls and a swimsuit, a scarf, a maxidress...forgot the gardening gloves entirely! But maybe since it's snowing here (again) on the first day of spring, those will not have been picked over...forgot entirely, oh my.

So, whadja get?

The British are Coming!

Is that a wolf whistle I hear?

Why the photo of a sassy little nightie?

What kind of a blog is this, anyhow?

Well, since I got your attention, I'll tell you why I'm posting my intimates these days...

it's a bit of the Liberty of London by Target line!

Yes, I went wandering 'round the local Target, wondering if they were slowly filling up the shelves with the lovely florals, or if they were truly going to make us wait til the launch date (march14!).

And I scored! This little nightie, some matching intimates, also in pink, and some swimsuits.

That's all so far as I could tell. I passed on the swimsuits...because that's just my policy. I have one from 1998 that works very well, thanks so much, and I'm not going back into that dressing room for another couple of decades. Maybe when I need that ensemble with the skirt attached, I'll consider it.

But, just a quickie to let you know! Better get there before I do if you want some of those gardening gloves!