August Binding Challenge

My quilt for August was finished well before the month ended and here it is.

 "Dilly Flowers"

A few close-ups of a few flowers, the quilting design and the applique border.

Quilt Details:

Source:  Designer Elise Baek from English Paper Piecing Society on Facebook.  The applique section was found on Shutterstock and adapted to suit my look.

Started:  February 2022

Top Finished:  March 2023

Quilt Finished:  August 2023

Quilt Size:  59-1/2" x 74-1/2" (top size before quilting, washing and drying:  61-3/4" x 78")

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20 cotton poly batting

Machine quilted by:  Kathy Wareham using "Lucky" quilting design by Christy Dillon from My Creative Stitches.

Now, you are probably wondering what my friend no-blog Mary has been up besides vacationing .... well she made a dress for herself!  She had 3 men's shirts and decided to do something with them.  Mary is so good at thinking outside the box and I absolutely love her new dress!

For September, my pick for binding will be this quilt.  I would like to have it on my bed come this fall.  Speaking of fall ..... leaves have been changing already.  Daytime temps are normal but morning temps are a little bit on the cool side.

Lately, while helping to babysit a couple of grand nieces, the 7 yr. old asked me "why did you dye your hair white!"  Hummmmm .... can you imagine how that question cracked me up!!!  LOL

My red/white hexie top is finished and photos will be following on that one soon as well as what my next UFO will be to come off the shelf. 

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Sooooo close!

I'm so, so close to getting this UFO into a flimsy.

This is where it is at now ..... just the remaining left border to do!

These two sections have been sewn together and just need to be attached to the center on the left hand side.

Finally .... just two more sections to sew together!  So, so close!

Lots of things have been happening here and will continue for a while longer.  Between appointments for hubby and myself and babysitting and cottage ...... whew, I need to come up for a breather!  Right now, blogging is taking a back seat and I will be back at beginning of September for update on my binding challenge.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Just Hexing along ....

Can you see me rubbing my hands with glee?  Much, much progress has been made on this UFO!  Part of the red hexie border has been sewn together and attached to the center.

  

Three small sections are now ready to be attached to the center and to the border.  One section at a time and this top keeps moving along.

This photo below gives you a good idea of what remains of the red border to do.

Labels have been pinned to the left side border and photos taken.  Soon, all these hexies will get pinned onto my working boards so that they can be taken anywhere I go to work on them.

I'm still aiming to have this UFO as a flimsy by the end of August ...... and one small section at a time will see this done.

All of my UFO's are now being reviewed.  Which one will be worked on next?  There are still so many ....

Oh, and there just might be a squirrel showing up!  LOL

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

July Binding Challenge

Well, well ..... I got my quilt done and in plenty of time!

This quilt came with me to a couple of babysitting adventures.  I prefer to bring projects with me that don't have pins that could get dropped onto a rug for a couple of Irish twins to find.  This quilt also came out to the cottage.  It has been well travelled.

Done and washed and dried.  Nice and soft and crinkly.

The rain shower has finally passed on and out of our area .... but I had to wait for things to dry up a bit before trying to take photos.

How about this one showing the backing fabric?

A close-up of the fabrics used and the quilting design.

Look how lovely my hydrangea is!  It is now starting to turn pink.

Quilt Details:

Pattern Source:  "Fragments of Cloth".   It is a pattern from Timeless Traditions and designed by Norma Whaley, but Sentimental Stitches sells them.  If you have the pattern, my quilt was changed up a bit to suit my tastes.

Started:  November 2022

Top Finished:  December 2022

Quilt Finished:  July 2023

Quilt Size:  68" x 85-3/4" (top size before quilting, washing and drying:  69-1/2" x 88")

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20 cotton polyester

Quilted by:  Kathy Wareham using Golden Threads #GTEE0410 pattern

This is my 200th quilt!  Amazing, eh!

My sister has been watching me work on this quilt and she really loves the pattern and colours.  Can I make her one for her queen size bed?  No problem .... I think I can find some fabrics!!!!!  LOL   She wants a warmer quilt that breathes and we decided that her quilt will have a wool batting.

Now .... you are probably wondering what no-blog Mary has been up to?  Not much for July .... except she spent time with her Mother and sister on P.E.I.  Precious moments, indeed!

For August, this is my binding challenge.  My sister and I will be babysitting the Irish twins again starting this afternoon and this will be perfect for working on at their home.  No pins to lose in the carpet.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Hexie coming along!

Much, much progress is getting done on this old UFO!  So, so happy to see this happening.

All the red hexies have now been prepped.  Sewing of them will happen along with the remainder of the white hexies.  Got to switch from white to red occasionally to keep boredom from coming and stalling this project. Still, isn't that red hexie border going to be gorgeous!  It will give the project that zing that I hadn't initially thought about.  My dear hubby suggested it to me and he was so right!

For the last section, all the white hexies have now been removed off the design wall.  They were carefully labelled and photos taken so that I will know where they are to be sewn onto the last section.

Here is where they all went.  Pinned onto these quilted squares.  Recently, when cleaning out a cupboard, they nearly got tossed, but the light bulb clicked on and they are perfect for this project.  They are easy to take along to the cottage for those lazy days of sewing on the porch.

One square of pinned white hexies have been sewn together and attached to the last section (bottom right).  Oh yes, lots and lots of progress happening.  My goal is to have this as a finished top by the end of August.  

Since taking the last photo, a section of the red hexies were removed and pinned onto a styrofoam board and ready anytime I feel like sewing on them.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering ..... that pile of red scraps didn't make a dent at all.  I'm still left with a good pile.  Hummmmmm ..... perhaps another red quilt will need to be made?

My July binding challenge is done and photos of the quilt will be coming soon.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Couldn't help myself!

As my red/white hexi top is being sewn together, I just had to start playing around with the red hexies in the borders.   This is just a start .... many more red hexies to be made.

The panels on the left have all been sewn together so that I can get a head start on placing my red hexies.

Here is a close-up of the hexies that have been joined together so far.

All my red scraps were pulled, ironed and ready to be used.  Can my borders be made entirely out of this pile?  Only time will tell but there is such a nice selection of reds in that pile.

For my July binding challenge, there are just 1-1/2 sides to do and this quilt will be finished.  I've been taking this with me for babysitting and work on it when kiddies are down for nap time.

Major cleaning has been happening lately in my studio and in the bedroom adjacent to my studio.  Hubby needs a bed that has a mattress and box spring so that a bed rail can be installed.  With his Parkinson's, he is starting to have an issue getting out of bed and needs a rail to help him.  The studio bed fits the bill and that will be moved upstairs for him and his platform bed will be gifted to a niece.  So there will a flurry of moving furniture around in the next week or so.

Another thing that I arranged for him was to get all his medication into a weekly blister pack.  Now, I can check at a glance to see that he is taking his meds at the right time each day.  He was getting a bit confused about his meds and I jumped on that solution quickly.

Home Care did come in to do a home inspection to ensure our home was safe for him and me.  There were a few things that had to be corrected and now our home is safe .... for now.  As his Parkinson's progresses, we may to have a few more things installed to enable hubby to get around and that will be dealt with at the time.  Most likely he will need a chair lift on the stairs and a person will be coming to give us a quote and determine what is best for him.

As you can imagine, our lives are ever changing.  At some point, we will have to discuss moving out of our current home and into a senior complex ..... but just not yet ..... but that day is coming.

So ..... cherish your day, cherish your life!

Hexie a go-go

So, so happy to have this finished and not have anything else left to do on it.  From start to finish, it took me about two and a half months.  Used up charms and lots of scrap batting.  Did I mention that I'm so, so happy?  LOL

The fact that the back looks just as good as the front ..... two for one!  Bonus!

Now, for some random outdoor photos.

Quilt Details:

Started:  April 7, 2023

Finished:  June 27, 2023

Hexie edge size:  2-1/2"

Quilt size:  56" x 78"

Batting:  poly scraps

Hand pieced and hand quilted!

Now, for my next quilt-as-you-go project .... this will be it.  This won't be started for a while as there are a few UFO's that I would like to move along, or hopefully finish to a flimsy.  Once started, this will consume all my time until it is done.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!