Candy anyone???

Today I received a reminder from a reader that I haven't posted any more of my Candied Hexagons.  She emailed me with some questions on the templates used to make these tasty morsels.  In the recent hot days we had here in Victoria I cut out a box full of shapes and templates - it was too hot for actual sewing - my hands were very hot and sticky.

Anyway, what you see here are some that I have been sewing while at my local quilting group.  Hope to get some more done this weekend and over the following week.

For lovers of all things vintage.

For readers who love all things vintage - I have just discovered this great site and blog.  The site is called 'The Vintage Workshop' and the owner Amy Barickman has a plethora of stuff including vintage images that you can downbload (for a small fee).  If you have a few minutes to spare go on over and a look around.  I'm sure you'll love what you see.  I do.

I'm soooooo excited - I've won a give-away

over on Linda Stoke's blog.  If you go here you will see the piece of fabulous material she is giving away among other goodies including a small Thermofax screen.  How good is this????  And while you're there have a look around her blog, it's full of inspirational stuff. 

Can't wait for it all to arrive.  Will post a pic when it does.  Love, just love giveaways....... as I have been lucky to win a couple might have to have one myself - need to think of a special occasion or event to celebrate.  Will put my thinking cap on - so stay tuned.

Have a great week all,
Take care,
Joy V

I can now show you Travis' quilt

As you can see Travis is a Bombers fan.  It is a wall hanging made with a variety of reds/red & black 9" squares.  There are a couple of 9 patch squares in there to add a bit of interest to a rather bland design.  The 'bomber' emblem I appliqued onto a piece of plain black fabric and did a close satin stitch around each element.  He loves it.

What to do next???

The most thought about question for crafters and artists.  Everyone has a different way of answering it.  Some just dig in and make a quick selection, or know exactly what they intend to work on; others (myself included) often procrastinate - will I have a play?  Will I finish a UFO?  What if I did this? Some of you even work off a list.  What do you do?

After all the work involved in making the Orca Bay mystery quilt, I felt the need to have a breather. Relax and re-focus. 

Relax - did I - well a little!!  My sewing area was quite a mess with bits of red, black and neutral fabrics that  it was time for a clean up.  As I was working I started to think about my next project I suddenly remembered the quilt I had started making for my DS2 Travis.  It uses mainly reds and some blacks - the colours of his favourite football team - Essendon, known as the Bombers.  This has to be finished by 20th of this month.

Decision has been made.  Sorry but can't put up any photos until he has received it.  After 20th I will be able to.

That solved the immediate problem of working on my UFO's. But what about some hand sewing to take along to Guild and other meetings of like minds. I need a hand sewing project. Hmm. Thinking cap on.

I spied a bundle of brights that I had been keeping for a project called Candied Hexagons (the original was published in 2009 in the Australian Mag - Quilters Companion).  Unfortunately this edition has been out of print for some time, but you can access the templates and see the original in the link above or here. As the hexagons measure 2" on the side, it makes it the ideal project for a take-along - easy to do, but no teeny-tinie little bits that can get lost.  The idea of calling it a Candied Hexagon comes from slicing a boiled candy across the middle and seeing the beautiful patterns inside.

This is a start on cutting some of the hexagons.  I will try and post regularly as I sew them.

Take Care,
Joy V

What if???.....A little experiment.

Not long ago I was wrapping a present with bright pink tissue paper and it was hot and my hands were a little damp - some of the dye from the tissue paper stained my fingers and a light bulb went off in my mind......What if......

I took out a small bundle of natural silk tops (undyed), put some water (only half cup) in a container and placed the threads in the water then put in a piece of the tissue paper (about a quarter of a sheet) - and voila - this is what happened within seconds.........beautiful pink silk threads.  My only wish is I had some more papers.  Will leave these for a few days and see if by ironing them with some Misty Fuse onto a backing they keep their colour.  I will let you know the result.

Don't you love the colour - you can see a small piece of the original tissue on the left and the threads next to it.  Think a trip to the $2 shops and see if I can pick up some more papers is on the cards to do.  Such quick and cheap way of dying.   No need to go down the mixing/stirring/measuring/wearing a mask way of dying little bits of stuff.  I will have to try it on some fabric next and after heat setting will see if the colour stays or runs.

Finished! Orca Bay all sewn up.

Here it is - Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay mystery quilt all finished.  Not sure if I will stay with the name, but will give it some serious thought. 

Just the top done at this stage - I need to get some backing and batting and will be taking it to a quilter from my Monday night group - Regent St Stitchers - to get it quilted.  At our Christmas meeting I won a voucher for machine quilting from one of the girls that belong to our group.

My DS3 (Warwick who is 6.3") is holding it up for me, and as you can see (or not see his feet/hands!) it is quite large, although not as big as Bonnie made it.  I left off two rows on the side and two from along the bottom.  Hence I have a few blocks left over and think I will put them into a charity quilt - the colours and blocks will work well for a teenager's quilt - unfortunately they don't seem to get as many quilts as they do for babies and young kids.

I will definitely be making another of Bonnie's mysteries - really enjoyed it (although a sewing marathon); her chatter along with her instructions are very easy to read and understand, together with plenty of pics with each step.

Now to get back to my UFOs and other projects. Ho Hum....

Step 7 completed!!

The end is nigh!

Last night I completed Step 7 of Bonnie's Orca Mystery quilt.  You know all those black and neutral triangle groups I sewed in Step 6?   They are now all joined up to something else.  Two of them were sewn onto the red string triangles to make a flying geese block and one onto a larger neutral triangle.  No hint was given as to where they will be going in the quilt.

But this is the last of the major sewing exercises.

Not many large blocks, but as you can see from this photo there is actually only 5 different types of blocks that will make up this quilt.  Albeit piles of the things. 

-28  6" Ohio blocks with neutral backgrounds

-28  6" Ohio blocks with black backgrounds.

-128 red string triangles with black wings sewn into a flying geese block..

-100 neutral triangles sewn onto black wings.

-72  3.5" inch blue string blocks

That is one huge lot of cutting and sewing.  By the way I have already used 1 and 1/2 reels of 500m of thread (and I haven't sewn the blocks together yet, or put on a border!!!

This morning (while it is very hot in my part of Aus (34C - 92F) I decided to print off Part 8 and to place these blocks on my design wall - in Bonnie's order of course.  All pieces are sewn in rows - no more blocks are put together, BUT it looks fantastic!  A bit red, but there is so much movement and I can already see different patterns emerging.  AND I like my choice of using blue in the middle of the neutral Ohio stars instead of red!   One problem I'm having though - it is too big for my wall!

Sorry, I'm not going to show you until it's completed.  Have fun guessing what you think it might look like!!

Don't forget to come back and see it completed.

...Joy

Mystery Steps 5 & 6

Step 5 - Remember the 350 half-square triangles in Step 3 that were sewn into little aquares- well they come into play with Step 5.  I had to cut another 700 (yes 700) more black 1/2 square triangles and these are to be placed either side of those little blocks.  When joined they make these black and neutral slightly larger triangles:

Still no idea how these are going to be used (I hope I'm not adding any more little ones to them!!!) 

Step 6 - More fabric cutting - this time squares - 2-1/2" - 112 black and 112 neutral and for the red 56.  When I came to cut the red I realised I was running short and might not be able to get 56 out of what I had left unless I used 'red-looking' fabric, but I thought this would not work as some of those fabrics were slightly on the orange side.  Had a look at the blues used in the string squares earlier and had some of those, enough to do half. 

Reading the second page of this step I discovered that we would be joining these with the hour-glass blocks to make Ohio Stars - half with neutral backgrounds and half with black backgrounds.  I played with the blue and red squares and some of the hour-glass blocks and decided that the blue could go in the neutral blocks and the red in the black.  Here you see one of the neutral ones finished with a red one about to be sewn.  I'm happy with this.  I think it works.

At long last, starting to see some blocks coming together.....

On to Step 7 and 8 over the weekend - well maybe Sunday - have my Guild meeting tomorrow (Saturday).

Ok - now to Steps 3 & 4

After a short break over Christmas and the New Year AND emergency Nanna duties I am finally back home and have completed Steps and 4 of the mystery quilt - Orca.  This is Bonnie's name for the quilt - have still to make up mind what I will call it (could be 'my mojo gone mad').

Step 3 consisted of making 350 pairs (that's right 350) of half-square traingle units sewn to make a 2" finished square.  This is the pile after being 'dog-eared' and pressed (Bonnie likes you to trim them off...)  Oh well, definitely going to need new blades for my cutters when this is finished......

Step 4 was a tad easier cutting wise, but still a sewing marathon. 

At long last we are going to use our reds, but first we had to cut (that word again!!!) 64 x 5.5" foundation paper squares.  The sewing marathon - that is sewing our red strips or crumbs, onto these papers to make the string blocks.  When this stitching was completed, then trim the blocks back to the 5.5" and then slice in half.  My finished pile of string triangles:

This quilt is certainly an interesting mystery - haven't yet seen any hint of where all these gazzilion piles are going.

But onward we go - focus on completing all instructions and I will have a beautiful quilt.