Slow-ly Stitching .....

Sunday is the day we join Kathy's Quilts in the celebration of Slow Stitching!  In my case, I have to admit it is more like Slow-ly Stitching!

Rosette #2 in progress
Center and Round #1 attached
Round #2 hexie units are assembled and in place on the design wall, but not yet sewn together

That pukey yellow above is what I get when I try to take a picture close up and face on.  I tried it with three different cameras and finally gave up.  This picture is closer to the actual colors.....

I've shared my current obsession handwork project with you before ... The New Hexagon - Millefiore designed by Katja Marek.  And I am still having a ball playing with these wonderful rosettes!  However, progress on Mille goes very slowly, at least mine do at any rate.  I am still plugging along on Rosette #2, while many I see on Facebook have done all 5 rosettes and are drumming their fingers, impatiently awaiting the unveiling of #6 tomorrow.  I even know of a few who have made extra rosettes while waiting for the next one to be presented!  (Bear in mind, the rosettes are 36" wide!!!)  Yes, these people obviously have no life LOL!!!

What you see here in the bottom of my hand-sewing basket are the pieces for the Round #3 hexies that still need to be sewn together.  YAY!  It is indeed getting slim pickin's in there!  I can actually see the bottom :*)

These Round #2 hexie units are all stitched together, but they still need to be attached to the center round (see first picture).  And then the Round #3 hexies - the ones still in the basket - will be added after that.  Quite a bit still needing to be done, but it will be an enjoyable journey of slow stitching all the way ♥

What's in your basket???  

See all the wonderful projects at Kathy's Quilts!
Also linking up with Design Wall Monday

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Yes, I've Been Busy .....

I know I've been gone from the blog for a while, but rather than bore you with all the many and various reasons for my absence, how about I just share a couple of quick posts showing some of the Quilty stuff I've been up to?  Would you like that?  Yeah, I thought so *wink* =^..^=

Rosette #1 is complete!  

Since today is the Slow Sunday Stitching party over at Kathy's Quilts, let me start with the first month's Rosette from The New Hexagon - Millefiore BOM designed and presented each month by Katja Marek of Katja's Quilt Shoppe - it finishes at 36" wide!!!!! Although I popped a picture up on Facebook and Instagram to share when I finished it, I just today realized that I never shared it with all of you - bad blogger!!!

I chose to follow Katja's color scheme for this Rosette, using yellows, pinks and oranges - my current color combo crush!  Of course, this is all hand stitched using the EPP method.  You would think it would take ages to stitch all these pieces together, but amazingly it really doesn't.  I just stitch as I watch TV in the evenings and before I know it another round is stitched in place :)

Rosette #2 is well underway .....  some very yummy aquas and lime greens ummmmmmm!  The lime green is not quite such an acid in-your-face color in real life, but it seems to be a color that refuses to show up exactly in my photos.

The very center hexie has been sewn together, but the rest is just in position on the design wall for auditioning.  I believe I'm finished with the fabric choices on this one, although I'm not absolutely sure because I just changed out a fabric yesterday.  I must confess - I've been obsessing over these a teensy bit because they are so fun and have such potential for that WOW! factor :*)  I can spend days just picking out the perfect fabrics for each section.  Here is what my studio can look like after a day of fabric auditions...

Yes, YIKES!!!!

I had a hard time choosing the right fabric for the very center hexagon, just didn't seem to have a really eye-catching motif that was the right size and colors.  So I ended up cutting the template into 6 triangles ....

..... and then fussy cutting motifs to piece together a center design that made me happy ..... I have no doubt that is exactly what Katja would have done too!  Notice that I traced the outlines of the motif onto my template plastic to be sure the pieces are all the same.  The marks will wipe off later so the template can be used again on future rosettes.

I also fussy cut this same fabric to echo the motif further out in these little rosette stars ....

I think of these as fabric vases because they "hold" the wonderful "sprays" that fan out from their center :*)

You probably didn't notice a small difference in the "sprays" on the large picture above - here it is again with red circles to direct you to the areas I mean ....

 .... can you see that one is darker at the outside edges?  I took a black Sharpie Fine Point marker and blacked out the fussy white squigglies because I felt they were too busy.  Now the darker areas give it more definition and allow it to have more visual impact.

I'll be taking this one off the wall probably later today.  I clip each 6" hexie grouping together with wonder clips, like so ....

..... now it's all together for me when it's time to start stitching.  Wonder clips are my new absolutely FAVORITE tool - I use them for everything!

I also take a picture on my phone of how the finished section should look so I can refer back to it quickly and not turn a piece the wrong way.  Don't even ask how I learned this was necessary LOL!!!

Even this is not a correct look at the lime green - closer, but too dark!

Rosettes for March and April are waiting patiently for their turn on the design wall .....

I wouldn't hold my breath though - it may be quite a while yet before they get their turn LOL!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been playing around with my PINK scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month, and since it's Valentine's Day, of course I had to make some hearts!

My crumb jars didn't have any scraps big enough for these, even though they are only 6 and 7 inch blocks, so I had to pull out the big guns - my PINK scrap bin.  I was SO tempted to pull some beauties from my pink stash shelf, but I am determined to use primarily scraps this year, so I am happy to report that the only fabric pulled from my fat quarter drawer was the light pink background on the heart on the right.  I had a lot of darker pinks in the scraps bin, but light pinks were scarce.

All of these blocks were paper-pieced.... I was even very thrifty and reused the clean side of a mis-printed scrap page from an earlier project.

I made the two hearts on the sides from a pattern sent to me by Julie of Me & My Stitches.....

Every time she sends us our Charming Club charm, she also sends a 6" block pattern for that charm so we can make a matching quilt block if we like.  I thoroughly enjoyed making these easy hearts!

The heart block in the center was from a free pattern I downloaded earlier in the week - and for the life of me, I can't remember from where!  The pattern sheet does not mention the designer or website or anything.  If you know where I got this from, please let me know so I can give credit :)

I think it turned out really cute!!!

I'll be sharing my hearts in SoScrappy's 

Valentine's Day Pinkstravaganza HERE

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Tomorrow, I will join Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching group and continue assembling my Millefiore blocks for the last round of Rosette #1.

The last of the blocks I have to assemble for round 3 are sitting very lonely in the bottom of my sewing box :*)

There are 8 pieces in each of the six outer point blocks - I have finished all of these ....

Looks a bit like an owl, doesn't it?  *grin!*

And then there are 6 pieces in each side block between those point blocks.  I only have two of those done so far - 16 to go!

Then I will need to sew all the blocks from rounds 2 and 3 together for the finish.  I am glad that I determined from the beginning to not have a timeline for this project, because I would be really feeling antsy right about now if I had.  Beautiful pictures of completed Rosette #2 are popping up all over the Millefiore FB page, and I'm feeling pretty jealous!  Rosette #3 will be released March 1 too!  But I'm enjoying taking my time on this, and I want to make sure it is as beautiful as I can make it.  I'm steadily stitching on it at night and whenever I can find an hour or so of quiet time.

Tomorrow, I plan to cut out the pieces for Arcadia Avenue Block #2.  I just realized I never showed you the completed Block #1, so here it is!

Isn't this just GORGEOUS???  

Sassafras Lane has hit this one WAY out of the park!

I can't wait to start on Block #2!

We are expecting some truly frigid temps here in Nashville this coming week - zero and below a few days.  And maybe even some accumulations of SNOW - woohoo!!!!  It will be nice to get at least one decent snow this year.  I do hate that it is supposed to fall on Monday though, which is my sit-n-sew day with friends :(

I'm told that some of you who usually experience lots of snow have been strangely lacking in snow this winter, but the northeast has sure gotten hit hard.  My mom texted earlier tonight to let me know that they are experiencing some pretty major winds in the NC mountains tonight - a tree went down about 10 feet from their house!  And I think snow is on its way to them too.

Hope you all are staying warm and cozy 

and finding lots of stitchy projects to keep you happy and sassy!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Also linking up with the following fun parties!

WIP's Be Gone
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Design Wall Monday
Tuesday Linky Party

BOM - Millefiore

The first round is done on Millefiore Rosette #1....

..... actually I finished stitching it down last Sunday while watching the NFL Playoffs :*)  I've been busy this week and am now well on my way to having the 2nd Round prepared and stitched down as well.... hopefully I'll get quite a bit of that done while watching the Super Bowl today.

One thing I have learned from this quilt is to not prepare all my pieces before I have prepared a few and put them up on the design wall first!  I started out using a different pink in the alternate point - see the large diamond on the right using a medium pink dot fabric....?  I love that fabric and it looks so pretty with the two other fabrics in that hexie!

But then, after putting a few up on the design wall and stepping back from it, I saw that it blended in too well and added no contrast interest :(  It also created an unbroken band of pink around the rosette that was a little overpowering and did not transition well from the yellows & oranges in the first round.  So I switched it out for the pink with the black dot on the left.  Close up, I had thought the black dot too much, but after getting a few pieces up on the design wall and stepping back I could see that it was needed.  It provides just enough contrast, as well as having the happy effect of playing well with the dots from the center fabrics, creating more cohesion.  Lesson learned!!!

Another thing I have learned from Katja (Millefiore designer and owner of Katja's Quilt Shoppe) that helps this project go more quickly is to use a glue stick for preparation of the pieces rather than thread basting ....

This goes SO MUCH FASTER!!!  I can't wait to try it out on my Patchwork of the Crosses too!

One of my favorite components of this project is the many opportunities to use some of my favorite fabrics to fussy cut lovely motifs for effective design elements ....

Of course, my fabrics end up looking a lot like swiss cheese!!!!

As you probably noticed from the picture, I've already begun making plans and putting up design elements for the final Round #3......  Note the small orange hexies/diamonds and yellow diamond pieces being auditioned at the top.....

 All of those elements are subject to change, but I'm pretty sure at least the yellow pieces with the pink circle element at the very top will remain at the tip of those six points all around.  I really like the way it echoes the Round #1 diamonds and pulls the attention outward.  Not sure I will use more than six of them though, just on those six points, with orange everywhere else on that section.  I've seen some of the finished hexies with a dark continuous circle there and it is very striking!  I would then follow with hopefully a yellow hexie all around that, and tips of dark orange on the outside edges.  I'll have to prepare a few more pieces and see how they look as a whole before I decide on anything.

I understand this Rosette will be about 36" when complete - yikes!  Although I would have loved to have had this one done before the release of Rosette #2 which happened TODAY - not going to happen LOL!!!  But that's okay.  I got a late start after spending a week with my mom in Carolina - certainly no regrets there! - and this is a project that I intend to have fun with and work on as I can - no pressure.  February's Rosette is much less work intensive, so maybe I'll even be able to catch up.  (And pigs may fly too, but hopefully my chances are better than that!!!)

****** FYI ..... if you find that you love Millefiore and think you might want to join in the fun, it's not too late!  Go to Katja's Quilt Shoppe HERE and register, then download the instructions provided.  You will also need to purchase her new book, The New Hexagon.  You won't regret it - it's an amazing source of over 50 hexie designs!  I recommend also getting the Paper Pieces HERE for each rosette, but that is optional, as you can make your own templates from the book if you like.  Paper Pieces also offers a set of acrylic templates for those who really like to make this project easy and convenient!  There's a fun Facebook page HERE too where you can all the wonderful rosettes coming to life :)

I'll be joining all my friends today at Kathy's Quilts as I enjoy Slow Sunday Stitching on this fun BOM.  How about you?

I really have no preference for the winner of the Super Bowl, 

but I sure am looking forward to the commercials LOL!!!

And don't forget!!!  

Tomorrow is the last day to get your comments in to win

the lovely package of PDF Patterns from Jacquelynne Steves - 

Go HERE now!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Also linking up to these fun linky parties:
(Buttons on sidebar)

Design Wall Monday
Tuesday Linky Party
WIP's Away

Slow Stitching Sunday .... and Football!!!

Today will find me joining my friends at Kathy's Quilts doing some Slow Stitching and watching the NFL Playoffs with My Guy.  I can think of few better ways to spend a lovely Sunday!  Well, maybe if the Panthers were still in the running and playing today it might could be better *wink*  But as I've learned the hard way, you can't have everything - where would you put it all????

I've got everything ready to work on stitching together the pieces for the first round of my New Hexagon - Millefiori Rosette #1 ...

Kathy challenged us to include a picture of our hand in the photo actually hand-stitching on our projects.  Here is mine of my stitching together the center hexagon - notice my nail polish growing out - Ugh!!!

There are only about a million pieces in this first Rosette .....

But I have to say, this is GREAT fun!!!  What could be more exciting than digging deep in the stash to find just the perfect fabric to enhance these amazing designs?  You can see the web address of Katja's Quilt Shoppe on the Paper Pieces package or go HERE if you are interested in looking up this Quilt-Along to see what it's all about.  There's also a wonderful Facebook page HERE, chock full of eye candy where everyone is sharing their progress - such wonderful Rosettes!  I really need to get caught up because Rosette #2 is released on February 1!

For those who may have missed it in my earlier post, below is a picture of Katja's actual Rosettes that she is making for the original quilt .... aren't they simply GORGEOUS???

While in the hotel in the evenings in Asheville, I managed to stitch a tiny bit on a few of my Patchwork of the Crosses, which I'm also doing by the EPP method ....

I am determined to not ignore these lovely blocks while working on Millefiori :)  There are quite a few pieces already cut and ready to stitch - which as I have said before is the only way any of my projects tend to progress.

I also shared in THIS POST that the ClearStamp Quilting Template really helped with that preparation.  This stamp is made of a clear flexible rubber material, which makes it so easy to work with and allows me to see exactly where my motifs will end up on my finished POTC pieces :)

I've had quite a few requests about how to find these stamps.  They were designed by Marita, owner of  The Quilters Path, and can be purchased from her. Click HERE to go to the website and get her phone and email info.  I'm sure she will be happy to get those out to you right away :)  And don't forget to order the ink too - it's the perfect color and lasts forever!  (Yes, I forgot to get the ink when I bought the stamps - *conks self on forehead* - duh!!!!)

pattykf - I could not respond to your comment by email because you show up as a No Reply blogger, so I hope you are reading this post today :)

So that's my Sunday in a nutshell.  What's on your agenda today?  Hope it's something relaxing and totally enjoyable!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Also linking up with:
HeLP for Hexie-aholics!

Slow Stitching Sunday ... and Every Day!

It's been all Slow Stitching around here lately!

The holiday season is always a busy time with all the preparations and get-togethers with friends and family.  We barely got home from our visit to Carolina at Thanksgiving when it was time to start decorating for Christmas.  Over the past several weeks, we've enjoyed visits from several of our children and grandbabies - what a joy it is to hold them in our arms and see their sweet smiles!

Of course, those busy days usually mean very little time at the sewing machine, right?  I have managed a few stolen hours here and there, but not much - certainly not enough to share.  However, handwork has been happening!!!  

Here is my latest Patchwork of the Crosses block.  I love those bright oranges!  This one reminds me of fireflies and stars :)

Several other blocks are in various stages of completion as well.

As I have said before, having everything ready to stitch is key for me to move these little puppies along :)  One thing that is helping make them go faster is using the ClearStamp Template from The Quilter's Path.

I finally went by the Quilter's Path and picked up the ink pad to go with the templates which I purchased quite a while back.  In addition to the 1" Honeycomb stamp, the package includes a 1" square and 1" Half Square template.  So far, I've only used the Honeycomb template, but the others will come in handy when I start joining the blocks together.

I love using this stamp!  It is flexible and you can clearly see where the design will end up on your patch.  It has two lines that stamp onto the back of your fabric, the stitching line and the 1/4" seam allowance cutting line .....

You can stamp a lot of patches very quickly!

It sure beats drawing around templates over and over :)

Can you believe this is the back of that gorgeous orange????

I've also started work on Millefiori.  I really struggled with fabrics for this project, even though I have tons of fabrics that lend themselves to kaleidoscopes very nicely.  I had three issues to address while picking my fabrics:

- I wanted to keep this first month's rosette in the yellow/orange/pink ranges, and I discovered that my "wild" fabrics are limited in that color range - oops!  

- I had to be sure there was enough of the chosen fabrics to make the needed number of motifs.  For the center I only needed six of each motif, but going forward the numbers multiply.

- I had to make sure I had enough variety to put together each of the rounds in the Rosette to give it a lot of interest and value.  I was surprised at the number of fabrics in my stash that I thought would be perfect for this Rosette, but which didn't work at all with my Center block!   

I finally chose this wonderful Australian print - very aboriginal and funky :)

and it made this very interesting Center for my Rosette #1 ....

This is an english paper-piecing QAL with Katja's Quilt Shoppe.  Katja uses glue instead of baste prepping the pieces for each block.  I love the simplicity of it, but I'm not happy with the way I can see each of my stitches in the final block.  I'm hoping that eases when I take the templates out.

 The intricacy of each of Katja's hexagons is quite remarkable, and  she puts them together to make the most marvelous medallions!

Photo from The New Hexagon - Millefiori Quilt-Along on Facebook

We are working from her book, The New Hexagon.

See it HERE

I thoroughly enjoyed stitching on these hand projects today while watching my Carolina Panthers win their first NFL Playoff game!

We Panther fans feel like we won the lottery or something, since our team had only 7 regular season wins, while all the other teams in the Playoffs have at least 11.  We'll take it though and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts :)

Have a lovely Sunday my friends!!!!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday
WIPs Be Gone & Kathy's Quilts

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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