Hexagons in progress

My hexagon adventures!!

Here is one flower I made out of 1/4" hexagons!  Wow, that was hard.

Am I going to make a quilt out of those??  Not in the near future.

I am however, working on one with 1" hexies and am really enjoying it.

Never thought I would like doing all this handwork, but it is really relaxing and

something I can take anywhere.  I even got some of the girls at work

hooked on it too (and some of them don't even sew - well they do now!).

Back view of one of my favorite hexies out of favorite fabrics, Flea Market Fancy and Happy.  I don't sew through the papers just baste around the edges and then I don't have to remove the basting - ever!

A month or two ago and then now....

Here are some of my favorite flowers so far...some Central Park fabrics...

A little sparkle and some Sunkissed in there too and I think I see some Katie Jump Rope!

And some Java made by my friend Melanie who never sewn before! 

She has made a lot of these hexagons for me!

My quilt has become a friendship quilt too, as I have shown friends how to do it, they have made blocks for me and now some of them are starting their own, so I made a block or two for them.  It is nice to look at them and remember who made that one, or who picked out that flower combination.  That is a lot of what I love about quilting, the friendships, the bonding, the laughter.  You all know what I am talking about.

Denyse Schmidt Giveaway

GIVEAWAY!!!
Just had to make sure you all knew about the fabric giveaway on Heather from The House of AlaMode.  Check out her really cute pillows made from it.

http://alamodefabric.blogspot.com/2011/02/sweet-taste-of-crow.html


Another project:  Check out these cute winter batiks I got at my LQS, Fabric City.  I can see a really cute mug rug being made with some Chenille trim around the border and maybe in the midde too.  I need to get busy on it though because even though it doesn't feel like it today (below zero temps), winter will be over before we know it.

The fabrics are from the Let It Snow Batik line from Moda.  I will post pictures when I am done (hopefully this will inspire me to get it done quickly).

SOYO quilt retreat

A couple of weeks ago I got to spend the weekend with some good friends enjoying a SOYO - sew on your own quilt retreat.  It was put on by the Black Hills Quilters Guild and it was a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of Jessica and I, hard at work! : )

This is my friend Sandy, concentrating.  Sandy and Kathy organized the retreat and did a great job!

Here is Kathy with her cute little iron, smiling about something.....

This is a quilt I started in Des Moines at the AQS show while taking a class from one of my favorite designers, Kimberly Einmo, from her book, "Jelly Roll Quilts & More" check out her website  http://www.kimberlyeinmo.com/  and her blog http://quilting.kimberlyeinmo.com/.  We had a blast at her classes that week.

.  It is for my granddaughter, April.

Close-up of the quilt.  It is Moda Happy fabrics and they make me very HAPPY!

Here are pictures of Sandy and Connie's quilts from the same pattern.

Sandy's

Connie's

 This is another quilt Connie made.

Here is a pic of Connie, smiling like usual.

Jessica's darling I-Spy quilt for her son.

Kathy's beautiful Kim Diehl quilt in progress.

I love this picture of Kelley working on her borders.  What a neat quilt for her MIL.

Kelley and Marcia

This is I think the 3rd or 4th year we have done this and hope to keep doing it many more!

Happy quilting!

Jodi



My sewing space (for now)

So here is a picture of where my machine is set up right now.  It is in our extra bedroom which soon will probably be turned into a room for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter.  Not sure where I will put my sewing stuff then, but may be back to the kitchen table for sewing.  Oh well, she needs her own room!

Here is my "stash"

This is an old quilt my grandmother Ruth made that is up on the wall behind my bookcase that holds my fabric, you can see it in the pictures above and below.  Very pretty but some of the fabrics are starting to come apart so it is best to leave it up on the wall instead of using it.  I like to look at it anyway and think about her and how she used to sew so much for all of us.

Stay tuned for my 1st "Sunday Stash" post on Sunday!

Quick Project - Owl Applique

Here is a little project I whipped up today.  An owl appliqued onto a dishcloth.  It is a Christmas gift but so cute I had to show it here!

It is from this Hooterville pattern by Brandywine Design and kit I bought in Des Moines at the AQS show in October of this year.  The big quilt has to wait till after Christmas but couldn't wait to try out one of the owls.

Soooo cute!  I love the pattern and the bright colors. 
Till next time!
Jodi

My first blog posting ever!

Hi and welcome!  Not sure if anyone will actually read this, but here I go.  I recently have become a big fan of quilting blogs and decided to try it myself.  I have been sewing since I was a little girl (my mom used to make me sew clothes for 4-H).  I didn't especially like it then, but I love it now and am very glad she taught me how.  My grandma Ruth was a quilter also, and her mom, Hazel, my great-grandma too.  My mom says I inherited my great-grandma Hazel's love of wild and bright colors and I have to agree with her.  I can't really get my mom interested in quilting herself, but she seems to like looking at the ones I make. 

My latest project has been repairing a quilt that my grandma Ruth made for my cousin Garrett, years ago.  (She has been gone since 1982).  It is a large denim quilt with polyester print appliques in each square.  A lot of the denim she used was old and some was stretch and many of the blocks were disintegrating so a few years ago (too many) I told Garrett I would take it home and repair it.  I started all gung ho and tore the blocks out that needed work.  Got some polyester scraps from my Dad's wife and was ready to go.  Then it sat in my sewing room closet for the next several years.  Last year Garrett asked my about it and so I knew I needed to get it done.  This fall, I made over 40 new blocks for it, some used the original applique she used and some I had to make up on my own.  Here are some picture of the progress.

My granddaughter on the quilt with several of the block removed.  Sorry about the blurry pic.

Close up of some of the blocks that I redid (before).

My favorite block she made was the LOVE block.  She sewed love into every stitch.

 

Here is a not so good picture of the finished project.  Can't wait to see his face when he sees it is finally done!  (Hopefully he won't find my blog before then, but if he does, oh well).