The Santa Express has been busy this year! Look what came into my mailbox! I found a darling snowman card ((I am so in love with snowmen, more than any other Christmas Icon! In my book, Snowmen are appropriate from Thanksgiving all the way to Easter depending where you live!)) with a lovely note from Mona, and look! She sent me a “Birthday Girl” Block from the Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 blocks vol 2!
I love this so much! Thanks Mona! I especially love how you colored the triangles around the center pinwheel…that adds so much motion!
I enjoyed a wonderful lunch yesterday with Karen and Lisa at a little Irish pub in Winston Salem called Finnigan’s Wake. The lunches there just can’t be beat – they had a chicken pot pie and salad special for only $7.00 And it was to DIE for. Just what I needed on a cold December afternoon. Of course, the cheese cakes served in shot glasses were the perfect finish…I had some caramel pecan thing that was so rich, a shot glass size was ENOUGH, no more! ((Or…..I would have eaten the whole thing regardless of the size, you know?))
Winston Salem has a thriving art community, and every year there are art events and sales, and in so totally KAREN-STYLE…..she surprised me with a lovely handmade piece of pottery. I love pottery!! And….Tada…she filled it with…
3/4” per side hexagons she cut with her creative memories punch from left over Christmas cards!! Isn’t this great?! They are just the size I am using and now I can look at the pictures as I grab each one from the bowl. You can read parts of messages, and get glimpses of what the card might have been before it was repurposed into hexie papers. Thanks Karen!
We are planning some girlfriend sewing time between Christmas and New Years…which means, on top of everything else, I need to spend some time re-shuffling stuff down here in the studio. Over the past few weeks it’s become a dumping ground for miscellaneous fall-out since the last time we sewed.
You know, it’s a good thing to have people over once in a while. It keeps us from letting things become CHAOS ((Cant. Have. Anyone. Over. Syndrome!!))
Last night I *DID* do just what I said I was going to do. I laid low and slow and sat on the couch with a fire going in the wood stove and worked on hexagons while watching a couple movies.
All of the short border sections are added! And I added one of the long star point sections so you can see that coming together! I only have FOUR MORE long star point border sections to finish and this round will be done! I’m thinking how I’m going to fill in the outside edges to make this quilt more square. Or…do I want to make it a rectangle by adding more piecing to just the top and bottom in another motif? I love that look, where they take a square quilt and just add something else to only the top and bottom.
Visions of hexagons are dancing in my head instead of sugar plums! ((What is a sugar plum anyway, and is it any good?)) And I’m semi-calculating - - It took more than my flights to Vegas and back to piece that one long star point. Which means…. 4 more long trips to and from to get the other ones done. I think I’m not as close as I think I am!
Are you tired of seeing this? It’s a SLOW process to do something like this by hand. Very much worth it..but I’m afraid I’m boring you with it! But I love how the 3 blossom units come together in that star point!
Which brings up another question….do you find yourself gravitating to mostly “quick fix” easy/small quilt-in-a-day kind of projects, or do you like things that you can mark the passing of time with? I talked to Lisa about this kind of thing when we were at the beach. She was working on applique sashings for a quilt, and they’ve been her “emergency” project for years. It sits in a basket, and when she goes somewhere and it fits the bill, they just come with her. It’s a no deadline project. And then there are the projects with deadlines ---and we all have those!
But if I were listing UFOs…these long term projects, that are worked on in small amounts of time here and there as a fill in, are they really UFOs? I don’t think so! For me, UFOs are things that have come to a complete standstill, like over a year has passed since the last time I worked on it. To me it’s kind of like my airline miles. If I’ve used some of them in the past year, it keeps the others from expiring!
I better get going. I’m trying to get into a cleaning mood, but it isn’t working! However, I did wipe down the inside of the fridge the other night…does that count for brownie points at all??
24 comments:
Wow, it's was fun to see these pieces growing on your flight, but-look! It's really growing into something big, and pretty!
You asked: "Do you find yourself gravitating to mostly “quick fix” easy/small quilt-in-a-day kind of projects, or do you like things that you can mark the passing of time with?"
I find that I like both kinds of projects.
Sometimes I love working on a project that takes a long time so I can enjoy the process. I'm working on a reproduction of a quilt found in my Grandmother's house. The original is literally falling and fraying apart. I'm hand piecing the reproduction, and I'm toying with the idea of hand quilting it too. I'm in year 4 on this project LOL.
Sometimes I need a quick project so I can finish quickly. Last year my 5 year old was waking me nightly telling me she had a nightmare, but she was freezing when she would climb into bed with me. That's really what was causing the nightmares. To save BOTH of us from sleepless nights, I put together a quilt for her with fleece backing in just 3 days. Once she was cozy at night, the nightmares and nightly visits to my bed stopped. :)
-Valerie
Don't worry you have plenty of other things on your blog that keep it interesting. I worry on my blog that it is completely boring. I have my hexagon quilt, and that is it for now. I don't have a sewing machine, so all my work is done by hand, and so.. slow going. I LOVE my hexagon quilt design, as it is MY design as yours is your design of your head (aren't hexies GREAT!). I have so much excitement though for what the New Year will bring in BoMs so I can hopefully stitch along and have something else to show on my blog. Your hexie quilt got me started on mine :)
Oh please don't stop posting your hexie work!! I'm working on a hexie project and I love to see yours in process... it helps to remind me that it is a longer process and won't be done tomorrow but it will be beautiful when it is finished. I'm working with 1" hexies in black, white, and red. I love having a project like this, in a basket & ready to go when I need it. Thank you so much for your inspiration!
I am definitely not bored with pictures of your hexagon project! Keep 'em coming.
In answer to your question, I'm usually not that interested in quickie projects because they tend to lack visual complexity. And I'm a process person. For me the payoff is not just the completion of the project, but also the journey there.
(I did once make a quickie baby quilt in a week as a donation, one of those "sew strips into a tube and then slice" affairs. I did nice work on it and I'm sure the recipient liked it, but I didn't even take a picture of it because I didn't find it that exciting.
--C.B.
I love your hexie quilt - don't stop talking about it!!
I love the quilts that take a long time to create - whether by hand or machine. If I can get it done in a week, I have no connection to it and it just becomes another thing to get out of the house. But if I've spent years on a quilt (quite normal in my house), I'm connected with it, I have memories return to me when I look at it, it's a token of love. And if I decide to give it away, I know I'm giving a gift of love, rather than just some random object I was able to crank out in a week. Most of my projects are either handwork or very labor-intensive machine quilts..
Hello! I love your hexie quilt. It is so wonderful. I agree with you it is not a UFO it is WIP.No matter how long it takes you it is still love that you put into it with every stitch. Plus being able to look back and say "see what I did with my hands" is a great feeling. Keep up the good work. You inspire me!
I love the idea of using old Christmas cards and I have that CM cutter too! And a box FULL to othe brim of Old cards. I love all your projects. The Hexie star is great! I like the clusters of flowers on the points. I got lazy and just put the 7 Hexie together on solid background. I couldn't visualize a whole quilt of them. Yours is Beautiful! My Sylvia's Bridal Sampler has over 9 months work on it and It has become part of my quilt life so much that every block tells a story.
That is a gorgeous block your friend sent, she did a wonderful job on it. Love the colors! I love hearing about your hexie project and seeing it grow. You are not boring me with it! Merry Christmas and enjoy a quilty New Year!
Yes, wiping out the fridge is hard cleaning work and don't let anybody tell you different. We spilled milk the other day. I know what hard work that is. And, I am not bored at all with your hex project. But, that might be because I have my own long term hex project going (and I worked on it last night, too). For me, a UFO is something I don't know how to finish or don't want to finish. It takes me a long time sometimes to figure out what to do next and if I'm still figuring, it's a WIP, not a UFO. Rationalizations are sooo important in life. Lane
I am having so much fun punching hexies out of every piece of card stock I find...and it's driving David and Shelby nuts! I guess eventually I have to start the next step, right?
I enjoyed lunch yesterday...good thing we were in a pub where they don't mind three women laughing loudly!
Keep the hexie pics coming! I love seeing your progress on this and every picture reminds me I want to try one... maybe in 2011!
Cleaning the fridge counts...
I think I like having projects in various stages so that there is always something I am 'in the mood' to work on.... or just start something new! My 'long term' project now is the midget blocks and that will be quite a few years but I like that I am being challenged by each block and am learning new things with each one I do. I really want to start with some hand work to have it available for the little 10-15 minutes here and there... maybe those hexies
I love seeing the slow progress on your hexie project!
I'm with you on the UFO status. Every couple of years I start lists and group all my projects accordingly. It's fun to move a project to the next list, it shows progress. Sometimes we are so much closer to finished than we realize and that list shows me the stage of every project.
I like several going on at one time, I'm machine piecing a Pineapple Blossom in red/cream, cutting the sashing for a Sisters Choice, (swapped all the 9 patches), hexi in progress, working on hand quilting a 9 patch swap and a small wall hanging, and hand appliquing a 25 BOM. Plus I have quilts to machine quilt. This gives me the choice of what to work on and sometimes it's defined by how much time I have or how much tv I want to catch up on!
Love your CHAOS, I totally agree!
Hi Bonnie
I'm working on two hexie quilts in this pattern
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annebrumley/2292717557/
it's s-l-o-w going, but that's OK
sometimes it's good to just sit and stitch and contemplate, without having to see immediate results
Yes, you always get brownie points for cleaning out the fridge!
I guess I would say I have both kinds of projects. Hand projects always take longer for me, but that is okay. I tend to go from one project to another depending on my mood. I rarely start and finish a quilt without also working on another project in between.
:)
I'm wishing I had some more of that chicken pot pie tonight...it was sooo good!
Don't over-clean...just clear off a table for Bernie. You've seen my studio (enough said, yes?) lol! Looking forward to hearing those machines hum!
Of course cleaning out the fridge counts! It's a job that has to be done and takes energy and time. Unfortunately, mine doesn't get cleaned often enough.
I really enjoy watching the progress on your hexie quilt. Can't wait to see it finished. I really like the layout. I keep hoping it will influence me to get started on one.
I was curious, so I checked. Per Wikipedia, 'A sugar plum is a piece of dragée candy that is made of dried fruits and shaped in a small round or oval shape.' more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_plums
Love seeing the hexie project grow. It looks fantastic.
I like having both long term and and quickie projects. Sometimes I just want that quick result ( instant gratification).
Keep posting your progress! That quilt is going to be amazing and you should show any and all progress that you're making!
C.H.A.O.S. ~ I'm going to remember that one! The creative memories punch is such a great solution for hexagons, that Karen is one clever gal. Merry Christmas!
Hi Bonny. I love to read your blog. Where can I find a "creative memories punch" ? Gee, it will make life with hexies much easier. Happy Xmas. Love, Zelda from South Africa
Love the Christmas Card Hexagons...I actually did something similar with all of the holiday circulars i had...No i love seeing it grow... E
Count me among those who love seeing progress you're making on the hexie quilt. Absolutely lovely. Take your time. We quilt because we enjoy it.
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