Being slack and Hexies

I have been off line with my blog for so long, I didn't realise how long it had been. Well back on track now I hope after a time of not being really on track.
My sewing has been suffering as well with only a few clothing pieces yet have been finishing off my hexie quilt and also starting another marathon hexie quilt.  This one i have started without having the right planning and now have gotten to a stage where I am not really sure what I am doing.

This is my finished quilt.
I started with the idea of doing a picture in an hexagonal shaped batik, So then it was interesting to work out how to set them so that it would sit well.  After my son drew me a perfect six sided paper pattern i was off and running. I like my quilts to be made for use, so I made it to fit a queen sized bed.  I like to think I keep the family warm. The inner pictures were fancy cut from Michael Miller's Anjou pour vous.

I wanted the quilt to be 'strange' something out of the ordinary and colourful.  I am not sure why I settled on the back and white spot but it was in my mind to have it somewhere in the quilt.
The batiks came from my stash and a jelly roll, so it worked out well.
When it came to binding I could not look past the black and white I think it topped it off.
I backed with green, It took me ages to find a backing fabric I just could not put my mind to it.  I quilted with a meandering pattern on my Bernina Aurora 440
Finally it is done and in use.

And here is the next one in the works. It started with a gift for Christmas a couple of years ago of a few fat quarters of 'Holiday Flourish" by Peggy Toole for Robert Kaufman and has since been added to and added to as it grows.  I really didn't think it through at all, next time I will that is for sure. I hope it will look ok in the long run it is for my son as a 'keep warm' quilt.

I have also recently made a cushion cover for my son he has recently moved so it is to brighten up his new place. 

Just loved making it, of course it is Alexander Henry Fabric called Frida la Catrina.

Hexie Small Colourful Quilt

I have been making some random hexies with nothing in mind to do with them so I thought I would make a couple of small quilts, first one finished now.

This one is quite bright with some little I -spy things added. A lady bought it for her puppy dog, so all is good in the world.

Pram Quilt with Hexies

I have had this piece of hexagon work hanging around for a while so I decided to day to make it into a little quilt for a pram or capsule.  It looks really cute and took a bit of fiddling around.  I was not sure how to sit it with a white frame so I ended up sitting the hexie piece on top of the white.  It was a firm footing for the hexies and it worked well.
I have only recently started to machine sew my bindings.  I have been having a bit of trouble to get my corners to be perfect, this time I decided to look at a few other blogs and now I think I am on the road to success. I will pop it onto Ebay today.

I love the little bear and bunny fabric it is so cute. 

Hexie Box

Hexie Box, a photo by Blue Wren Stitching on Flickr.

I love my Hexie Box, actually it is a box that some drawer liners came in but it is perfect for my hexies. I have two hexie quilts on the go, one is multi coloured and the other is the black and gold fabric. I will show them to you as they progress.

Moving Blues and Fibromyalgia

I have not been blogging, we have just moved house and it has been bedlam.  I have finally pulled my beloved Bernina 440 out of its case and have it set up ready to get back to normal.  Moving and fibromyalgia just do not mix, the aftermath has been long and drawn out as I try to get back to my normal activities.  I have found over the years that the main thing to keeping fibro on the best level possible is to stick to the routine, rest and bits of activity.  As soon as I overdo anything I fly into a chronic stage and remain there for a while, it is hard climbing back.
I am keen to get on and sew a blouse I cut out weeks ago, it is from the simplicity Amazing Fit range and I have already made the muslin and hopefully now adjusted to fit.
I have a few quilt ideas to put into practice but for now have been sitting recovering with my hexies and I am so pleased with my wonderful quilt.  I will of course post it online when it is done, I am doing a pattern of it as well in case anyone is interested.
I will be a bit sad to finish my hexie quilt but I have decided to get right on with another one when this one is finished. I have had a ball making it, so enjoyable and very satisfying doing all those little stitches.
I hope I will be better at posting in the future.

Winter woes

I have had a time of being so exhausted it seems that my fibromyalgia has been kicked up a notch with the seasonal flu bug that has been going around.  So my sewing has been slowed down along with my energy.
I made a little apron for my daughter with lovely strawberry fabric from Hawthorne Fabrics, I have had the fabric for some time now and finally got around to getting it made.
I am still working feverishly on my hexagon quilt and have vowed to not put up a photo until it is fully finished, I have enjoyed sewing every bit of this quilt so far by hand.
I have not hit on how to quilt it yet, I have never quilted by hand and I am not sure that I could do it.  So I might machine quilt it - that is still all on the drawing board.
One of my next projects is to tackle this new pattern, it is a shirt pattern with bust sizes and I am hoping to find a good fit and a good basic shirt pattern.  There is also a couple of other patterns in this Amazing Fit range from Simplicity so I might try those as well if this one works.

I have such trouble fitting my patterns now that my body has well and truely hit that round after menopause shape.  I have to make the arms bigger and I always have to find a way to cover my 'tummy' area. I am sure that these patterns have been around for some time but I have only just discovered them.  I usually use Burda patterns because they tend to fit me well and are better to the sizing than the others.
So when I am having a good day I will start the shirt making process.

Anna Brereton Quilts

I have been looking at these quilts and this is where the idea for my new hexie quilt came from. Anna Brereton's  story is told here 
So beautiful and such inspiration of her time.
I love the bed hanging.  Here is another design I found online fashioned after her quilts. I found this on Brigette Giblin's site here

I am really enjoying the whole hexagon fun, I love having something to do that is industrious while I watch TV.  I always feel quite useless and lazy if I just sit. 

I have three blocks done now and waiting on some more fabric to come, it is a project with little planning really as I have let it grow on the fly so to speak. I am excited to see how it turns out, I am working on it being a bit on the 'funky' side. 

I have in mind a softer colouring for my next one.  The most interesting part is how little bits of fabric change when you make it into a hexagon, it is like you are inventing a new thing each time you sew one. 

First Block for my new Hexagon Quilt

Hexagon Quilt, a photo by Duck Tales on Flickr.

Well I have been planning this quilt in my mind for some time, here is my first block and the beginning of a lot of fun.
This is my 'watching tv and relaxing' hand sewing project. I am excited to have it moving. I have fussy cut Michael Miller's French Journal, Anjou Papillon in the yellow. and the dark grey is from my stash and it took a lot of looking to find a polka dot that would do what I had in mind. I finally settled on this 'not so basic black and white from Fabric.com
I have some batiks i hope to incorporate as the dark hexies and I will continue with the spot through out. I have not been this adventurous with fabric before it is a different path for me.
I have decided to do a round of the anjou papillon around the outside as well. but then again it is a work in progress and I guess it will grow and find it's place as I go.

Another Week

Well I am back into what I call a Fibro hole, so sick of myself with this tiredness and pain. It interferes with my sewing and that is not good.  I have so many projects in mind that I want to get onto.
I have half made a knitting bag for my beautiful daughter who loves to knit and sew and I just love talking to her about it and showing her my bits and pieces of fabric, i know she loves them all with me.  I have two little quilt tops done and they need to be sandwiched and quilted and pj pants for my son and a new nightie for me also in the schedule.  I hate seeing things sitting around when I could be enjoying the sewing.  I think it keeps me sane.
Although the last couple of days I have been into making Hexagons and have a small quilt underway.
Having this illness is depressing because of the pain, it is constant and makes you lose your sense of humour. I battle the tremors of my muscles and the utter tiredness from not being able to relax enough  to sleep.  I also get upset easily -
so no fun to be with either.
But it is my lot, I do have to grin and bear it and get on with my life yet some days it is very hard to do. And above all I feel like the biggest complainer in the world. There you go I am doing it again, complaining.

Hexagons

I have finally done it after so long thinking about it, I was at the quilt shoppe and bought some hexagon papers, started making them and I am hooked.

I have heard others say that they are hooked on Hexies but I was not sure why. Now I know, sitting in front of the TV in the evening making Hexies is good relaxation and very rewarding. I made some with little fancy cut pieces.

Sorry the photo is so bad, but they just kept flaring, then I made some with scraps, bigger ones with the scraps. I can see that I will run out of the little papers very soon if this keeps up.

What fun, but then what to do with them. I have a plan for the little ones but have yet to get it really in place in my mind. it is one of those projects that is still in the mind stage.