Hexagons..

I have been beavering away at a little project and by golly it has nearly finished up.
I love this little project as it has been cheap inexpensive and picked off the shelf because it was cheap carefully selected and I was unsure of the result I loved it from the beginning.

Alls well that ends well I say ( Phew) because I did spend many hours stitching over many papers.

Ta.Dah....
Look at me learning how to fancify my photos...thank you picmonkey!

I bought a pack of pre cut hexagon shapes from my local Spotlight and thought, why not? They had done the hard work of cutting and the fabric was all there and did I mention....$8.00 a pack!
2 packs and I was off...
I bought the chocolate as a background type and played with the layout.

This is what it looked like on the design wall.

And this is the border fabric that I went with.

It really has been a jump in type project, one where I was not in full control of the colour and can I say it has turned out really well.

It has taught me a lot about scrap quilting and fabric selection. So often I have agonized over things and gone nowhere and it fact have been disappointed with quilts that have little or no contrast.

Now I know for me, the more eclectic the better, just go for it.

Thats it for now...

...and hey for all you that may like my blog, feel free to leave a comment....it would be nice to know someone other that Miss Ada Bea and my other 6 followers are out there...come on dont be shy.

Hmmmm....maybe I may have to bribe you with a giveaway soon!!

SPRING.......has definitely sprung when.....

But not when these appear but when this happens.......

( caution dont enlarge these pictures, could be ugly haha)

See even the puppy boy is a little bemused...what is that!!!!

Ahhhh, pedicure, sandals and bare legs in the sun by the pool!
Now we are talking!

Now to work on Mr Sartorial.......

Lol, the camera at certain angles can distort sometimes, the Mr actually has very long legs........but mine are that short in real life.

Have sewn all the hexagons into a panel, to make a bag. I am meeting a friend in Texas....yes thats right, Texas for the Quilt Show. Can I tell you I am getting very excited about this trip of a lifetime. I decided when I reached the big 50 to treat myself for once. My friend set down the challenge, she said dont say your gunna.....say you are going to DO that thing. 

It has been a year of thinking, saving and booking and now it looks like it may actually happen.......fingers crossed.

So as I said the bag is a gift.

I am in the process of machine quilting the hexagons, check out the cute fabric from Spotlight that I have used for the top panel. It will also be used in the handles too.

Again from Spotlight, it will be the lining, because we are in TEXAS, ( did I mention I was going to Texas)...

But almost as exciting is this dear blog friends, a big TAA DAAAH
and a reveal

Here it is!!!!!!!

I know a much better reveal than my feet.

I first saw this lovely in a Better Homes and Garden mag back in 1993, and now it finally lives.
I struggled, as you know, it was fiddly and time consuming but like most things worthwhile, it is satisfying to conquer and get to the end.
Compared to the construction the quilting will be a delight, I am currently searching for a design to feature in the yellow blocks, the original had a spider web type of design. My fellow stitchers at the Stitching Post think I need something with a strong linear feel rather than a feather circle. Does anyone else have a suggestion? Please dont be shy I really love to know.

Now I will leave you with some more spring images that you may actually enjoy....

After the rain.......the rainbow.

this was taken outside my backdoor during the week, we are heading into Spring and we are getting some topsy turvy days.

Which may explain my headspace, not really I can be pretty topsy turvy whatever the season!

After my exercise in fiddly blocks with precision sewing and the clothes making stint, I turned my attention to a simple and quick project just to blow out the cobwebs.
I bought this charm pack of vintage sheets from Deb at Fabrichicks, now I am going to attempt a link here, so hold on......
Fabrichicks.

Check it out, there are some lovely packs, I am currently waiting for a scrap pack so I can start another project.....more on that when I start.

I was thinking about what to do with these lovely fabrics, and then it just hit me, I got them on my design wall and just stared playing just as imagined Deb would. I love her colour sense and straight talking quilting......just do. So I did.

Then I wanted it bigger so when I was potting around Spotlight as you do when you want to have some escape, I saw Denyse Schmidt on SALE, $8 a meter and this is what I found.

I really could not believe my luck, her fabrics were made for vintage sheet sewing.

Two inch, inner border, 4 inch outer border and the binding. I am very happy with this one, it makes me smile.
I may have to fight number one daughter for this, but she will win because she does love my quilts and that makes me smile a lot harder.

And vintage sheet found at Vinnies for the backing......happier still.

I have found such a wealth of inspiration and hints since finding out about craft blogs, and for that I would have to thank my friends Debbie and Tracey. 
I met these wonderful ladies because I hung around their place of work buying and dropping off op shop goodies, I had just been through a really rough time in my family life, it was hard, people I thought were reliable just drifted away in my hour of need, but after the rain the rainbow........
So I am grateful for the chance I had to meet you all, real and virtual, and the shared inspiration.

Still plugging away, happy about this too.

PS. Do you like my new layout?

Feeling quite productive 

Compared to my previous dilemma about the number of projects I had piling up, I feel very productive now.

Maybe because I have finally finished those blocks

YEAH HARRR!

20 of the little B%%'s finished.

If this project has taught me anything, it is I really do not like lots of repetitive complex fiddly blocks, so after I stumbled across the line I did a quick clothes sewing binge.

Meet my other friend in the sewing room, her name is Diana, and she is a recent addition to my life. 
Because I am a size utterly amazing, I have found that sewing at home enables me to sew clothes that are not made to make me look like a refrigerator. I have curves and damn it I will wear a red polka dot dress if I so desire...and I do. But do the chain stores make them for amazing woman....nope.

Ta Dah.....

I love Diana because initially I had to try and fit and alter this dress on me, and there are only so many times your teenage daughter will zip you up and pin you. Son just runs screaming from the house and husband disappears to the shed.
When Diana came to stay, I thought I may be a little confronted to see my amazing size replicated...but hey I am not so bad. My tummy is a little bigger but this pattern skims over the belly and I feel very pretty in it.

 This pattern is very versatile, and I have made another dress with out sleeves which I wear a top under.

So that is what I do when I am not patchworking.

Now before I go I must show you some amazing fabric I found in my local Spotlight store.

It looks like rows of ruffly crochet, and it was stretchy and colourful. Bought a meter and whipped this up, tube skirt, elastic in waist and didn't even need to hem it due to the fabric construction.
Done in 20 mins tops!

 I wear it under a big black loose tunic top and have already received a few compliments, I must say!

Got to love the sewing, just not the fiddly blocks, did I mention that?