Another hexagon quilt

I wonder if anyone ever questions why one started something??? Came across another quilt project that I started back in 2017 or there about. And yes, it is another huge quilt done in 0.5 inch hexagons. The final size will be around 2.5 x 2.5 meters. It is one called La Passion and was designed and made by a someone by the name of Grit in Germany on her blog called Grit’s Life. The quilt was posted in sections as a ‘quilt-along’, though it is now available for sale on her website. Of course when I first saw it I downloaded all the sections, and started it. Though I am using Inklingo instead of paper pieces. I would never have even thought of starting it if the only choice was English Paper Piecing, too much work, considering there are about 17,000 hexagons in this quilt.

 This is what the quilt looks like, though there are many different colour combinations that people have used, and I am using my own colour selections. I have so far done the very center and am working on the section of six hexagon flowers and smaller flowers inside the ring of small flowers. Here is a photo of what I’ve done so far on this quilt.

Oh, and then there is the insanity of having started the Dear Prudence quilt by Linda White from Australia, with uhm, 1/4 inch hexies. And I have the pattern for her Eleanor Jean quilt as well

. Dear Prudence blog.

 

I really am beginning to question what I was thinking when I started these, specially since there are now 4 hexagon quilts in the making, and that is not yet counting all the other quilt projects hiding somewhere. I do think it is about time I started finishing some of these…. I need more hours in the day.

Dollhouse dolls with knitted clothes

Was asked a few days ago to show photos of all the dollhouse dolls I have clothed in knitted outfits. That was easier said than done. So here are 3 photos of the ones that are done so far. Yes, some still need hair, I’ll get to that sometime. Most of the patterns are by Helena Bleeker or Sharon Gail de Vries.

  

 

 

 

 

 

Not all of the dolls show very well in these pictures, I might take some better photos some other time, when I have finished some of the others that have been in the making for the last few years. And I also need to make something to allow some of them to stand by themselves.

Yes, I get easily sidetracked to start new things, which is the reason there are at least another dozen in the works. And right at the moment I am knitting for slightly bigger dolls, and then I have boxes of still bigger ones that need some clothing. I have been fascinated with knitting for dolls for quite a few years, but seem to always end up putting them aside because other things came along….

More quilting

This is another quilt I am working on. This is a photo of a quilt made by Albert Small that I found interesting.

This is what mine is starting to look like. Yes, I started it about 7 years ago, and it got put aside for several years, but I am now in the process of printing and sorting all the pieces for the different motifs and putting each set in a separated zip bag so that I can just grab a bag and start stitching. Even that is a lot of work, there are a lot of 0.5 inch hexagons in this quilt. I am using the Inklingo 0.5 inch hexagon collection to print the cutting and sewing lines on fabric.

The quilt I am actually stitching, besides the Midnight Fireworks one, is this big flower basket quilt. I have done more than what shows on this photo, a large part of the lower left is done, and I am working on the top right part.  I just don’t have the space to spread the whole thing out and then take a picture, it is too big. The hexagons for this quilt are 1 inch ones. I don’t remember when I started this quilt, it is well over 20 years ago. It was started before Inklingo even existed, and even then there was no way I was going to go to the effort of printing (or purchasing) all these pieces of paper for doing English Paper Piecing, so I used a plastic template to cut the pieces and used a smaller template to draw the sewing lines and pieced with the running stitch. But once I got the Inklingo shape collection for this size hexagon I even went so far as to print a page on freezer paper, then ironed the already cut hexagons in place and printed the sewing lines. I figure if I sew at least 10 hexies per day I might get it finished by the end of the year.

 

 

Quilting

This is one of the things I am working on at the moment. It will become a quilt to cover my front door. Block 15 of the 24 needed is almost done. The pattern is Midnight Fireworks from the Millefiori quilts book 1 by Willyne Hammerstein. I am using the Inklingo shape collections to print the cutting and sewing lines on the back of the fabrics for all the pieces.

A lot of you will wonder ‘why make a quilt to cover a door???’

 

Well, that started a few years ago when I started trying to figure out how to cover up the half round upper windows in my bedroom. I have a street light right in front of my bedroom windows. I had mini blinds for the bottom part of the 3 windows, but nothing for the top ones, since at first I figured, no one can see in those. But then I started being bothered by the light shining into the room all night. Yes we could have done the same as some of my neighbours and got specially shaped blinds for those windows, but….. those are boring.

So, one day I thought that maybe it might be a good idea to make something out of fabric to cover those windows, and came up with the idea to make shaped quilts for those. I did some machine embroidery on fabric, made a paper pattern of the window shape, sewed a cotton batting and some fabric for the back, didn’t bother with quilting. At first I tried using some kind of tubing inside the rounded part to fit them to the window, but after a while decided that that wasn’t working. Velcro to the rescue, staple one side to the window frame, sew the other side to the quilt…. bingo, works great.

Then I started noticing that those quilts actually kept out both heat and cold, specially the heat, since my house faces west and is at the top of a hill, so from mid afternoon until the sun disappears behind the mountains, the heat blazes into the house in the summer. So I decided that the mini blinds that kept nosy eyes out of my bedroom (which is on the 2nd floor, so really not a lot), but did nothing for keeping out heat and cold. So in the last few years those were also replaced by quilts.

And of course, since my living room is on the same side of the house, with the same windows, those needed quilts as well. This time they were actually quilts with pieced tops, though the top half round ones I did some ‘stained glass’ type applique.

 This picture doesn’t show them very well, but at least it gives the impression as to what I am talking about. The bottom half of the quilts just have velcro along the top, so I an take them off when needed, and I have  strips of velcro for each of them that will hold the rolled up quilt if I only want to uncover the windows for a short time. And boy, do they ever keep out a lot of heat, al I need to do to find that out is to try and peek out during the afternoon, and feel the heat behind them.

Now I have a front door that has a big window in it, and 2 side windows, and I started noticing in the last couple of years that the reason my AC had a hard time keeping the house cool was because of the amount of heat that those windows let in during the afternoon. Last year during the heat dome when the temps here went up to the mid 40’s Celcius I actually taped some fabric over those windows, and came to the conclusion that I needed to make quilts for those windows as well.

This is the top for one of the side windows, just have to add batting and backing. I have the other one partially done,

Yes I know, they are not done to stop the heat from coming in from the current heat wave, but hopefully they will all be done before the winter and help keep the cold out.

Finished needlework

Decided today that maybe it is about time I posted to the blog again.I know it has been a while. so here are a few things that have been finished in the past year or so, though not necessarily started in the past year. All still need blocking and hemming, and they are wall hangings/tapestries.

This is French Romance by Nicola Mascall, stitched on 60 count silk Gauze with Soie Surfine silk thread.

This one is a Medieval tapestry designed by Natalia Frank, also stitched on 60 count silk gauze with Soie Surfine thread.

 

This design is by Natalia Frank, called Love Is, again on 60 count silk gauze with Soie Surfine thread.

Another design by Nicola Mascall, this one is Lazy Afternoon, and again stitched on 60 count silk gauze with Soie Surfine thread.

 

 

This one was started quite a while ago. It is the Unity of the State wall hanging by Nicola Mascall, also on 60 count with Soie Surfine.

Peacocks in Blossoms wall hanging by Nicola Mascall, 60 count gauze with Soie Surfine thread.

 

 

 

 

This one I am not yet sure of how to finish it. The design is by Elga Koster, called 1750 Dancing Couple. I stitched it on 72 count silk gauze with Soie Surfine.

 

  And the last one is Chiffre d’Amour designed by Natalia Frank and stitched on 60 count with Soie Surfine.

I seem to have stitched a lot of these on 60 count, but I am now changing to doing most of my stitching on 68 count, still with Soie Surfine. That silk thread is sooo nice and easy to work with, I just wish it came in more colours, since that would make it that much easier to convert form DMC.

Next time I’ll post about some of the other things I have been or am working on.