Hexies!!!

A few days ago I ordered some fabric from Amanda at Westwood Acres and got a Baby Jane Moda candy pack as a freebie. It's the cutest little stack of 2.5" x 2.5" inch fabric squares and I just had to make something with them ASAP. I started turning them into little hexies and an hour later I had a neat little pile.

Hexies made with Moda Candy - Baby Jane by Eric and Julie Comstock

I could not stop at that. I had seen this little mini quilt from Malka which I absolutely love. I was craving for a pop of color after all the mild colored fabric I have been working with lately and I've never made a mini quilt so this was the chance. I went ahead and ordered Moda candy packs of Simple Marks by Malka Dubrawsky which came in the mail last night and already have one pack converted into hexies.

A digression from my current projects but can't stop myself. Precut fabric makes EPP so simple and fun.

The schedule this week for the 2013 New Bloggers Blog Hop over at Plum and June. Please check out these lovely blogs.

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

Linking upto: Crazy Mom Quilts

Lucky Stars BOM - April and May Blocks

I had been falling behind on my Lucky Stars BOM blocks, so caught up on those this weekend. I remade the April block as I was not happy with the outcome the last time. So far it's been my least favorite block and I made it twice. The irony of it. Still got to finish the June block as the next one should be out soon.

These blocks are getting progressively more intricate and lining up the seams in the smaller 6.5" inch blocks is getting to be a challenge. Oh well not a big deal..just try my best.

On another note still plodding along with my Sawtooth Star Quilt. I am roughly half way through.

and building a neat stack of these from the scraps.

These are the featured blogs over at the Plum and June Blog Hop this week. Shall spend some time looking these up.

Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage

Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt

Sarah @ Quilt Candy

Jackie @ NW Patchwork

Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles

Erica @ Happy Fabric

Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity

Lauren @ Seraphym

Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Linking upto: Plum & June, WIP Wednesday, My Quilt Infatuation

Angela Walters Workshop

Last weekend I had the fortune of attending an FMQ workshop by none other that Angela Walters herself in historic Doylestown, PA. The ease with which she FMQ's is astounding, as if the longarm is just an extension of her hands. It was a great workshop and I was a sponge absorbing every word she said.

She had brought along some lovely samples of her work. I did not take too many pictures as I was busy trying my hand at some of the patterns she spoke about. Bear with the poor photo quality as these were taken with my phone.

Her sample:

My attempt:

Her sample:

My attempt:

I think I know what I have to do..confine myself to a room and practice, practice, practice.... There is no escape.

New addition

This space has been quiet for sometime now but I have been busy trying to make my new mate feel at home. Picked her up from a shelter two days back. She is still getting used to her new surroundings and spends most of her time inside the pillow cover on the bed. Must pick a name for her before the vet appointment this weekend.

Making blocks

I have been steadily making progress on my Variable Sawtooth Star quilt. Even found a container that serves as a perfect storage for these blocks. Almost looks custom made.

This is my current sewing setup. As there is a lot of cutting and ironing, I got a June Tailor Quilter's Cut'n Press II that is perfect for the job.

While  putting a block together I am left with 8 corners per block. Since they are complementary I get 16 identical corners. 

Instead of throwing them into my scrap bin decided to do something with them as I sewed along. So I converted them into tiny HST's and sewed up Connecticut Star blocks with them. Each block measures 9" x 9" and I will get 16 blocks when done. Hmm calls for a baby quilt or cushion covers perhaps.

More on this quilt: here and here
Linking up to: Finish It Up Friday

New Blogger Blog Hop

This year I am participating in the 2013 Let's get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop over at Plum and June starting June 7. I am pretty excited to be a part of this and looking forward to meeting other novice bloggers like myself.

You can check out the schedule by going to the link below. I think this is going to be fun.

Be sure to also stop this week at:

Friday, June 7th

Nancy @ Owen's Olivia

Amy @ 13 Spools

Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day

Casey @ The Studiolo 

Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That

Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood

Kim @ Robot Mom Sews

Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

And starting next week at:

Friday, June 14

Julie @ Jolie Maxtin

Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side

Molli @ Molli Sparkles

Laura @ Little And Lots

Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Cari @ There's A Thread

Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21

Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage

Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt

Sarah @ Quilt Candy

Jackie @ NW Patchwork

Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles

Erica @ Happy Fabric

Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity

Lauren @ Seraphym

Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5

Christa @ Christa Quilts!

Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce

Anna @ The Crooked Banana

Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After 

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher

Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs

Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Fridau, July 12

Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure

Karen @ Karen, {Novice} Quilter

Anne @ PlayCrafts

Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...

Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm

Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain

Cath @ Wombat Quilts

Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19

Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures

Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma 

Alison @ Making Happyness

Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room

Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts

Nicole @ Modern Handcraft

Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Kelsey and Amanda @ Everyday Fray

Friday, July 26

Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission

RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts

Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs

Elizabeth @ In The Boondocks

Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew

Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers

Emily @ Sew E.T.

Em @ Sewing by Moonlight

Finally some progress

Last month I completed two UFOs so while I am on a finishing streak made some headway on the Variable Sawtooth Star quilt that I had started back in February.

The pattern requires all the pieces be cut upfront so it took me a while to cut up 64 blocks and distribute the pieces.

Then I got started on the blocks. Each one takes a bit of time to make. I did not time myself but I think it's roughly about half an hour each. Hopefully they will go faster as I progress. I have made two so far. 62 more to go. Wish me luck I can stay the course :)

Linking up to: Fabric Tuesday & WIP Wednesday

Quilt Binding

On my last quilt a number of people have asked me about lumpless binding. 
I normally bind my quilts as shown here. The seam is stitched straight and when pressed it does not show up too badly. However sometimes creates a tiny lump depending on the type of fabric as shown below.

Straight edge seam with a slight lump

Straight edge seam - hand bound. The seam is clearly visible as the two fabrics differ in texture.

A while back while doing an ebook review about making log cabin quilts I had come across Liz Porter's tutorial on how to create lumpless binding which was an addendum to the ebook. BTW the ebook is free you can download it from here. Funny how you take away something entirely different from what the book intended. I haven't made a log cabin quilt yet :)

I tried this method of binding for the first time on the Madrona Road Challenge quilt and loved the way it turned out. The next time around I used the same method on my Improv quilt. I had to learn it all over again as I could not remember how I did it the first time...but am finally getting the hang of it. Very recently I used it to bind my Disappearing 9 Patch quilt. It essentially is the same seam that the binding strips are joined with.

Lumpless binding

You can give it a try, you won't be disappointed. Let me know if you have questions.

Another thing that I like to do when I use stripped fabric for binding is line up the stripes, especially if they are wide. I devised a method to line up the stripes correctly when I was working on the Kitchen Window quilt. Even created a tutorial for it. You can download it from here. I used the same method to line up the stripes for my Disappearing 9 Patch quilt. The stripes lined up quite well and the seams are very subtle.

Lining up the stripes

The stripe lined up at the seam

Anyway there are a million ways to bind a quilt. We had an entire session on quilt binding at the last CNJMQG meeting. So many other methods to try.