Hexie potholder #2!

It's time to show you the second potholder!

(Linking up today with the NEWFO party over at Catpatches....hoping that it's OK to finish a new project!!)

I like the way this one turned out . . . after I put the layers together on this one, I did a blanket stitch around the blue hexies on the top layer. I went all the way around and then after I clipped the threads, I cut away the batting and the backing fabric.

See the stitches on the edge?  I quilted it differently than the other one:

This one has a "Moda" loop, too:

And here is the obligatory shot of the reverse, so y'all can critique my quilting. (Grin)

I like it! And I hope that the recipient will, too!

Hope if you make a hexie potholder, you will show us yours!

Love,

Hexie potholder #1

I decided to finish my (big) hexie potholders in two different ways . . . I wanted to see which way turned out the best, or was the easiest way to finish them.

I used two layers of batting and one of Insul-brite inside both potholders. That makes it kinda bulky for the hexie shape, but you don't want your fingers getting scorched, right?  Right!

For the pink one, I put the whole pile of hexies and batting with right sides together against the backing, and stitched almost all the way around -- just left a little stretch open for turning. I also included a surprise in that sandwich -- have you gotten a luscious bundle of fabric goodness from Moda and kept that cute woven tie that was around it?
Have you wondered what you could use it for?

Lookie!

Voila! A hanging loop for the hexi-holder!
Once I turned it out and poked the corners out good, I did a very small meander all over.

Love how the yellow center puffs up now:

Thirties colors are so cheerful!
Here are a couple more pictures to show you the quilting:

 

And on the reverse:

I used some of my favorite Aurifil thread -- a collection called Simply Color by Vanessa Christenson . . . goes with the Moda fabrics she designed with the same name!
Free motion fun with Aurifil!  I swear, it goes like a knife through butter! No snags, no tangles or breaks! Just pedal to the metal fun!

I'll show you the other hexi-holder soon!

Love,

Doin' the Charleston

I love history.

I love Charleston.

I love quilting.

Therefore, when in Charleston, I see things a little differently than others might. (Grin)

I had the opportunity recently to spend some time walking about on my own in the historic district of this wonderful city, and I found inspiration for quilting.

This (above) reminded me of some piecing that I have done, but these next photos are of things that really cranked my tractor . . . got me excited about some free motion quilting projects!

I know it's hard to see, but don't you think that this design would look wonderful in an area that could accommodate a circular motif?

How about this in one of those border areas? I think it might be a good alternative to those feathers that I can't seem to get the hang of! (Wink)

I thought these were cool ideas to fit some spaces in an original (read that quirky) way . . . I like doing things a little differently!

Two more ideas for spaces that can handle circles.  

Those three are photos of some ironwork that just inspired me . . . if my machine had been handy, I'd have had the pedal to the metal!

Thanks for joining me for a walkabout in Charleston! 

Love,

My sweet sis!

Anybody remember this?


Our family has always loved the movie "White Christmas" and this song came to mind when I wrote the title for this post!

I have the bestest sister ever, and I just want you all to know that. Your sister may be wonderful, and awfully darn sweet, and gracious and loving and all that . . . but mine is still the bestest! (Grin)

Of course, that is what we are all supposed to think about our sisters, right? And some of us are blessed to have good friends that are just like sisters to us -- I have some of those, too, here in blogland. (Waving) I love y'all!

My sis just bowled me over the other day with a late birthday pressie! An awesome package of fabric goodness!

First, there was this gorgeous bag . . . oh, how I love reds, nowadays!

See all those delicious pocketys? Me loves pocketses! I can put patterns, needles, lots of stuff!

Haha! Can we say it all together?  "MORE POCKETS!"  I am in pocket heaven! Look at that cool piece in the bottom, to make it sturdy, and it will not droop!

I'm over-the-moon happy with all these red and white prints!

Look what else! My sis knows that I'm trying to design an original quilt with oranges . . . look at these goodies!

A Bella jelly roll, and some scrumptious fat quarters! (No excuse, now, I really have to start that orange quilt!)

Alright, now that I have you drooling over my haul, I'll sign off. (Wink)

Love,

Hexies . . . big ones!!

Seems like everyone loves hexies nowadays!

I've seen so many cool projects, and even a hop over at Madame Samm's. Hexies are versatile and addicting, too!

I packaged up some big ones for someone who needed a project to work on, but it didn't "take." I selected two inch templates (I know, I know, so big!) and then rough-cut some cute thirties fabrics and safety-pinned them together. After a while it became obvious even to me, who was hopeful of recruiting another quilter, that they would not be used. So I brought back the templates and the fabric and they sat, kinda forlornly, in the UFO pile.

Then I was at the person's house helping pull together a meal, and I noticed that she had nothing to use to pull pans from the oven! Nothing! Well, almost nothing. 

Then those hexies stared at me from the UFO pile and the light bulb went off!

So, these, that are so familiar to many of you:

Became these, that are so big!  (Almost eleven inches across!)

Stay tuned, and I will show you how these "hexie-holders" turn out!

Love,

Quilt Kit Market news!

One of our bodacious (you know that word, right?) sponsors has big news!

Quilt Kit Market is announcing FREE SHIPPING within the United States! Woot! (International orders will still need to pay shipping costs.)

And another thing -- QKM newsletter subscribers will receive a 10% discount on their orders! Padsworth just fell off his lilypad in all this excitement!  There will be a code each month in the newsletter, so be sure that you are a subscriber!

Be sure to hop over and check out what's new at the Quilt Kit Market, and look over their Clearance items, too!

(Awesome prices on charm packs!)

Love,

 

Lunchbox Quilts

When you were younger, did you have a favorite lunchbox? 

Maybe this was more your style?

Personally, I love these bento boxes that I see around blogland:

We'd like to introduce you today to a sponsor from the just-finished Pet Show . . . this sponsor hopped on board after the others had been featured, so we didn't get to tell you about them before the show.

Ribbit!  But we are thrilled to have had them -- Lunchbox Quilts!

Angie is the creative mind behind the Lunchbox Quilts company, and offers wonderful patterns for folks who have the fancy machines for embroidery, and for those who don't have those machines, as well. 

I think I just added project number 4,593 to my list. (Grin)  They're so stinkin' cute!

Angie provided this wonderful pattern to two of our winners:

This Cat's Meow pattern is adorable!  And like so many of Lunchbox Quilts' patterns, they are available in machine embroidery and classic (for non-machine embroidery) versions.

Check out this link to the machine embroidery patterns page, and this one for the classic versions, and see what they have to offer. I know you will love what you see there.  (The machine patterns include a CD with patterns and instructions.)

Angie also has "Recipe Towels" at this link. These would make wonderful Christmas gifts, just sayin'. I saw one package that included the towels, and they all contain a CD for you to use.

There's even a section of her site that has "free stuff."  Woot! (Personally, I'm lovin' on that Latte Love pattern . . .um, maybe it is number 4,594?)

I hope you will visit Lunchbox Quilts, and maybe even leave some comment love on the blog. Tell Angie that you are glad she was part of our show!

Love,

A UFO . . . finished!

Hey everybody!

We had a nice nap and we are all recuperated from the Pet Show! We're so glad that everyone had a great time, and we hope all of our friends, old and new, will stick around and see what's happening here at the Lilypad!

Quite a while ago, I showed you a sneaky peek of a project that I was working on....I even thought I was finished with it!

But there was something missing. I just wasn't happy with the overall look of it. 

So, I added some stitching. Lots of stitching. Lots and lots of red stitching to make the stripes on the flag! (Grin)
And personalized it even more than it was!

Take a look!

 

Me likee now!

I added "8th" in the little star, since my dad-in-law was in the Mighty 8th Air Force. And I put "351st" in the large star, since he was stationed at Polebrook, England, as a part of the 351st Bomber Group.

Here's a closer look:

I like this project much better, now, and I'll get it framed.

Do you ever rework something you thought you'd finished? 

Love,