Gingham Triangles block

Triangles. Such a simple quilt-block concept. I like it.

I've seen awesome quilts made from just triangles set like this. My favorites are probably the ones made from shirts and sheets, with lots of dark stripes and plaids, and lots of light solids.

So, I wanted my gingham-sampler project to include a simple triangles block.

For more of the gingham-sampler blocks I've made, check the "Gingham" label in my blog sidebar.

English Paper Piecing

So, it's been a while since I've mentioned some of my ongoing hand-sewing projects.

Even though most of my sewing happens at the sewing machine, there's just something nice about stitching something while sitting on the couch, or the rocking chair, or at somebody else's house.  It's very relaxing. And very satisfying. English Paper Piecing is my latest, greatest hand-work favorite.

My most recent on-the-go project (read: small enough to store in my purse or the car) is my Very Tiny English Paper Piecing. 

This tiny project box is really handy to carry around.

The plan:

I'm making a wall-hanging, to go in a frame. Something like this, made of very tiny, very scrappy hexagon flowers ... Frame size about 8" x 10" ... or maybe the next size up, depending on how big it ends up.

The inspiration:

Several weeks ago, it occurred to me that I'd like to make a quilt-y wall hanging. Just something pretty and small. Colorful. Simple. (And in a frame so it's easy to dust.) This quilt (discovered on Pinterest a few weeks ago, now pinned here) has a beautiful layout, and about 6 weeks ago, I decided that a similar layout (minus the border) would make a great tiny-hexagon wall hanging.

What it looked like last week:

7 colored hexagon flowers

What it looks like this week:

12 colored hexagon flowers & 4 white hexagon flowers

A little size-perspective:

The flowers I made this week. (That First Big Quilt is in the background.)

So - With the current plan (always subject to change) here are the stats:
Finished 12 out of 20 colored flowers.
Finished 4 out of 12 white flowers.
Still need lots of additional white background hexagons.


~  Switich gears; next project  ~


And, my longest-running English Paper Piecing project, which has been in the works for a year and a half: The Vintage-Inspired Diamond Stars.

What it looked like last time I blogged about it:

Progress as of September 2012

What it looks like today:

Progress as of July 2013

37 inches long

31 inches wide

The stats & the plan:

I'm not quite ready to count numbers-of-diamonds needed, or even numbers-of-inches ... yet. I'm having fun, but, realistically, these are small diamonds, and this will never be a huge quilt. Basically, I'd like to make the scrappy white border of diamonds even all the way around (obviously), and then add a single-diamond-row of colored diamonds, and then more white. Something like that. 

Anyhoo, it comes in handy that I can get a little reminder/inspiration/motivation/accountability to work on this one ...

Jessica, who blogs at Life Under Quilts, has just started a "Monday Morning Star Count" as a place to link blog posts about English Paper Piecing project progress. (Say that 3 times fast!) Since I love the inspiration I get from seeing other people's projects come together ... and since Jessica's pictures of her travel quilts motivated me to try a similar design ... I'm linking my post today to this week's Monday Morning Star Count.

Monkey Grass is blooming!

I have a lot of this monkey grass in my flowerbeds. It's sturdy and green. It multiplies, so there's lots of it. It's there, even when the perennials fade. And, from time to time, it blooms!

This stuff is super-easy to take care of, easy to divide and transplant, and it's almost impossible to kill. 

Like I said, I have lots of it in, and at the edges of, my flowerbeds!

And it's got sweet little lavendar blooms.

And, like I might have mentioned before, I love it when the light hits things in an unusual way.

A bird in the rocky grass

When we were mowing the grass recently, my daughter came across this bird in one of the rocky areas of the lawn. Fascinating. According to our (online) research, this bird is a killdeer. I love that Wikipedia states that the bird is "named onomatopoeically after its call." (When do you ever get to use a word like "onomatopoeically"?! Love it!)

Can you see the little eggs on the right side of the picture?

This mother bird was protecting her four eggs with an impressive display of determination/bravery/dedication.

Gingham French Braid quilt blocks

One of the fun things about playing with my gingham fabrics is that I decided to try some quilt block styles that I haven't made before.

I've made quilt braids before, but not the kind with the little cornerstones. I think that's what makes these French braids. Something like that. 

 The little white cornerstones work well, since I'm trying to keep plenty of white in each block.

These were easier than I expected.

I decided to try a "warm colors" block and a "cool colors" block.

Pleased with how these turned out.

This brings the Gingham-Block total up to four. 

 

 

As usual, more are in the works!

Gingham 36-Patch

A little more gingham patchwork ... made of the gingham colors I've been saving up.

Just a basic 36-patch in lots of colors.

I like it.

It'll finish at around 12 inches.

And, after the Mosaic block got trimmed, it turned out nice and neat:

More blocks in the works ... stay tuned!

Dandelions - just because!

I love it when the sun hits ordinary things in extraordinary ways. 

Need I say more?

So, yeah, sometimes my grass is clothed with dandelions. But they look sunny and happy, and the kids like to pick them. And sometimes I think maybe the Bible was talking about dandelions in verses like the one below ...   :-)