Stash Busters Quilt Along Week 1

It's September 1st and time to get going on the Stash Busters Quilt along.  Each week I will be posting a new 12" block for you to make.  The idea is to use up some of the SPARE fabric you have laying around.  As posted last week, each month I will draw a name from all that participate and post on our Flickr page and award a prize to that person.

Click here to find our Flickr group.  Add it to your favourites so that you can come back often and check out what everyone is up to.  I have set the group up as private, to keep the scammers out.  In order to post your pictures, you need to join the group.  To do that, I have to send you an invitation.  If you don't get one by noon today, let me know either with a comment below or by email, and I will get one out to you shortly.

Now on to this weeks block.  It is A Double Hourglass.

To make this block, cut two 2" background strips and one 2" feature fabric strip from two different colours.

Sew one background strip to each of the feature fabric strips.  Use your Companion angle ruler as shown above, to cut eight units from each strip set.  For those that don't have the ruler, cut a 45 degree cut, move over a little more than a 1/4" and then cut a 45 degree cut in the opposite direction.

Take four of your units, two with background at the small end and two with the feature fabric at the small end, and lay out as shown.  Sew the units together.  Make two blocks from one feature fabric, and two from the other.

Sew them together as shown.

While checking out one of my favourite blogs, I saw this block make into a quilt.

Thanks Karen for the inspiration!

If you make the block, please post a picture so we can all see it.  If you don't want to post the picture yourself, email it to me and I'll post if for you.  Happy sewing!

Hex-A-Thon Show at Katja's

If you have time today, pop on down to Katja's and check out the show of all the lovely Hexagon quilts made by participants of the Hex-A-Thon.  For those of you that live a little farther away, here are a few pictures.

A great variety of fabrics and settings.  A few finished with wonderful quilting, and a few works in progress.  All of them beautiful!

Stash Busters Quilt Along, with Giveaways!

As promised to a few of my faithful followers, I am going to have a Quilt Along starting September 1.  Each Sunday I will post instructions for one block. As always I will be using the Easy Angle and Companion Angle Rulers to make my blocks.  I may throw a few other techniques in, just to keep you on your toes.

You will be invited to post a picture of your block on the Flickr page I have created.  Don't worry if you don't know how to do this, I will walk you through it.  Once a month I will draw a name from all of those that have posted a picture, and have a great giveaway.  You will be able to use up some of your stash, and have a chance at some great prizes.

The first month's giveaway is this wonderful book signed by Verna.  I may sweeten the prize a little before the end of the month.

So, dig through your stash and come up with some fabric that you just NEED to use up.  Make one block a month, all the blocks or pick and choose which you like best.  This is a no pressure quilt along unless you really want to win the prize, then there might be a little pressure.  LOL!

I couldn't decide on just one set of fabric to use, so I have three different groups.  I guess I will be making three sets of blocks.

I have to work with this beautiful fat quarter pack of Dreamcatchers Batiks.  Mmmmmmm good!

This fat quarter pack of Civil War Jubilee is begging to be used.

Of course I have to have a modern grouping of fabrics so this Simply Style will have to become a set of blocks.

So no matter what type of fabric you want to work with, dig it out and we will get started next Sunday!

If you are here looking for the Hexie Queen post, it is the previous post.

Be A Hexie Queen Blog Hop

My quilt for the Blog Hop is a variation of Grandmother's Flower Garden, hanging around in my garden!

It was a lot of fun putting a modern twist on the Hexagon Flowers.

I prepared a base of Moda Blue with borders on two sides using a piano key type setting.  I cut the border in a wave design and then placed large ric rac over the seam.  The flowers were then appliquéd
on.

To make the hexagon flowers look a little more like flowers, I trimmed off two outer corners!  The quilting is small hearts in the background and then straight lines in the borders.  I quilted feathers on the hexagons.  Hopefully this quilt will make a little girl very happy!

Now for the fun.  Below is the list of my fellow blog hop participants.  Click on the next name, and carry on hopping.

Day 1: Tuesday, August 20

Debby Kratovil Quilts   

Linda’s Quilt Mania   

Thimblemouse and Spouse   

BumbleberryStitches   

Sew Incredibly Crazy    

Sunshine Quilting    

Geta’s Quilting Studio 

    

How Art You?  

  

I Like to Quilt Blog

    

UFOs and UBIs 

   

Hillvalley  Quilter  

Day 2: Wednesday, August 21
  

Sunshine Girl Nicola 

Cheryl James

   

Fish Kopp   

Grizz 'n' Dove   

Secretly Stitching  

In the Boon Docks  

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs 

   

Quilt Doodle Designs 

   

Ridge Top Quilts 

  

KaHolly 

   

Why-Knot-Kwilt

Day 3: Thursday, August 22

   

Negligent Style 

   

Sue Mac Seeds   

The Tilted Quilt

   

Julia Plunket

Just Let Me Quilt 

   

More Stars in Comanche 

   

Be a Quilter 

   

Sew Me Something Good 

   

Cherrys Prairie Primitives 

   

Words and Stitches 

Day 4: Friday, August 23

Sew Peace to Peace

  

Quilt Crossing 

      

sarah did it!

  

Jane’s Quilting 

   

Life in the Scrapatch

  

Lixie Makes It

  

Creative Notions 

   

Modern Handcraft 

   

Feathered Nest Studio 

  

Moneik Quilts

Day 5: Monday, August 26

  

Scrapbook-ChickaDoodle

   

Kathys Quilts 

   

A Quilt and a Prayer  

I Piece 2 - Mary 

   

Life, Quilts and a Cat, too   

Quarter Incher 

   

Sew Much 2 Luv  

Hexagon Shuffle

To get you in the mood for the Hexie Queen blog tour on Tuesday, I thought I would share with you my Hexagon Shuffle quilt.  When I saw the quilt in the Moda booth in Portland, I knew I had to make it.

Of course I quilted it with modern style quilting!

The pattern for this quilt is here.  I will also be teaching this at Katja's this fall so you can check out her newsletter here. 

My quilt for the blog tour just needs to have the binding stitched down,  I'm almost ready!  I'm so excited about this blog tour.  Woohoooooooooo!  Hope to see you here on Tuesday to check out what I've come up with, before you head on to check out all the other lovely Hexie Queen blogs.

Home From The Holidays!

Every good thing must end, and so must the summer holiday.  It's back to work tomorrow, and back to my sewing room today.

I've been wanting to combine a number of different elements on one quilt so I thought why not play and see how it turns out.  I love it!  When the quilt is finished I'll show you the whole thing.

And speaking of playing, I finished up this Stack-n-whack quilt for a friend.  I forgot how much fun they are.  I think I have a few in my unfinished basket, maybe I'll have to dig them out and get at them.

Back to reality tomorrow at work, but the count down to retirement is seriously on.  I think I'll make it!

Have a great day everyone!

Campbell River

The first stop in Campbell River was the Quilt Store.  Did you expect anything else?

 A friendly little shop to stop in for a visit.  The owner has a long arm in the shop, so we had lots to chat about.  I did leave with a few little treasures.

My hubby had parked the truck beside a park that contained several chain saw sculptures.  This critter was my favourite.

Of course we had to walk out on fisherman's wharf and check out the scenery.  Beautiful.  I also found a delightful cheesecake shop.  Mmmmm.  A quick stop there and then we were on our way!  Hope all my BC friends are enjoying their long weekend.