Half hexagon sampler

I found all the parts to the half hexagon sampler I started a few years ago and thought I’d spread them out to see what it looks like.There’s no rhyme or reason to the fabrics or colours other than they are from my scrap bins and 2 1/2 inch strip bin. The braid is probably going to be a border of some sort. There are going to be triangles of a light neutral in between each pieced hexagon. I have yet to determine what will be in between the rows.

It will be laid out in rows as it is in the photo with something in between each row. Any ideas or suggestions for what to put between the rows would be gratefully received. Maybe once I have some of the pieced hexagons together with their triangles I’ll have a better idea of what to do. It’s not like I have to decide in the next day or two.. In the meantime, it is now all packed up back in its project box and it’s time to work on the next time slot project which is my Willyne Hammerstein Battle of the Stars. I have one of the partial rosettes that circle around the centre finished and fabric for another one cut. I need 10 of these in colours that complement the complete one. I think I have what I need in my stash already. All I have to do is dig for it. (grin). I think the background is going to be a dark blue.

And lastly, I finished knitting on a shawl last week. It still needs to be blocked and stretched out to its proper shape. It’s made out of a lovely soft alpaca yarn that will be wonderfully warm and soft wrapped around the neck in the cold arctic vortex weather.

It is super bowl sunday, and since I am not a football fan I’ll be sitting in my comfy recliner away from the TV set, either listening to a book or watching something on the computer and keeping my hands happily occupied by stitching. I’m going to do at least one more of the rosettes and then maybe some more knitting. I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching.

Slow Sunday Stitching

One of my slow projects, Leo’s Mane, is finished, the hand stitching part, at least. I think I’ll be putting a border on it probably out of the same fabric as the half diamonds around the edge.



I’ll be doing up a pattern for this project in the next month or two. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to start next. I’ve just recently discovered the designs by Nancy Cabot, first published back in the 1920’s in the Chicago Tribune. A lot of them are very complex and would be perfect for the English Paper Piecing technique. Castor and Pollux was one of Nancy Cabot’s designs.
In the meantime, while I’m looking around and playing in the Electric Quilt software, I’m continuing to work on the half hexagons. This is a picture of what I have so far. I’m not sure of the layout here, but I have lots of time to play around and decide what I want to do.



There’s been a lot happening here this past week. I’m going to do a bit of “shameless self promotion” as my good friend Gail calls it. Our website http://eagleswingsquilts.ca launched on Wednesday, and we are now officially in business selling English Paper Piecing supplies, as well as some of my patterns. We are in Canada, so our prices are all in Canadian dollars, and we ship from inside Canada. When I first started this English Paper Piecing journey with La Passacaglia, I purchased from the States and was blown away by the added cost of the exchange on the dollar and by the cost of the shipping from there to Canada. There were actually four of us doing the project at the same time, and we all had the same reaction. We started thinking that someone should really do this in Canada. That was 2 1/2 years ago, and it never occurred to me at the time that the “someone” would be us. However, we don’t only sell to Canada. We can sell to the States, and the differences in our dollars can act in their benefit. I think it’s something like our dollar is the same as .70 cents in theirs.
There, “shameless self promotion” finished.
I’m going to link to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching, and then get back to more relaxing hand stitching out in the glorious sunshine. Of course, I’m going to check out what the others in the link list are up to, as well.

Slow Sunday Stitching

I’m making great progress on the two hand stitching projects I’ve got going. My design Leo’s Mane will be finished soon. It’s even further on in progress than shown here, but I don’t have an up to date picture of it.
And then, I’ve done a few more of the large hexagons for the strippy braid project I’ve got going using 2 1/4 inch half hexagons.
These things sew up fast! I can do a couple of the large hexagons in an evening.
So, this is going to be a very short and to the point post, because, after I link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching, I want to hurry up and do more stitching!

What I’m working on....

I’m doing more half hexagons. It doesn’t look like much has been added, but these things are a fairly good size, so the large pieced hexagons take an evening each to put together. I have decided, I think, to make a strip quilt out of these. The hexagons and the braids will alternate, and then the braids will be an outer border, as well. At least, that’s the current plan. It will likely be years in the execution. This is where it was a couple of days ago. I’ve since taken the two hexagons apart and placed them side by side, as I think the final layout will be.  I have yet to decide what the in between triangles will be. I have lots of time before I get there.But then again, I could change my mind.....
I’m linking up to Lorna’s Let’s Bee Social and Esther’s WIP’s on Wednesday
It looks like there is some interesting programs on PBS tonight, so I think some more stitching may be in order.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Slow stitching is happening today, and lots of it. It’s a lazy, lazy day today, with not much happening. I had though we were having family over to visit, but it turns out that what I thought was a definite statement that they were going to be here was just a maybe we can try to come over. That wasn’t their fault, it was my fault for misreading it. So, what’s a quilter to do when presented with a free and clear day....... quilt.
A couple of weeks ago I started making a braid out of some 2 1/4 inch half hexagons. I had no idea at the time, what I was going to do with it, other than I liked the way it looked. I did some research and some image searches on the internet to see if I could find something that inspired me for arranging long lengths of braids. Nothing really spoke to me. But, after showing the picture on Facebook, I had numerous comments that it would make a great border. Hmmmmm..... so it would, but a border for what? Well, I saw a picture of some hexagons made of half hexagons, and I decided “that’s it!”. So, in keeping with the using up 2 1/2 inch scrap strips, I’m pairing 4 light and four dark half hexagons for the beginning of what will be a scrappy creation, I hope. The 2 1/4 inch side of the half hexagon actually goes into the centre, so these pieced hexagons are large, the outside edges being 4 5/8 inches.

The other project I’m hand stitching is Leo’s Mane. I have 2 more of the yellow and purple stars to do  and 5 more of the diamond units to do and then I can start sewing it together. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’m itching to start something else, also using those kits shapes that form the stars.

I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching and then I’m going back to more stitching. Kathy has a picture in her post today that says “Beautiful things come together one stitch at a time”. So very very true.

A most relaxing holiday...

We had the opportunity last week to spend five days, from Wednesday to Monday, camping in the wilds of Algonquin Park. There were plans for hikes and lots of sitting outside enjoying warm sunny days. What we planned and what happened were totally different. We had a few lovely sunny days, deceptively inviting. What we didn’t anticipate was, according to the people who live in the area, the worst year for black flies that anyone could remember. It’s been a cold and very wet spring, perfect breeding weather for the tiny little beasties. There were swarms of them!! So, we spent a lot of time in the trailer, with the windows  open, enjoying the setting from inside the trailer. Any time outside was spent getting to and from the car as quickly as possible. We stopped at a beautiful spot for some quick pictures, and I mean quick.
This beautiful spot was just down the road from our campground.

So, instead of walks and hikes, there was stitching and reading and sleeping and listening to audiobooks happening. I got a bunch more half hexagons sewn to my braid. It’s about 48 inches long now. I have no idea how long they are going to end up, nor how many I will make, nor what it will end up being. But it’s using up 2 1/2 inch strips and scraps, so it’s a good thing.

I also got lots more done on Leo’s Mane. Just one more of these units to make and it will start to go together. All those little diamonds are a bit time consuming, but that’s not a bad thing when stuck in a trailer.

Oh, and did I mention that it also poured down rain all day Saturday and all day Sunday? Yep, it did. It cleared up in time for us to come home Monday. Except, as soon as we arrived in the city and headed to where we store our trailer, the clouds opened and it poured again, just long enough for us to get drenched while unhooking and unloading the trailer. Thankfully, it stopped once we got home so that we could unload the car. Sometimes I wonder why we bother with this camping thing. But then, every now and then, we get glorious weather and it is all worth it.
I’m linking up to Lorna’s Let’s Bee Social, before settling down to do some more stitching.

A Pattern Release and more EPPing

I am so excited about this new, and first, pattern release I have here on the blog. It’s been a long time coming. It is a quilt I designed over ten years ago when I was a member of the Yahoo group Canadian Quilt Swappers. This is back in the days before Facebook, before Instagram and even before blogging was common. It has had limited public sharing in a couple of guilds that did it as a nine patch swap and a mystery during their programs. It’s time to see if a wider audience would like to make it, as well. The pattern itself is available on the right hand side bar of the blog as either a PDF download or in print. It is 10 pages long, and has pictures and instructions suitable to a beginner. The quilt looks like quite a complex design, but that is achieved from the layout. The individual units themselves are easy to make.

I’m continuing to hand stitch, and in true quilter’s A.D.D. fashion, I have more than one project on the go.  Ive started a braid project, made out of 2 1/4 inch half hexagons. They are a perfect fit for scrap 2 1/2 inch strips.
And hen I’m continuing to work on the units for Leo’s Mane. The second of four total stars is ready to go together.
Today has been declared a work on the computer day. So, after I share this post with Lorna’s Let’s Bee Social and the Needle and Thread Network, it will be back to work.