Wednesday 26 February 2014

WIP: Farmer's Wife, Toddler Scarves and the Playmat

The kids are finally healthy again!! The last 2 weeks of sick kids was exhausting. The day Monkey got feeling better and wanting to venture outside again was super cold, and she wanted to wear a scarf like Mommy, but all of mine are too big for her. So we headed down to sewing room and I let her pick fabric for her own scarf. I figured out a quick easy way to make a toddler sized scarf because she is not very patient when I am making something for her. 
After hers was all done she thought that LB needed one too. I didn't have any big pieces of the gear fabric she chose for his, so the back is blue. Both kids are thrilled with their scarves and I am really pleased with how easy they were. How does a tutorial sound, so you can make your own? I will try to get one posted by Friday.


I plugged away on my Farmer's Wife Blocks too. On Block 8, I did my first Y-seam and it wasn't nearly as hard or scary as I had imagined. Having all these bunch of blocks set up for paper piecing has been fantastic and making them so much easier.

Block 23 - Country Farm
Block 8 - Bouquet
Block 28 - Duck and Ducklings
Besides the little things on the go, I got the layers of the playmat sewn together. I chose to do this in an unconventional way because I really didn't feel like putting binding on. I laid out the batting, backing and then the top, with the backing and top right sides together. I stitched around the edge and then turned the whole thing through the middle hole where the wedges don't quite meet. I have been quilting the layers together and will add circle to cover the center once the quilting is done. It definitely doesn't lay as flat doing it this way, but it is a playmat and it is all flannel so it will be shrinking up a bit anyway.


The little guy that I am making it for had his baby shower about 2 weeks ago, but I didn't want to take my sick kids to the party... that just isn't nice. So he will get it eventually.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for Work in Progress Wednesday.
Thanks for stopping by to take a look and check back on the weekend for the tutorial on the Toddler Scarves.

GeoMama




Wednesday 19 February 2014

WIP: Not Your Grandma's Garden Hexie Quilt

Everyone at my house was sick the whole last week. We are finally on the mend, but I between wiping snotty noses and napping, very little sewing has happened. But I have made some progress on my big Hexie quilt that I am calling 'Not Your Grandma's Garden'. I have been sewing strips of 10 or 11 hexies together and then attaching to the rows while I watch TV.


I am aiming for about 55 rows, so with only 5 done I am a long way from finished, but I think there is hope of making it someday. It sure does take a long time to sew that many 1 inch seams by hand. 

I also got mail this week... 
Monkey helped me lay it all out for the photo.

a box of Babyvilly Boutique PUL, snaps, and Fold-over Elastic so that I can make a baby gift for my sister-in-law's friend. This is the first project that someone has asked me to do and is willing to pay me for, so that is pretty exciting. The baby isn't due until August, but there are lots of other things I want to be working on, so I am going to try and get this off my plate pretty quickly. 

Linking with Lee at Freshly Pieced for Work In Progress Wednesday and Sarah from sarah did it! for HELP for Hexie-aholics. 

Thanks for stopping by to have a look
GeoMama

Wednesday 12 February 2014

WIP: Hexie Tote Bag - Trial Run #1

It is fast approaching Valentine's Day, so I got my February block done for the Block of Month over at The Hexie Blog. Here it is, the 2 fabrics are from the jelly roll of batiks that I have used bits of for 3 other projects.

I got through my first model of the Hexie Tote Bag, and there are definitely a few kinks to be worked out. I am glad that I have been writing the pattern as I go because I am easily able to go back and make edits that will make the final product exactly what I want. Anyway, although this one isn't perfect I did learn alot and I am excited to show a photo.


After looking at the finished product, I have decided to take it apart and rework some of it right away. The strap is too short for the size of the bag and I think it is also too narrow. These changes will have to wait for a few days.

I have baby shower to attend on the weekend and I am whipping up a playmat for the little guy. This is being made using a 9 degree wedge ruler, and about half the fabric is leftover flannel from LB's Rag Blanket. The little guy's dad is an engineer so I think the gear fabric will be enjoyed.



Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for Work in Progress Wednesday.
Thanks for stopping by to have a look and any suggestions for perfecting the hexie tote are appreciated.

GeoMama

Wednesday 5 February 2014

WIP: Hexie Tote - Pattern Writing


I am having a super fun week of sewing. I made a few more Farmer's Wife blocks, finished basting white-on-white hexies (I think there is about 1500-1600 total) for the 'Not Your Grandma's Garden' Quilt and started a new project for which I am writing the pattern as I go.

Here are the Farmer's Wife blocks for the week:
Block 86 - Squash Blossom
Block 19 - Checkerboard
Block 46 - Hill and Valley
Here is all the white-on-white hexies, I had a been putting them in a nice container, but ran out of space, so now each new fabric gets a little bag to live in. As I start to sew them into the quilt I am grab 1 or 2 from each fabric, putting them in a big bag and pulling them out at random to sew into each row.

Almost all the white hexies.. 3 rows are sewn together and on the design wall.  So many baggies of white stuff.. I think I have a problem.. maybe I should go to rehab. 

Just a few of the many different fabrics I used.

Here is sneak peak at the Hexie Tote Bag. As soon as I finish writing the pattern for it, I will be posting it on Craftsy and I will have more photos when it is closer to done. 

Linking with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday and Splish Splash Stash for In Hand EPP Link Party

Thanks for stopping by to have a look. 
GeoMama