WIP: A Whole lot of EPP

First off, a big thanks for everyone that reads my blog regularly (and for those that just read now and then, and those who are reading it for the first time today, and really everyone who ever read it).
I checked my page views this week and I am at 10058!!! I think that I pretty exciting and I had no idea that I would ever make it that far. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Summer has been great for hand stitching while my kids play in the yard. It has been a super hot summer so we are all getting in lots of time outside and if we are at home I almost always have my hand sewing with me. It lives in sandwich sized plastic bin on counter so it is always ready to go.

Over the last couple weeks I have completely the third block of Project Seventy-Two, which was made with 72 half-hexagons.

 Project Seventy-Two is coming along nicely (I think). I would love to say I have a clear game plan for it, but I don't and I am not in any rush to get one. I knew I didn't want the blocks to touch one another so I chose to separate them with setting triangles of a fourth contrasting colour. Here are the first two triangles, also make with half-hexies, sewn onto 2 blocks.

I am also playing catch up on the Hexie Block of Month hosted by The Hexie Blog.
Here is the June BOM

The July BOM

And the August BOM


As if that wasn't enough stuff on the go outside and away from my sewing room, I also finished 2 wedding gifts (read about them here, and here).

And made a dress for Monkey to wear to the second wedding (which I finished sewing in the truck on the way out to event)

And finally, I felt it was time to sew something for me (or rather, work on a project for me that I started back in the spring). The main piece of it almost all quilted, and I am still trying to decide on the rest of the details.

Sorry for the post overload today, and thanks for sticking around to the end.
Linking up with Sarah at Sarah Did It! for HeLP for Hexia-aholics,  Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP:Wednesday and Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social.

Leatina

WIP: Project for me and gift for my niece

We have had another busy week. I officially started my new job yesterday. I am training to be a sewing machine technician. I think I will miss the retail portion of working at my LQS but I am excited to put my brain to use trouble shooting and fixing things. The kiddos are doing ok going to the dayhome, but as with any big change with little ones we have had some trouble. Monkey is potty training and we have had way more accidents in the last few days. LB was excited to go out walking yesterday, but when he realized we were at the dayhome he bolted back down the drive way. It was hard to leave him, but my dayhome provider texted me a couple pictures over the next hour of him having fun.

Last week I worked on piecing my project for me together and now I have 4 blocks. I have figured out (sort of) how to turn them into a lunch kit, but I realized that I don't have any suitable interfacing at home. Hopefully I will remember to get some when I am at work next time so I can keep going and get this project off my to do list.

In the mean time I started another project. My niece turns 3 in a couple weeks, and Monkey turns 3 at the end of May. I picked up some flannel yardage during the last big sale at work and it will soon be housecoats for both girls. It took about 45 minutes to iron the yardage and cut all the pieces for both, and I have my grandma's serger at home so it shouldn't take long to sew it together and finish all the seams. The pink with purple flowers will be for Monkey and the blue with yellow flowers is for my niece. Both will have yellow binding and sash. Even though both girls are turning 3, I am making Monkey's a size 4/5 because she is very tall, and my niece is much shorter, so a 2T/3T size should fit her for a while.

I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for Work In Progress Wednesday. 

Thanks for stopping by to have a look. 

GeoMama

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