Turtles, Ouch Pouches and Hexies

Much time this weekend was spent prepping the fabric Debbie sent so that it would be ready for basting onto hexagon papers.  There really are some beauties here and I’m looking forward to using them.

I also worked on finishing up some anti-ouch pouches and pulling fabric for a new red and white project that I may take on retreat later this summer. Can you have enough red and white?  I’ve certainly been working with that combination this year.

Finally, when I went to check out why my dogs were so excited one day last week, this is what I saw.  

Fortunately, he was on the other side of the fence and totally unimpressed by all the ruckus.  This guy was really big and after checking on-line, I think he was a soft shell turtle.  Most turtles we see are  box turtles, but we have these and snapping turtles too.

And the Hexies Keep Marching On

My pile of basted hexagons has grown significantly thanks to nighttime television watching and a road trip. The trip was the four-hour trek to Dallas last weekend to celebrate a dear friend’s 80^th birthday.  It was also an experiment since this was the first time we had traveled to a hotel with both dogs.  They behaved quite well considering how strange it must have seemed to them.  We hope to take them on a longer trip later this year and were relieved to see how they handled it.

Here’s a picture of my growing stack of basted hexies.

I also received a wonderful squishy package of reds and neutrals from my sweet blog friend, Debbie, over at Stitchin’ Therapy.  She saw the pictures of this project in an earlier post and volunteered to feed my hexie addiction.  These will work nicely with the fabrics I’ve already used.  Thanks, so much, Debbie.  We've been friends for many years and I keep hoping to meet you in person some day....

Because I am not confident that I really understand the ramifications of the new EU regulations affecting bloggers, I have made a few changes including removing side-bar items with direct links to third parties, like Bloglovin’.  I have never “monetized” my blog, nor do I have a newsletter or affiliate links.  I also verified that the standard Blogger notice about Blogger and Google cookies appears when viewing my blog from the EU.  Hopefully all this makes me compliant with the new rules.  

Quilting Weather, Maybe?

We had our first 100-degree day yesterday, an event which normally occurs in July.  It was a record breaker.  Here is the extended forecast for our area.  We are reaching that time when I want to limit outdoor activities to early morning and late evening whenever possible.

My collection of red and neutral hexagons is growing.  

These are pieced in units of 3 red and 3 neutral but are not in their final layout.  Not only do I need a bazillion more; I also want more prints.

It's Been a While!

Long time, no post; but I have a good excuse.  We have just returned from a 19-day, 5,017-mile car trip from Texas to Oregon and back with many side trips and stops.  I added Idaho, Utah and Oregon to the list of states I have visited.  The occasion for the trip was my godson's wedding, and it was fairly last minute before we determined that we could go.

So, no machine work for several weeks, but a lot of English paper piecing occurred during those long hauls between stops.  Here is my pile of basted and partially pieced hexies.  They measure ¾ inch per side.

And, here is the layout I plan to eventually use.  Many of these fabrics are leftovers from my Edyta Sitar project and I anticipate it will be a number of years before I have enough to make even a small throw size quilt.  Looks like 2018 is the year of red and white for me.

I also managed to visit two quilt shops along the way.  Here is the stash enhancement that came home with me.

I'm so glad we were able to attend the wedding and the trip as a whole was lovely, but it is so very nice to be home again.

A Little Progress

I have finally reached the point where I think the center of this hand-pieced, hexagon top is done.  The next time I have a chance to visit a quilt shop, I will try to find a border fabric for it.  The design is from one of Edyta Sitar's books, but I am opting not to do the suggested applique border.

Once a hexagon piece has been totally surrounded by others, you can remove the paper.  I surely made a mess doing this!

Meanwhile, I’ve pin-basted this project and begun outlining the applique.  I really like this piece.

This has been the view from our back porch for a couple of weeks.  Much needed maintenance to the golf cart trail is happening at last. 

Twenty-three anti-ouch pouches are going with me to guild meeting tomorrow.

More Light and Geese!

After my first attempt at using my new ironing station, I knew I wanted more light in that area of the sewing room.  Another trip to the big box building supply store was in order and I found this lamp.  It really improves the situation.  The anti-ouch pouches that I’m working on this month are stacked on the ironing surface.  They are a great project when I’m in the mood for some mindless machine stitching, which has been the case lately.  I've been lagging in getting them finished this year and am trying to catch up.

  

My neighbor’s yellow roses are really putting on a show this spring.

We've had full-time resident Canadian geese for years, but this is the first year I’ve seen Egyptian geese.  They are considered an exotic water fowl that has become established to our Texas climate.  

This pair is extremely comfortable around humans and seem to be somewhat curious of us.

Blue and yellow, a very happy color combo.

An Acquisition….and It’s Not Another Machine!

I don’t think I will ever be finished tweaking my sewing space.  This past week I finally did something I have been thinking about for quite some time.

I got rid of this clunky old television which I never watched and the base it was sitting on.

…and replaced it with this tool chest from a local  building supply store. I got the idea from exploring sewing room ideas online. 

It’s not very pretty, but has several redeeming features:  It’s mobile, provides a lot of storage, and it’s large enough to hold my big ironing surface.  I’m still in the process of organizing it but have already moved my cutting dies to the large top drawer. I think it was a good change, especially since I prefer listening to audio books while sewing rather than having something on television.

It doesn’t look like we’re going to have as prolific a year as some, but the wildflowers are beginning their show.  I love this time of year.