I'm getting very close to the end now! Ring of Stars Sailboat Bunting Star & Stripes Crossed Flags Flag Heart  I realized a couple weeks ago that I hadn't re-stitched the seven designs I used to make my mantle cloth--sigh.....  I took a bit of time yesterday and prepped them. I was SO close to the end! These will keep me occupied for some Slow Sunday Stitching at least one week more!

I thought I was going to celebrate a red letter day--my Stitching Society 180 wool hexagons were all finished!  Hallelujah!! The Bell Pine Branch  I don't think I've shown these yet-- Dresden Plate Endless Chain Winding Ways  When I got to these last two pattern pages, I was feeling pretty lazy and was so ready to be finished with my hexagons. The last two designs #179 and #180I just couldn't face doing all those tiny bike parts or musical notes--I am stitched out!  So, being super lazy, I came up with two very simple designs of my own: Stork Embroidery Scissor I laid my scissor on the wool and traced it--one piece of wool. Sad Iron I just kind of eyeballed this from a Google image--that's why it looks weird! But only 4 pieces--yay!! 180 designs DONE!! Wrong. I counted and recounted and could only come up with 179 wool hexagons---whaaaaat???? It took a while--a long while--for me to figure out where I went wrong.  I had never duplicated the hexagon I used in this pillow--rats!  So, you know what my Slow Sunday Stitching will be--the last hexagon!!! Linking up with Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching HERE and WIP's Be Gone HERE

Hexy 9

A blog about wool applique, quilting, embroidery and decorating.

I am so far behind on my Stitching Society wool hexagons. The project for September was a banner/bell pull--I'm hoping to put the finishing touches on it today! There was also an option to do the banner horizontally, but I have a little space in mind to hang this. The top will be folded to make a pocket and I need to search for the perfect branch to use for hanging. The Acorns with berries Ears of Corn Pumpkin Squirrel with Acorn Maple Leaf Today I will be adding some Big Stitch Quilting along the edges and around the hexies using a chenille needle and pearl cotton. I'm looking forward to hanging my Autumn banner later this week! Linking up to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching and Sew Many Ways for October Theme Week

I haven't neglected my wool hexagons! I had taken photos on a pretty gloomy day last week and they were awful.  Today, I think there is almost too much sun, but here goes: I finished the last of the veggies: The Artichoke Now I am into the quilt block grouping: Cactus Basket  Shoo Fly Six Pointed Star Pride of the Prairie Variable Star I jumped ahead to the last group of patterns--the patriotic designs. Five Pointed Star If you are interested, you can find information about the Stitching Society Hexagons HERE I don't have too many more to go! I have so many people tell me they would like to try wool applique, but don't want to invest in expensive wool. My advice is to buy scrap bags! There are lots of places on line that sell their scraps--just Google wool scrap bags. These are a few that I found this morning: In the Patch Designs Etsy Shops (be sure you are finding 100% wool--wool felt is nice (and more affordable), but I tend to stick with wool. Erica's Also, another good source is a vendor at a quilt show. I found some awesome scrap bag bargains from One Wing Wool at a show last year. Even the tiniest scraps of wool are useful since you don't need a seam allowance to turn under! Linking with Scraptastic Tuesday and Sew Cute Tuesday

A blog about wool applique, quilting, embroidery and decorating.

I am so sad that next season of Downton Abbey will be the last--waaahh.... At least we have Mr. Selfridge to entertain us for a while.  All this week I have been seeing stripes in my sleep!  There are a lot of these patriotic designs and I am working hard to make them all a bit different from each other, but I am running out of ideas!  Coat of Arms wool stripes Flag and Stars couched yarn stripes Americana Housepearl cotton back-stitch stripes House with Flag cotton floss chain stitch stripes Eagle wool floss chain stitch stripes Flag Daycotton floss double stem stitch  stripes Colonial Flag cotton rick rack stripes Uncle Sam's Hat felt rick rack stripes Yes, there are even more designs in need of stripes, but I see light at the end of the tunnel!  I'll be stitching on these during Mr. Selfridge tonight. Linking with Slow Sunday Stitching HERE

Here it is, the beginning of a new week (and month!) and I have nothing new to report in the quilting department from last week.  My sis...

It seems like I am up to my elbows in wool this week.  I've finished block 5 of Sunflower Gatherings.... And have started stitching ...

Between the Simple Whatnot's meeting at Colorz and Stitching Society at Gruber's, I've managed to accomplish a few things in the sewing room.  I started putting together Words to Live By. The half square triangles have been finished for over a month and I figured it was about time to start sewing them together.  I'm really loving how the triangles look around the center block--I'm excited now to get this project finished. I also made a few place-mats for Meal on Wheels.  Our guild makes them every year and they are given out with a Christmas meal. I raided my Orphan Block bag and added fabrics from my stash to make them place-mat size--good to get some of those blocks and some older fabrics from the stash used up!  This one was made with reject blocks from my Around the Block quilt and the Temecula 12 Days of Christmas quilt. This was a test block for a model at Colorz for Quilts. (Diamond Diva by Anka's Treasures) This one was a class sample for the Sew Simple Pineapple by Karin Hellaby Leftover blocks from Trick or Treat quilt. There are still more blocks in the Orphan Block bag, but they will have to wait a while to come out to play.  The Owl Of course, I am still stitching on my wool hexagons! I have stacks of them ready to stitch as time allows, so they will make a good Sunday pick-up project. Linking up the Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching

Quilts Archives - Page 3 of 4 - The Woolen Needle

Even though things are very busy on Moose Bay, I managed to complete a few more of my wool hexagons from the next group of fifteen: Snowdrops This is the first time I've used the bouillon stitch on any of the hexies--hard to see, it is used for the green "drops". The Pear The Peach Ladybug Dragonfly Bee Skep Nine more to go in this group! If I finish my Christmas cards today, I will be doing a little stitching on these today! Linking up to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching

Here's the update on the Stitch Society wool hexies: Aspen Leaves House with Flowers Quail--I think she's getting ready to lay...

Here's the update on the Stitch Society wool hexies: Aspen Leaves House with Flowers Quail--I think she's getting ready to lay an egg! Wren Thrush Watering Can Mushrooms Sampler #2 The sampler hexies were so hard! There was just a line drawing for the wool shapes. We had to decide how to stitch them using our stitch patterns we have been given so far. Sampler # 4 You can tell I didn't get too elaborate with the stitching. Sampler #3 I'm using this one on our August project--more to come on that later. I'm still working on Sampler # 1. My first four blocks of Sally's World complete--they are on my design wall--so cute! The Gift Basket handles are prepped and ready to sew!

I've been sidetracked by another project that I will hopefully have finished soon. In the meantime, I have a few of my wool hexagons finished--I am waaaaay behind on them, but at least the ones I'm getting stitched are in the right season..... Pumpkin Stack Cat, bat, and Jack Trick or Treat Ghost Treats Moonlit Bats Blowing Leaves BOO!! Hopefully there will be more hexies soon!

Hexagons have gone modern, though traditional hexie quilts are lovely as well.

I'm kind of slacking off on finishing my Words to Live By piecing. I think it's all the snow we have already--I just feel like snuggling up with some hot tea, a mystery on TV, and my wool hexagons.  Soooo....that means I have lots of hexies to show! These 5 I restitched--I had already made these designs for my fall wall-hanging. My plan is to put all 180 designs into a wool throw--we'll see how that works out next year. I already showed you the Owl  HERE;  the rest of the 15 fall hexagons are: Apple Tree Leaves and Berries Harvest Cornucopia  Sunflower House Apple Basket Pumpkins Scarecrow Lastly--the Turkey! That's it for Autumn--next up: Christmas, of course!

Voting has opened for the Bloggers Quilt Festival.  You can vote for 3 different quilts by clicking on the little heart in the upper right corner of the thumbnail photos at the bottom of the post HERE. That link goes to the scrappy category where my Paper Dolls quilt is entered.  There are many more categories that you can find HERE--lots of fun browsing! Finally, the last of the Halloween Hexies! The Spider The pattern packet says this is a Zombie, but it looks like a Mummy  to me?!? The Haunted House--what's behind those glowing red eyes.....! I spent the weekend setting up my next group of hexies. I usually do 15 at a time since that's how many designs come in each month's packet, but since I am so far behind, I am choosing fabrics for 45--yikes! My wool scraps are sorted by color in plastic bags. I save even the tiniest scrap since they are usable in the hexagons. You can see I have a horrendous mess on my hands!  And on the floor too... Once I get the fusible pattern on the wool, I rough cut the pattern design pieces, put them with a background hexagon, and stack them. Then I can put all those bags away and get on with the next step in my process:  When I have some time to sit, I can trim the pattern pieces and start placing them onto the backgrounds. Then they will be fused down and ready for stitching--the perfect little take along project. There maybe a better way to do this, but it's seems pretty efficient to me. I plan to do some cleaning today--kind of obvious, I guess!

I thought I would do a quick update since I am going to gone all day Friday quilting with Sue Patten (and a trunk show in the evening).  Saturday I have an all day gardening expo to attend. I have to admit I'm really feeling the Spring Fever now that the lake opened up ! Part 7 of the Thimble Creek Mystery I gave up on the traditional piecing for my square in a square units.  I'm half way through paper piecing them for my Devil's Claw quilt. A painful decision, but totally necessary!  And I'm a few more wool hexies closer to the end: Holly and Swirl Wreath Christmas Tree Mistletoe Poinsettia Have a great weekend!!