It was a dark and spooky night….

It’s Halloween!  YES! Love this holiday.

For many years when the kids were little and I was still working in the Insurance World…well Halloween was where a lot of creativity was released.  I’d like to say that Paul & Emily were some pretty decked out costumed kids each year. 

 

Well Emily was easy…she just wanted to be some type of Princess each and every year.   

She was a Princess,Another Princess,a Fairy Princess, a Angel Princess and a Medieval Princess.  Yes this should be a bit of a warning sign for those “Princes” out there.

 

 

Still working on the “Hexies”…if you are a friend on Facebook you know this by my daily status updates.  Will post some Hexie info here and there on the blog but I am trying to keep the material different and fresh.

During the late summer I was drawn back to eBay and it’s vast array of vintage quilt block offerings.   I think having my tablet(a new toy!) and being able to just quickly check in and bid on things was a factor…but let’s just say a few block purchases….ummm….address relocations happened.

I pulled out a set and put them up on the wall.  I am going to let them stay there for a few days so I can enjoy them and they can speak to me regarding how to finish them.

I love vintage blocks from the 30s/40s.   WHAT?!? Aren’t you a “whimsical” art quilter? I can hear some of you saying…and some scratching of heads.  

Truth be known I love BOTH Art Quilts and Traditional Quilts. It’s just the Art Quilts are what I am known for in the industry. 

 

 

 

 

But if you look closely (not to closely yet..still working on a website update…but soon) you will see traditional blocks have been making their way into the backgrounds of my art quilts for a few years now.  

So I have decided with this “new leaf” of a blog to just as I say

“Let my Traditional Quilting Freak Flag Fly”

So this blog will cover both.  Art Quilting and Traditional Quilting (heck I even love to do needle turn applique!)

and some knitting…

…and some kid stories….and whatever wacky thing that Paul Sr. does…

…stick around….

it could be interesting.

p.s. Look closely at this fabric….I’ve seen it before haven’t you?

It’s been a “hexing” sabbatical.

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all fine.  I have been thinking about the blog these last few weeks and finally decided it’s time to bring it back.

You might note that all the past entries are gone…and for this I apologize.  But it was either archive the old posts only to my computer so I could start fresh or start an entire brand new blog.  And since I love the name of this blog, I wanted to keep it.

I have learned a few new tricks and cataloging is one so this will be a very organized blog that will make locating past info extremely easy….I hope.

So a brief update for some of my long time readers (and I do hope a few of you find your way back).

P&E are now Juniors at Hendrix…and the talk of plans after graduation have begun.  Looks like graduate school is on the agenda for them both…and this makes us very proud parents. 

They are out of the dorms now and sharing an apartment.  Emily is loving having her own kitchen and is cooking up a storm much to her brother’s delight.

We are enjoying being “empty nesters” and have fallen into a very nice routine although the house is very quiet at times.   I sure wish they would hurry up and invent the “Jeanie Transport” as I call it so I could just blink my eyes and pop up for a few minutes to hug them both on campus.  I know they would love that…lol.

I traveled quite a bit in the last six months and just finished up my last “on an airplane gig” for the year.  I am doing some teaching locally but the load is very light.  This gives me some time to explore and create.  And I have hit the ground running.

A few months ago as I was ordering supplies for kits I added a pack of English Paper Piecing Hexagons to the virtual shopping cart.  You may better know these as “Hexies” and from now on this is how I will refer to them. 

Bonnie K. Hunter is a very good friend of mind and she has been working on a “hexie quilt” while on the road for a couple of years now.  In January we taught together at the Road to California and I got a glimpse of her spectacular quilt…and I was in “hook, line, and sinker”. 

The only problem is I just didn’t have time to start this project, so on the back burner it went.  And then I ordered the Hexie Papers and they sat and fermented.  

And last week I finally put together a travel kit of some hexies and fabric squares and hit the road to Oklahoma.  

Let’s just say all that “fermenting” was dangerous because by the time I was whip stitching my second flower together I was dreaming up all kinds of designs for the Hexies….using a technique I am calling “Pieced Hexies”.   

These are just some (yes the word OBSESSION has been thrown around) of the Hexie flowers I have completed in the last week.  These wild flowers will make up the border of the pattern I have designed. 

The center will be made up of “Pieced Hexies”. 

Yes…this quilt is going to take awhile…with a total of about 150 flowers needed for completion…but after all I have a very quiet house now…and full control of the TV remote.   And they are like potato chips…I just can’t seem to stop.

   p.s. YES..there is going to be a workshop…and a pattern… several of you have already inquired from my Facebook posts.  Thank you for your interest.  :)

So signing off for now.  I am thinking 2-3 blog posts a week will be the average.  After all life is a bit slower around here with just the two of us.