Friday, January 29, 2016

Happy Hexies

If you've been following Twiddletails on Instagram, you know that I've been working hard on a little hexagon quilt.
Back in August of 2014 (where does time go?), I was all set to organize a hex-along but then life got in the way.

When I was getting ready for our recent trip to Miami, I was looking for little handwork projects to take with and dug the project back out of the WIP bin.
The problem was I wasn't feeling the fabric choices any more.
Just too pastel-y for my current tastes.
Daisy Chain  - 8/19/14
I was a little loathe to start from scratch, but working on something you're not in love with isn't fun either. I liked some of the fabrics and thought I could maybe "undo" some of it and save part of my work. Not so. These hexies were made to stay!

So...I started over.
The pink flowers are staying.
IMG_5473
The turquoises (and the greens) are changing.
IMG_5502
I'm still planning a hex-along somewhere in the future but I feel like I should get a little further along first. Just in case I change my mind again.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

So Sad!

This morning I was informed that my free Pinwheel Party pattern has been stolen by Lucky Charm Quilts in Chapman KS and they are passing it off as their own design and running it as a block of the month. They are even using my image and did not even bother to make their own quilt!

I'm not even sure how to react to this because I know from previous designers' experiences that there is not much that can be done legally to stop this kind of behavior.

It just saddens me that there are people in the quilting community who think it's OK to do this kind of thing. If they had contacted me and asked for permission to use the pattern I probably would have agreed.

Any suggestions are welcome and if you want to share this with your readers it may discourage this quilt shop(and other people considering doing this) from stealing designs that took someone weeks to put together.

Thanks for listing to my rant.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Organization

When I posted pictures of my brand new ironing table on Instagram, I received quite a few comments about the little storage boxes/drawers underneath.

A photo posted by Twiddletails (@twiddletails) on
I had actually purchased those to use in the IKEA Kallax unit I have on the "office" side of my studio, but they're working so well for WIPs that I just ordered three more and thought maybe someone would like a little more information.

My main reason for ordering these originally was price. With discounts and free shipping I think I paid around $3 each originally. The last three were $5 a piece. They're nothing "fancy" but they do the job they're meant for. And I love the color.
I ordered them from homedecorators.com. They're Martha Stewart Living Fabric Drawers.

In other news, I just finished the Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt top and am now stuck as to what to do next. Stay tuned for a post requesting advice.
A photo posted by Twiddletails (@twiddletails) on

Monday, January 11, 2016

A Quick Update

The second Monday of the month is always crazy busy with Block of the Month kits having to be sent out, but I thought I'd share my Grandmother's Flower Garden progress from the weekend.
Instagram to the rescue!

A photo posted by Twiddletails (@twiddletails) on
The top is SO close to being completed. Next up, quilting decisions.

I've also been keeping up with the 365 Challenge blocks. Yay me!

I created an album on Flickr. I also made little progress chart so I can rearrange them to my heart's content and keep track of my progress.
templatelarge
We have a LONG way to go and I'll hang in there for as long as I can.

FYI, signups for the new BOM sessions starting in February will be closing soon so, if you've been on the fence, now is the time to go for it!

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

I Took the Bait

Links and photos related to the 365 Challenge (click on the link at your own peril if you haven't been corrupted yet) have been popping up everywhere. I resisted as long as I could but finally succumbed to temptation.

The principle of the challenge is to make a block a day for 365 days. At the end of the year you will have the blocks to make a stunning 90"x 90" quilt. Something like this:


I was a little intimidated by the sheer size of it but then realized that I don't have to make a ginormous quilt if I don't want to. I can do as much as I feel I can handle.

That being said, I'm pretty fired up right now, so here are my first 6 blocks:
365 Challenge First 6 Blocks
The plan is to use 30's Reproduction fabrics in red, white, and blue. The first blocks are for the dark inner section and I'll keep them mostly blue, I think.

As I was making the blocks, I realized that there will probably be some standard widths, especially since the first 96 blocks are all 3"x 3".
I'm organizing my strips by size. Right now I have the 1 1/2" and 2" strips separated in zip bags. The last block calls for 1 1/4" strips but I decided to just cut down some of the 1 1/2" ones. I want to be careful not to have too many things to sort through.
Strip Organization
All the fabrics I'm using are available in the store. If you'd like more details, let me know.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Hexies for Handwork

I like to keep my hands busy while watching television at night. I just bought a lovely new crochet pattern and REALLY want to jump into that project but remembered that one of my goals for the new year is to finish what I started. So...out came the hexie quilt. From 2007!

I had trouble deciding on a border back in September of 2014. I tried two or three different options and had to rip it out every time because I hated it. Now I'm going to pull the trigger, decide on a border and go for it. Hoping to have it done before its 9 year anniversary in June 2016.
Hexies in the morning sun Doesn't it look really pretty in the morning sun?

Monday, January 4, 2016

First up for 2016

To start the year of with a small bang, I'm planning to finish the following projects by the end of February. I'm REALLY hoping to get them done by the end of January but we have a trip or two planned (and the Baby Jane is HUGE), so time may be limited.

Oopsie Daisy:
Oopsie Daisy Quilt
Baby Jane #1:
Dear Jane pinned!
Sailboats:

A photo posted by Twiddletails (@twiddletails) on

Friday, January 1, 2016

2015 Completed Projects

Only five and all quite small, but here they are.
Bunting Baby Quilt 1:
Bunting Baby Quilt Pattern
Bunting Baby Quilt 2:
Bunting Baby Quilt in 30's Feedsack Prints
Pincushion:
Finished the Park Slope pincushion. Any sewing is better than none.
Little Joys Dresden Plate Mini Quilt:

A photo posted by Twiddletails (@twiddletails) on
Little Penguin Mini Quilt:
Little Penguin Mini Quilt
I truly hope to have more to show in 2016. I have a few projects very close to the finish line and the plan is not to start anything new until I finish them.