Tag Archives: patchwork

Peek into my stash

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I was watching yesterdays posts, as folks posted about their fabric stash as Sarah asked “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours” and created a linky party for today. I loved the idea. I thought I would let my photos do most of the talking so here goes…

First off let me show my latest addition to my stash that I purchased from Hawthorne Threads. It is Just My Type by Patty Young for Michael Miller:
FabricStash_MyType2 FabricStash_MyType

Ok, now onto my addiction (yes!!! I will be the first one to admit it is an addiction). I store my fabrics using comic board inserts and store most of my fabric in my work table. At the moment, it is a little messy and I need to store all those fabrics onto somewhere 🙂
FabricStash_WorkTable

On one side, I store collections and solids. You may be able to recognize…Lotta Jansdotta Glimma, Stof Uno, Lizzy House Constellations, Indian Summer, and some Tula Pink. Not too bad right???
FabricStash_Collections

The other side I organize by color…and I am running out of space.
FabricStash

Finally I showed my new project storage and scraps the other week, but this book-case also stores my linens, charm backs and corduroy.
ProjectStorage_1

That is my stash, I am linking up with Sarah over @ Sarah Quilts.

WiP Wednesday + August Goals

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My focus this month for “A lovely year of finishes” is to finish the top for my hexagon quilt. This is a hand sewn project and it keeps getting bigger  – it will now be a lap quilt ~ 56 x 56 in. I have about 8 rows to go.

Hexagon_LapQuilt

My design of this quilt has developed over time – I have the center focused on a mix of low-volume and high-volume prints (I try to alternate these rows), 8 rows to be specific. I have stuck with oranges, reds, yellows, blues, greens, greys, black and white printed fabrics. Each hexagon in this center section uses a unique fabric – there are currently no repeats of prints in the same color.

The new aspect is I want the center to have a border of 2-3 rows of various grey solids. Then finally I will finish this off with 3-4 more rows of low and high volume prints…repeating the pattern.

I think I will machine quilt circles or a radiating circular quilt pattern. I do not know how I will do the back yet. Anyway that is my thought process so far…I will leave you all with a close-up.

Hexagaon_LapQuilt_partial

For WiP Wednesday I am linking up with:

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

and for my August goal setting I am linking to:
My Button

Curiosity killed the…..Kea??

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The Kea is the second native New Zealand bird pattern that I have completed from Juliet @ Tartan Kiwi. Along with each pattern, I want to introduce you to the wonderful bird’s she has based her patterns on. So the kea….

…Is a mischievous kea, is the world’s only alpine parrot and can be found in the forest and alpine areas of the West coast of the South Island in New Zealand. It is considered an endangered species.  If you are sight-seeing around Milford track/tunnel, you are definitely likely to see the naturally curious and intelligent Kea;  an olive green bird with an amazing orange plumage under the wings.

Kea

"The Kea is a parrot species widely regarded as the most intelligent in the bird 
world" photographer: Ian Trafford (cited from: www.travelwithachallenge.com)

A warning though if you are driving a car – all I can say is I hope you have good insurance, they have been known to tug and pull on car aerials, and peel off rubber door seals and chew through wiper blades.

Due its curiosity and mischievous behaviors, the kea is not as loved as many of the other native birds, in fact, it has in the past been considered a pest/thread of sheep stock which lead to its endangered status. It is probably one of 4 most recognized New Zealand birds (Kiwi, Tui and Fantail being the other 3, in my opinion) and is one of the 87% of New Zealand birds that are endemic to New Zealand.

Now, that you have some background, onto the paper pieced block. Juliet asked for testers of her new block series on native birds….I jumped at the chance. Her new block was the kea. This block was a lot of fun and definitely has intricate piecing if you are looking to improve your technique it is one to try. I loved how the block turned out. It shows off the prancing of the kea perfectly!!

Kea Block with an outside shotKea_Outside

Inside Close-upKea_InsideView

Her other paper piecing patterns for New Zealand Birds are available on Craftsy and include:

  • Kiwi (free pattern)
  • Pukeko (free pattern)
  • Kea (soon to be available)
  • Fantail (soon to be available)

Linking up with Janice for Sew Cute Tuesday @ Better off thread.

Better Off Thread
and Kristy @ Quiet Play, Paper Piecing Party.
Paper Piecing Party