I’ve written about the passing of my best friend, Jen. She passed last July and the year before she passed, she bought her dream sewing machine, a HQ Sweet Sixteen:
She was over the moon with it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would inherit this beauty! Never. 5 months after she bought the machine Jen was diagnosed with liver cancer and she didn’t make it. She was such a trooper and so strong-willed but that damn cancer took over. She left her machine and most of her quilting stash to me. It has taken time but I picked up “Sweet Jenny” this week-end. I find the name fitting and I also find that I have big shoes to fill ;). If you know Jennifer, than you know that she just jumped in and did things, unlike me. I am sure that she will be with me every step of the way!
Here are her new digs:
I threaded her this morning and took my first stitches and I am giddy with excitement. Such a wonderful gift with so much future.
As I was going through Jen’s room, we found her “snippet” jar. She always saved her snippets for me. There were some scraps lying around and we just stuffed the jar silly ;).
I have been working on it and have started to find my groove with a chain-piecing approach:
I am working in rows of 5:
Step #1: hexies
Step #2: flowers
Step #3: Outer white ring
Step #4: Connect
The process is really addictive and I like the fact that the different processes are perfect for whether I am sitting at home or in the car or wherever. This project is really portable. I am now making headway and that is motivating to get a few rows done!
With the non-spring weather here, it is the perfect antidote!
My sister and I celebrate our own Sister’s Day on the 3rd Sunday of March. This was my haul! She is so creative and so thoughtful! I really needed a pick-me-up and she came through!
She stitched these beautiful hand towels (she taught me how to cross stitch, almost 30 years ago):
I know I need to use them, so I replaced my bathroom ones (ones that she made me before) and told my husband, no black marks…hands need to be very well washed before drying.
And of course, Salem had to take front and centre place.
I am eager to read that book and colour a few pages in that colouring book. The last time she was here, she noticed my colouring books. She sort of laughed at that but I told her I only like the ones that have quotes in them. Of course she found this great one. I want to embroider a design from it! I will have to think about what to create with the Quilting Ladies panel! For some reason the quilting ladies panel makes me sad because my friend no longer is here to quilt with me. I will have to work on quilting with others who have reached out to me.
Enjoy your sister(s) if you have one or two or more 😉
As if I don’t have enough of my own UFOs ;). I have inherited my best friend’s quilting stash! It is bittersweet but it is so neat to touch her stuff and think of the great times we had. I feel so privileged. I am going to start with this quilt and add the sashing and borders that are left, however, I am wondering if it looks too bare and what or if I should add something more.
It is a quilt for her son. I know that Jen (my friend) liked the idea of being reincarnated as a bear because of all the things that bears go through:
I want to machine quilt but my machine is not flush and I don’t want to make a hole in this desk so voila; machine quilting table hack. In the first place I am going on a retreat in a few weeks and I did not want to spend so much money on a plexiglass table that is so small and the quilt gets caught on the corners (I have tried one out). I found this tutorial and studied it for a few weeks and then today my husband, his friend and I took the plunge with $60 of styrofoam boards (2). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g14govA4pIM
I put vinyl covering so that the material will glide easily and made a hole for the needle plate.
Even though I don’t post too often I am always doing something creative. I finally organized my 2017 hexagon swaps. I participated in two groups; my guild and a facebook one. In case you are interested in getting into collecting a variety of 1-inch hexies the facebook group is Let’s Get Hexied II – Group Hexie Swap
I put my hexies into this glass bowl; it is in my livingroom and I love looking at it! I just love dropping my hexies into it
The guild swap ladies were creative by tying ribbon around the hexie bundles. I will take them apart when I use them. I am using them ;)…not just hoarding them.
A traditional hexagon quilt; Grandmother’s Garden.
My advent calendar. My friend Jen spun and knit these beautiful minature mittens for me. They have such meaning for me since she passed away this summer. Each day I put up one mitten, counting down to the 25th. This year I found these beautiful gold light garlands and I have incorporated them with the mittens. Every night I hang a mitten and turn on the lights.
So beautiful. And yes, those are miniature hexagon ornaments.
I have been keeping busy making small things.
I am making these cute origami pockets. They are such fin to make.
I have also pulled out my scraps and relaxed by doing foundation piecing:
They are called “wild and goosey” blocks by Bonnie Hunter. Just pulling out scraps. I decided to use the same white in all of the blocks. I need a lot of blocks because it takes 4 miniature blocks for one block and then they will be sashed! The little houses are me miniature houses resurrected! For each 4 miniature “wild and goosy” blocks, I make one house. I want 365 of these houses.
Of course a quilter with a cat is never alone:
Until next time. Happy quilting!
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Sewing, Reading, Quilting, Embroidery(ing :) ), Running, Writing, Weaving…and the list goes on and on and on…
