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Once again, I have gone several weeks without a post.  I do have a legitimate reason...the Hinkelman's have been aggressively looking for employment.  With this going on, my machine time has been limited.  But, today I, as my friend said, decided to treat myself to a new project!

The project:  A birdhouse wallhanging

Fabric selection:  30's reproductions (This pattern works perfectly for scraps!)

Method:  Foundation Paper Piecing (One of my absolute favorites!!!)

If you have not tried FPP, I strongly encourage you to give it a try.  I really enjoy it!  The process is fun and making tiny blocks (this one is 2" finished) is much easier!  You simply sew chunks of fabric to foundation paper like this:

Align the first fabric face down with the second fabric face up like this.

There is no real need to press between stitching seams.  I simply finger press the seams.

Then layer fabric 3 face up and sew along the seam line.

Holding the paper and fabric out of the way, clip the excess to make a 1/4" seam.

At this point, I did take my block to the iron so that I could be sure they next set of fabrics went on correctly.

Hey!  Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the snazzy scissors I am using???  They are Gingher spring action scissors.  I forget the actual size, but these puppies are simply awesome!  My sweet Daddy got them for me off of eBay.  These work perfectly for FPP!

Sweet, huh?

I digress...  Back to the project at hand!

I've added the next 2 fabrics to unit one.

This is a view of the back side.

This is unit 2 of the block.

Next, I need to trim the excess fabric from the two units so I stitch them together.

Unit 1 trimmed

Units 1 and 2 trimmed

Layer the two units right sides together and stitch.

There are 12 blocks, or birdhouses, to this wall hanging.  They came out like this:

My least favorite part of FPP is removing the paper from the back after sewing the blocks.  My friend has the secret weapon...Tiff the Paper Peeler...at her disposal!  I wish I had one of these too!  ;-)

This is only a portion of the trash.  Hee2

But, check out the results:

Birdhouses sewn together for center

Inner border added

Outer border added

And the final touch of cuteness... I am going to sew on buttons for the bird house doors.  I think it will be precious! 

Well, that is all for today.  I hope you are having a great night!

~ J

Mamma needs a new bag

Hello there.  It has been a while since my last post.  I have been staying pretty busy with the family scurrying around this summer.  I am managing a bit of stitch therapy here and there though.  Thank God!

Have I mentioned that I am a bag addict?  I love totes, purses, do-dah bags, you name it!  I just love them!  Some women can't have enough pairs of shoes...with me it is bags!  Most of mine are handmade though.  I love making them!  I am sure that a portion of the reason for my affection for bag making has to deal with the quick completion.  Quilts can take quite a bit of time to put together and finish so a quick finish every once in a while helps my motivation.

While at a wonderful local quilt shop with my dear friend and our daughters, I purchased a Sue Daley pattern for the Hexagon Bag.  I was dying to make it so I started it recently.

See the pattern?  Isn't it too cute?
I decided to use 30's with a cheery Robin's Egg Blue backing:

Then, I got busy drawing my hexies on freezer paper.  These are some hugem' hexies compared to the wee 3/4" ones I am using on my red purse.  LOL!

 

Here is the nice stack of hugem' hexies that I ended up with:

Then the stitchin' began!  Whoot!

This pattern only calls for a mere 15 hexies!  That is a far cry from the 340 3/4" ones I need for my red purse!  And a welcome reprieve!  Hee2

The layout is a big odd looking but it all comes together nicely.

I have to say that this bag came out much better than I anticipated.  I love it!  I think I will make another in Batiks!  Yuuummmm!

Pre-handles

The completed project!

Isn't this just adorable?  Can't you see it made up in some delicious Batiks???  I-must-make-more!  Aggghhhhh!

Well, that is all I have to report for now.  Until next time...

Have a great night!

~J