M&L can be a dangerous place for a quilter... lol  I had a specific list, and a cash budget, that included lunch for me & the driver.  I actually came home with money too.  For what I needed it was a perfect trip.  They even had the Houndstooth I was hoping for in pastels.  Want to make a either a Garlic Knot Block quilt or a Tulip Block quilt I made on EQ8 with the houndstooth. Might have enough to do one of each.  Need to decide, cut the fabric and get it in a project bag with the pattern.  I have found that if I make kits i seem to get things done faster.. AND kits take up less space.

I have a hunch that our dear Dee doesn't understand the concept of "a little each day". 

I have a sneaking suspicion that once Dee is focused on her needle turn work it would take a house on fire to distract her from the job ....

(Maybe you should set a timer that will eject you from your chair.  )

Such beautiful work,  but you have to weigh the cost .....

That's gorgeous,  Dee 

well, maybe.  An enjoyable project and a favorite audio book in my comfy rocker and yes the time flies.  My sewing machine is in the shop for a much needed tune up (3 years? where did the time go).  So I'm reluctant to use one of my other smaller (slower) machines.  It took a bit to let them keep my regular machine - 3 weeks before they can get to it.  Seriously I wish you could make an appointment for machine service like a car or dr. appt.  ah well.  I can make it without it but it was a moment of panic - I am attached to the thing.

I've had problems with my hands ever since cleaning out 5 filing cabinets when Pier 1 was moving out of our corporate building.  Picking up handfuls of files not good on the joints.  The hand sewing then caused a flare up - my finger was even swollen.  But a couple of advils and a day of rest it is better.  I'm going to try cutting some fabric tonight, see if I can manage that.  If I can remember to not extend my forefinger (like cutting with a knife) I think I can do it.  

Thanks Shelley - everyone too.  I don't know how many more of these I have in me, but I do enjoy the process.

I bought this pattern last fall, but never started it.  I'm going to give it a try with some lovely ombre batiks I was given.  Though I' changing the construction method a bit, she uses all 4" squares and hst.  I'm going to try it with rectangles and white triangles on the end.  cut down on so many seams.

Beautiful, Dee.  That is some tiny work.  I'm binding a baby quilt and it is taking days because I have to stop when my hands start cramping.  No tiny work for me as arthritis has taken over.  Can't even make a fist.

Glad you had a productive trip.  I'm glad to have some of that fabric as the price of quilting cottons has gone up so much.  I usually buy neutrals and blenders there.

Mr. Pirate & I were on our annual extended family camping vacation last week.  I always bring along handwork to do while on the road and in camp.  This year it was my Hollow Cube EPP project.

However,  I was surprised to realize that I had only finished 5 !!!!  Hollow Cubes.   What a complete lamer I am!  Imagine that .. enjoying a family vacation instead of sewing.  :-)



I have previously mentioned that I have "kitted" the fabrics and templates into ziploc bags, so that I don't need to be cutting fabric while camping.   What I'm discovering is that some of my fabric choices are less than spectacular.  For each cube, I need a light - medium - dark.  They don't need to be in the same color family (although that's what I've been doing because it's less complicated than figuring out color combinations) but they DO need to have a sharp contrast.

Uncut fabrics that sure seemed to be suitably contrasting to each other turned out to be less than contrasting when used in the small amounts dictated by the templates.  For example ... look at the far left cube.  The dark is the leftmost "wall"; the medium is the adjacent "wall".   The dark fabric is darn near black and the medium is a dark green with gold sprinkles.  When I was pulling the fabric, the contrast between the two seemed apparent.  But in the final cube, that contrast doesn't seem to be enough.

Ah well .. live and learn.  It is what it is.

I still haven't decided how big this thing is gonna be.  Should I stop at a throw size?  a twin?  If I go up to a double/full, I'll be making these hexies past the grave.  :-)

I do love the optical illussion.  Twin - gee that's a lot of hexies - how big are these again?  I think an entire twin of those would be too busy - you may want some solid ones, places to rest your eyes.