Ellie at Color My World is having a giveaway...

Become a follower of Ellie's and mention that I sent you so I get an extra entry :)

Click here to enter: Color My World: Hooray for 50 Posts Giveaway!: "I realized while on vacation last week that I had written my 50th post. In my mind, that calls for a celebration, otherwise known as a give..."

Giveaway ends Friday July 27, at 5pm EST.

Who says you can't quilt a big ass quilt on a home machine?

Just a quick post to let you all know what I am up to today! I'm finally quilting the hexie quilt!!!!!

And, I finally have 3 likes on my Facebook page! Woohoo!

I'm using an orange thread and a stippling pattern with little flower designs every now and then. I still haven't decided how to quilt the hexagon flowers yet. Let me know if you have suggestions.

Until next time,

Mike.

I work hard for no money, dun-dun, dun-dun...

Well, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged about what I am up to, so here goes. And, as a coincidence it's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, and tomorrow is Link it up Thursday at These Peas Taste Funny, so I will link up at both.

First off, I finally finished my May block of the months for Quilt Story and for Craftsy:

I know, it's July. I'm behind. The top 2 are the hourglass blocks for Quilt Story and the bottom two are the Wonky Log Cabins for Craftsy. The hourglasses are so much like HSTs that I don't know if I care to distinguish them. Easy to make though. The Craftsy blocks were fun! No rules just cutting and sewing without any measurments. Loved it! Great Scrapbuster!

My mom, brother and sister-in-law were visiting from Kansas. I talked my Mom and Sis-in-law into making a block. I think I will try to talk other members of my family into doing so when they visit so that I can make a family quilt out of them.

 I'm still in hexie land, although I finished all the hexagon flowers and I have sewn them all on the the background fabric.

 I was spraying them on the back with my trusty 505 spray and then using a free motion stitch to straight stitch them on around the edge. At first I was just placing them on, but I realized it was getting wonky and bubbly, so the spray really made a difference. I was also using Isachord gold colored thread and it was not looking right. It was loose and there were loops on the back in places. I tried everything: new needle, different size needle, different thread/same thread in the boobin, tension, speed, cleaning out the bobbin. Nothing worked. Finally, I tried standing up the thread spool. I usually leave it down using Gutermann on a regular spool because the thread tension gets to be too much when standing up, but this Isachord was a large spool (green plastic) and when I stood it up, it worked perfectly! Note to self next time I am having issues.

 Hexies all sewn on...

I back piece, and this is one of the many backing fabrics I am using. I just loved it so much I had to take a picture. I got it at Joann's. They had a great 4th of July sale where not only were the fabrics etc. on sale, but they had a coupon for an additional 15% off the whole order! I stocked up :)

I also got a little something-something fat quarter bundles for my next giveaway. I will do it when I reach 200 followers (hint, hint follow me on the right through Google Friend Connect if you don't already).  I also started a facebook page ("like" my page by clicking on the Facebook button top right or the hyperlink I just put in). The only "like" I have right now is my own :(

I am linking up at Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays and Link it Up Thursdays at These Peas Taste Funny.





Until next time,

Mike.

Color My World: 100 Followers Giveaway! + a question...

There's a lovely giveaway at Color My World, go there and follow her blog, then comment on your favorite summer activity.

Click here to enter: Color My World: 100 Followers Giveaway!: "The highlights of summer--bike rides, lazy weekends on a lake, wading pools and backyard barbecues keep pulling me away from my sewing and ..."

Here's the prize:

It ends July 6th at 5pm (not sure of time zone).

While I have you here, what kind of thread do you use for Free Motion Quilting???? I changed threads the other day and I am having tiny loopy issues on the back. If I change back to the old thread, it's fine. The thread works for piecing, but not FMQ.... just wondering about the weight, brand, etc. FYI: the weights are the same and I use matching thread in the bobbin. One is Gutermann, the other is Isachord (not saying which is the one that does not work). Both are polyester.

Until next time,

Mike.