Sunday with Flamingos

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of work-related travel.  I'm still trying to get back into my usual routine and get some sewing mojo going again.  There are quilting projects clamoring for attention, but I just haven't had the time or energy to devote to them.

I did manage to do some fussy cutting yesterday so I would have some flamingo hexies to sew up today.  These are easy to pick up and stitch when time is short or your energy level isn't up to using the sewing machine.

I did manage to stitch some hexies during my travels.  These were fun to cut, especially the mini flamingoes with the pink and green swirls!  

This project was inspired by a Hex Vex kit I bought from Barb Vedder of Fun with Barb.  She no longer sells the kit, but it wouldn't be hard to get started without it.  This link will take you to a page where she discusses her original Hex Vex quilt and shares some other examples.  It's a fun project and great opportunity to play with fussy cutting and combining fabrics.

Disappearing Pink Scraps

The color for this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge is pink.  I didn't find a lot of pink scraps in my stash, but I managed to use them in creative ways (I think).  I'm not finished working on my round of RSC projects, but the scraps have decreased to the point where I may have to make some new ones!

I completed two Windblown Wishes blocks this afternoon.  Pink wraps up all the blocks I plan to make for this quilt, so the next step is getting a flimsy assembled.  Maybe that will happen by the end of the year?

All kinds of random scraps got turned into pinwheel blocks.  I've accumulated quite a stack of pinwheel blocks, but I'm going to keep making them through the end of this year's RSC.  I do have a plan for them, but I'm not ready to start assembling them yet.

The scant amount of pink scraps led me to try strip piecing a pink 49-patch block.  I used Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trip Around the World piecing technique, but modified it for my needs.  I think this might be my favorite 49-patch block so far!  Since these are only 7" blocks, I'll be making more of them for next year's RSC.

For more pink scrappy fun, check out today's link-up at Angela's Soscrappy blog.

This Week in Fabric Therapy

My sewing room has been in need of some serious re-organizing for several months.  All the flat surfaces were so piled with fabric and projects and storage containers there was barely room to do any work.  I started to tackle the mess last weekend, and have at least made some progress in tidying up a few areas.

One of the main things I wanted to do was get this Spring Clean* string quilt project set up in an organized fashion, so I could whip out a string-pieced block whenever I had a small window of stitching time.  Now I've got baskets and bags of light and dark strings, plus a stack of ready-cut foundation squares.  This quilt requires 144 string-pieced blocks (I'm almost halfway there), so I need to stay focused if I'm ever going to finish it!

I started this Pumpkin Table Mat (Primitive Gatherings) several years ago in a class at The Quilted Owl.  I finished everything but the embroidered embellishments.  I found the storage container when I was re-organizing the sewing room.  I realized this might be my only taste of Fall this year, so I decided to get the embroidery finished and enjoy it.  I've been using a white chalk pencil to help with the stitching lines - I just haven't brushed all the chalk marks off yet.  The light-colored thread is actually gold - not sure why it looks white in the picture.

Another storage container re-discovery:  my hexagon creations from Barb Vedder's Hex Vex pattern.

I'll be traveling for work in the near future, so I decided to cut as many hexie parts as possible to give me something to work on while away from home.  I need to find a small Ott lite so I can see my stitches in the hotel room at night.  True confession:  I've been working on cutting these parts and pieces longer than just the past week!

Last but not least, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for October is pink.  The re-organizing project kept me from digging out any pink scraps until yesterday.  I pulled some 2 inch strips to make squares and HSTs for some Windblown Wishes blocks, but I haven't had time to finish them.  I'm not finding a lot of pink scraps in my bins, so I may have to make some new scraps!

As you can imagine, all this Fabric Therapy was an antidote for stress this week.  Whenever a hurricane threatens the Gulf Coast, we all use our favorite coping mechanisms.  I'm glad Fabric Therapy works so well for me!  Hurricane Nate was pretty much a no-show for New Orleans, and although there was weather-related damage to other parts of the coast, it wasn't as bad as predicted.  I will be glad when hurricane season is over!

*The Spring Clean Quilt is a pattern by Brioni Greenburg in Issue 8 of Fat Quarterly Ezine.