Diving right in:

Over the weekend I made calculations on how many hexies I will need to make my beekeeper's quilt. Grand total: 2400. Yikes!!!

As of last night I have 1400 (it may be 1500, but I can't find my notes. So... 1400 it is, and if the quilt turns out bigger than anticipated, so be it!)

Even when we went shopping for fabric, I didn't buy anything just for the quilt. Although I may have bought some fabric for another quick project that won't take up all the fabric I bought... so I might be cheating a little. Maybe.

Here's about 1100 hexies strewn out over the worktable in the studio. It doesn't look like much right now... but hopefully by the end of the long weekend I will have several hundred more hexies done.

And then - then I can start the sewing!!! Woot!

The best part of this process has been the browsing through fabrics. I pick them up all over the place - on road trips, on random trips, in my state, in all the states around my state... and some from fabric swaps. Right now, the piece that has traveled the furthest came to me from Ireland! And almost every piece has a bit of story attached to it. Quilts I've made that have gone to people I love. Quilts that other people made after I taught them to quilt. A piece from this trip. From this person. It's a scrap book in quilt form. It has, for the moment, helped me ameliorate the symptoms of depression by showing me all the ways I am connected to people, through my quilts and other sewing projects.

Rambling through the internet today, I found something ELSE I am going to make for myself: a lap blanket or lap weight. Last year, for those who haven't been following long, I was diagnosed as high-functioning autistic. That was news to me - although looking back it makes sense, which I guess is the way things work. I have always loved snuggling under several layers of blankets, which works out to a weighted blanket. But at work that isn't really feasible. I sometimes feel like I need a seatbelt at work, and it FINALLY occurred to me that I could make a weighted mini-blanket - a small lap blanket - and keep it at work for both warmth and weight. (duh. I know. Sometimes it takes me a while to think about things like this).

It won't be anything special, but it will be made of fabric that I like. Basic piecing, basic stitching, but I am already looking forward to it! Hopefully I can get that done and pictures posted before too much longer has passed.

Shay

Drowning in Quilts.... and loving it

I did not realize how prolific a quilter I've become (relatively speaking - there are always people who make more!)

I've only been quilting in earnest about 7 years. Before that, I had made all of one quilt. But I have amassed about 30 quilts of all sizes, from 20"x40" to 120"x120". That's not half bad!

A gorgeous knitted beekeeper's quiltlet

The next one on the list is going to take me a while. Like, forever. It's a Beekeeper's Quilt - which is usually done in knit or crochet. I cannot do either with any consistency, so I decided I would do it in fabric - hooray! Because I am just that crazy, apparently.

The Beekeeper's Quilt is made of little stuffed hexes, called hexi-puffs. I made a test one, and like the way it looks in fabric. So, away we go!

The goal is to make a truly scrap quilt - to purchase NO fabric for this. We have plenty of scraps in the studio, so it shouldn't be a problem. I've sorted through one box for scraps so far, with another box of printed scraps and a box of solids to go through still.

It's August now, so I am sneaking up slowly on my year of quilting. It's done well so far, and if I keep making progress like this, I may continue it next year! I have managed to piece 7 quilts so far. My goal was 8, so I am almost there! For quilting, the goal was 5, and I have managed 3 so far.

Piecing:
1. Hawkeye Minimalist - Done
2. The View from Godzilla's Mouth - Done
3. AQ - Done
4. Mermaid Scales - Done
5. Aztec Sunrise - Done
6. Cathedral - Done
7. Anniversary Quilt - now an XMas quilt - in progress
8. Fiestaware - DONE
9. Beekeeper's Quilt - this will take forever.

Quilting:
1. AQ - DONE!!!!! still need to get pics.
2. View from Godzilla's Mouth - DONE!!!
3. Mermaid Scales - DONE!!!!
4. Crazy Diamonds - on the list and on the frame!
5. Fiestaware - on the list
6. Cathedral - in progress


On other fronts...
Writing took a hit, but it does sometimes. My ego is recovering and I will dive back into it pretty quickly here soon.