Frosty Flakes 1 & 2. . .

I am participating in the FF BOM -- see button on sidebar -- and so far am working on blocks 1 and 2. I am using the Inklingo 1/2" Hex Collection from here to print the little hexies and make my blocks.

This first pic shows the hexies sewn together, appliqued to their b/g square, and the first part of the embroidery completed:

How I decided to make my blocks:

I printed 1/2" hexies on the wrong side of fabric using Inklingo and then sewed seven of them together into a hexie 'flower.'

Next I printed off the top part of page 305 in the Inklingo Collection that has an outline of 7-connected-hexies to be used as a quilting pattern and printed it onto FP; ironed this design to another small piece of FP [to make it double strength]; then cut on the outside lines... voila! A perfect template of a completed hexie in the size I wanted! See it inside the red hexie above?  It was then easy to press up the six outside s.a. against the firm FP template. I removed template and folded the rest of the edges over on their respective drawn seam lines. Ready to applique to b/g block. Although this step wasn't absolutely necessary, I liked having the applique pieces all ready to sew down as I usually carry little projects like this in a small kit in my purse for wait times such as the doctor's office, etc.. If the pieces are fully prepared, there are no surprises. LOL

The pic at right, shows a screen snap shot of the page I was describing above.

Below is the design ready to press to second FP piece and cut out:

The pic below shows the block right before appliqueing.

This process worked well for me. Perhaps it would for you as well.

Tomorrow I hope to get to the store and pickup some white embroidery floss. . . with the tons of floss that I have on hand, I was surprised to find NO white! Oh well, more shopping -- lol -- Michael's is having a sale anyway. *g*

Thanks for stopping by. . . hope everyone has days filled with beautiful stitching. . .

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

Back To The STARS & small progress on FF Blocks. . .

Today was THE day. . . I finally managed to get some 2 inch hexies printed for my Star project. I am leaning toward making them into a set of four placemats. The pattern is for a table topper, but what I really need are some placemats.  There is still enough time to mull that decision over while the center focal area is being put together.  Here's what I layed out today, just to get an idea of what it might look like BEFORE I begin sewing:

It was nice to create both the two inch hexies and a whole page of one inch diamonds by running the fabric through the printer, which prints the exact shapes with sewing and cutting lines. Easy peasy! Love it. . . thank you Linda Franz and Inklingo!

Did you notice the button on the right hand side bar for the Frosty Flakes BOM? Well, I printed out some 1/2 inch hexies today for the first two blocks.  I need to locate some very small beads which will be attached by the embroidery stitches. These are some pretty designs. We've only just begun making these cute blocks, so please click on the button, get the patterns--FREE--and join in the fun!  This is as far as I got today:

The little red hexies are for FF block #1 and the blue is FF#2. Oh dear, now I must go shopping to find some beads! lol.  Maybe I could use Sea Shells instead of beads. . . what do YOU think?  I live on the beach, so that could be fun and different.  Hmmmmm. . .  A little off topic, but speaking of the beach, our Santa rides a surfboard! How fun is that?!

In keeping with the Process Pledge [button on sidebar] I will continue to post pics showing my progress and, hopefully, eventually some finishes! Yippee.

That's all for now. . . thank you for stopping by.

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

MUG-RUGS... small, quick project... fun, too.

Just for fun, cut six squares of fabric about 5 inches [4.5 works, too].  Charm squares are perfect -- no cutting! Cut one 5" square of cotton batting, for 'filling'.  Fold 4 of the fabric sqs in half and press. I like to use at least two contrasting fabrics.

"Weave" them together to make a 5inch [or 4.5] square that fits on top of one of the other 2 unfolded squares.

Layer: INSIDE fabric facedown on table; 5" Sq of thin cotton batting; then OUTSIDE fabric, RightSide UP.  Now carefully lay your 'woven' bits on top. A couple of pins to hold your stack might be helpful.

SEW: all around edges with 1/4" seam... doesn't need to be perfect. To make turning easier, I place a thread spool at the corners and draw a nice curve which will give you nice rounded corners instead of points that have to be pushed out. 

Of course, if you want a totally square look, just stitch corner to corner.  OPTION: After stacking, you can always lay another shape on top... such as Heart, Circle, or Shape of your choice drawn on FP and stitch around that.

After sewing is complete, TRIM any bits, especially the corners. Then I like to ZIGZAG the edges for neatness as I toss mine into the laundry and wash with the towels - so I like mine a bit durable! lol. 

Reach fingers into center and TURN right side out... smoothe the edges and rounded corners; PRESS, if you like, and voila! you have a MugRug ready to use.

Makes a nice little gifty to tuck inside a card.  Can also be used to "identify" wine glasses or drinks at a party, 'cause you could give everyone a different color/fabric. The stem slips into the center and stays on the glass, AND, it will still protect your furniture because of the cotton wadding inside.

This is my first attempt at writing a "process post"-- I took the Pledge recently.. please see the button on my sidebar. [see also: Rossie's, Pat's, and; Rosa's blogs for more info].  Hope you have fun with this. If you find a mistake, please let me know so I can fix it. Thank you so much.

Have fun...and I hope you have a great day!

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

PS: You could also embroider the recipent's name in one of the corners... etc.. You are only limited by your imagination. Very versitile project. Fun to do with kids & seniors. I am sorry I can't give credit for the original pattern as this idea has been floating around for decades and no one I know remembers! My apologies to the original creator.
ERRATA: Thank you, Tich, for finding a little error: When LAYERING, put first fabric RS down, then batting sq, then outside fabric RIGHT SIDE UP. The text inside the post has been fixed.  Thanks again for your help, Tich... aren't friends wonderful?! You betcha.

Eat Less, Move More. . . That's my plan

The truth is I need to lose 50 pounds! Sheesh... but, hey, doc says so.  Hard to argue with reality! lol.

My plan is to: Eat Less and move more. Also to increase Veggies and Fruits, eat more Whole Grains, limit sugar and reduce caffeine. Sounds reasonable. . .ya?!  We'll see. So far over the past 12 days I've lost 4 lbs, but I expect the rate to slow down to 1 or 2 lbs per week, which is a reasonable goal. Golly. . . Pacing, Moderation, Reasonable... haven't been my fave words, but I'm trying! lol. 

Right now I walk around the house for 5 minutes, 3 times each day. I'm doing stretching and a few "chair exercises"... arm movements, etc..  I can walk outside when I am accompanied, as I still have some dizzy problems from the stroke in March and recent surgeries. In preparation for that, I'm looking for a BIG hat to shade my face from the sun while outside.

Please wish me luck and success.  The other part of my plan is to post here and update the 'ticker' in the header of my blog. . . I'm hoping this will keep me "accountable."  If you happen to be on a similar journey, please feel free to post a comment here or email me and we can support each other. 

My real inspiration came from my dear friend, Elaine, who is amazing and dedicated to improving her health and well being! Another friend, Rosa, is also on this road. I got the 'ticker' above by clicking on Rosa's. So, if you want one for your blog, just click on mine. ; -)

Thanks for listening. . . talk to you soon with some quilty stuff!
Hugs,
Cyn; -)
PS: My "weight tracker" has been changed and moved to the side bar.

Friendship is Golden!

Hello. . .

Thank you everyone for the beautiful emails and well wishes you've sent me. I'm still healing, but things are going along well.

This beeee-oooo-ti-ful Orchid was sent to me by five lovely friends. Isn't it wonderful?!  I just LOVE orchids!

The picture below is a closeup of the fabulous Lapis Blue Ceramic Pot that this gorgeous Orchid was delivered in.  It has been at my house for several weeks and it is still in BLOOM! Wonderful. I will treasure this plant for all the years that it decides to live with me!  Orchids thrive on neglect, so that's good news, and my kind of plant! lol. Thank you again dear dear friends... you know who you are. ; -)

Here's a closeup of one of the flowers... orchids facinate me with their shapes and color shading.

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This post is just a quickie... but I'd like to mention that I'm taking pics of some easy small projects I'm working on and will share them with you soon. Also have designed a new project I'm calling "MicroMitts".  I'll post the pattern here just as soon as I work out a few more kinks! lol 

As it's been a month, almost to the day that I've posted, I just want to say "Hi!" and "thank you" to everyone. . .I sure have missed Blog-Land.

Many Hugs,

Cyn; -)