Hexie with a cheat

I am not 100% comfortable with the hand-sewing but I am getting there. I used to hand sew all the time but I am out of practice and my fingers and eyes are 15 years older.   Until I am really in the swing of it again I thought I would cut out some of the small hand-stitching within the larger shapes by machining some pieces of fabrics together. I have done several strip combinations and this is one of the finished hexies.

 

 I have also tried a couple of more adventurous foundation pieced combinations like this one.

As I have marked out my shapes on the 60' triangle paper then it will be easy to line up the machined combination to ensure it comes out right.  Fingers crossed.

VINTAGE AGAIN

I'm in vintage mode at the moment. Here's another card I made using a Magic Moonlight image. This one is for my lovely friend Anne's birthday.  Just realised what alot of cards I make in pink/peachy tones.  I think I will have to vary my palette. Still loving the CB.

ENVELOPE CARD FOR EVA

Thanks to Anne-Kristine for the inspiration for this card.  Her tutorial for an envelope card can be found here on the Wild Orchid blog.  This is the card I made for Eva in Denmark- all lace and bows and the exact opposite to Danish simplicity. Would like to have added more flowers but didnt because it is going in the post.  I used K&Company double sided paper and card and the lovely vintage image is from Magic Moonlight Free Images. I am definitely going to do this style of card again and next time I will incorporate some stamping.

Less is More

Arranged at short notice to see friends and realised it was their 35th wedding anniversary this weekend. As I had very little time to make a card and even less time to plan I decided to go with a green theme (35th is Jade or Coral). They have a lovely big garden with bird feeders so I decided to use this shabby chique digital image I recently downloaded from Chocolate Baroque.  In retrospect it isnt a good image for the occasion- I really needed 2 birds, but as I say I didnt have much time. Will definitely use the download again.

The ever difficult 'Man's card'

Was inspired by one of the blogs I follow to do some decoupage on a card for Aaron.  I havent looked at any of Joanna Sheen's CDs for ages so I decided to dig them out and take a look- my first thought being that there might be something that lends itself for use with Cuttlebug dies.  Fixed on the Cottage Garden CD and did this card with some decoupage and some stick on grass (bought to make Easter decorations that I never got round to). Also did a matching book mark as the recipient is a very keen reader.

Saw a funny card on the web and did my own take on it for Lee's birthday card.  Have to admit this was one of the quickest cards ever.

Card catch up

There is a flurry of cards to be made at the end of July and beginning of August so I have been busy.  Even managed to get the two for my US friends there on the day.  First there was a vintage card for Adrienne using lavender tones.  The image came from one of my favourite sites- Magic Moonlight which generously gives free downloads of beautiful vintage photos.

Then a card for Ilona who has recently lost her mother. I didnt know but it turns out that Ilona's mother had hydrangeas  in her garden in Hungary which made the card very special for Ilona.  The image came from a free digi download from a fab site called Far Far Hill.

Should have gone to Specsavers

I've now officially started on the Hexalong and made my first hexagon.  As I was hand sewing them together it all came flooding back to me why I stopped cross-stitching - which for many years was my favourite hobby.  The reason was my Varifocals- as my eyesight deteriorated and I needed long and near distance correction I could never find a comfortable head position for hand sewing.  I am not going to let this stop my with my hexies so I will be making an opticians appointment tomorrow and in the meantime I have found a magnifying glass that sits on my ample bosom.

Here is hexagon number 1- hope my whip stitching improves when I can see what I am doing!

HEXALONG

I am a Follower of a very talented quilter who has a blog called Lily's Quilts. Two weeks ago I read on her blog about a summer project for hand-stitching and I was immediately interested, I thought I would join in with the Hexalong and make something using fabrics from my stash.  It's years since I did any English paper piecing and was amazed about the variety of quilts which can be made which are not the traditional hexagons in flower shapes.

First of all I had to sort out the fabrics. I chose some fabrics which I dyed in plastic bags at a workshop and some patterned fabric that I bought ages ago.  I may add some modern fabrics from a stash pack I bought recently - I will see how it goes.

Next I joined the Hexalong Flickr group and learned something about Flickr as I was a complete newbie. (I'm a Picasa fan myself).

Next I needed a bag for the project. I decided to customise an old canvas bag I had and at the same time get used to drawing and using large hexagons as I have decided to go with hexagons with 3 inch sides for my project.

In for a penny... I decided to make pretty box for threads and needles etc.  I might even get round to some sewing soon.  So far its been all Bondaweb and glue.

For details of the Hexalong click HERE