GFG and Borders

The long saga of the completion of my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt is nearing its conclusion. So many times over the last couple of years I have considered that this quilt was finished, yet before long an idea for "one more thing" presents itself and so I return to it and do a bit more. 

 

The latest chapter of the saga has been adding borders. I auditioned several colors of solids and decided on this pale yellow. I wanted to applique the hexie center to the border, but couldn't be sure how I would secure it sufficiently to prevent shifting as I stitched. So I basted the border to the hexie center. That worked really great for the two straight sides of the quilt.

The other two sides are curvier, so I used a glue stick to hold the borders in place while I stitched. One side is done; one side remains. I think it will be done by the end of this week. 

While straightening this quilt out on the bed, it occurs to me that I am likely to have the waviest border ever. I plan to trim off a good portion, so that may soften those ruffly bits, but I doubt it's a total fix. I expect that quilting will cover up some of the fullness; I also think I can improve things with a carefully measured binding. 

Getting that last border on is my next concern. Then trimming. Then it will likely be put away for awhile - like until I am ready to quilt it. This entire portion has been done by hand. It makes such perfect sense to hand quilt it, too, but that is such a hefty decision. I just am not ready to commit to that. Maybe I will, eventually. 

We will wait and see.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

Slow Stitching Hexie Flowers

Slow stitching, indeed. I have not been stitching very faithfully, but when I do take the time to sit with needle and thread, I am appliqueing hexie flowers to 6.5-inch neutral fabric. Eventually these will be used as setting blocks alongside 9-patches. The resulting quilt will be wall-hanging sized or perhaps, table topper. I am definitely not going for a full quilt. Small and sweet, just like these darling hexie flowers. 

Recall this mock up from awhile back. I've mostly left this on the design wall, and as I've pondered things while stitching, I do think something just a bit bigger will be nice. I have plenty of 9-patches already prepped. I've likely made more flowers than I'll use. It's the appliqueing part that will force me to keep it small. (Never have been a fan of applique; even though I've learned and can do it, I avoid when possible.)

And it's likely that very avoidance which explains my reluctance with finishing these hexie flowers. No matter how badly I want this little project finished, I seem to find a gazillion other things to do besides stitch. Inexplicable....

Here are some completed appliques. Several more are waiting in the basket. This little project is of the wildly impromptu variety, and it meets all the objectives of making darling, sweet little flowery quilts. The simplicity of it appeals in every way. All these hexies were made with Tilda scraps that remained after finishing my Wensleydale blocks. 

I'm linking up with Kathy and her weekly slow stitching meet-up. Take a peek at some of the awesome projects these stitchers are working on. These gals seem to have a lot more "stick-to-it" powers than I have. I'm gonna' glean some motivational inspiration from them.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Filling In Border Garden

Gardeners are often found pruning and perfecting their gardens. I have been no different with my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. A few months ago I was telling folks I'd finished it. Then while I was pondering borders options that appealed to me, I decided that this flower garden still needed some more attention. I needed to fuss just a little bit more with the quilt. I wrote about all of this here.

With the half-hexie flowers prepared, I stitched them into the quilt over the course of a couple of evenings. Now, I am adding the outer path hexies to complete my garden.

Five path hexies are all that I need to close the gap on this path. It takes very little time to complete. And just like that, my goal of softening the curves on my GFG has been achieved. *smile*

In the spaces that I have completely enclosed with paths, I am removing the last of the foundation papers. Then I've begun pressing the edges for a crisp, sharp edge preparing for the next step - appliqueing to a border. 

I'm linking up with Kathy and her Slow Sunday Stitching party. Let's hop over there to see what beauties these sewists are creating.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Partial Hexie Flowers

Back in May I finished the hexies for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. I shared the reveal in this post.

At the time I really did think I was finished. 

As time has passed and I've considered border options, I just wasn't thrilled about those deep curves along the top and bottom of the quilt. 

 

The side curves are fine with their gentle, soft, undulating curves. The top and bottom, though, have deep ravines. I thought I'd be okay with them and just fill in with my solid border fabric, but I've since had a change of heart. I wasn't going to be happy with curved borders so deep. To solve the issue, I have decided that partial blocks of flowers are in order. Filling in these deep ravines will result in a softer, more gentle curve for the top and bottom - a lot closer in depth to the gentle curves on the sides.

 

I played around just a bit with how big these partial flowers should be. This 5-hexie outer bit with a 2-hexie inner bit will be perfect. Once I have these all inserted into the quilt, then I will outline all with more of those low-volume shirtings that I used for my paths.

This work has been perfect for evening tv watching. Currently, we are spending most evenings watching the Tour de France on Peacock network. Thank goodness for replays! We are about 6 stages behind in our viewing. Lots of stitching time remaining.

I just know I will be much happier with the bordering results by adding these partial flowers. I'd love to move this quilt along to a total finish by year's end.

I'm linking up with Kathy and her weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party.  

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Sunday Stitching

Grandmother's Flower Garden continues to be one of my main sewing endeavors, as I make my way through the last of the flowers. I calculate that I need just 7 more flowers to complete my top, then I must stitch the remaining top together with the paths.

In order to avoid having a cluster of flowers too similar in the same spot, I am waiting to attach the last several I've made until all are done. Then I can sprinkle around the colors in random fashion. Honestly, I've tried not to be too fussy about placement up to this point. So I don't plan to be overly concerned about where these last flowers 'grow.' If my goal is to have the look of a frothy, English cottage garden, then I won't try to control things too, too much.

Here are a few more flowers yet to be sewn in.

And I will rerun the latest picture I've taken of the completed top of GFG so far. I've not added to it since before we left Florida - at least a month - but I've made lots more hexies for the paths and these remaining flowers.

Soon, I will need to have a decision about borders. I hope my tub of solid fabrics will have enough of a green to use. My possible plan is to applique this center to a green border. Then perhaps add more borders. 

All border considerations are conjecture at this point. Ideas are constantly swirling, and until I am actually DOING a border, only then will I know my definite plan. *smile*

Have you checked in lately with Kathy's Quilts? I've not participated in her Slow Sunday Stitching party for awhile, so I invite you to check out what other like-minded hand-stitchers are working on. 

I hope you have a pleasant Sunday and a productive week ahead. We've got a beautiful day here, but it's also a chilly one. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Finals Week

A big milestone in the academic year, finals week meant sending students off for the summer, finalizing grades, and beginning a 3-month break for teachers and students alike. Now retired from all of that, I find that I have a new type of finals week. The bittersweet list of Florida's "final time for _____" before returning to Ohio.

We had our final bike ride Thursday afternoon. We had our final shuffleboard games and our final boat ride yesterday. We had our final home-cooked meal on Thursday. The fridge and cupboards are bare; even the coffee pot is stored away until next January. We are either eating leftovers warmed in the microwave or eating out until we leave.

The stitching has reached finals, too.  I ran completely out of neutral shirtings for GFG paths, and needed more fabric in order to have enough paths to finish my quilt. The few in the baggie are all that remain and I know I will need many more to get to completion.

In an effort to have stitching to do on the car ride home, I took that baggie of hexies with me to Quilted Twins in Dade City on Thursday. (Final trip to Quilted Twins. *wink*) I found the two main items I needed: fabric for paths and fabric for additional flowers. Shown below are the colorful FQs I selected for flowers. I will mix-n-match them to fill the remaining corners and outer edge of the quilt. (Click here to see current progress.)

I've got a head start on the first flower. I fully expect to get all the remaining hexies covered, all the flowers made that I can make with the remaining papers, and all parts attached until I can do more.

My packing for the road will have a tote bag with all these essentials plus the quilt, needles, thread and snips for easy access. You can see in the photo below that I have only about a dozen papers left for covering. I imagine I will make path hexies with some of the substitute neutrals I bought.

So, today is the final day in Florida and I will spend most of it packing. We will go out to dinner - Texas Roadhouse - with the two remaining couples here in our group. Then early in the morning we hit the road.

The second full year of snowbirding has concluded. Fun and relaxation and sunshine and warm temperatures, for sure, and it was all great, but I am more than ready to be home and nearer to family and friends.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Future Flowers

In the last post I referenced a bit of retail therapy that resulted in some bright florals which would be suitable for more hexie flowers. I thought you might like to see what will soon be in the works.

This group of blues/greens/yellows was purchased with the purpose of making some colorful throw pillows for our sofa and/or loveseat. I will make those pillows and then with the leftovers make hexies.

This colorful palate is intended for pillow shams in the guest room. Again, once this is finished, the remnants will become hexies for flowers.

I just set my sewing machine back up yesterday, since our company has moved on. The guest room has returned to being a sewing room! YAY! I have reacquainted myself with Smoked Cheddar by pressing open a whopping stack of HSTs and trimming dogears.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Grandmother's Flower Garden Plan

Today I go on the record with my plan to make a traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. I've loved them from afar. I've taken pictures of them at quilt shows. I've saved images of them on all the platforms. It's time to bite the bullet and make one.

A lot of the work has already been done. The flowers for the garden are finished. Over the last few years, I've made all these, mostly just for play. I didn't have a plan; I just enjoyed making them. I sorta' thought I would end up appliqueing them to neutral background squares and then sewing the squares together.

But every time I saw pictures of traditionally done GFGs, with their paths around the flowers, I considered going in this direction. The very idea of making all those plain hexies absolutely seemed overwhelming.

I enjoy making the hexies when they are colorful, but endless plain ones? Surely I would grow bored. Wouldn't I?

The most recent flower I made was back in November when I stitched this one from my aunt's fabrics. It was during this time that I began looking seriously into making the traditional GFG. I found a big collection of neutral 2.5-inch strips in my stash while doing that massive cleaning and purging. I realized that the paths need not be a solid fabric; they could be made with these low-volume prints.

The entire project is largely a long series of unknowns. I have absolutely no idea how many of these low-volume hexies I have prepped, nor do I know how many of them I will need to complete my quilt. Moreover, I do not know if I even have enough flowers to complete a quilt, and I don't know how I will proceed with finishing the quilt, once the top is all sewn together. 

I'm walking headlong into a mystery, I suppose! What an adventure!

For awhile, I was entirely out of hexi papers, and I asked my friends in the Frankfort group if they had any I could acquire. By the time of our next get-together, sweet Becky gave me a baggie full of hexies that she'd punched out of card stock. I was so touched! I must say, Becky is quite a skilled hand stitcher. Few compare to her when it comes to a needle and thread. She told me she was so happy that I'd decided to make my paths and do the traditional quilt, that she made the hexies for me as her way of encouraging me forward. Bless her. 

Just because I'm curious and need to see a visual, I laid out some paths around a few flowers. Sometimes, ya' just gotta' see how it's gonna to look. 

And I think it's gonna look mighty fine. *smiles*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Stitching Into the New Year

Every single bit of the sewing I have done so far in 2025 has been in my lap with a needle and thread. I am not sad about this. The time will come when I set up the machine and busy myself with piecing, but for now I am entirely content making yo-yos and hexies.

 Having everything I need tucked into this handy, portable tin bucket suits my current needs and keeps the clutter contained.

You saw all the red yo-yos I made on our trip south. Under these I stacked the smaller circles discovered during my summer of purging.

I now have all circles stitched into yo-yos, and all - big and small - are ready to be stitched end-to-end. They will become garlands on next year's Christmas trees. I like the look of a primitive-style tree; these will be perfect. The red ones measure 1.75"; the multi-color ones measure 1.25".

Before making garlands, though, I was in the mood to make some hexies for my plan (as yet to be shared here) to complete a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.

In the bottom of my little tin are about 'leventy-hundred' hexies cut from shirting remnants. These and a baggie full of hexi templates will give me ample 'paths' for my flower garden. Stay tuned to see a more complete explanation of this plan.

I have a solid start on these, as you see in the photo above. I stitched the ones them throughout the November and December.

Below, see the ones I've made since being in Florida. Not many as yet, but lots more cut and waiting.

 Hey, did y'all hear that the OSU Buckeyes are going to the National Championship game? We have been cheering our team on to victory! Hopefully, they have one more WIN in them! It's been so fun to watch them as they charge through these post-season games.

 I will link up with Kathy's weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party. It's always inspiring to see the pretty creations these quilters and sewists are making. Kathys talking about quilting goals for '25, and as I alluded to in a post a couple of days ago, I have not made a goals list. However, ideas have been niggling their way into my brain. I suspect that before the week is out, I will have jotted down some semblance of a goals list; I gotta' have some way to keep me focused! Stay tuned.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Hexie Stitching!

Let me re-introduce everyone - including myself - to Lake Effect. Yes, I have taken this little gem out of storage and have been making some progress on it this past weekend.

A few days ago I checked my 2024 goals and one was to have this quilt finished to the flimsy stage. Yikes! I need to get in gear!

From the very beginning, I knew this quilt would take me a long time to make, thus I frequently refer to it as 'my 10-year project.' Lake Effect is a Minick and Simpson pattern which I saw way back in 2017. I immediately began collecting suitable fabrics for making it. Thinking I could just "figure it out" (like I often do), I soon gave up that idea and bought the pattern. That is when I discovered that I'd prepared about 500 elongated hexies in the wrong size. *good grief*

Since then, it has spent more time in storage than being worked on. Compound the fact that it is all hand-stitched and it contained applique, with the newly discovered sizing error I made, I lost my verve for it.

So, back to what I've been doing to address my goal of completing this quilt top. First, I spread it out to see what still needed to be done. Last I recall is my dithering over how to turn the corners on the applique border. I will continue to think on this while I get down to the business of completing the hexie border.

My verve has returned. Thankfully! I spent several hours over the weekend finishing the right-side border. Overall, I am rather surprised to see how much more I need to add. I had estimated that the borders were closer to completion than they are. You can see below in my little box that I have plenty prepared for completing the border.

 

My next step is to give it all a good pressing and remove cardboard templates along the top and right. I will then lightly mark a stitching line and get down to the business of attaching the hexie section to the applique section. 

 

Once the top and right are finished, I'll move on to completing the bottom and left. By then, perhaps I will have had a brainstorm about handling the appliqued corners. (I'm thinking several artfully-placed leaves might just be the simplest approach. Or perhaps add another bird.)

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts and her weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party. She's been actively stitching while watching Olympic coverage. According to her awards system, I believe I have earned a Silver medal for working on two projects. You'll hear about the second project in an upcoming post.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Sunday Stitching

Gonna' have to be short and sweet today, Peeps, as DH and I are preparing to take off for a little Hocking Hills getaway.

I'm taking only one little bit of stitching, and it will be super fast and easy.

This EPP flower will be stitched to the background fabric. I've prepped the background (7" square) by folding for center. Then glue-basted the flower in place.

Why am I working on something never before shared here?

Basically, I am practicing for a bigger job. I made just a few of these awhile back and really never had any particular project in mind for them. I will applique the Grandmother's Flower Garden hexies to plain background fabric, and thought maybe a trial run would be wise.

I've done a couple already and it's pretty easy stuff; no need to be concerned when it comes time to do the GFG hexies.

Back-basting applique is my preferred applique method; I've tried lots of other methods that were not as easy as this.

Joining in on the Slow Sunday Stitching party over at Kathy's Quilts. Pop on in to say hi!

Now we are off for some adventuring!

Happy Quilting, Friends!