What Do You Do When it is Over 100 Degrees? Quilt, of course!!!

This past week, we had over 100 degrees for several days, here in Virginia! Whew! It was HOT! I began to daydream about cooler weather. This thought took me straight to Christmas! So, I found myself making no-sew, quilted Christmas ornaments. I had begun this project last year, but got distracted with many other projects that had those deadlines. However, as I am doing my first craft show this December, I thought I had better get a move on these things! Although they are simple to make, they do take some time to finish. I keep hoping I will get faster…lol…no such luck, yet.

The No-Sew Quilted Christmas Ornaments-Aren’t they cute?!

Also, remember those scraps of triangles? I did take some time with my hubby this past weekend and we attempted my idea that I had. We made another Christmas ornament out of those triangles. Although this was fun to do with my hubby, I am not quite sure if I like it. I will need to do a few more, before I make the decision to keep going or not. The overall problem I have with them, right now, is the way the white works. So, I will experiment with how to lay these things out. Any thoughts from y’all? I’ll keep you posted with how this all ends up going.

First try at this technique…glad to find a way to use those tiny triangles.

So where did the inspiration to make Christmas ornaments like this come from for me?  I have to say that it really began with my mother.  She has made Christmas ornaments from hexies, and has taught me.  When I began to think about doing a craft show with her, I knew I had to find something different than her.  It would be a bit awkward to sit next to her and sell the same items.  To be honest, unless she sold out, I wouldn’t sell a single one…she is a ton better at them than I am…lol.  Therefore, I had to find some different kind of ornaments made with fabric.  There began my search on the all-knowing, vast, deep world of the internet.  There are so many ideas out there to inspire you!  I have other types of ornaments to make, but I started with the no-sew.  I thought they would be fast…lol  They still take me about an hour and half to make each one, and that doesn’t include ironing or cutting the fabric.  The silver lining is that I can listen to an audible book or a podcast while I work on them.  In the meantime, I’ll be sure to share my other ornaments , when I make them.  If you have anything like this that you do, I hope you will share with us all.

 My beautiful, awesome daughter left to go back to Kansas this past weekend.  At the beginning of August, she is moving from Kansas to Illinois, where she will attend Illinois State University for her Master’s.  I will be helping her move.  Therefore, I will get to see her next week!  Whoohoo!! Although I am excited for her and her next adventure, I already miss her dearly!

 Before she left, she did help me complete my video tutorial on English Paper Piecing.  I will have to say, it is a lot more fun to make videos with someone else.  I want to take this time to thank you, Tam, for all your help.  It was soo much fun and I really enjoyed doing it with you.  Although we already did a blog style tutorial on this subject, we understand that some people prefer videos.  Hope y’all stop by and check it out.

In the process of making this video, I learned something new that I wanted to share with you all. It is called, “The Figure Eight Knot!” When I was doing some research, I came across Sue Daley (an EPP genius!) She terms the knot, “The Knicker Knot.” If you haven’t heard of Sue Daley, you can visit her website: https://www.suedaleydesigns.com/. She has many, many resources for the EPP quilters! Our short video demonstrates “The Figure Eight Knot.” It is simple and fast. The knot will give you another way to tie off your thread before you cut it. It helps keep your threads from unstitching later down the road. It is simply brilliant!

Some of the thumbnails auto-created are hilarious!

 I also decided to design an illustration for a pathway to stitch your hexies together for a flower.  Everyone usually comes up with their own method, but those that either do not have one or are new to Hexies, we thought this would be helpful.  You can find it on the “List of Inspirations” tab.

 Well, I have to get another Christmas ornament made today, and I have some quilting to do!

 Until next time, may you continue to be inspired, productive, and joyful!  And never stop making your dreams in quilting come true!  

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