February Revisited

First, I need to apologize for all the problems with the photos. I've complained to Photobucket, and am told they will fix their act so that I can use them again for my blog as Webshots does not seem to be compatible.

Did a lot of work in quilting in February, but finished nothing. After I finish this last swap, I will be done with swaps for a couple of months so that I can work on other projects including quilts for bro and Dad. Not to mention all that Halloween fabric that is screaming to be cut and sewn!

I did accomplish a lot of crocheting. I have completed all but the border rounds of the 2 color striped afghan. However, I think this is the cause of my tendonitis. Fortunately, I finished the Desperate Housewive series and the Inspector Lynley series (murder mysteries) is only 1.5 hours long per disk, so my arm is doing much better. Given the near finish, I am not providing a photo since you'll see a finished one in less than 2 weeks.

Absolutely no knitting in February due to this afghan. So, March will see work on those socks as soon as the afghan is completed. For awhile, I will just be working on the block-of-the-month afghan squares and those only take 2-3 days a month to do.

A cool idea that I'm going to explore was suggested on my Stashbusters group as one way to use smaller pieces of leftover batting. It is quilt-as-you-go Hexagons. It is reversible. The idea is to take 2 different large sizes of Hexagons and cut them out of fabrics. Cut the smaller Hexagon also out of batting. Fold over the larger hex and sew. Sew the hexes together either by hand (like you would Cathedral Windows) or using a decorative stitch on the sewing machine. Each hex on the front has a border. After they are sewn together, you are done as binding isn't strictly required. I have a template that cuts multiple sizes, so I'm going to give it a shot. If I like it, I'll buy presized templates (easier to cut scrap batting)to use with a rotary cutter (I am so spoiled!). This was a current hot idea out of Australia. You can get multiple sized templates here in the US from Marti Mitchel.

Here's a lovely example from a shop in Australia that sells the templates.
http://www.geckogully.com/busyfingers/quilts/floral_hexagons_quilt.htm

In the US, templates up to 4.5 inches across can be bought from here:
http://www.ardcotemplates.com/shapehelp/hex-help.shtml
This one has larger templates.
http://www.quiltcrafts.com/templates.html