IT'S A RAINY AFTERNOON

AND HERE IS LAST NIGHT'S SKY ON FIRE.....

JUST AS OUR SUN SET...

Here is Sleigh Bells Ring so far......coming along and I have three more of the red and green blocks set up here

this one is partially sewn into strips and these two are just set up for later on

You can see my little box of 2.5 " squares on the side there....

And I also took the time to work on my lozenges quilt that I have named : "Jouzai"

which translated means lozenges in Japanese...

I have this pile done

And working on these:

Helga is cooperating very well on these--the little 1/4" foot lifts up just enough to squeeze the next block underneath and is clear so I can sew to the right of the drawn line just a tad--(Thanks Bonnie Hunter for that tip!) .

And so,  my Thanksgiving Eve Day has been filled with packing to go to my daughter's tomorrow for our family get together, some reading, the ubiquitous laundry (boo hiss!!), some crossword puzzling and generally taking it easy.  

I am sending out my wishes to you and yours for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day 

Hugs, Julierose, 

La Blageuse

SUNDAY HEXAGON PUZZLE

What do you do when all the edges turn out just a little bit differently???? Well, I did have Monet's City all laid out with those blue

and French Writing hexagons

all laid out---BUT...somehow it just didn't look right to me....so I put them all back into their little boxes and cut up some of these dark prints to fill in....

they are not the same fabric, but I think they will finish off the rows so that I can then figure out how to proceed--I want to set up the center on point and fill in the resulting triangles with rosettes that will be "lilies" like in Monet's gardens....
AND why oh why didn't I draw up a "PLAN"????

Well, today my slow stitching will be basting these babies to audition....
I will be hooking up with Kathy's SLOW STITCHING SUNDAY
See you over there...hugs to all Julierose, La Blageuse (puzzle-euse)

ON A COLD, GREY SUNDAY

A cup of "Joe" and a few of these going on this morning.  My little hexagon sewing kit sits on my lap, and I am slowly basting those blue hexies over their freezer papers. I am now able to baste about 10 before I "feel" it.  the Comfort Cool hand wrap helps me a lot.

In my mind I am wandering through the hills and valleys of Hexagonia, singing "I Love to go a-wandering, along the mountain track; and as I go I love to sling my backpack on my back!"  Backpack full of what else?? Hexagons , of course...songs for all occasions is our watchword around here.  Sometimes I think our life is like a comic opera..... LOL!!!

Later, this morning we are taking a jaunt out to our local Benny's --I need one of those blue speckled small roasting pans--I totally wore out my first one--it didn't owe me a thing--49 years of good service! 

 I am making pot roast, mashed potatoes with gravy and a salad for dinner tonight . I have also been craving pumpkin pie--I guess I am more than ready for Turkey Day..

.What are you making for  your Sunday dinner??? 

Hugs to all , enjoy your day, Julierose, La Blageuse 

GEORGIE'S OFF THE WALL

And here he is all layered up and ready for pin basting--["And about time, too!" grumble grumble--] He was stretching this way and that and I had to smooth him out quite a few times--why doesn't that surprise me?  My back is done for the day after crawling around on the floor to lay this out.  Right now it is up on my dining table on my blocking mat (originally used to block my knitted sweaters) where I hope to begin pin basting tomorrow.  

And now, Pride of Place on my design wall is my Sleigh Bells Ring WIP.

It's coming along--I finished another block this morning after dealing with "the grumbler" [and you KNOW who that is!! lol]. 

 As I look at this, I am thinking that I will be making it a whole lot bigger than I first thought--I am really enjoying putting these together.

 (Dawn, you should be spotting some of your fabric in these blocks--they fit right in--merci beaucoup mon amie!)

 One thing I learned is that my feed dogs on Helga are Waaaay too far apart when the plastic 1/4" footsie is on; really, only one feed dog is pulling the material through and therefore: pulling to the left.  Aaaargh. 

 I have upped the presser foot pressure a bit to try to compensate for this, but it is still a battle of "feed dog vs. Julierose"!!  But am doing the best I can with what I have (meanwhile the metal 1/4" foot is somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean being rowed over by Viking longboat, I think--I ordered it Oct 6th!!  I hope they don't drop it overboard!  Seriously--how could it take this LONG??).

Anyone have any suggestions how to overcome this problem or dealt with it??

                                         H E L P!!

I may have to resurrect my old Pfaff Varimatic and give it another chance.  I had it overhauled at my LQS and it started jamming [something about the timing he said!]about one week after--and I was minus $85!!).
Maybe resting under my cutting table made Heidi (that's the Pfaff) re-think jamming on me??? Like DH says put it away for a while and then take it out again and see....a good weekend project for me. 

I also sewed up some more squares to make triple 9-patches this morning...
will try to get some cutting in tomorrow--but will have to do them a little at a time.... 
We have been invited to lunch with some musician friends of ours tomorrow, so hopefully DH will be feeling well enough to go.  

Hugs to you all --and come and see my latest work on Monet's City at Hexagon Alley .  
Julierose, La Blageuse 

SUNDAY IN HEXAGONIA

Here's where I was this afternoon-- IN HEXAGONIA HEAVEN--using my new GO!BABY die for cutting fabric AND paper hexagons.  I lost count as to just how many I cut in 45 minutes.  

This die is amazing--(I am not in the pay of Accuquilt either--just sayin') ; it cuts SIX layers of fabric on the lower four shapes --so 24 in only ONE pass AND TWO layers of paper or cardboard in that same pass yielding 8 paper backings.  

I used 8.5" x 11" freezer paper and folded it in quarters to get 4 sets of double papers.

I am in love with this die!  No threads to snip off--I did a generous accordion fold of 6" fabric to cover the hexagons.  

and now I have all of these perfectly cut hexies to add to my Monet's City outskirts--
the fabric (tan/black )--is french script and the blues are some batiks and some hand dyes representing the waterways where those gorgeous waterlilies he painted grew.  

See how you get that perfect 1/4" (YAYA!!) allowance to fold over and either baste or use the spray starch method..I have always basted them...but may try that spray starch on a few. 

This is how I attach the freezer papers--easy peasy...

(Excuse my old ironing board cover )--I line them up and just iron over 5-6 at a time....

then I can sit and watch tv with my sweetie at night and baste away...

I haven't decided how to add these as yet to my main piece--but will lay them out this week..

There is no way with my hand/wrist and shoulder problems I could have C U T  OUT  all these pieces.  So, for me, the cost of the die is really worth every penny.  

And so another gray day passes by us and soon we will be in Mid-November....hugs to you all--

from 
Julierose, La Blageuse P.S.  DH says"Someday I will hear a muffled sound from your sewing room and I will have to come in and rescue you from those stacks of hexagons that have taken over!!  Hahaha....

GOODIES FROM A BLOGGING BUDDY

Look what arrived in the mail today....

I happened to mention that I was getting awfully low on greens for my "Sleigh Bells" postage stamp quilt and my friend Dawn sent me these! 

They will mix right in perfectly with my fabrics--thank you so much Dawn:

A Lovely Christmas Rose 

AND THESE

Love those berries and little Santas cavorting around....

tiny sweet angels and a plaid gem (I own very few plaids so love that one too)

Watery firs, and on the far left cute little mistletoes...

Can't wait to cut them up and add to my blocks...

Quilters are the nicest people, don't you think?

Merci beaucoup, mon ami  ;--)))

Hugs, Julierose, La Blageuse  

GEORGIE TAKES THE REINS

Here's the next GP installment: (see that all knowing grin on his face?) 
WELL............
Last night I dreampt that I heard someone in my sewing room--nah, couldn't be--turned over and went back to sleep....
This morning DH and I went out early (this darn time change has us up at  five am!!) and voted (& as a side note, just because we were such good citizens we are taking ourselves out to lunch for ...wait for it.....ta dah! FISH & CHIPS--I haven't had that for over a year since Mr. Atkins entered my life!!YAY) and returned home.  I sauntered into my sewing room, just waiting to hear Mr. Georges complaining about something or other and.......................
"What to my wondering eyes appeared..?" pinned over where he hangs...but this:

And I heard him mumble as I stared "Well, well, do you think I'd wait forever??" OMG--he had rifled through my stash at night and chosen his own backing!! [And it's even starched and ironed??? Yikes--good thing Halloween has passed or I'd be really scared--ya think (LOL).....]

And so my little 9-patchers will live to become the FRONT of another quilt; 

This is what I did this morning while Georgie hummed some Revolutionary tune to himself (must be really old, as I don't even know it!!) 

These will total--when done-- 85 more 9-patches-- (gee Barb, do ya think I'm turning into a 9-patch lover? A true love/hate relationship goin; on here). Not bad for a mornings' work...

We still--amazingly--have some color left on our trees even after those winds and downpouring rain:

this is the view out my tv room windows...I love that burnt orange against the blue, blue skies....

I looked down in our dingle that stretches off our back deck and saw those red sumac bushes and then looked up and saw the clouded sun peeking through what will soon be totally bare branches...and so here we stand in between Fall and Winter....

hugs to all, thanks for playing along with my Georgie Peorgie saga...stay tuned for the next thrill-laden installment ;--)))
Huigs, Julierose, La blageuse

SUNDAY SURPRISE(s)

So glad I took pix yesterday of our Fall turning leaves; this morning I awoke and they were almost all blown away; cold front winds still howling......
And So (sew!):
I went into my room this morning and finally sewed last border on Georgie

the one at the top--less dense, but still flowery...and then

I realized that I had cut GAZILLIONS of pieces ready to become 9-patches....my nemisis it seems--none of them come out evenly! 

And so, thinking of the back of the quilt for Monsieur Georges, I made these blocks....

Those wonky 9-ers in a cross hatched pattern--and so I now LOVE them! 
should I use them on the "back"?  Or make another top with them....here is the pile I have left to go--

22 more plus 6 on my cutting table and many 1.25" red and off red strips I found in my drawer--in the back!! (Oh that stash does come in handy).

And so another decision makes its way into my brain....I also have some big 9.5" flowery blocks left over that could become a plainer backing for Georgie...I hear him tapping his foot ("ZUT--ALORS!!" ---I think he must have known French--don't you think??  " Une autre decision pour faire!!")--his face is turning red--I SILENTLY AND SLOWLY  crept out of the room and closed the door on his shenanigans....what to do, what to do? 

What would you do????   ;--000

MEANWHILE: as this is Slow Stitching Sunday, I am working on these: my Monet's City hexagons--yes, my thumb allows me about maybe (with wrist/thumb support on) to sew a row!  I am doing my "Happy Dance"...

I am blowin' in the wind today...the Season is really changing and I want to finish up Georgie before the New Year--at least get him layered for quilting....
Have a warm and toasty Sunday--
P.S.Tom feels so much better today-- he made his Spaghetti Sauce with meatballs for supper--YAY--no cooking for Julie today!!  What a guy....

Hugs, Julierose, La Blageuse