Summer!

Okay,so if you're a regular blog reader, you may have noticed that I haven't been writing many blog posts of my own lately.

Part of it is of course that it's summer, and the kids are home...

Seriously...they have grown so much since our first day of school picture!!  (I though it was funny that Katie and Seth both wore some of the same clothes on both their first and last day without even knowing it...and yeah, we swapped Becca for two cousins on the last day of school.  I only have 4 kids.)

...but then of course I have the hubby home for the summer too.  (He's a school teacher.)

Mostly I've just been taking more time to sew and create, both on my own projects as well as on orders for my shops.  Yes, you read that right...that's shops plural and I'll be telling you more about my new shop soon as well as have an awesome coupon code for you.

These each deserve their own posts...and will get them...but here are some sneak peeks to hold you over...

Wee Wander Hexagon Quilt in Blue - SOLD - Custom Orders here.

 Black and White I-Spy Plus Quilt - Available Here

Sewing Retreat, Works in Progress, Giveaway Winners, and a Discount Code

Seems like my blog is always a week or so behind what I'm currently working on at home, so if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you will have already seen a couple of these, but I wanted to share some works-in-progress here since it will be a few weeks before I get them finished up.

Two weekends ago I was invited to go to a scrapbooking retreat with a friend.  I'm really not into scrapbooking, so I brought my sewing machine along instead (as did about 1/3 of the ladies, so I wasn't alone in my love of quilting.)

It wasn't anything big or fancy, just 13 or so of us at a mountain cabin for around 48 hours working like crazy and chatting the whole time.  Plus I had a whole long table to myself for my sewing machine, cutting mat and supplies...plus a ping pong table and plenty of floor space to lay things out.  (That's a view from my sewing machine.

And a view of the horses out the window I got to sit next to...

I brought supplies for about twice as many projects as I thought I would have time for, just so I could choose in the moment...and it turned out I was able to get it ALL finished...4 quilt tops in all...and the triangle ones are fairly tedious.  It felt really good to get so much done.  (Just goes to show how much you really can get done without any interruptions from the kids or the computer.)

I'd had these Children at Play by Sarah Jane triangles cut out for over a year (scraps from this quilt that is still a wok-in-progress too), so it felt REALLY good to get this quilt top finished.

A Peek of Things to Come...

Things have been pretty quiet here on the blog the last several weeks...so much so that I've had a couple of different bloggy friends email me to make sure everything was okay. 

We're doing great!  Just busy with life and craft projects and not enough time to write about them.  I did have a happy moment today when the newest The Pigeon Needs a Bath (affiliate link) came in the mail.  We almost never buy brand new books (mostly get them used), but I just couldn't resist.  It's the newest Pigeon book that just came out...

...and we love The Pigeon at our house...If you follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook, you'll know that  Becca had a birthday, and while it wasn't a big party, I was having a bit too much fun making Pigeon themed gifts for her.

I'll be sharing the details for those soon.

Plus the last couple posts have been ones that I scheduled to do before things got pretty crazy.  I'm really proud of how my Wee Wander Quilt turned out.  You can find the free tutorial for here.

I've also finished up a couple of quilts and other fun things along the lines of For the LOVE of Books.

Bonus points if you can guess what book this outfit comes from...

I'm also almost ready to share a book post highlighting a ton of book themed fabrics.  I promise that one is coming early next week along with a giveaway!

And speaking of giveaways, Tiffany D. is the winner of the Triangular Pot Holder Giveaway... Tiffany, I'll be emailing you!

I just haven't gotten much time at the computer to write about all this, but now that most of my big projects are out of the way, I'll be doing a bit more blogging.  (Probably...this coming week is Spring Break, so you never know what will happen.)

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The Pigeon Fabric - From Quilt Sandwich Fabrics

Berenstein Bear Fabric - You Keep Me in Stitches

Oh, The Places You'll Go  Bundle - From Sisters and Quilters

Hexies by Halves PDF Pattern - Pieces by Polly

Scrappy Hexies by Halves and other Quilt Progress this Weekend

This was past weekend was pretty productive quilt-wise around here.  My parents came to town along with my Nana.  My mom participated in the Hexies by Halves Quilt-Along, but life got busy and she didn't finish...until a few weeks ago.  She brought the finished quilt up, so we could take some photos.

The weather cooperated and gave us a nice sunny afternoon.  (Man! I'm looking forward to the coming spring days.  I didn't realize how much I was missing the sun.)

Are you on Instagram? And Works in Progrss...

I'm finally on Instagram!  If you want to see more of what I'm working on, on a day-to-day basis, I'd love for you to follow me @PiecesbyPolly.

My sister Katie has been telling me for months that I needed to find a way to get on Instagram.  Hubby and I tend to be 5-10 years behind the curve on most electronic gadgets.  (We have a 15-inch or so TV with embedded VCR...but no DVD player other than the computer...can we still be friends?)  We just can't quite stomach the monthly bill that would come with a smart phone when we've been getting along just fine with our one $10 a month-ish prepaid not-smart-cell-phone

So instead of a smart phone we got an iPod touch (see...6 or so years after the first ones came out).  I'm LOVING that I can snap a quick picture of a project and share it without having to stop what I'm doing to download pics off my camera to the computer and then upload them the web.

So in case you missed it, here's a peek at what I've been up to this week.

WIP Wednesday - Hearts, Halloween, and Bundles to Come

I've been working on a lot of different projects lately...in every stage from just thought out in my head through finished, but not photographed, but don't have the pictures taken right now to share any particular project, so I thought I'd share a few projects I'm working on this week.  I just wrapped up my most recent I-Spy swap, and even though I hadn't planned on starting another I-Spy quilt, but the girls and I were having so much fun sorting the new squares.

 
...it just kinda happened... 

I've got the top finished, but this is just a small part of it.  I'll share the rest when I've got it all quilted and bound and sent off to the recipient.  (I won't be doing another I-Spy Swap for a while, but you can sign up to be notified of the next one here.)

I've also been trying to get a head start on some Halloween costumes.  No finished pictures yet, but here are a few sneak peeks...any idea what costumes these will turn into?

And a few weeks ago, my fabric area was getting so messy that I just had to organize it.  I was also getting fabric bundles ready to for a charity quilt day.  I generally sort my fabrics by color and then the also store my I-Spy fabrics seperately.  Some of these fabrics I'd intended to use in I-Spy quilts, but then realized they belonged in a quilt of their own...so these fabrics have been pulled out and stored in bundles together.

I'm still debating on patterns for most of these...

Good Day for Fabric

Today has been a good fabric day...Anson was my little shadow...as in he followed from my sewing machine to the iron while I worked...but he let me work!

It started out when this appeared in my mailbox from Sisters and Quilters.  I just love the richness of the reds and golds.  I ordered it for making a Christmas quilt.  I like holiday quilts that use regular fabric.  (You might remember this quilt I made last Christmas for donation.)  Of course I couldn't stick with a ready made bundle and had them put together a custom bundle for me.  (Sisters and Quilters is awesome about that.) 

 But since the kids have decided to be Harry Potter characters for Halloween, this has got me thinking of Gryffindor colors.  We'll have to see what it turns into.

And you all know how much I love black and white prints.  This one just jumped into my cart...and I needed a tad more of the Dr. Seuss spots to finish off the rest of my Dr. Seuss fabric.

But before I can start quilts with any of that fabric, I decided I really need to get going on some of my quilts in progress.  I currently had 3 quilt tops ready that needed backs.  Basting is my least favorite part of the quilt making process, so I decided I want to get ready to have a basting day and get several quilts all basted at once.

Since I never can seem to leave a pattern alone...even when it's my own pattern, I did a new variation on hexies for the back of my purple quilt.  (An update to my Hexies by Halves PDF pattern will be coming when I get a chance to get the pictures edited and this quilt finished, but if you order my pattern now, I'll send you the updated version when I have it ready.)

Here's my purple hexies quilt top to go with it, made using my Hexies by Halves Pattern.  This is my fourth Hexies quilt and they all go together so quickly.

And you may remember my Rocket Boys Triangles Quilt that I sewed up at the Pacific Northwest Modern Quilt Guild Meet-up...

I-Spy Orion and the Start of School

The daughter of a friend of mine participated in one of the previous I-Spy swaps and she needed help finishing up her quilt.  She needed it done soon.  Of course it really doesn't take much convincing for me to spend the day sewing with a friend.  My Becca always loves seeing Big Becca...and was thrilled to get to help pull out the pins for her.  Several people have been asking about when the next I-Spy Swap will be...and it's coming in a week or two.  They fill up fast, so if you want to get an email when the swap opens, then leave a comment on this post or email me.   If you're interested in participating in an I-Spy Swap, I'm not planning on doing any soon, but you can sign up to get an email when/if we do another one here.  I also ended up with a couple extra sets from our last swap, and those are here in my Etsy shop.

I think it turned out great for her first quilt.

And I had plenty of time to help her today, because it was the first day of school or our older kiddos.  Gosh, I love them...but the house is so much calmer during the day when they're at school.  They both got great teachers who will take good care of them.

More Works in Progress

It seems like I've mostly been posting works in progress lately than posting full tutorials or finished pieces.  That's mostly because I've been in the middle of quite a few big projects (blog/craft related and otherwise), so I haven't taken the time to sit down and write things up.

But, I promise I've got a few fun things coming up in the next few weeks...some fun giveaways...a quilt-along, and more.  I've just got to get through the next week and then I'll buckle down and get the blog in shape.

I've been busy scoring SATs this last week which has been taking up most of my sewing/blogging time, but as usual I can't stay away from my sewing machine entirely.

Becca and I have been planning a particularly special quilt for a friend of hers for a while.  She's been after me forever to start it.  I let her sort the colors and lay out the squares just so she'd feel like we'd really started.

Then I had to actually sew the squares together so I could clean up my sewing area without completely undoing her work.  This is one of five blocks so far.  The quilt has a theme...can you guess?

I finally did it...I tried free-motion quilting for the first time.  I did it on my Dr. Seuss quilt.  Now Dr. Seuss just needs a binding and it will be ready for the bike-a-thon/raffle on Saturday.  The result is far from perfect...but I think it turned out passably well...and I forgot to take a picture, so maybe if you check back later today, I'll have added a picture.

My first Hexies-By-Halfies quilt got it's finishing touches of signatures last week and was given to our high school principal who is retiring after somewhere around 20 years of being principal.  This is the back...and stay tuned because it's the Hexies-By-Halfsies that we'll be doing for a quilt-along.  I've got another Hexies-By-Halfsies that is mostly done for the bike-a-thon this weekend.

And I just found out less than two weeks ago that Katie's 2nd grade teacher is also retiring this year as well...and I felt like she needed a special quilt of her own.  (Afterall, doesn't every teacher deserve to go out with a bang?  This might be a dangerous precedent to start in a small town, though...)  Because of the rush to get it done and have it at the school in time to be signed by students and staff, this quilt has actually been finished, but I don't have any finished pictures of it.  Never fear, though, we know her outside of school, so after things have calmed down a bit, I'll just borrow it back for a day to get it photographed.  She loves to read and I included the harp, temple, and apple to symbolize the music, faith, and teaching that have also been important parts of her life.