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Sunday, November 27, 2016

Anyone want to go to England with me? World Quilting Adventure -- Passport Required

jojohall.blogspot.com
England Souvenir by JoJo Hall
I'm going against my own rules again. LOL. I seem to do that a lot, don't I?

Our next stop on our quilting adventure is England!!! I'm sharing a picture of the souvenir my traveler's will be receiving once I've written the instructions and finished the quilting on it. It was so much fun to make and I had to make myself stop because I kept thinking of more things to add to it. I may have to add some fun hand stitching once I complete the machine quilting. And, my sign post is screaming for some embellishment. I also have a few points on the post that will have 'welding' spots so stay tuned for what I have in mind for it! Are you excited????

I will be working off my Thanksgiving calories for the next several months but it sure was yummy and relaxing spending time with my best friend and husband.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Let's make Hexies!

March 2015 BOM - Arabella - Designed by JoJo Hall
Have you joined the hexie craze? No? Well, I'm here to remedy that right now. In case you are a new visitor to my blog, I'm a bit enthusiastic over the hexagon shape. So much so that I designed a block of the month and taught it at a local quilt store in 2015. It was so much fun seeing each student's monthly blocks.

Our souvenir for Canada is the perfect "dip your toes" hexie project. There are only 10 hexagons to make. I have videos for you to watch on knotting, basting, and joining hexies. The videos are posted them on my website HERE. Note: there are many ways to baste hexies: glue baste, through the paper and through only the back. Choose the method that you prefer. For me, I prefer through the paper.

Here's our finished souvenir.
Sewing map

After appliqueing hexies, prairie points & stitching
After trimming batting and backing

Sewing binding on

Love Clover mini clips!

Front view before stitching down back


Monday, November 7, 2016

Welcome to Canada! World Quilting Travel Adventure

jojohall.blogspot.com
Big, Beautiful Canada!
It is impossible for me to select just one area of Canada to visit. Canada is definitely a destination that my husband and I both will visit someday. Since we live in Oregon, we will most likely visit by driving up through Washington and into Canada. We are parents to a 10 year-old baby dog that cannot be boarded due to an ongoing illness so travelling is pretty nonexistent unless it is fairly close and we can bring him with us. 

Seeking out tidbits of interesting facts about each destination is so much fun. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I had fun finding them.

  1. Did you know that Canada is the second largest country in the world! Wow!!! In case you are wondering, Russia is the largest with the United States coming in at third place.
  2. Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 243,977 kilometers – 151,600 miles.
  3. Canada has six time zones.
  4. Half of the country is covered with forests. That means that one-tenth of the world’s forests are there.
  5. Almost half of the population in Canada were born in other countries.
  6. I understand that dog food is tax-deductible in Canada. Could that be true, and if yes, how wonderful!
  7. Canadians like to finish a sentence with the word Eh. For some reason, that makes me smile!
  8. Baseball fans have Canada to thank for the baseball glove. It was invented in Canada in 1883; However, hockey and lacrosse are Canada’s national sports.
  9. There are a lot of smart people in Canada. Their literacy rate is over 99%.
  10. Canada is home to 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites and four marine conservation areas.
  11. There are a lot of HAPPY people living in Canada! Thirty two percent of Canadians are very happy, 55% are quite happy.
  12. It appears from the research I've found, Canada is a bilingual country with French and English recognized as the nation’s national languages. Isn't that wonderful. I wish I would have learned another language. 
One phenomenon that occurs in Canada that I must see in person before I leave this planet, it the aurora borealis, which some also call the Northern Lights. Regardless of what it is officially called, I must see it in person someday. 

Here's my inspiration for our souvenir from Canada,
jojohall.blogspot.com
Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights
Isn't it beautiful!!!!

Now my first stab at creating the souvenir was a bust. I researched all kinds of information about the colors, sky, movement, etc. I guess the gases in the atmosphere can reflect a whole rainbow of colors. 

So instead of trying to be so literal (my left brain trying to take over!), I allowed myself to 'see' differently. This seeing allowed my right brain to drift and slowly allow a general idea of the souvenir. Sounds crazy I know, but I am not a person who can plan out the project BEFORE doing it. I have to just jump in and create with just a general feel for what I'm going for. 

Allow me to introduce you to my version of the aurora borealis.
JoJo Hall's Rendition of Canada's Northern Lights
Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen! I had such a great time creating it. It's a perfect hot pad size, but I doubt I could ever allow anything to sit on it. At least not just yet.

Now, things you will learn if you follow me on this one:
  • How to draft any size hexagon you want.
  • How to make and sew hexagons (videos will be available). If you have never played with hexagons yet, I hope you will give it a try. There are only 10 little ones and they sit on one big one!
  • How to make Prairie points!
  • How to sew binding on a hexagon shape that doesn't have 90 degree angles.
Normally, I post this post and at the same time, I send the pattern to the travelers. This time, however, I need a little more time to get the instructions out of my head and into the computer. 

What that means to you if you are just reading this post is that you have time to request your passport and jump on the plane. You must submit a comment below telling me you want to come along. Leave your email or I cannot send you the instructions. Also, please become a follower of my blog.

Just as a reminder -- check out the top of tab, Travelers Souvenirs. If you have finished a souvenir, please add a link to your page so others can be inspired by your art. Thank you Karen for being the first brave soul to post a link. Now, who is going to be next!


Friday, November 4, 2016

Link up is now working!

I am the worst at trying to be perfect. Do you struggle with the perfection gene too? Don't get me wrong. It's great to want to do the best I can do, but it can become an obstacle when I continue to critique myself to the point that I stop creating. At that point, perfection becomes a doorstop. I've tossed the doorstop into the garage where it can't mire me down. Won't you join me in kicking it out of your studio. 

I have one more embroidery order to finish today and then I will be back at our next adventure. I came up with a new idea that I think will be fun for you and me. It will be small and should go together quickly. My biggest issue is that I fight the BIG. My travelers have shown me that small is not just okay, it's wonderful. That is not to say that I will not occasionally go for a middle size, but my goal will be to stay small. Let's see how I do! LOL 

Link ups are ready for YOU! When you finish a souvenir and have posted on your blog about it, would you please add your link to it? At the top of my blog is a new tab called Travelers Souvenirs. Please add the actual page link on your blog that has the souvenir. This way visitors won't have to search for it on your blog.  

The longest they will allow me to be able to keep the link up open is 30 days. So each month, I will add a new Link up. The previous Link ups will remain so you can browse through them when you are in the mood for inspiration. I get a lot of inspiration from seeing your work so please share your finished souvenirs with us!

Okay, I better get these jackets done so I can get to the next souvenir. Stay tuned!