[First, some housekeeping: I had trouble with my newsletter recently, so please check out my last post if you follow me that way, to see if you missed it.]

I’m making quite a bit of fair progress on my Hexie Dreams quilt! All the flowers are made and it took me quite a while to arrange them how I wanted for a quilt top. Then, I stitched them into rows, and I’ve stitched those rows into pairs. Now, I am adding the rows together. I’m planning to make it a large hexagon shape, something fun and different since it’s purpose is for my craft studio. I haven’t quite figured out how I’ll handle the edges yet, though. That makes me a little nervous because I will either be slicing through hexies I really like here and there, or having to add more hexies before I can get the quilting started. So, for that reason, I’m still not sure I’ll meet my deadline.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to showcase a basket I scooped up last year at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I’ve been wanting a basket for quite a while, but hadn’t come across one with the right combination of size, shape, colors, and quality. And, I like to support fellow crafters and artisans when possible, so after meeting the artist at her booth and chatting for a little bit, I decided this round two-color basket with the embellishment out front was perfect! (I kept her business card for this very moment to list her name and website, but I can’t find it now! Grr!)

EDIT 12/15/2023: I came across her card! The artist is Susan Marine from Sue’s Baskets and Boxes in Franklin, Ohio. She is a basket weaver and woodworker (many of her baskets have very nice wooden lids or wooden base insets).

I added the circle of felt at the bottom to prevent my tools from getting stuck, slipping through, or damaging the basket itself. I’m quite chuffed with it. It fits a lot – including my phone and tv remote – but takes up a small footprint. It’s lightweight, but doesn’t feel fragile at all.

Plus, it looks nice on my shelf when not in use. It’s got this nice pop of aqua/teal that’s not so much that it doesn’t jive with the rest of my room. But I realize I haven’t talked about what you see in the basket, either. So, let me do that now.

My friend has been slowly dwindling down her stash and she gifted me this pin cushion. The design may be familiar to you, if you’ve been around a while, once you see the other side.

I had used this very pattern for a small needle book I made (though I changed the lettering). [More housekeeping: Unfortunately, it appears that I’ve lost those images and I must have understood what happened in 2020 when I added the photo holders… but it beats me now, and I’ve no clue where to look to find them.] The design is Shepherd’s Bush: Bee Joyful.

These scissors are another treasure of mine, gifted by my aunt. They feel so sturdy and they cut so crisply! I looked them up, because, honestly, the cutting performance was notable, and I wanted to understand more. They are Karen Kay Buckley‘s 4″ Perfect Scissors and have a micro-serrated edge.

That’s a wrap for today. I hope to continue plodding along to get this quilt top pieced together with enough time to spare to figure out the edging before I hand it off to be quilted (assuming my gramma is still willing!). I might need a bit of luck for that, so all good vibes are welcome my way;)