Project Quilting 15.4: Hour Glass

 

This week's Project Quilting challenge was Hourglass.  Hosted by Kim Lapacek and her friend Trish, this is an annual challenge that I look forward to! 

 I used the Hourglass block in the top and bottom of my mini wall hanging. 

I was so hoping I'd be able to incorporate the theme into a project to decorate my home for St. Patrick's Day. 

I used last post's technique from Inside Out to make the Shamrock.

It's really a look that I love with the ruffly seams!

 

I used a wavy stitch in gold thread to quilt the strips before adding to the background. 

This was my first attempt at making an Hourglass block. 

Whoops! My memory ain't what it used to be, so I needed to consult a tutorial. 

Leslie, at the Seasoned Homemaker came to the rescue giving me the perfect instructions. 

After sewing my Hourglass blocks together for the top and bottom, I got started with quilting the middle section. 

I quilted this in an hourglass block design with just straight line stitching inside of each square. 

The paper template was pinned down (with the green ruffly stripped piece laying underneath) and I sewed around it twice, keeping close to the edge of the paper. 

The magic happens when I cut inside the lines and remove the top shamrock!

Green glass beads were sewn around the shamrock's edge.

Round gold beads were added near the top and bottom Hourglass borders. 

Before hand-stitching the binding down to the back, I added corner triangles and hanging strips so I'd have options when hanging it.

Now I'm set for St. Patrick's Day! 

My finished mini wall-hanging measures approximately 17" x 14".

Quilted with 3 layers and made in my Asbury, Iowa sewing room!

Linking up with:

Persimon Dreams PQ 15.4

Inquiring Quilter's Wednesday Wait Loss