Hexie to the next level!

 

Since this week is all about hexies, I was pleased to pick up a parcel in the States this week!

 

Not only did I get this bundle of wonderful fabrics at an average of $5/yd from Hillbilly Handiworks/Ozark Fabrics (mostly through her Facebook group, where she offers end-of-line deals) :

 

 

Tonya designs these amazing pieced hexagons, and sells the paper pieces (specially made by Paper Pieces) in her shop, along with Jason Yenter fabric, which makes for fabulous designs.  I ordered a 1/2 yard of Return to Atlantis border fabric to make my first AHHHHs (Artistic, Hectic, Hexotic, Hillbilly Hexagons).  Combined with his Modern Solids, created with 2 colours of thread, it makes great designs.

 

My first lesson was to remember to add the seam allowance when cutting out the pieces - oops!:

 

I punched holes in my pieces so I could pin the fabric. I also number the pieces with the pattern # and the number of pieces to cut in case I lose one of the tiny ones.

 

Two beginner designs done!

 

 

I'm having camera issues - the ones above were taken in natural light and aren't even close to the true colour.  The one below was taken with a flash and is very close - go figure!

 

 

 

The back is almost as pretty as the front!  I used the same method I do my hexie flowers - learned from Bonnie Hunter's website.  I don't baste through the papers and leave the basting threads in for a little extra security.

 

I can't wait to try more!  Tonya was looking for some pattern testers and she provided me with two more designs to try and assemble into a project!  Tonight, I'm making the hexies and tomorrow, the top secret project hopefully will be completed!

 

For the first time, I used YLI 100wt. silk thread. It is so fine, and once the papers are removed, not a stitch will show!

 

In case you are wondering, these hexies are huge!  They measure 3" on each side, and 6" from point to point and barely fit in my hand.

 

Compared to my usual flowers and the smallest one I ever made, it wouldn't take many to make a quilt!

 

(Hum, if it takes 300 flowers to make a large lap-size quilt, it should only take about 125 AHHHs to make a quilt of about 50x70")

 

If you have never heard of Jason Yenter, check out his lines here.  Then go to Tonya's Facebook group and sign up for the prebuy of Shangri-La - payment won't come due until December.  I've become a new fan!

 

 



Sunday Stash Report, Week 28, 2013

 

 

Finally, a week where more went out than came in!

 

 

Added this week: 3.75 metres

 

Added Year-to-Date: 145.5 metres
 

Used since last report: 4 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 29.5 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 116 metres

 

 

2 metres of Bella White 98, 1 metre Bella 30's Blue 25 and a treat for me - the Honeycomb pre-cut by Moda!

 

 

And a finish!  I used one of my new vintage sheets and made a pair of pyjama pants.  I can't remember where I saw it (a while ago), but someone had made a pair using the hem as the bottom of the pant legs.  I made up a pattern using my favourite pair of pyjama pants and in less than an hour, I have a new comfy pair!  I have two more sheets I'd like to make up.

 

I also gave a friend some fabric for her grandson's I-spy quilt, and realized I've never counted the other fabric I've given her.  I've counted 2 meters this week, but I'll probably have to update it further.  That makes me feel better about all the yardage I've accumulated lately!

 

Linking up to Judy's stash reports at Patchwork Times - check out my fellow bloggers there when you are done.

 

More about my purchases:

 

I bought the blue to make the centres for my gramma's Dresden Plates.

 

 

I used a blue square from her scraps to find a blue to coordinate - I can't believe how close I was able to come to it.

 

 

This is still my favourite piece in all the blocks. As near as I've been able tell, this fabric dates back to about the 40's, and could be as late as the early 50's.   I have 20 Dresden Plates that my grandmother pieced, and my mom whip-stitched them to a nice soft yellow background (she wasn't a quilter or hand-stitcher, so she didn't blind-stitch them, and I'm leaving them just the way they are!). 

 

Have you ever bought something for the bonus inside?  The Honeycomb pack comes with a template inside that is for marking your starting and finishing points for each seam. (The flag piece is my favourite print in the Happy-Go-Lucky line - I'll have to get some yardage in that one!)

 

 

These hexagon are huge compared to the ones I'm working with.   They measure 3" on each side and are 6" across at their widest point.  I couldn't resist pairing them with mine (and the smallest hexie I have ever made!)

 

The comparison got me thinking about how do you measure a hexie?

 

My punches give the size as at its widest point (old Creative Memories punches, no longer available - however, there is a newer style listed but I don't know what size it is - since I'm a consultant, I should probably order one and figure it out! If you want your own and are in Canada, you can check it out on my CM site www.mysite.com/terrifisher).

 

I've seen the pre-cut papers advertised for either at the widest point or the length of each size. I find it easiest to measure one side (p.s. it's half the measurement of the widest point).

 

I take a perverse pleasure in showing off a hexie flower made with 3/8" hexies (sounds so much smaller than 3/4")

 

 

Can you imagine a dolly quilt made with these tiny beauties?

 

 

Have a wonderful Sunday!  I'm off to sew!

Terri in BC

 

PS:  Here's the link to the tutorial I used to learn how to make these hexagons is from Bonnie Hunter of quiltville.com, the queen of scrappy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sunday Stash Report, Week 24

 

After rocking two finishes in as many days, things slowed down the last two weeks.  With working so much overtime, there hasn't been a lot of free time but I have been trying to be in my "Happy Place" aka my sewing room for a bit every day - I've been managing about 45 minutes to an hour each time.  (It helps that the sleep specialist has put me on a rigid schedule - I'm not allowed to go to bed before midnite and have to be up at 7 am, weekends included.)

 

I did get a great piece of fabric at a garage sale.  I've been looking for a new cushion set for my patio swing, but without any luck.  I had decided to make a scrappy quilt that I could throw on it that wouldn't bother me if it got left out by mistake.  When I spotted this, I was thrilled!

 

There are four cheater panels of Double Wedding Rings on this piece.  I'm going to back each panel with a vintage sheet and quilt each one separately with a simple "stitch-in-the-fake-ditch" stitch, then assemble the four panels with a sashing.  It will be so much easier to handle that way on my machine.

 

Added this week: 3.25 metres

 

Added Year-to-Date: 66.75 metres
 

Used since last report: 0 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 21.5 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 45.25 metres

 

I've enjoyed going in my room every day, even if it is not until 10 at night.

 

I'm still plugging away on Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter.  This pattern has now been retired and will be published in her next book.

 

 

Most of the parts are complete, and I'm finishing the rest as I assemble the blocks.  I want to have this finished by the end of June, so I can get it off to the long-arm quilter.  This is going to be one big quilt - it measures about 110"x110" before I even think about borders.

 

I've sorted through my UFOs for some hand-work projects for summer so I can have something to work on when I'm over at my daughter's or at my friends house hanging in the backyard.

 

 

I prepped the second border for embroidery and started the applique in the center of my Vignette Mystery quilt by Leanne Beasley.

 

 

I finally started Birdie Stitches - I've only had the fabric for two plus years!

 

 

I've assembled little kits for my hexie flowers - every one is different, so I have to make sure I have them properly organized. 

 

I also have a cross-stitch project in my bag, Christmas stockings for my grandbabies!

 

So now I am ready to go when I'm invited somewhere - no more excuses!

 

 

(One of these days I'm going to make a bag the same size and stiffness as this Safeway shopping bag - it holds everything perfectly)

 

I also made some progress on a new design, a TV tray cover with an ironing pad, cutting board holder and multiple pockets that will hold all my tools at my fingertips.

 

 

 

I'm using scraps of Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille, along with some yardage in the aqua colourway.  I've been working on this a little while now, and when I get frustrated I put it aside.  It's now back in the corner!

 

 

(So, do I look for another smaller cutting mat or cut this one down... or pick out all the stitches and add a border to the already-quilted piece?)

 

Linking up to Patchwork Times Sunday Stash Report

 

Now I'm off to tackle another UFO!  Thanks for visiting and have a great day,

 

Terri in BC

Sunday Stash Report 2013, Week 4 - Oops, I did it again!

Easy Street is causing me to break my resolve not to add to my stash this year!  I ran out of blacks-on-white so I had to make a quick run to my favourite store yesterday.  I couldn't go Thursday to support my LQS, but I certainly made up for it yesterday!  (Please pardon the lighting in all my photos, it's another rainy day here on the Wet (West) Coast of BC, Canada - also be warned, I tend to ramble and this post is more so than usual!)

 

Added this week: 6.75 metres

Added Year to Date: 25 metres

3/4 metre were blacks-on-white, the 2 metres of Bella Snow is for next-up project using Mama Said Sew and the rest - well, just because ;o).  There are 2 metres of the black and white check which may become sashings or a binding, and a bunch of fat 1/8ths to add to the stash.

Hamels has these wonderful baskets full of fat 1/8th's and I was having trouble finding any blacks-on-white. They even let me go through their hidden closet of stash as well - there were bags and bins full just waiting for room in the baskets on the floor! (When I figure out how to get the picture off my phone, I'll share it.) I've come to the conclusion that there must be lots of Easy Street quilts being made here in the Fraser Valley, because there wasn't one to be found.  I ended up with 2 Fat Quarters and a piece of yardage.

 

But I did find all these other great pieces while I was digging.  There is a method to my madness when I buy fat 1/8ths and I usually don't buy more than 10 at a time - at 99c each, I'm getting 1.25 metres for just $9.90 - a bargain in Canada where prices can be as high as $16/metre.  A fat 1/8th in Canada is also 5" tall (whoops, my math was off - it's 10"x22"), so I can get 8 charm squares out of one piece or strip it down a la Bonnie Hunter-style.  I've included more on how I sorted these ones at the bottom of this post (just so I don't bore you!)

 

I also had a finish this week!  My Gramma quilt top is finished:

 

Used since last report: 4.5 metres

Used Year to Date: 5.25 metres

Net Used/Added for 2013: 19.75 metres

 

I bought this as a kit the same year my grandson was due; since he is now 4, I figured I better get it done as part of the Year to Get it Done.  The kit was purchased at Tangled Threads in Lynden, WA, another shop I consider local to me as it is only about 40 minutes away from my home.  It was packaged with a blah black background, so the owner let me choose a different fabric - I choose these wonderful splotches in primary colours.  It also came with a soft print in a light green for the arrows - which no longer went with those primaries - but I liked it so I left it in the kit to be added to the stash later. 

 

I bought a charm pack of Moda Marbles in brights and left the whole thing until this past summer, when I raided the charm pack to add blocks to my Tetris quilt.  Alex picked the aqua Minkee from my stash for the backing, and wants a yellow binding - and Gramma, can you put a hammer and a sword on it? Not sure how to accomplish that - on the label probably - even though this quilt isn't specifically for him (it's for the spare room that the grandkids use).

 

 

The sayings have positive affirmations and are hand-printed by Block Party Studios - they have lots of options available, including some for quilters!  Tangled Threads carries a wide variety, but BPS has so many more online (no affiliation, just thought I would share the link now, instead of when I get the inevitable questions).

 

 

I continued piecing Easy Street blocks as leaders and enders.  I need a total of 300 4-patches to make mine king-size, and I got them all done! Now on to 32 of each more block, and I can finish that quilt up!

 

 

The kit was generous - I had a full 1/2 yard left, plus some smaller pieces and triangles for the scrappy bins.

 

BTW - do you ever do this?

 

 

I think I need a haircut when I start tying my hair back with selvedges!

 

Now, on to my Fat 1/8ths purchases:

 

I tend to buy for one of the following reasons:

- it will find into a current project

- it will fit into a planned project

- it is from a new/current line that I might buy more of (cuz I'm getting it at a much cheaper price, up to 1/2 off the regular price)

- it fills a colour gap in my stash (a fat 1/8th is the smallest size I put in my colour bins)

- or just because I like it!

 

Today's purchases were:

 

1 fat quarter and 1 fat 1/8th - put away with my Hexie Madness project, which is still stalled.  Made from all '30s-style prints (and a few real ones from my grandmother's stash).  Every flower is different, no centre/ring combination is the same.  I am currently at about 80 of 270 flowers needed.

 

1 fat 1/8th added to my tribute-to-Mom quilt.

 

2 fat 1/8ths added to my coordinates (ignoring the one Christmas fabric moved to the above project)

 

Hamels sells scrap bags of coordinated prints - it works out to about $5.33/metre and can include current lines, like Vintage Modern and Blitzen!  By adding to these bags when I find bits in the fat 1/8ths bin, I've been able to gather enough to make lap-size or baby-size quilts.  Which I should probably do soon again, as I am now up to 2 overflowing shoeboxes full.

 

The black wordy print got put away with the rest of my Word Play fabrics - I have enough now to make a lap/twin quilt - I just have to decide on the accent colour.

 

And the rest, well let's be honest - it doesn't all get put away at once (as you can see from my piles-to-file on top of my bins of colour!

 

Have a great weekend!  I'm off to Easy Street for now!

 

 

 

What to do? The World's Largest Hexagon Quilt

I saw this post on Bonnie Hunter's blog, which led me to this site, and for the last two weeks I've been in a quandry.

What will I do with my hexies? Early last year, I was working on hexies when I'm in the mood, not on the computer and want something to do with my hands.  I posted about them here...

Laid low

and here...

Waiting (im)patiently

I got stalled (and distracted by other projects) and after I saw Bonnie's post, I realized it was because I wasn't happy with my vision.  Originally I was going to sew the flowers together to make it look like a big mass of flowers, but it didn't really look like I envisioned it.  I love the pattern of the amazing large quilt the group of ladies put together in Australia, but it seems to formal for what I want.  So now I'm rethinking my design.  I still want a flower garden, but realize it needs some "greenery" and "paths".

This is the direction I think I may end up taking:

It's going to depend on the greens that I find - I want all '30s repros so I hope I can get enough variety.  In the meantime, I'm going to keep plugging away at flowers - I'm up to 64 completed, only 206 to go!

Saturday Nights are different now!

And I am thrilled!  Instead of rattling around the house with nothing on tv, I've been spending the last few babysitting.  Last night was 2-month-old Zoey's first sleepover at Gramma's and the little sweetheart slept through the night and even slept in until 8:15 a.m., much to her mother's chagrin.  Isn't it wonderful to wake up to this smile!

Last weekend, Alex had a turn.  He made a fort with quilts and then pretended it was a train.  I had to sit behind him and be the whistle for a while, but was able to talk him in to letting me get off.

The next morning, I pulled out the old rocking horse that was my brother's and he had a ball pretending he was a cowboy.

Such concentration!

This horse has quite a story.  It was made by prisoners at Oakalla Prison in New Westminster, BC in the early 1960's and shipped to the military base on northern Vancouver Island, where a sister of one of the guards (and we) lived.  She would help sell them so the prisoners could make a little cash.  My brother got it for his first birthday and our children all used it too. Now the next generation is here and using it!  It still has its original paint job and leather ears. I plan on passing it to my brother's daughter when she has her first child, but in the meantime my grandbabies can use it.

Not much has been happening on the quilty front.  I hit a by-the-pound sale at a LQS, and spent way too much money on scraps (they sell off manufacturers samples), but scored about 5 lbs of wonderful batiks, and about 4 lbs of mostly new and unreleased fabrics, including selections of Parisville by Tula Pink, Amy Butler and more.  Here they are piled up in my new wicker laundry basket I got for $5 at a garage sale.  This basket stands about 14" high, and it was almost full!

Here's another perspective, with my foot adding a sense of scale.  Most of the fabrics hide a stack of coordinating fabrics underneath.  This pile extends almost 6 feet.  In case you are wondering, 9 lbs of fabric equals about 22.5 metres or 25 yards of wonderful, glorious scraps!  Now I can create scrappy quilts a la Bonnie Hunter to my heart's content.

While the babies visit and sleep, I do work on my hexagons.  Here is my little kit that I like to travel with, including my punch for more cardboards in case I run out.

I'm still thinking about doing a Red & White challenge, and I'm floating the idea around that I might make blocks from the Midget Blocks, Barbara Brackman's Civil War blocks, and the 100 Block magazines (I have Vol. 2 & 3).  I'll end up with a buch of different size blocks, but I can visualize a pretty fun quilt with sashings of flying geese and other designs.