Blue Hexagons Quilt 💙

Three years ago (November 2019) I began thread basting some favourite fabrics onto 11/4" hexagons, a wonderfully relaxing way to play with fabric. Soon I had quite a collection, and despite experimenting on several occasions with various arrangements, I couldn't settle on a design which felt right. My beautiful hexies were relegated to a container for safe keeping while I worked on other projects.

Early June 2020 Rita Hodge of Red Pepper Quilts shared her finished Hexagon Stash Buster Quilt in Blues. It looked so good - and I was instantly inspired to start something similar with the blue hexies I already basted. Searching through my fabric collection I soon discovered I had more blues than any other colour, which was a bonus for a quilt like this.

I quickly put together a compact kit to keep me basting and stitching. Following the same technique as Rita, I was constructing interlocking blocks of 16 hexies each. I  use a traditional hand whip stitch when joining my pieces together on an English Paper Piecing (EPP) like this.

I worked on these blocks intermittently, with added enthusiasm following the addition of any new fabrics. However I found the random nature of the blocks not so enticing, so instead I more often gravitating to my other sewing projects.

Then in February this year Rita shared her version of the Treehouse Hexagon Quilt Project, a quilt designed by Emma of Treehouse Textiles. This design has a wonderful balance of structure and freedom. Varying slightly from Emma's original design, I reimagined my blue hexagons quilt and have thoroughly enjoyed stitching many blocks, each with their own differences amongst a basic structural criteria.

A couple of times I thought I had completed all blocks needed, however on closer inspection the colour balance needed more aqua. Following that adjustment, I conceded that it really needed to be longer to become a useful bed quilt for either a full/double bed or a queen size. Two more rows of blocks were created.

Then it was time to create the lighter coloured half-sized blocks to give provide pleasing edges topped bottom.

Now it was time to finish sewing the blocks together and pop the papers out from the back.

For the batting/wadding I selected Quilters Dream Cotton batting in white. It is a lightweight batting, making it more suitable for our warmer climate and less bulky to wash. It is the only cotton batting I have found which is truly white, something I was particularly looking for to support the white base of this quilt. 

After a long-time debate with myself about how (by machine or by hand) I should quilt this large quilt, especially as it was spring by this time, I decided to hand quilt with DMC Cebelia 'crochet cotton' 30 thickness in white (B5200). This is the same thread I chose to quilt my most recent finish, Fresh flowers Quilt. By outline quilting each centre, hexie flower and around each block, it has highlighted the quilt design and created a subtle texture. A mostly cool spring has made the quilting a joy.

And now finally, it is finished and ready to be used on a bed. I had no idea my initial hexies would end up looking like this - and I am delighted! 

Quilt Details

Blue Hexagons Quilt

Design eventually based on Treehouse Textiles Hexagon Quilt Project 

90" x 77"

228cm x 195cm

Tentatively started November 2019

Completed November 13th 2022

1 1/4"hexagon papers

Thread basted

Quilters Dream Request100% Cotton Batting in White - queen size

Hand quilted with DMC Cebelia 'crochet cotton' #30 in white (B5200) 

Tilda Birds Quilt

 

I am delighted to see my Tilda Birds quilt looks equally at home on the heirloom couch as it does on our lounge- it’s a keeper! The zigzag edges on the long sides were tedious to figure out and attach but I am so pleased I persevered, it’s now my favourite feature of the quilt. 

Tilda Birds was started last year, primarily as a portable English Paper Piecing (EPP) project to stitch while away from home with our children’s sport. The inspiration came from some beautiful Tilda fabric I saw on the Instagram feed of @samanthamackie31 , which worked perfectly with the Tilda birds prints I had purchased a few years ago. I chose the hexagon size to best work with these prints. The design is based around hexie flowers with a Tilda bird as the centre of each. There are two ‘joiner/spacer’ hexies in a neutral crosshatch design added to each flower. 

I bought my hexagons from Jodi's shop, Tales of Cloth, here in Australia, they are 1 3/4" as measured along each side. I love Jodi's recycled paper pieces, finding them a great weight to work with. 

I chose a Decor pastry storage container to house my project as it was the perfect size and acts as a lap table when stitching away from home. An empty slimline chocolate box works perfect for portable basting as it fits in the pastry storer but can also easily slide into my handbag, just in case I have a little stitching time. Each hexagon was thread basted with a little backstitch through the fabric only at each corner on the back. This way the basting thread can remain in place after popping/pulling out the papers, keeping the back very tidy.

 I made my own clear template from stiff clear plastic to assist in centring the birds, allowing me to draw an outline ready for cutting. 

The blocks slowly added up to become a nice stack. They were safely stored away in a cupcake container for many months while I turned my attention at completing the long promised Dancing Waters quilt for my good friend Sue, followed by a long term EPP - Ice Cream Soda quilt. Soon I found a rhythm of working with both my newer Cornflower/Joyfully quilt and this Tilda Birds quilt. With more time at home due to COVID, I made the most of the extra stitching time, especially for the less appealing cumbersome stage of sewing the blocks together into a quilt top. 

 

It is my preference to complete any hand quilting during the cooler months, usually of an evening when our dining table is free. Finally all the diagonal quilting lines were completed in one direction and then the other, resulting in a pleasant textured diamond pattern. 

The zigzag binding was perhaps the most challenging step as it was very much slower and more tedious than regular straight binding, and I had to figure out how to actually do it. I was very much tempted to cut all those points off at one stage, however it was well worth the extra attention in the end.

 Here are the three EPP, hand quilted finishes for this year, along with a glimpse of an outfit I made to wear to our eldest daughter's wedding in June. It really has been a rather rewarding year of finishes, each quilt is rather different in design and colour palette too. I wonder what next year will hold.....definitely some Sunshiny Day with Jodi 😊 

Quilt Details

Tilda Birds Quilt

Finished quilt measures 55" x 74"

140 cm x 188 cm

Started: May 2019

Finished: October 2020

1 3/4" (1.75") hexagon paper pieces from Tales of Cloth

Cotton fabrics - many by Tilda 

Batting: Legacy Bamboo Blend

(50% Viscose Bamboo, 50% Cotton)

Quilting thread: Sulky 12 wt #1071

Country Style Hexies Quilt

Some things make you feel happy just by looking at them - and this quilt is one of those special things for me. Working on my 'Country Style Hexies' quilt has been quite a journey, spanning more than three and a half years as one of my 'occasional projects'. A few days ago I added the last stitches to the edge binding, marking the end of this quilt's making stage. Below is this quilt's story, mostly in photos.

My travel sewing kit (an old chocolate tin) which easily slots in my handbag - perfect for waiting rooms, while out at children's sport etc.

The inspiration behind this quilt is shared here - way back in December 2015. The hexagons are 1 1/2" (length of each side) which is quite a common size and well suited to the scale of these fabrics. I chose to thread baste these hexagons using a little back stitch on the back of each corner fabric fold, which enables the paper templates to be removed without undoing the stitches. Leaving the basting stitches in place helps keep the reverse side neat and sitting flat.

The hexies were stitched together into small manageable blocks which were later sewn into rows, then finally into a whole large panel/piece.

The papers from surrounded hexies have been removed - however papers in the edging hexies are still in place to allow further stitching.

I had thought I would finish at this size above, then I discovered I had a little more fabric of most prints and decided to extend both sides to make a more usable single bed size quilt *.

Above you can see I have temporarily attached narrow strips of the white spotted fabric to the edges of the completed hexagon panel using large machine stitches. I then carefully appliquéd the edges of the panel to the white border strips, using some small dots of soluble glue from a glue pen to keep the points in place while I stitched. After the appliqué was completed I removed the machine stitches.

Additional grey borders ready for machine sewing to the edges.

All the quilt layers thread basted together, ready for hand quilting.

I used Gutermann Sulky 12w cotton thread for the hand quilting. This thread is soft like a perle 8 cotton thread, however it is finer and easier to use. I wanted the quilting to be visible and give nice texture, without being bold and detracting from the fabrics. The entire quilt required just over one reel of this thread. 

I use waxed quilting thread, doubled, for hand stitching my bindings onto the quilt back.

The pieced quilt back.

My Country Style Hexies quilt is happily at home in our open living area for now, so I can enjoy catching glimpses of it each day. Seeing all those pretty colours and favourite prints brings joy to my heart, just as they did over the many, many hours, years and life seasons during which I enjoyed cutting, basting, stitching and hand quilting.

* Finished quilt size - 62" x 88" (157cm x 223).