Well, today is my day....
YEAH.....I was sooo excited to join this hop. I always wanted to do Hexies and to learn English paper piecing. I want to thank
Debbie and
Madame Samm for all their hard work putting this
GREAT hop together. I am sure I was not the only one who learned a new technique in quilting.
There are quite a few different ways that people make Hexies. You can applique them on your project, sew them together by hand or with your machine in rows or you can sew them together by hand.
(I even found that there are different ways to do that also). Then you can cut them in half...sewing the halfs
You guessed it.....I tried the cutting in half. First I drew my Hexie as to how big that I wanted it finished. Then added a 1/4" around the edges. After that, I cut it in half. I then added 1/4" to the cut side of the pattern.
I had some pretty scrap fabric that I just adored and wanted for in my sewing room. So I decided to make a mug rug. I cut out my half Hexies and arranged them how I wanted to sew them together.
Here comes the fun part. You see at the same time I was making my first project, my son talked my husband and I into getting "Smart Phones". We had a regular old phone all our lives and had NO idea as to what we were getting into. Anyway, We went on a family plan with him and his fiance and he was showing us how to use our phone. They are great with all our questions, I never knew I could do so much with just a phone. He said, take your pictures with the phone and they will be much clearer than your camera. They sure were....until the phone locked up, no one knew the so called "password". So it had to be renewed No problem, they told me, but they forgot to tell me that it would loose all my pictures cause I didn't have this "SD Card" ??? (Got one now, but lost some good pictures) Glad I still used my camera.
So unfortunately, I cannot show complete steps on how I put it together.
I laid them all out to where I wanted them to be when finished. Next I sewed them in rows.
When my rows were all sewn, I sewed the rows together. This time though, I did my edges different. I layered then at this time and carefully sewed the edges on two sides together. ( I left the two ends open.) Then carefully made a snip in each inner seam. This made a neat Hexie when I turned it right side out.
After I turned it right side out, I sewed my two ends shut by hand and machine quilted in the
ditch.
It is the size of a mug rug but instead of using it for that, I sat my lamp on it in the corner of my desk. Fits perfectly! What do you think?
OK, this was fun but I had lots of time before the hop, so I decided to give English piecing a try, I found this way to work for me: First I made lots of plastic patterns. ( 1 1/2" ) then cut lots of scrap fabrics to make flowers for my quilt. I added an extra 1/4 inch when cutting them out.
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The next step was to pin the plastic onto the fabric in the center and carefully turn under 1/4 inch and tack each corner with needle and thread.
This made it so easy to take anywhere I want to go. After I made lots of assorted fabrics and lots of white, it was time to start sewing them together. I kept the plastic in until all 6 sides are sewn on.
(the plastic does make it look bunched up but after it is removed and all press, they lay nice and flat)
Well unfortunately, I kinda got carried away, I made lots of Hexies and decided to make a full bed size quilt. They are a lot of fun to make and can be so relaxing. But I didn't want to rush and not do a good job. I have been working on it after supper sitting on my swing, enjoying the evening after these long summer days. Unfortunately, by that time of day, I am beat! So I did not get them all finished. I have these:
I have 14 of these large flowers above.
I have another 14 flowers ready to put white hexies on.
AND
I have more cut and ready to pin on plastic to make MORE flowers.
I now have a UFO to do in my spare time.
(gee what spare time??)
OK....Lets all go see all the other beautiful Hexie Queens, here is the list for today:
Next week schedule:
Monday, August 26
Oh, did I mention I have a giveaway too? Our last hop with Madame Samm was the HO HO HO and I got so many ideas and projects lined up, I just had to share.
I had gotten some patterns to make Angels. When I did, I picked up 2 extras.
The Winter Angel on the right is 14 inches tall when completed and the Santa Angel will be 15 inches tall when completed. Both patterns are May Kerr designs. They are both brand new, complete easy instructions. Both are lots of fun to make.
To enter just leave me a comment. This giveaway is open to anyone, as long as I can contact you. I wish everyone lots of luck. I will let
random.org pick the winner and it will be announced on
August 29th.
So, till then........
HAPPY QUILTING EVERYONE!
To get special designed quilts or to see my gallery, check out my site at: http://janesquilting.com
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