This week I sewed the eighteen strips together.
I did this over a few days and I scrupulously pinned each block so that the joins would be accurate. Mostly I was in luck, I think I only had to redo a couple of joins.
I agree with Aneela who said usually a gentle tug of the top or with me the bottom strip would usually make the seams abut. I think when I have done a few more of these I will not need to pin as much as I did this time.
I was unsure whether to go with a rectangular quilt which would establish more of a pattern but I really want to use this as a tablecloth for a circular table so I did not need it to be any larger. I toyed with the idea of adding a dark narrow border and another floral border but am going with the simplicity of the top as it is. I scrupulously snipped off all my threads and pressed the seams in the direction they were sewn. Aneela advises pressing the seams open but I do not think my hands are up to that so am hoping to hide the seams with the quilting.
Aneela and others were at this stage at week four. Now on to the sandwiching and quilting!
Only one day to go until I draw the winners to the giveaways!
5 Comments
You make it all look so easy !!!!
That looks fantastic and gives me an idea.
Ooh can’t wait to see your idea in action! I am glad I make it look easy as I do not always follow the rules but do what works for me and usually that is what hurts the least! I appreciate your taking the time to comment today WS…I know it is a difficult/happy day for you.
Is there a reason for doing hexigons like this and not by sewing full hexagons together?
I think the idea originated in the difficulty of sewing those angles on a sewing machine. They are usually hand sewn and that can take a lot of time and labour.
Aneela covered it on her blog at one stage i think….with this method you do have to be careful with the join so that the seam becomes part of teh vblock or blends right in. I think I am right in saying the quilting helps this…..am going to include the seam in my quilting pattern…sort of. Stay tuned!
Hi, Kathleen. I saw a piece of grandmother’s flower garden cheater cloth on the flickr Sunday Stash (at least I think that’s where I saw it). Anyway — they sometimes put two different prints together in the petals, and it was a very interesting look. I think I’m going to play around with that idea as I have so many leftover half hexies. Great job on your half hexie — it’s looking great!
It is an interesting look and would use up your spare hexies Joan. I googled ‘grandmother’s garden’ and clicked on images…that was useful
Only a short time ago did I come to realize how the hexagon quilts were put together. So fascinating! Your’s looks stunning!
Have a wonderful day!
Thanks for your reply! It kind of makes sense… I am still learning. I went through a magazine last night that explained how to do some other kinds of blocks and made a few things that look hard seem so much easier. So you will quilt along all those join lines? I think that will look great!
I must admit I seem to take the hard road on most things. I made a replica of Urchins cancan dress from the Moulin Rouge movie which has a hexagon pieced skirt and I did it… by piecing dozens of hexagons. I did it all on the machine and worked from the centre piece out in expanding circles. I found that as long as I sewed didn’t sew over the seam allowance the next piece went in easily, and of course a lot of pressing was involved!
I’ll give you a link incase you want to check it out. It took me hours and hours: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29577744@N06/3430298163/
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[...] thinking half hexi quilt for the fat quarters….skirt with butterfly border for the fabric…leaving enough to [...]
[...] Okay so next…the auditioning of the blocks. Using some sort of design wall or design board….whatever works for you… start adding various pairs of half hexies until like Joan, you get a pleasing arrangement. If you are anything like me you will end up doing two quilts as you just can’t decide between mosaic quilts! [...]