I recently finished two more hexie flowers from my treasured red, white and blue fabric scraps. (See my April 29 post for how I got started.) I was so tickled with how they turned out that I quickly posted a picture to Instagram and Facebook. I’m thankful for the encouraging words I’ve received . . . from EPP experts, from EPP novices (like me), and from quilters who don’t EPP but appreciate any type of sewing endeavors. I’m also thankful for two comments/questions that made me pause and reflect: “Are you making a quilt with these hexie flowers?” and “I can’t wait to see what you make with these hexie flowers.” Yikes! Accountability.
I’ve been an arts and crafts girl since I was small, so it’s no wonder that I enjoy playing with paper shapes, glue sticks, and my favorite fabric scraps. Every time I finish a hexie flower, I’m proud and a bit giddy. (My poor husband must be tired of the “ta-dah” moments!)
But I will admit that it seems daunting to consider hand sewing an entire quilt top. That’s a LOT of one-inch hexies to join. When doubts creep in, I push those thoughts from my mind and focus on the joy of making. And I am reminded to give thanks to God for the gift of being a quilter!
After completing five flowers, I decided it might be wise to turn my attention to preparing individual one-inch hexies from my remaining stash. I will make up hexies in sets of 6 or 12, depending on how far each scrap fabric will go. I may have to break down and purchase a few more blue fat quarters. Wouldn’t that be a shame?
Some of the medium blues that I am using are leftover from two projects I did last spring: my Gumdrops quilt and my Diamond Trail table runner. Now that I’m sharing that with you, I realize I never quilted my Diamond Trail project. Good grief Taunja! It’s such a cute little runner. I better get that finished on the next rainy day!
My supply of hexies is growing. In the evenings, I take turns cutting, glue basting or sewing, depending on my mood. I’m using a bamboo drawer organizer from my office to store my hexies, but I’ve already run out of room. I guess I need to make a run to the craft store and find a better and bigger solution! I mentioned it in my earlier blog post, but I’ll share it again here. I’m using fabric scraps I’ve saved over the course of a few years from Thimble Blossoms, My Sew Quilty Life, Minick & Simpson, Brenda Riddle, Sweetwater, Bunny Hill Designs and Tilda.
I will be releasing a new quilt pattern in the next couple of weeks. It’s called Rectangly, and it’s fat quarter friendly. I’ve already made two samples, and I can’t wait to show them to you. Have a terrific week, quilting friends! Thanks for stopping by.
~Taunja
Fabrics & Products I love:
Needle Minder by My Sew Quilty Life
Needle Minder by Primrose Cottage Stitches (pink house)
Needle Minder by Primrose Cottage Stitches (navy house)
1” Hexagon Paper Pieces by Sue Daley
Jenna Kimball’s Foxglove Straw Needles #9
Aurifil 80 weight cotton thread
Sue Daley rotating cutting mat
EPP Tutorial I found helpful:
I love your latest hexies! I need to go back and see what fabric lines you’re using, if you mentioned that. I’ve made a 1″ batik hexie throw quilt and a 1 1/4″ 30s reproduction full-size grandmother’s flower garden quilt. I loved making them both. Hexies are great travel projects (Hawaii and all over the western US!) as well as TV watching projects. They are so portable and they are great conversation starters. What are you using to hold your exits! It’s the perfect shape.
Thanks for your kind words, Paula! I am pretty excited about them. You are so right about them being great travel projects. I got quite a bit done on the road this weekend as we visited family! I bet both of your projects were lovely. I would love to see your 30s full sized!! Wow! I am holding them in a bamboo pencil tray that I bought on Amazon a couple years ago. The trays are stackable. It’s a great size in width and depth, but I won’t be able to stack as the hexies are taller. I think I need to look for a better solution! 🙂