Thursday 5 September 2013

Tallying the Hexies

My husband's vacation time really played havoc with my stitching projects. We had fun, but now at the end of Jessica's Monday Morning Star Count summer project, I have only 27 flowers done for my batik hexagon mosaic quilt. I hope to finish piecing this by Christmas, and just hope that I can keep up my enthusiasm. These are really fun to sew.


Wednesday 31 July 2013

More Batik "Flowers"

I now have a total of 18 flower medallions completed.

 
 
The weather has been so gorgeous lately...warm and sunny for the most part. My stitching has suffered! My husband is taking vacation time next week, so there will be even slower progress on this quilt. I'm not really in a hurry, though. I find whip stitching these hexies together is so relaxing and enjoyable that I know this quilt will get finished...eventually.
 
I'm taking part in the weekly roll call of English paper piecers that Jessica is hosting at Life Under Quilts. Check out the blog to see links to everyone's progress. There are some gorgeous quilts in the making.

Monday 15 July 2013

Batik Flowers are Blooming

I've completed nine "flowers" for my Batik Mosaic quilt. I'm linking back to  Jessica's Life Under Quilts blog every week to help keep me motivated to work on this quilt a little every day. The process of sewing these hexies together is going to take months! Have a look at Jessica's Monday blog posts and check out the other bloggers who are English Paper Piecing lovely quilts, too!



 
 

I should have started sewing these together before basting most of them. I can't do a lot of whipstitching at night because we don't have the best light in the TV room where DH and I spend our time in the evening. It's quite enough light for basting, but I don't know whether I'll need to baste any more for this quilt. So for now I am whipstitching hexies together in the afternoons. I may have to bring in another floor lamp and see if that brightens things up for evening sewing! We'll see. I may have to start basting for another quilt to make more efficient use of my sewing time :-)

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Blue Hexies Update

Almost there! I have 800 basted hexagons. Only 72 more before I start the whipstitching. I'm glad that I'll soon be sewing these together. There are really only so many ways to photograph a bunch of hexies.

 
 

I'm loving all of your comments! This blog was inspired by Jessica's Life Under Quilts blog, where she has provided us with a space to share links to our EPP projects every week.

Why am I basting so many hexies and not starting to sew them together? Believe me it is driving me NUTS to wait. I want to start sewing this into a top.  I'm waiting because I've been adding new fabrics as I baste, and I want to distribute them somewhat evenly throughout the quilt. I've also been spreading them out periodically to make sure I have a good mix of light and dark fabrics.

Jessica is also the author of Quilting on the Go. I love this book's emphasis on techniques. There are plenty of tips and great colour photos for every aspect of making a quilt with English Paper Piecing. I will be rereading the section on whipstitching...very soon, I hope.

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Batik Mosaic

 
I have 700 basted hexagons prepared for my Batik Mosaic quilt. I will need almost 900 to make the 72-inch square finished size that I want. Getting closer! I hunted through my stash of fat quarters, and bought a few pieces to round out the selection of fabrics. I forgot to count how many different fabrics I am using, but I think it is between 25 and 30. The hexagons are 1-1/2 inches on each side (3 inches wide at the middle). I'm going for a scrappy, unplanned look by arranging the different fabrics randomly when I join the hexagons together. I want to finish basting all that I will need and then I will start whip stitching the hexagons together, small sections at a time.
 
 

Monday 24 June 2013

Welcome!

I have recently started making quilts with English Paper Piecing, and I love it! I'm looking forward to sharing my progress with you all.