Tag Archives: hexagon quilts

Hexagons, Shabby Chic FQ’s and Batiks — oh, my!

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The first 3 strips of hexagons are joined together. Once they’re all together I think I’ll print enough hexagons and half hexagons of one fabric to add 2 rows of hexagons and one row of half hexagons on all 4 sides. What that fabric will be I have no idea, but my idea is that that will frame the strips and then I’ll use the same fabric to bind it. I’m actually amazed at how quickly this is going together.

Wednesday’s mail brought another lovely treat. Tracy, a no-blog friend sent me these wonderful batik 5″ charms for my birthday. I had more fun looking through them at the various colours and thinking about my plan for some batik-only quilts.


Thursday’s mail brought these goodies from Karen! Gorgeous Robyn Pandolph FQ’s — I have always loved Robyn Pandolph fabrics and this collection is wonderful. Karen sure knows my taste! I know another shabby chic quilt is in my future and now I can dream about just what it may be. There are some fabulous prints in this collection — and some solids, too. I was thrilled to see these as I had only seem them online or in magazines. They’re going to be so much fun to work with!

I feel incredibly spoiled by all these wonderful fabrics and all the choices I have.

Smudge, guarding the toys — again. This time he has 4 within paw’s reach.

Lester, in his favourite spot, perhaps resting his eyes from all the bird watching.


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Here are all the strips of hexagons. Although they may look like they’re jumbled up, they’re actually basted together at the top in order so all I have to do is take the next strip off the bunch when I need it. The first 2 rows are actually joined now — but no picture yet.

And this is the rainbow with the first row of purples started.

Saturday we had thunderstorms. It started out as a wonderfully warm, mild day but, as the afternoon progressed, it got chilly. This was the late afternoon sky as another round of thunderstorms was headed our way. The sky was really interesting to watch.


Smudge doesn’t mind storms at all.


This was Lester watching out the window Monday afternoon. We have huge robins this year which are keeping him entertained.


Beginning of the Hexagon Lap Quilt

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This wasn’t the picture I planned on posting but, for some reason, I seem to be unable to upload photos. From the various hexagon swaps we’ve had on the Inklingo list of 1″ hexagons, I have made strips of hexagons. I knew that a traditional GFG was not what I wanted to make with that size of hexagons and have been stitching them into rows for ages. Over the weekend, I finished stitching the hexagons into rows and spent a few hours Sunday night arranging and rearranging the rows so that the same fabrics wouldn’t be immediately adjacent. Now I’ve begun stitching the rows together. This will take a while to complete but is the perfect mindless stitching I need some evenings.

There was progress on the rainbow too. The reds are finished and the first row of purple diamonds is halfway done.

There have been more fabulous giveaways added to the InklingoProjects blog Great Inklingo Giveaway. There’s one of hexagon butterflies that is amazing!

Because there’s almost always a kitty picture in every post, I copied this from an old post. Hopefully tomorrow I can post the pictures I was hoping to post today!


Bits and Pieces

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There are nine little 9-patch blocks I have done for the one a day quilt along. The fabrics are actually a bit brighter than they appear in this shot.

A couple more little flowers added to whatever this is going to grow up to be. I’m still not sure where I’m headed with this but, when I need a hexagon fix, it’s the thing I pick up. I put a 1-cent coin on it so you could see the size of these hexagons — all with .50″ sides. I’ve always loved hexagon quilts and now, using Inklingo, they’re an absolute delight to stitch; a simple running stitch makes them so much fun. No basting, no whipstitching — just lots and lots of lovely quick running stitches. On these ones, as the seams are so tiny, it’s just one load of stitches on the needle and each little seam is done.

Thursday I had a cyst removed from my lower eyelid. The eye doctor froze the area well and the only thing I really felt was the pressure as he drained the cyst but by the time night came, it was hurting. The worst of this? Trying to get the antibiotic eye drops in my eye. I could put contact lenses in my eyes from now until forever without a problem but eye drops? More will run down my face than will ever get in my eye!

Yet another favourite picture of Lester.


And an extra fluffy Smudge with — well, I’m not sure. Perhaps he’s working up to a lounge lizard look in this one.


A True Hint of Spring

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The past two days have been wonderful with temperatures in the 60s and even low 70s. We have another drop coming, but this is a sure sign to me that winter is over.

I’ve made a little progress on my piece with the .50″ Inklingo hexagons. These go together so easily that the centre is growing relatively quickly. I’m still not sure how large this will be but it’s a lot of fun making the little 4-unit flowers and then adding them in a haphazard way to the centre.

Having learned the hard way, I now press after every few flowers. I finger press as I add each unit so when I do press it with the iron, it’s a very quick process.

So far, I’ve got a lot accomplished that was on my list of quilt-related items I wanted to get ready for stitching. All that’s left now to do is decide on the setting for Tropical Punch and get the diamonds for the rainbow of the sky quilt printed. The fabric is all cut and ready to iron to freezer paper.

Every year we have a pair of woodpeckers arrive in the spring. I thought I heard them the other day but couldn’t see them. Today I saw both of them. I’m always amazed at the amount of noise these little birds can make. I was fascinated watching them. Although the picture’s not great, the woodpecker has a red head.

It seems the woodpeckers aren’t what Lester is waiting for. He wasn’t the least bit interested in watching them.


Flower Garden Beginning

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The .50″ hexagons I had printed for Insanity are being put together in 3 different types of hexagon flowers — ones consisting of 4, 7 and 9 hexagons. The 4-hexagon units will be at the centre of whatever this turns out to be and I’ve now started joining them. I’m purposely keeping them not lined up at this point.

Never wanting to have to press all the little seams at the end of a large quilt again — been there, done that — I’m pressing as I add every two or three flowers. I finger press as I go and that makes the pressing with an iron a lot faster. This is the back with all the little seam intersections pressed. Sometimes I think the back of blocks are as interesting as the front!

Smudge, awake and alert on the windowsill.

Lester, definitely posing for the camera.


Tuesday Tidbits

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This is the beginning of the centre of the quilt I’m going to make using some of the .50″ hexagons I have printed. I’m purposely not setting the 4-hexagon units in line or in specific spots. There may be areas where there will be a 3 or 4 green hexagons between the little florets. I know this project will get put away and taken out again over and over, but it will be my main hexagon project for the next while. It seems I always have to have a hexagon project of some sort or another on the go.

This is half of a melon/arc unit done for the DWR quilt. The hand dyes I’m using in the arcs are rather like a batik and, as my hands are still quite painful, I’m going to forego stitching these by hand this time. I’ll turn this into a hybrid project and will do the arc piecing by machine and then I can have the fun of stitching the arcs to the melons and centres by hand, thus enjoying all that wonderful curved piecing.


This is one of the reasons I love this new Inklingo DWR collection, although there are a whole host of reasons to be thrilled with it. This worksheet, along with others that come as part of the collection, are absolutely fantastic tools and make planning a DWR a breeze!

The weather on Monday was dreadful. Windy, cold, raining, snowing, you name it! We had less than a centimetre of snow all of March, so seeing snow falling on the 6th of April seemed rather cruel! I know it won’t last but still — snow?? This was the roof garden Monday evening. The snow wasn’t melting as soon as it hit.


Although the snow was falling outside, thankfully we have the dome and the roof was closed Monday night for the opening game of the baseball season, which was fabulous and our Jays won! Although, if some of the fans had continued on with their silly antics, the game could have been forfeited. It was really a shame to see fans throwing paper airplanes and baseballs and who knows what else out on to the field. Aside from being silly and childish and distracting from what was an absolutely fabulous inning for the Jays, they could have caused real harm to the players in the outfield. I can’t believe they would do that and put their home team in peril of forfeiting a game that they were winning. The looks on the faces of the umpires and managers told the whole story — I think they were utterly appalled. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The game was delayed for approximately 10 minutes while the groundskeepers removed the debris from the field and the crowd settled down after being told by the announcer that anyone caught doing that would be required to leave the dome and could face criminal charges. Why does the opening game of the season bring out the worst in fans?

The wind was quite fierce Monday night and Smudge seemed a bit unsettled by it. However, that didn’t stop him from posing for pictures. Nothing stops him from posing for pictures!

Lester wasn’t going to hang out on the windowsill Monday. It was much too cold. He found a nice spot to curl up and have a nap.


A Hexagon Plan

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After getting out the .50″ hexagon Quilters’ Emergency Kit box the other day, I started mulling over a plan. I think I’m going to use the 4-hexagon units surrounded by this green fabric as the centre of a small quilt. It’s a very pale Northcott green. Although the little 4-hexagon units are made using the half-inch hexagon, I’ll use 1-inch hexagons of the green and scatter the hydrangea florets. The size of the centre of this little quilt is, at this point, unknown but will probably be when I’ve had enough of making the little hydrangea florets. Thanks to Wanda at Exuberant Color for suggesting that’s what they look like — as soon as she mentioned it, I could see it too.


Then a thin, maybe half-inch, border of a white or cream followed by a border incorporating flowers like these, again using the green as background.

Finally, one more thin border of white or cream and the outer border of the hexagon diamonds which will be, once again, against the same green background. I think it’s going to be a very soft spring/summer quilt and may end up as not much more than a good-sized wallhanging or it could be a lap quilt. I’m not making any decisions on that yet. I love having a long-term hexagon project to work on. Sometimes I just want to stitch hexagons and, having printed all those little hexagons, I’m really happy to have come up with a plan that I like.


Lester, sound asleep.

And in what seems to be a series of these, another of Smudge in a “find the kitty’s head” poses.


Hexagons, Hexagons and More Hexagons

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One of my Quilter’s Emergency Kit boxes contains hexagons. Well, a lot of hexagons. I printed thousands of the Inklingo .50″ hexagons thinking I’d do the Insanity quilt. I decided against it and have been playing around with ideas since then. So far I’ve made a few of the hexagon diamonds and some flowers.


I’ve also started putting together these little 4-hexagon units. This will be a long-term project but an idea is slowly coming together in my mind that will utilize the hexagon diamonds, flowers and the 4-hexagon units.


These are some of the cut and uncut hexagons for the project. I love being able to just pick them up and stitch whenever I need a hexagon fix. No basting, no whip stitching, just lots of running stitches. As they are rather small hexagons, it takes no time to have a seam done.

Monday was a very grey day here. Lester snoozed.


Smudge awake. In the background, you can just see Lester sleeping on the couch.


Tiny Blossom

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I couldn’t resist making this little blossom with the new .25″ hexagon Inklingo collection. That is a dime in the picture to give you an idea of the size. The little seams are stitched together in no time.

I’m now thinking that these tiny little blossoms will be perfect to scatter about on the apple core quilt I have planned to make with florals and greens. They go together very quickly and surprisingly easily and they’re just plain fun.

I won some batiks from Wanda at Exuberant Color last year. I have plans for those batiks but couldn’t resist cutting off a small piece of a few of them for these tiny blossoms.

Lester looking very peaceful.