Pushing toward hexagons
Yup. I’ve started on a hexagon project of my own.
When I posted inspirational mages of hexagon quilts last week, Christine asked:
I’ve had a few other emails about it, so I thought I’d post some of the great tutorials I’ve found to get me going.
- Traditional paper piecing as explained by sunshinescreations is what has worked for me.
- Using freezer paper instead of regular paper, as illustrated by AJPadilla, is also popular.
- Thimbleblossoms stitches through the paper pieces, which I don’t necessarily recommend…
- Some people use gluesticks for their basting, like Pananani illustrates.
- And others, like allbuttonedup, don’t baste at all!
- Here is a tutorial by Abyquilt to use triangles and a sewing machine to mimic hand-pieced hexagons. It’s not quite the same, but if you would rather use your machine and don’t mind extra seams, have a look.
While I’m at it, here is one more mosaic of inspirational hexagon projects I’ve found since my original posting. Click through for more info on the artists.
No related posts.
Your hexagons look like the start of something gorgeous. I have often wanted to try a hexagon quilt but I’m slightly put off by their reputation of time-takers! Maybe as you’ve started already I can follow your progress instead!
Thanks for the hex-links I will def. look into those
Comment by aneela — 10 March 2009 @ 1:14 pm
@aneela: Well, I can vouch for the time-intensive nature of the project, though that is probably true of most hand-work these days. I don’t think you could do a hexagon quilt unless you were looking for something that would be slow, plodding, and a little painstaking. The product is beautiful, but it is really the process that is attracting me at this point. If it’s not attractive to you, follow along with someone else who’s crazy enough to take it on!
Comment by Mal — 10 March 2009 @ 2:01 pm
thanks for the links….I’ve kept the idea of trying these little hexes simmering on the back burner, but after seeing the flower pincushion with the hexes in the middle…I’ve got to at least try…..or find out if dunris has an etsy shop!
Comment by christine — 11 March 2009 @ 1:41 am
Wow what inspirational images…such patience and hard work…patience being a quality I don’t posess much of unfortunately…good luck with yours xxx
Comment by Vicki — 11 March 2009 @ 3:42 am
I am honored you used my quilt as an inspiration. Mine was pieced and quilted completely by hand. It is king size and took me over a year to finish. I did not use paper piecing, just winged it.
Comment by Sandy — 11 March 2009 @ 6:41 am
Thanks for posting this! I’m thinking a lot about hexagons lately especially since the Hexagon Taxi Tote on Anna Maria Horners blog. Btw, I tagged you, I hope you don’t mind
Comment by Miss Behave — 11 March 2009 @ 1:16 pm
@Miss Behave: Thanks for the tag! I’d say my five biggest addictions are:
Pictures of my dogs. Really, does anyone else care about them? No. But I can’t stop taking photos and believing they are the cutest creatures ever.
Orange juice. Actually, I’m in recovery from my orange juice addiction. It spikes my blood sugar so badly that I really shouldn’t drink it, but sometimes I still can’t help myself!
Scarves. If it’s possible to have too many scarves, I don’t want to know.
Internet glasses. Ever since I found out that you can order a pair of prescription glasses from the internet for under $20, I’ve completely ditched my contact lenses!
Gloomy weather. When we get too much sunshine, I get sort of desperate and crazed. All things considered, I think I live in the wrong climate.
Comment by Mal — 11 March 2009 @ 9:03 pm
@Christine: I was glad to see you take the leap into mini hexes this morning!
Comment by Mal — 11 March 2009 @ 9:07 pm
Hey! I have just about all of those same prints. That’s *way* cool.
Comment by Leslie — 12 March 2009 @ 7:17 am
I have been wanting to try hexagon piecing in the hopes of one day making a quilt like the one in the top left of your mosaic. The only thing holding me back is thinking about how long it’s going to take me to finish one
Comment by Rebekah — 12 March 2009 @ 4:38 pm
@Leslie: That’s crazy! Almost all of these fabrics are from scrap bags that were given to me — maybe 4 bags from 3 different people!
Comment by Mal — 12 March 2009 @ 5:32 pm
@Rebekah: It might be a nice change from the way we are used to doing things! It’s strange to think of purposefully doing something that will take a long time, but I think there is value to it — especially if you’ve been wanting to! (Though I might suggest starting with something smaller to see how you like it.)
Comment by Mal — 12 March 2009 @ 5:34 pm
Thanks Mal for sharing your addictions! And I too have too many scarves, but on the other hand: can you ever have enough?
Comment by Miss Behave — 13 March 2009 @ 4:52 am
Hi Mal, thanks for the info! The soccerball is finished (not so mini, I’d say it’s about 12″ in diameter), I’m pleased with how it worked out for my first piecing work, and am so very glad I didn’t try to just wing it but got some instruction from you and your links first
http://cuttingedgequilt.blogspot.com/2009/03/one-soccerball-coming-up.html
Cheers,
Christine
Comment by Christine — 13 March 2009 @ 11:45 am
@Christine: So glad to hear the links were helpful! Would love to see the soccer ball…
Comment by Mal — 13 March 2009 @ 12:29 pm
[...] that’s the thing to do now) and I think I’m settled on a hexagon quilt. I found this great blog post with some links to start (her blog header is also hypnotic) and I’m tossing around Everything But the Kitchen Sink [...]
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