Hexagon quilt update #1-2014

You all remember the pink and gray hexagon quilt, right? I've renamed it the Vines and Flowers quilt, because after much deliberation I've finally settled on a layout. I'll be making a long snaky gray vine through the middle like you see here. This graph has the same number of hexies as my final quilt.

And filing in the white space with traditional hexagon flowers like these

I have finally settled on a method for both basting and storage. I use one of the kids old playmobil boxes that came with dividers for my sewing kit. There are spaces for my fabric clips, thread, papers, thimble, needles, and fabric. It can hold a small quantity of basted hexies as well. And a kitten. (This is an older picture, like weeks ago, Sirius Black has doubled in size.)

I have a small basket on an upstairs shelf with extra papers, fabric squares, and the finished flowers. This is short term storage, because of course I have an entire sewing room in the basement. Every so often (usually when I finish up a fabric print) I count up the completed hexies and add them to this box. As of this writing I'm at 1347.

 

As I grow bored with basting, I make 7 unit flowers. Every time I think I'm making progress I remember that I'm only roughly half done basting and have a long long ways to go. My goal for 2014 is to finish all the basting and have a decent start on the flowers.

I've decided to make the centers of most of the flowers a solid pink (any shade of pink) and use the prints for the petals. The spaces between the flowers will be the white or cream backgrounds. I think this will make the flowers stand out better. Most of the flowers will be the seven unit flowers, but I will do some with the second ring around them as well. Of course I didn't make these decisions until I had this small part done, but learn as you go, right?

All of this will hopefully become clearer as I get more of them sewn together.

Now, if you've read that far, I have a favor to ask of any of my sewing friends. My tiny town only has two tiny quilt shops and Walmart for fabric. I have exhausted their supplies of solid pinks. I don't need a half yard of any one shade, but rather an eighth yard of several or I'd order online. Or really even scraps of several. If you have any solid pink scraps that you'd be able to send my way, I'd be eternally grateful. I am especially in need of pale pinks, blush pinks. I will pay, of course, and for postage as well. I will eventually need more pink prints, but those are easier to find.

I'm linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts for her Monday morning star count.

 

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New hexagon project!

Last week I finally caved and started a new hexagon project. I'm still chugging away on the pink quilt for the Princess, but I have quite a ways to go before I can actual sew hexies together and I needed some visible progress.


(Forgive the instagram link, I'm too lazy to go find the original and upload to flickr.)

I cut out squares of pinks, reds, blues, aquas and teals and selected a larger hexagon template. These are 1.5" hexies, as opposed to the 1" hexies on the pink quilt, and they feel HUGE. I've worked on it a good bit this weekend and have two completed flowers/rings and started attaching the third this morning (at the top of the photo, weird angle there, sorry. There's two solids and the flowered one...)



My idea is to put them together using this sort of overlapping layout. I'm loving seeing the progress as I go and it's nice to get to switch it up with sewing them together. 

I'm linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts, go check out some other talented paper piecers.