Pieces of Contentment: November 2022

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Blue Hexagons Quilt 💙

Three years ago (November 2019) I began thread basting some favourite fabrics onto 11/4" hexagons, a wonderfully relaxing way to play with fabric. Soon I had quite a collection, and despite experimenting on several occasions with various arrangements, I couldn't settle on a design which felt right. My beautiful hexies were relegated to a container for safe keeping while I worked on other projects.

Early June 2020 Rita Hodge of Red Pepper Quilts shared her finished Hexagon Stash Buster Quilt in Blues. It looked so good - and I was instantly inspired to start something similar with the blue hexies I already basted. Searching through my fabric collection I soon discovered I had more blues than any other colour, which was a bonus for a quilt like this.

I quickly put together a compact kit to keep me basting and stitching. Following the same technique as Rita, I was constructing interlocking blocks of 16 hexies each. I use a traditional hand whip stitch when joining my pieces together on an English Paper Piecing (EPP) like this.

I worked on these blocks intermittently, with added enthusiasm following the addition of any new fabrics. However I found the random nature of the blocks not so enticing, so instead I more often gravitating to my other sewing projects.

Then in February this year Rita shared her version of the Treehouse Hexagon Quilt Project, a quilt designed by Emma of Treehouse Textiles. This design has a wonderful balance of structure and freedom. Varying slightly from Emma's original design, I reimagined my blue hexagons quilt and have thoroughly enjoyed stitching many blocks, each with their own differences amongst a basic structural criteria.

A couple of times I thought I had completed all blocks needed, however on closer inspection the colour balance needed more aqua. Following that adjustment, I conceded that it really needed to be longer to become a useful bed quilt for either a full/double bed or a queen size. Two more rows of blocks were created.

Then it was time to create the lighter coloured half-sized blocks to give provide pleasing edges topped bottom.

Now it was time to finish sewing the blocks together and pop the papers out from the back.

For the batting/wadding I selected Quilters Dream Cotton batting in white. It is a lightweight batting, making it more suitable for our warmer climate and less bulky to wash. It is the only cotton batting I have found which is truly white, something I was particularly looking for to support the white base of this quilt.

After a long-time debate with myself about how (by machine or by hand) I should quilt this large quilt, especially as it was spring by this time, I decided to hand quilt with DMC Cebelia 'crochet cotton' 30 thickness in white (B5200). This is the same thread I chose to quilt my most recent finish, Fresh flowers Quilt. By outline quilting each centre, hexie flower and around each block, it has highlighted the quilt design and created a subtle texture. A mostly cool spring has made the quilting a joy.