We have had some lovely weather this week in Michigan. I've been taking advantage of the cooler drier air by spending time outside reading and even doing a little hand stitching. It's been like a vacation without the hassle of packing and driving.Paloma, of Three Kitchen Fairies, sent me some of her hexie papers to try and I finally got around to making a project with them. These are one inch on each side. The paper is thinner than the papers I had been using and I love that you can get a thin crisp turned edge with these papers. They are also easier to pop out after stitching. The papers in the photo have been used and are in great condition for using again. If you want to try them yourself you can get the papers here in Paloma's etsy shop. She also has some sweet instant download embroidery patterns. I especially like this one.A few scraps, aurifil 50 wt thread, and hexie papers are the perfect ingredients for relaxing afternoon and a pretty transformation for a tea towel.
Now, I think I need to get some more of these bright tea towels to decorate.
Look What I Found in the Sewing Room!
I've been doing some "extreme cleaning" in the sewing room and found my stack of hexagon flowers. They weren't really lost but I hadn't done anything with them in a while. I love the way they look all mashed up against each other. I need to make MANY more for a bed size quilt. This is definitely a long term project. Currently, there is only one flower from each print but the center colors are used more than once. I need to sew some more quilts to make scraps for this - or, gasp, cut into yardage for the hexagons.
End of Summer Sewing
I told you before that I was thrilled to be making clothes for me that actually fit. Well, it's true. I'm really on a roll with the Washi pattern. This one is made from Tula Pink's Birds and the Bees fabric.
Yeah, I know, it's August, I live in Michigan, and these are sleeveless tops. I'm thinking about that too. That's why when I took miss P shopping for school supplies today, I picked up a couple of cardigans in coordinating colors.
I've started a dress version of the pattern in Anna Maria Horner's Field Study. That turquoise sweater will look great with the dress too!
In the evenings this summer I've been relaxing with handsewing and scraps. As soon as I cut out the Tula Pink top I used some of the scraps in the hexy project. I love that with scrap projects, anything goes. How about a little 1994 meets 2012?
That cat print is left over from a star quilt of cat print fabrics that I made for M when he was quite small.I'd love to hear what projects YOU are working on.
Hand Stitching Prep
Have you seen that Katy is hosting a hexalong on her blog? She has posted a few tutorials on how to get started. She is such an enabler that I decided to play with some hexagons too. Katy's pattern calls for 1.5 inch (measured on one flat side) hexagons. I like the look of the 1 inch ones so I'm using those. It also helps that I already had 1 inch papers.The other night I emptied the scrap bin and cut hexagons in groups of six. I just held the paper template to the front of the fabric and cut a hexagon with quarter inch seam allowance with my scissors. Some pieces of fabric were large enough that I could fold cut six at a time with my sharp Ginghers. The Kona sample pack of the new colors I got at Quilt Market was perfect for the centers.
I was also compelled to try some hexies in the 1/2 inch size. They are so cute. I don't think I'll be making a whole quilt from them but they will be fun for smaller projects.
For those of you who are not familiar with English Paper Piecing, it is a traditional method for hand piecing quilts. The fabric is basted around a paper foundation and held to shape by the paper so that the pieces can then be sewn to each other.Some people use glue or a fabric glue stick to baste the fabric to the paper foundation. I prefer to thread and baste them without stitching through the papers. This way the basting can stay in after the papers are removed. The basting stitches will keep the seam allowances in place until the quilt is put together with the backing. Here's a picture of one that I have basted. I take two stitches to start - the second stitch traps the thread tail and keeps it tucked toward the center. Then, since I'm left handed I proceed counter clockwise turning down the seam allowance and taking one tiny stitch to hold the fold together. On the last corner I take two stiches so that I can again trap the thread tail. This method is pretty quick.
The next step is to stitch them together into flower shapes. They could be sewn together in any sort of pattern but I'm making flowers for this project.I'm getting a bunch of these ready and put in a bag for portable sewing. It'll be a great project for the car.
