Hexagons on the Brain!

Big Cities, Old Buildings, Tile Floors!

Three things that make me ooooohhh and ahhhhhhh! I just love old tile floors....This was in the ladie's restroom at Quartino's!



Yep.....can you see that as a border? I made SURE to catch the corner turn for future reference!

I've been so gung ho happy with these hexes that I even handed a stack of paper pieces and some scraps to Randy so she could start doing some too. It kits so easy...a few pieces of fabric, some thread, a needle, a pin, some paper pieces....and you are ready to go for hours! It was a 3 hour drive to Shipshewana from Chicago....and since we were being chauffeured by Darlynn who was driving, and Andrea, who rode shot gun....we stitched in the back seat and looked out the window and talked and gabbed and laughed...and stitched some more!

What about THIS one???



This was the floor at a little corner bakery where we got breakfast on Wednesday morning....the very beginning fuel up station for our 7.5+ miles power walk around Chicago day! I love the variations I see in tile floors....and there were LOTS of them. Some in entry ways of shops, some had designs in the tiles to spell out a name, a date. It was hexagons everywhere you look....when you open your eyes and start noticing them!

From here we went to a little hole in the wall nail place. Randy got a manicure...and since I was standing there, and they offered the service, I had my brows waxed! >_< It was a nice treat. She did such a good job that she actually used a little comb and scissors and trimmed the brow hairs to a better length. I guess in my old age, my brows are growing way out of control. I had no idea!! LOL!!

Happy Hour snacks were found at a place called "Rock Bottom" later in the evening while we were waiting for Ben, and this was the floor in THEIR restroom!



Yes. I admit it. I was taking pics of the floor while sitting in the stall..LOL! And it's also crazy, but i was wishing I had a floor like this at home, and a pack of dry erase markers so I could color them in any way I want....My Hexies have put a Hex on me!!

After posting this post...I got an email from Carla in Michigan, and she sent me THIS pic of a tile floor: ((of course I had to upload it and edit this post immediately...I was WOW over this one!))



She writes:

Love your post on hexagons and floor tiles. I found this floor in a Madison WI bar last month, old building with oak trim.
I thought the edging was a different treatment for a hexagon center.

Thanks for sharing Carla!



I took some time to lay out the progress to see how the border was going to fit...and after the time spent stitching at retreat, and the time in the Suburban all the way back to O'Hare yesterday morning....and the time spent stitching in between the time that Randy's flight left, and I still had 3 hours to wait for mine...and all the stitching I did on my flight home...I've finished another border section and have partly assembled another, so it's a bit farther than this now.



I'm still not counting how many hexagons there are, or how many there will be, or even how big will this be when I am done? All those kinds of questions I don't have an answer for, and of course they are questions that people want to know. I'll know when it's done. I know it will tell me. And I know I will probably move on to another!



Just give it a try....I know the little hexies will put a hex on you too!

Please Check Your Stash!!....

Teri from Indiana is on the look out for this striped fabric!

((the one in the center, used in the sashing))

Do you have it? Do you know someone who has it? Can you ask your quilty friends about it? Send them the link to this post so they can look please, we need to find it for her!

She is hoping to find at least 1/2 yard of it. If you DO have it..she is willing to beg, barter or steal BUY it from you!

She writes:

It is a stripe and I no longer have
the selvage.

The colors in the stripe are red/orange/aqua/white/yellow.

I believe it is manufactured by P&B or Michael Miller, but I can't be certain.

Please contact her via email at tjfritch@mchsi.com if you have it, she might not see your comment if you reply in the comments section of this blog post.

((I will forward comments to her that do show up in my inbox via the comments section))

Ready? Set? SEARCH!

Hexagon Tutorial

I've had so many requests to post this, that I finally bit the bullet. There are several tutorials out there, each one a bit different, and I thought I might put a link to this in my tutorials tab since so many are finding themselves bit by the hexie bug as I continue to post my progress!



The most common of hexagon patterns is the "Grandmother's Flower Garden" But did you know that mosaic patchwork goes way back before that popular hexagon revival of the 1930s?

There is a great article found on WomenFolk.com about the history of this kind of work, with the earliest known American mosaic quilt dating to about 1807, and English quilts are even earlier. I read about a template for this kind of piecing that is dated to around 1770!

The Illinois State Museum has a nice collection of mosaic or honeycomb quilts in their collection.


Several years ago while living in South Carolina, I was down in Charleston for the Cobblestone Quilter's 2003 Quilt show...and there was a book on mosaic quilts in the museum gift shop, as well as many mosaic quilts on display in the museum itself. You can bet that book came home with me! One of my favorite quilts was just a top in progress...fussy cut little hexagons, papers still in place, and you could read the writing on them! FABULOUS!

Though you can buy pre-cut English paper piecing hexagons, I've been having a lot of fun with this:



It's from Creative Memories, and has 2 sizes of hexagon punches. The one I am using on the right is a 3/4" per side, or a 1 1/2" finished size hexagon. The one on the left is smaller. Each side measures 1/2", for a 1" finished hexagon.

**Note** I've since been told that the hex punch has been discontinued, so if you can find one on ebay or craigslist, snag it!

I'm having a great time repurposing greeting cards, business cards, advertisements that come in the mail, anything that has that "card stock" feel to it. All those political flyers? Oh yeah..they are all getting chopped up! Those subscription cards that are blown into magazines? Perfect! (I've even been guilty of picking them up off the floor in the grocery store and putting them in my purse!) I have enough junk paper coming my way that I don't feel the need to have to buy pre-cut paper shapes. I'd rather spend that money on fabric!

If you don't have a punch, or access to pre-cut paper shapes, you can cut your own. You just have to be very careful that they are all exact so that they fit each other when you join them together.

I pre-cut my fabric shapes a scant OVER 1/4" seam allowance all the way around. I feel like the hex papers stay in better when my seam allowance is a bit more generous. This is just something I've figured out for myself while working on this 10 year old Phd! ((Phd=Project Half Done!)) Yes, that's right..I started this quilt THAT long ago and it has moved with me from Idaho to two places in Texas, to a place in South Carolina, and on to North Carolina. It's come out of the cupboard now and again, ((Not as often as it should!)) for 2 trips to the Netherlands...it is so very portable! But I've got the push to really keep working on it now and see it DONE. It could be that 10 year anniversary GUILT!?....who knows....*LOL*

SO! Here we GO!



Center a paper hex on the wrong side of the fabric. Take a small pin and pin the fabric in place on the BACK (fabric) side. This keeps your thread from getting tangled up in the pin when you are basting your corners.

I use a size 10 applique sharp when working my hexagons, and yes, I do use a thimble!

My favorite thread for basting/stitching hexagons is aurifil. I love how I can use a good length and it doesn't shred back up against itself the way that some other cottons do. Some like silk, some like bottom line. Thread is a personal preference. I'm using a shade of grey/green because it blends through all the fabric colors I am using without standing out too much against any of them.



This is the paper side of the pinned hexagon. The pin might buckle the paper a bit, but not too much. Some like to use a hole punch to punch a hole in the card, and pin through the hole, but I don't have time to be bothered with that. ;c) Just pin it!



Start at one side, and fold the seam allowance over the edge of the paper hex. Keep that pinched with your finger, and fold over an adjacent side, creating a little miter at the corner. Run your needle through the fabric, under the fold, but not through the paper. We are just going to be back-tacking the corners. The stitches will NOT go through the paper.



Working the same corner, do another little back stitch so your thread anchors that corner. Pull snug but not tight.



Fold over the next adjacent seam allowance, and tack stitch at the next corner in the same manner. The basting thread will travel from corner to corner on the back of the hexes.

**Note** If you are doing hexes that finish more than 2"...you might need to stitch through the card at the center of each side, as a really long stitch on the back might not be sufficient to hold your seam allowance in place. That *Will* mean you have to remove your basting stitches at a later point. You won't be able to continuously baste AND attach your hexagon to the next one, you'll have to baste the hexes individually and start a new length of thread to join the basted hexes.

I've only used this continuous method for SMALL hexes. The quilt I did with large hexes I just hand pieced the "regular" hand piecing way with no papers needed.

Continue all the way around the hex until you have tacked each corner. Just tack that 6th corner, there is no need to carry your thread all the way back to the first point...the basting threads will be on 5 sides only on the back of your hexagon.



If this were a center of a flower, I would knot my thread and end it here. But I am using this green hexagon in the border segment I am working on. No matter what pattern you are doing with these, the steps are the same.

I like my stitching to be as continuous as possible, and because I am adding this to another unit, I'm not going to end my thread here. Instead, I'm bringing my needle out through the corner of the hex, and I'm going to join it with the same thread to the unit already in progress. If you were making flowers, you would add them in the same manner. This helps keep things more secure. Since these sides are only 3/4"...I don't want a new piece of thread and a new knot every 3/4". And this gives me a way to see instant progress, instead of just building up a baggie of miscellaneous basted pieces that have to be sewn into something later.



Place the hex where you want it to go to check placement, and then fold it right sides together with the one you are sewing it to. It's a *Y* seam process, but it is very easy to do by hand.



The secret about whip stitching these together is to have your needle catch only a few threads of each hexagon at the fold. If your stitches take too big of a bite your stitches will show. Stitch only through the fold, not through the paper.

I take two stitches at every corner to anchor the corners and to keep them snug so they won't gap. Each side takes me 8-10 stitches to get to the next corner on these 3/4" per side hexagons. Work carefully, work slowly. When you reach the next corner, take two stitches to anchor the corner securely.



After reaching the corner, flip out the little hex you just added, adjust to the next side you will be sewing, fold it back with right sides together to align those two sides, and start stitching again. I find it helps me to pinch the adjoining hexagon to give it a crease which allows me to really stitch into the corner. Two stitches in the corner to anchor it good to prevent gaps...little tight stitches just along the fold, not too big of a bite to keep stitches nearly invisible, working toward the next corner.



When you reach the corner, two more stitches to anchor...

And if this is far as you can go, there are no more sides of that hexagon to stitch down, work a few stitches back toward the center of that hexagon, away from the corner. This allows you to keep corner stitches tight, and makes it so there is never a knot in the corner of any hexagon that might work loose. Knot and end thread.



Here is my hexagon all sewn into place on this border unit!



If you are working flower units, the system is the same. Baste your center hex. End the thread. Baste your first petal, bring the needle up through one corner, and attach it to the center hex without breaking the thread. End thread and baste next petal. Continue to add petals around the center until you get to the last hex! Sometimes you get to connect only one side, sometimes two, but that last one will have you basting your hex, and sewing three sides to set it into place with one length of thread -- no stopping. When you get used to the process, you can find yourself piecing whole sections and joining them together with long seams, just working point to point to point. It's addictive! And FUN! And a great way to make use of found time!

These flowers are waiting to be sewn into the next border section in my quilt.

And just to show you when you can remove the papers:



When the hexagons are completely surrounded by another row on all sides, you can easily lift the papers out and reuse them! This is the backside of the 3 flowers, and I've already snagged the center hex from the green middles. You WILL want to remove them as your project grows because it keeps the center supple and easier to work with it in your hands. Only the outer-most row needs to have the paper pieces in place to keep them in shape!



Ahhhh! Progress!! I can hardly wait to go to my bee meeting tonight so I can stitch on it some more! :c)



PS...if you want to print some hexagon graph paper so you can design your own layout with markers or colored pencils, click HERE! It's a lot of fun to design your own the way I did.

And for those asking --- My quilt will finish at approx 79" X 90". My hexagons are 3/4" per side, or 1.5" across the center from point to point. I have not even begun to count the pieces in this quilt, nor will I until the piecing is done!

No Place.....Like Home!

Oh My Goodness! I can't believe I couldn't find even a single moment in the past week to post! But let me tell you, there just wasn't! And you know, enjoying my time away from the computer meant that I shouldn't be running TO the computer to record every spare moment! I didn't even take as many pictures in Shipshewana as I was thinking I would, because we spent a lot of time just working at our sewing machines! I needed some down time, some me time, and I got it!

My adventure begins last Tuesday, Oct 19th.......It was a fairly normal morning! My flight wasn't until almost noon, so I got up, and finished my packing, and quilted a 65"X65" quilt for Lisa's Djembe project (these are turning out so NICE! I hope she will feature a story about them on her blog) while I was puttering around in the quilting room. Yes, I love my Compu Quilter, even if I haven't much moved past pantographs since I got it installed last December. I'm not ashamed of this. There will be time to do more, but for right now....it does what I need on the quilts I've needed to quilt! (I do dream of having time off to take some classes and really learn this thing...)

My flight was terrific.....it's only an hour and 45 mins to Chicago, which is barely time really to get settled, start sewing some hexagons, wait for the flight attendant to bring a beverage...and by then they start cleaning it all up again, and I continue to sew, listening to my ipod all the way and before I know it we are going down to land!

I had a couple of hours to wait for Randy's arrival from San Francisco, so I found an empty gate, (The best seat in the house is the one next to the wall plug!) Recharged my phone, listened to more music, stitching hexies away! And we were off on our Chicago-Indiana adventure!

The pic you see above was my first glimpse at the city through the 52nd story windows where we were staying....I always wondered what it would feel like to LIVE in a big city, and I think I got a big dose of it those couple days we stayed in Chicago!

We walked EVERYWHERE! We found the best little Italian restaurant, Quartinos, for dinner, and the eggplant Parmesan was to die for! Randy's son Ben joined us, and it was great to see mother and son together again. It makes me feel like part of her family too :c)

A brisk walk back to our lodgings and this was the view:



Is that not a spectacular night time sight? It was breath taking! I just couldn't take my eyes off the view from that window.

The next morning....Wednesday....I awoke to this as the sun was just rising and hitting the buildings:



I love sights like this one! Old theaters with great signs....



And although we window shopped...A LOT....I didn't buy much, but I did take advantage of the Garmin store (Like an Apple Store, but for Garmins..) that was close by where we were staying. I had just bought a Garmin 405 gps watch to track my miles when I power walk in strange places (on trips! Not that every place is strange...lol!) and I tell you what, you need to be an astronaut to figure this thing out. So....I went in and had this gal show me basics. JUST BASICS. And she was flipping this, and clicking that, and talking about all the functions and my head was spinning. SERIOUS. All I really want is something that will track miles, heart rate (It comes with a monitor for at the gym)and calories burned. Just basic GIRL fitness stuff, you know? Let's just say this thing is basically man-sized-over-kill. But. I have it. So I will use it.

This is my pic in front of the Garmin store:


In fact we used it so much that we clocked in over 7.5 miles on that day we were all over Chicago! Shops, restaurants, walking along the shore of Lake Michigan, The art institute to see the Van Goghs and the Renoirs....(Ooooohh I love the Renoirs!) Walking really adds up that fast! Of course we needed to walk that much with all the good food we found. And yes, I know you will agree with me. I am pants challenged. I just have the hardest time finding pants that are long enough that fit me right and feel good, I often go around looking like I'm expecting a flood to happen :c/ If I buy "TALL" pants they need to be hemmed. If I buy "REGULAR" pants...they are too short. Quilters DO NOT HEM. Therefore...I wear pants that look funny. Nuff said!

Our Wednesday evening walk along lake Michigan:



Wednesday night we met up with Ben again near his neighborhood and ate in a wonderful Costa Rican place. TALK ABOUT AMAZING. I honestly think that was our best meal the whole trip...It was a lay down on the floor and unbutton the jeans so you can breathe kind of good meal! LOL

I also had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with a friend from high school....Scott and I go all the way back to 4th grade, and the last time I saw him was at high school graduation in 1980 in San Jose, California. We've both come a long way, baby....and he and his family live in Chicago! We were all able to meet for a bit on Wednesday evening and catch up and visit.....Giants game over one shoulder, Blackhawks game over the other shoulder, and talk about the past 30 years and where our lives are now. He still has the same smile! The same eyes! The same red hair....the same Scott I remember standing in the back row of our class picture at Henderson Elementary (Tall ones always in the back!) and here we were 30 years later. It was amazing....Thank You, Facebook, for putting me back in touch with people who have grown up along with me....all of us together...it's an amazing tool! Thank You, Scott for taking the time (And a cab) down to where we were staying and spending your evening catching up! It was priceless!

After all the evening's excitement, it was back to our apartment so we could get some good shut eye...we were being picked up by Darlynn and Andrea so we could head out to Shipshewana early Thursday morning....and I'll continue that story in the next post! I've got tons of stuff to do these next two weeks..YES! I'm home for two weeks!

Shipshewana Bound.....

Jeff and I returned home from Charleston on Sunday afternoon, and today (Monday) was spent gearing up for my trip to Shipshewana for retreat....I leave TOMORROW!!

So I apologize for not a lot of posting going on here. Might find time to catch up in a bit.

Charleston was fabulous, and having my son along was even better. He came down to visit with some friends from high school who are in college down there, and stayed one night with them, and two nights with me...we found great places to eat, and he put up with mom stopping to take pics every 30 seconds on our walk down E Bay to the Battery...

I just LOVE Charleston!

Our workshops were held in Old St Andrew's Parish....the oldest (I think I got that right) surviving church building in Charleston, founded 1706! Yes....1706! It was just unbelievably cool and I had to wander the graveyards and try to find the oldest head stones....Which proved difficult, since the oldest ones you can't read anymore..

Today? Packing packing packing, and helping Lisa with the quilting part of some very special gift quilts for a project she's been working on. Paid bills, did book orders, mailed off class supply lists, sent off paperwork for a magazine thing, unpacked suitcase, repacked suitcase....

And went and got a massage! 90 minutes of bliss.....(Needed it)

Lisa met me for dinner after, exchanged some quilted quilts for unquilted ones, did a drive up bank deposit and here I am at home again. I'm headed for the hottub..and to bed. That's all I can squeeze out of this day, there just isn't any energy or time left in it to make a better effort than this one!

Night Night, World! I'll catch up later..promise!

How Far Is She Now?

Since I'm on the road and don't know if I'll have a chance to update anything until I get back, I thought I'd send this on ahead thanks to the delayed publishing feature and let you see how the hexagon medallion is progressing!

I got a TON done over my VA weekend, thanks to not having to drive...I got to be the passenger! That meant lots of progress was made.

I'm piecing the floral borders surrounding the stars in sections:



Can you see the blossoms in the chain? :c)

Here's a shot of the whole thing and how it will fit (some day)



I didn't realize how far that border was going to extend beyond the previous round of star points! I think...yep...I think....that after this border is on, I'll find a way to fill it in to be squar-ish, and call it done. Not sure I want to fill in the corners with all blank hexes...but can pattern in there too I bet...if I plan it right!

My Smithfield Aquisition

When I was in VA last weekend, since class didn't start until 12:30, I mentioned that I had a chance to visit the farmer's market, and the classic car show...did I also mention about the 1760's court reenactment? I just found some pics that I took, not great, the light coming from the windows kind of blurred everything, but it was based on actual court cases on record from the 1760s!

The court case started at 11am, so before heading over there, I made good use of my time wandering the car show, and passing things that made me giggle like this:



The Andy Griffith show had Floyd's Barber shop, but if you are in Smithfield, you go to the HAMTOWN BARBER! And they were doing quite a steady business when I walked past too! (Guess while the guys were out cruising the classic cars, they may as well stop in for a trim, right?)

Along with the Thomas Jefferson statue at the Smithfield Center, I also fell in love with this old couple...after all, Virginia IS for Lovers!



You can't tell, but she is holding a valentine in her hand. I think this is just the sweetest thing :c)

Back to court!



It seems, that THIS GENTLEMAN has been picked up for vagrancy and general disorderly conduct and for being under the influence of too much ale!



Court is in session to try him and apply sentencing. (This was extremely hilarious because he was totally drunker than skunk DURING the trial too, and falling all over the attendees ;c)



Let it be known that drunkenness is not tolerated in the colony of Virginia, and if you don't behave yourself in a manner becoming a citizen of such town, you just may find yourself locked in the stocks!

So what came home with me? While wandering town, between the old lovers bench statues, and the barber shop, and before finding my way to the courthouse, I stumbled upon this at an antique mall:



It's been used, and used lots. The blocks are pieced by hand, but the top was assembled by machine. I'm guessing 1910-20? It's that pale pink that is throwing me off because the red/black print looks earlier. But that's nothing..I've got fabric that is 30-40 years old in my stash and I mix it with new stuff all the time!



This quilt is SO heavily quilted, you can scarcely find a place that is left un-stitched! There are feathers, flowers, pots, wreaths, all manner of foofy quilting....on this quilt that looks like the blocks were more fit for the farm, than for the fancy! Someone REALLY REALLY loved the hand quilting part!



I especially love how the feathers don't turn the corner...look at how this one just is set there to fill the space and goes out to the end of the border...it doesn't match any other corner either! FUN!

Now for the really amazing part.....what would you price a quilt like this at? In a place that was quite historic and very touristy? How about a whopping $92.00??

SOLD! I just love my little piece of Virginia history.

I am headed down to Charleston, SC...another one of my favorite cities on the planet! I'm meeting with the Cobblestone Quilt Guild for a lecture/trunkshow tomorrow night, and two days of classes Friday, and Saturday. I'll be returning on Sunday!

DS Jeff is wanting to go with me...he has some friends in school down in Charleston and if he can hitch a ride with me, he can spend the weekend with them and then ride back up home with me on Sunday. It's about a 5 hour drive from here...it all depends if we can do a "drop off" of Sadie at Jason's house in Columbia because DH is going to WV to go motorcycle riding and though the cats can be left for a few days to fend for themselves, we all know that dogs can't. Here's hoping it all pans out....

Mystery Has A Name!

After spending the weekend in SE Virginia where the cotton harvesting is in full swing....after passing acres and acres of glorious cotton in the field, after following trucks loaded with cotton bales to the gills...and watching fluffs of cotton bolls flying off the backs of the trucks on their way to the cotton gin, lining the edges of the roads in tufts of white...this quilt has a name!

Are you ready for:

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll?? :cD

Where would we be without our COTTON!?



Yardages and prerequisites and other info will be posted on or around Nov 1....That will give everyone almost 3 weeks to get their fabrics together.

There are many scrappy avenues to take on this journey...I've got only ONE common fabric tying it together and I'll show you what that one is...

My colors are brown, red, raspberry (or double) pink, green, and neutrals. As with any other mystery, the laws of substitution apply. If you don't like any of the other colors, pick a scheme that you like, substituting one or more of my colors for yours. But think about value, and keep the same number of colors (4) plus background (1)...mine are the neutrals. So, if you are doing something patriotic, you can't just do red/white/blue. It's not enough. You'd have to do red/neutrals/lightblue/navy/gold if you want something like that to work.

Remember....that mysteries are not a race, and if there is a step you don't understand you can wait it out a step or two to see where that direction leads and then make some decisions as to your own fabric choices, etc.

The fun of a mystery is not knowing where the project is going to end up. Just go with it! Don't stay focused on the FINISH, but enjoy every bit along the way.

I do quilts with lots of small pieces. This one is no different. That said, I know there are those who have done "mystery in a day" kind of things, with big clunky 12" 9 patches at the end of the day that ended up as a table topper and weren't happy about it! You will have a quilt you can be proud of when you are done.

I make big quilts. This one is about Queen sized, so smaller than last year's mystery! I am the shortest one in my family at 5'9". My hubby and my sons are 6' 3" and over! I don't have a lot of use or space for wall hangings and lap quilts, so if you want a smaller project, just wait it out until all is revealed and then you can decide what to do. If you want, you can make HALF the number of each unit required, and then decide how you are going to put them together, and see if you need to make any more of anything if you need to.

I will be posting the links here on my blog with the links to the website. Links will also be sent to the Quiltville friend page on facebook, and the quiltville@yahoogroups notification-only list, as well as the very busy very chatty quiltvillechat@yahoogroups.com email list.

How many steps? Not sure. I'm still writing/finishing, and it depends on how long I think each step is going to take you to do. I'm thinking a couple of clues a week which should take us all the way through the holiday season. This is not a one day mystery, nor a week long mystery. You are meant to take the steps as you complete them. If it takes you longer than someone else, that's fine..

And just like in mysteries past...there WILL be some people who have the time to complete each step in record time! They will be posting their progress on their blogs, and I will be posting the links to the next steps on my blog, with photos, so don't go looking if you don't want to know what the next step is. This is going to require discipline on *your* part, not on the part of those doing the posting.....got it? :c)

I'll do what I can to answer personal questions, but it is very difficult to have people send me their fabric choices and ask if I think they will work or not and for me to explain why without revealing the mystery....If you keep your fabric choices close to what I put up, you won't need to!

This mystery will be for the *next* book down the road (book #4 in 2012) and the pattern will be pulled from the website before publishing as with Carolina Christmas.

I've had fun digging into my scraps and FQs with this one.....I just know you are going to love it...The first clue will be posted November 19th!