I Heart Hex's

I Heart Hex's
Originally uploaded by Confessions of a Quiltaholic

It's official. I am addicted to English Paper Piecing. I LOVE making these hexagons!

Hex Love seems to be in the air because I've run across a fair number of other quilt-blogs where hexagons are the current rage. Perhaps it's because of how easy and versatile the hand-piecing can be? Especially with the warmer weather. Who wants to think about sitting inside quilting on a gorgeous, sunny day? Not me.

My plan for these hexagons is pretty ambitious. In my dream world, I want to make 270 of these 2" babies for a double-size quilt for my bedroom. If I get on a roll, I'll more so I can have a true queen-size quilt. About twenty down and only 250 to go!



Now I have something to do on the many baseball-centered road trips The Man is threatening to take me on. ;-)

-k

Hexagons In The Making

more stash!
Originally uploaded by Confessions of a Quiltaholic

I am super psyched for the English Paper Piecing class I signed up for. Is it silly that I can't wait for tomorrow to arrive already??

In preparation, I pulled some fabric from my stash. I've been zipping around some of my favorite blogs for inspiration, and naturally ended up taking a lot of cues from Ashley at Film In The Fridge.

I love how fresh and modern her hexagon quilts look! (Well, and all of her quilts in general!) In particular, I love how a scatter of hexagons takes away the pain (or obligation) of making a thousand hexagons the way I'd have to for the traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.

Do any of you also find it helpful to evaluate if your fabrics work together by taking a photo beforehand? Taking a photo helps give my eye the distance or objectivity needed to see that in this instance, I'm missing a cool light blue or violet that's in more of a cornflower hue than the aqua prints I pulled.

Sadly, I don't have that shade in my stash and this means only thing. I'm going to end up buying more fabric. Good for my collection, bad for my pocketbook.

Note to self: Find a stash swap STAT!!!

- k

Hit The Ball Right Outta The Park!

The "Spring Training" quilt was a homerun with the man! He loves it. We packed it with us and took it to Phoenix to use as our blanket on the berm at the ball parks while watching spring training.

One baseball-themed quilt + spring training = one VERY happy birthday boy.

Voila the front:
And here is the back:



I used a double sheet from Ikea and it worked out great. I know there's a school of thought that frowns on using sheets for backings but in a pinch (and short on time, not to mention on a budget), they can be a quilter's best friend. All things considered, this quilt came together quickly. There's a lot to be said for over-sized fence rails (I'm used to smaller pieces) and simple quilting.

Next up -- finish some of my WIPs and yes, start some new quilts.

- k