Tag: THE NEW HEXAGON

Turkey Tracks: Lending Some Quilts

Turkey Tracks:  August 4, 2019

Lending Some Quilts

Karen Martin and I loaned Fiddlehead Artisan Supply (Belfast, Maine) some quilts for their booth at the recent state quilt show (Pine Tree Quilt Guild).  That’s my Katja Marek Millifiori to the left of the Fiddlehead sign.  Below it is a Katja Marek 54-hexigon quilt—all based on Marek’s book THE NEW HEXAGON.  The blocks are all Cotton+Steel.

Karen’s wonderful Tula Pink (greys, blacks, whites, and yellow) is to the right of the Fiddlehead sign.  This quilt is from Tula Pink’s 100 MODERN QUILT BLOCKS.

The quilt behind the service desk is my Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s herringbone method from her MODERN QUILT MAGIC book.  This quilt is all Cotton+Steel low volume fabrics.  I’m assuming that most of you know that C+S has moved to Moda, taking their designs with them, and are now known as Ruby Star Society.  Their first fabrics from Moda are shipping this month.

Here are close-ups of these quilts.

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Looks Looky: My Next EPP Project

Turkey Tracks:  June 23, 2018

Looky Looky!:  My Next EPP Project

I’m planning ahead.  I have the body of my version of Willyene Hammerstein’s “Valse Brilliante” EPP quilt finished—with border and backing fabric picked out.  And I’m moving right along with my Katja Marek’s 52 THE NEW HEXAGON blocks.  I selected a fabric for the connecting triangles the other day.

So…

What’s next?

This quilt is…

I’ve always wanted to make a wedding ring quilt.  I have the templates for non EPP piecing–just the old traditional way to make this block.  Every now and then I get them out and think about how to start and wind up putting them away again.  Maybe this EPP project will get me going.  I hope so, anyway.  I did not buy the EPP templates for the inner circles, just for the rings.  There are 90+ template pieces for the inner circles, so I will make them myself as I go–if I need to do that.

 

Turkey Tracks: Done! Fun!

Turkey Tracks:  December 30, 2016

DONE!  FUN!

As many of you know, I started A LOT of projects over the course of last year–like agreeing to make 99 Farmer’s Wife blocks (Laurie Aaron Bird).

And, starting SEVERAL English Paper Piecing projects (Katja Marek).

And, making blocks for a future improv quilt with Coastal Quilters friends.

And, getting the right borders and backing for the big Hexie quilt–which needs a good name (Edyta Sitar)

And, planning and making TWO baby quilts.

And, working on another quilt made from the 1600 four-patches I sewed out of the 2″ square blocks two summers ago.

And, collecting the makings for a BIG travel bag.

And, starting the day after Thanksgiving, working on “clues” for Bonnie Hunter’s 2016 Mystery Quilt “En Provence.”

Trust me, the list is MUCH longer than just these items.

So….  It is fun to see many of these projects coming to fruition.  At last.  DONE!!!

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Here’s what a pile of the 99 Farmer’s Wife blocks looks like:

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Here are the last five blocks:

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I’ve got the blocks up on the design wall–using a method thought up by Lynn Vermeulen, who separated her blocks into different color piles before laying them out.  Great idea, Lynn.

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I am letting the blocks bubble on the design wall before sewing them together, and already I’ve swapped blocks out quite a bit since I took this picture.

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Can we talk about this project?  If you are thinking about doing it and foundation piecing the blocks, be warned that you must be somewhat sadomasochistic to even think about it as this project does bring both pleasure and pain.  I think that whoever did the foundation piecing plans didn’t really know that much about foundation piecing.  Some of the more difficult blocks are needlessly difficult–and if some had been drawn as the hand-piecing instructions showed, they would have been much easier.  Additionally, many times the seams did not but up, which made for a really bulky block.  So, I found myself taking out the papers to flip over a seam if I could and/or cutting into a seam to make the top flip so seams would but up.  I pressed open a lot of seams as well, which is not ideal in terms of quilt wear.  I really hope that if Laurie Aaron Bird produces an updated book that she will have someone new look at the foundation piecing patterns.

Having said that warning, the blocks are lovely, and the quilt is exciting.

I’m up-to-date on the Bonnie Hunter clues and will be starting this week’s tomorrow.  Here’s last week’s:

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The 4-patch red/neutral quilt is finished now and bound.  I’ll take pictures tomorrow and post them here.  This quilt is “So Sweet.”

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The second baby quilt is underway.

The big hexie quilt that I started Thanksgiving 2015 is ON THE LONGARM!  This quilt is on the cover of Edyta Sitar’s HANDFULS OF SCRAPS.

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Next up on the longarm, the Farmer’s Wife quilt.

I have two pieces of the Katja Marek THE NEW HEXAGON millifiore quilt completed–and am hyperventilating about whether it is working or not.  The top block seems very…bold?  But this quilt does have a place for bold, and it is too early to tell.  These are rosettes 1 and 9, and I am working on 11, which will sit next to rosette 9 on the upper border.  I wanted to use neutrals and fall/winter colors/themes.  Time will tell.

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This project will be a challenge for the Coastal Quilters for 2017.

 

Turkey Tracks: Snow Day and Quilty Update

Turkey Tracks:  December 17, 2016

Snow Day And Quilty Update

I love snow days, and this snow is light and fluffy due to the extreme cold.  Temps have been on the MINUS side of zero for the past few days.

I am hunkered down and have pottered about all day so far, but have paid bills, updated CheckbookPro, read and responded to email, blogged, and will go and sew after a late lunch.

I have finished last week’s “clue” for the Bonnie Hunter 2016 mystery quilt, “En Provence.”  I’ll start this week’s clue after lunch–a unit that uses more purple and neutrals.  It’s a good thing I added a few more fat quarlters to my neutral stash for this quilt.

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I’ve had this quilt on the long-arm all week but have not accomplished much on it.  I’m using the clam shell groovy board and a light thread.

This quilt is suddenly looking quite seasonal to me with its red and greens.  I’m almost wishing I had put a green backing on it.  Megan Bruns picked out the outer border fabric, which is a 1030’s red schoolhouse print.  Very retro.

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I am in the home stretch on the Farmer’s Wife blocks however.  Really like how this block came out.

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I finished the first, the BIG, rosette in the Katja Marek “The New Hexagon” millifiore quilt.  And I REALLY like it.  Thought about going back in and making the cotton boll fabric from Cotton + Steel (one of my all-time favorites) all line up, but that would throw off the outer blocks with the rust-colored diamonds so that they would look strange.  As is, the outer ring has a lot of movement, no top and bottom, and if you rotate it in your mind, you can see that there is an organization to it.  It is hard to visualize how these big rosettes are going to come out I think.  One just has to grab fabric and get along with the whole thing.  It is unlikely that anyone ever sees a big quilt straight on anyway–unless it is going to hang.  And this one is going to be USED.

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So…

Stay warm, take time to enjoy these dark nights of peace, and eat well.

 

Turkey Tracks: Quilt-let Blocks Done!

Turkey Tracks:  October 30, 2016

Quilt-let Blocks Done!

Here are the last quilt-lets.  I am sewing the individual pieces together now.

At the end of this post you can see all the blocks in the final layout.

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(Yes, I apparently liked this green Cotton+Steel print so much I used it twice!  It’s easy to get confused when setting up blocks.

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There are two Cotton+Steel cat blocks too.

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Turkey Tracks: Quilt-let Update

Turkey Tracks:  August 19, 2016

Quilt-let Update

I have only 12 blocks left in the “quilt-let” quilt–with blocks designed by Katja Marek in THE NEW HEXAGON.

The remaining twelve are cut, glued, and organized, and ready for me to sew.

I think the half-square blocks are going to work fine at the upper and lower borders.  I’ll leave the sides “wavy.”  I still don’t know if this project will be an actual quilt or if it wants to be a wall hanging.  Remember that each quilt-let is a finished piece that is ready to be sewn to other quilt-lets.

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It’s been such a fun project.  Who knew that a hexagon could be splintered into so many other geometric shapes?

I have another packet of materials for this project, so will make the blocks themselves and link them with triangles–for a quilt top that does get quilted.  For that one I’ll likely coordinate fabrics a bit more???

Here are some of the recent individual blocks:

Love this black and white fabric.

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I should have oriented the deer to one of the hexagon points–didn’t see it, not going to fix it.  There are lots of blocks here with swinging orientations.

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Had fun with the one, but the swirling pinwheel bars don’t show up.  Maybe I should have moved the small triangle color around to different colors.  Still a nice block though.  Color placement is very important in these blocks for how the block looks.

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Love this one.  But who knew when I started it that it would be so cute?  I didn’t.  It’s something about that brown and white fabric…

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The green fabric is one of the Japanese fabrics.  See Rebecca Babb-Brott’s Etsy store “Sew Me A Song” to see more of these prints.  They are not easy to find.

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Turkey Tracks: More Katja Marek Quiltlets

Turkey Tracks:  June 19, 2016

More Katja Marek Quiltlets

By the end of June, I should have completed 26 blocks to be “caught up.”

Here are blocks 19, 20, and 21.

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Blocks 22 and 23 are organized.

I’m getting there!

Here’s what the quilt looks like now:

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Block positions are apt to change as more blocks get completed.  There are 52 blocks in all.

This project is from Katja Marek’s 2016 “quilt-along” project.  The blocks are from her book THE NEW HEXAGON.  Paper pieces can be found at paperpieces.com.  Each “quilt-let” is a finished quilt.  The quiltlets will be sewn together to make the quilt.  I will use mine as a wall-hanging.

Turkey Tracks: More “Quilt-lets”

Turkey Tracks:  May 25, 2016

More “Quilt-lets”

Those of you following know that I am making Katja Marek’s 2016 English Paper Piecing Project, which uses fractured hexagons from her book THE NEW HEXAGON.

Here are a few more completed “quilt-lets,” which will eventually be sewn together into a quilt.

I’ve heard two “fox got the hens” stories in the past few days.  Yep.  Fox is raising babies now.

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Hedgehogs are on a lot of current quilting fabric.

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The pink flower is from a Tula Pink fabric.

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Turkey Tracks: April Quilty Update

Turkey Tracks:  April

April Quilty Update

And then there were TWO quiltlets:

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They will go together like this:

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A reminder:  this project is from Katja Marek’s 2016 challenge:  one quilt-let a week.  There are 52 blocks–taken from her book,  THE NEW HEXAGON.  I figure those who started on time are into their 14th week!!  I have a third block cut out and ready to be sewn.  They are so fun to make.

I made seven of the flower blocks while in Charleston for the big hexie quilt, based on Edyta Sitar’s quilt on the cover of her HANDFULS OF SCRAPS.

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These are all from my 2 1/2-inch scrap bin.

I finished the last of the blocks yesterday:

 

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Now, on to the last of the neutrals…

I’m working on a quilt for granddaughter Mina.  AND, I’ve finished seven of the eight FARMER’S WIFE blocks for this month–three more to go and pics will come when I’m finished.

Turkey Tracks: Katja Marek’s EPP: THE NEW HEXAGON

Turkey Tracks:  March 23, 2016

Katja Marek’s EPP:  THE NEW HEXAGON

Katja Marek has designed 52 hexagon blocks, each of which has been split into interesting shapes.

AND, there are many ways to use these blocks.

AND, there are many ways to make these blocks.

First, you can use other shapes to combine the hexagons into a quilt, like the triangles on the cover.

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Like THE FARMER’S WIFE books, each block has a female name.

You can draw your own templates.  Or, you can go to English Paper Piecing LLC and buy the pieces for each block.  I bought the whole package to make all 52 blocks.  AND/OR, you can buy a set of acrylic templates that help you fussy cut and/or make your own paper pieces.  (I’m going to try to make my “fussy cut” pieces by tracing pieces onto template plastic.)

 

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BUT, BUT, BUT, what I discovered in the past few days is that Marek is ALSO making these blocks into finished tiny quilts that you then sew together to make a quilt.  They are SO CUTE!  Each has a neutral low-volume fabric border.

Here are some pics from Instagram:

A single “quilt-let”:

And several in a pile:

I’m going to do this latter project BEFORE doing a project linked by the triangles.

These blocks, without the neutral border, have three-inch sides.

The English Paper Piecing LLC site has materials for BOTH Marek’s projects:  the Millifiore quilt I’m going to do AND these little “quilt-lets.”  The book has the three-inch blocks and the English PP LLC site also has a four-inch project.