Hexagons 2.0

Day 318: Hexagons 2.0 is done! Entirely hand-stitched, it took just under 12 weeks to complete with a finished dimension of 56" x 61." There are 330 individual hexagons, and this time, I chose not to fill in the "stairstep" edges with partial hexes. Will I ever sew another one? This might not be quite the best time to ask me that, if you take my meaning. Although it was fun to bring together, two in a row was a bit much. That said, because it was a "quilt-as-you-go" project, it was gratifying when I sewed on the last hex and could say, "That's it! I'm done!" without having backing, batting and quilting still on the menu, and that, in my opinion, is the main selling point of this mode of construction. And before you ask, it has a destiny which I am not at liberty to discuss, determined before I ever put needle to the first piece of fabric. How many quilts have I made over the years? I've lost count. Most have been given as gifts, and if I can be forgiven a moment of vanity and pride, I'd like to think that at least one of them will become an heirloom to be handed down or passed along with its history. This one and its earlier counterpart, as well as Ring Cycles (currently in progress) speak of community and support because, as I was running short of print fabrics, I put out a call to my sewing friends for their scraps. Almost a dozen people contributed to the patchwork you see here today.

Short Stack

Day 317: Depending on who's serving and how big they are, a "short stack" of pancakes is generally two or three. In this case, my "short stack" is 13, the last row (minus one already sewn on) of my second completely hand-stitched hexagon quilt. Not counting small quilts, they were the quickest quilts I've ever made due, I am certain, to the fact that I prefer hand-stitching to working on the sewing machine. The first took a mere two months to the day. The current one has taken a bit longer (not quite three months), and I will have it done by tomorrow evening. Then I can devote myself entirely to Ring Cycles (seen here as the backdrop). It is also going more quickly than expected, at least as far as piecing is concerned. However, once I am done assembling all those little one-inch squares, the quilt will need to be backed and batted, and then mounted on the frame for hand-quilting over the winter months.

Rob's Quilt

Day 262: I figured I'd already spoiled the surprise before they left New Zealand. I mean, you can't ask questions like, "How much room are you going to have in your luggage when you leave my place? Will you have space for something about the size of a briefcase?" without someone getting suspicious. I think Rob knew this hexagon quilt was going back with him before he got here. I was ready to suggest wrapping themselves up in it on the plane (after all, it's winter in New Zealand), but they managed to fold it to fit inside a wheeled suitcase. And like I told him, this is his combined birthday/Christmas gift this year, 'cuz I sure as heck wasn't going to mail it!

Coming Together Nicely

Day 215: By request, front and back! I have five more rows to add to the hexagon quilt to make it large enough to top a full-sized bed without any "drape" over the edges. The end rows will both be long rows (i.e., 14 hexagons, as opposed to the short rows of 13), which makes graceful corners. Half-hexagons fill in spaces along the sides, but top and bottom will be left as points. This quilt is entirely hand-sewn, and I've enjoyed making it so much that I've already begun making a few hexagons for a second one. Once again, I want to extend my profound thanks to all the friends who contributed fabrics to this project. Your donations should keep me stitching for at least two more quilts!

Supervisory Approval

Day 210: This is not the photo I envisioned for celebrating the halfway point on the hexagon quilt, but keeping Merry off it long enough to focus the camera was proving to be an impossible task. It's nice to know my supervisor approves of my handwork. Yes, the quilt is half-assembled, and even better, the rest of the hexagons are already made. I've been producing them in twos: one to stitch in, and a matching one (or occasional singleton) to randomize in the second half. Some are not quite identical, but pairs of centers will have been cut from the same cloth for the most part, but it wouldn't be a Crow quilt without those few oddments which occur only once. That's what makes the Quilt Game fun: searching for the ones which don't have a counterpart, or seeking out where a matching piece occurs. Some centers have been used for backs as well, adding another challenge. Sewing the remainder together will go quickly. I have a Grand Plan for another similar quilt, using some pairs, some "reflections" (i.e., fabric A center and backing B paired with fabric B center paired with backing A), and then of course the singletons which are the highlight of the Quilt Game. I'm looking forward to starting it when this one is complete.

Filling In The Blanks

Day 200: A challenge presented itself in this quilt-as-you-go project with respect to how I was going to handle the border on two sides. The hexes on the other two sides have points up, like a series of "up arrows," but the shape of the pieces creates empty "half-hexagons" on two edges. When sewing a quilt top with hexagons, to back and batt once the piece is fully assembled, this isn't a problem. You just add an extra row or two, and cut the excess off and then bind the whole thing with bias tape. However, that isn't an option when each piece is made and finished individually. I suppose I could have omitted to turn the outermost side of the full hexagons in this case, as well as the long side of a half-hex, but I didn't like the idea of applying bias binding all the way around. Instead, I created a plastic template for the backings which would let me frame each central piece. The corners are a pain in the neck to turn, and I find myself wishing I had at least one more extra set of hands, but the solution is workable, and the effect is exactly what I wanted to fill in the "blanks." Oh yeah, and that "short break from quilting" didn't exactly happen. Even on the first day of "break," I still made four hexagons. Yes, I'm addicted.

Six Rows Done

Day 194: I don't think I have ever enjoyed making a quilt as much as I am enjoying making this one. Part of that is due to the fact that it is entirely hand-sewn, and that it is a "lap project" because each hexagon is made separately and then sewn onto the ones previously assembled. Having said that, I think the real joy is in using the fabrics given to me by friends from all over, including as far away as New Zealand! I am making two of each combination as I go, and when I have completed eight and a half rows, I'll be halfway, and it will be time to arrange the duplicates randomly in the second half of the quilt. Obviously, the second half will go more quickly because the hexagons are already made. Thanks go to the friends who have contributed from their stashes and scrap bags. If you don't see your fabric in this quilt, I've had so much fun making this one that I may make another right on its heels, or even another Double Wedding Ring, although DWR would be pieced on the sewing machine.

Quick, As Quilts Go

Day 177: When I began this project on March 23, my goal was to create an entirely hand-stitched quilt with a maximum of 230 hexagons. "If I do one a day," I told myself, "I can be done in under a year. Maybe I'll even make two occasionally." Yesterday, I created an astonishing record of EIGHT, and there has not been a single day when I have made less than two. At this rate, this will be the quickest I have ever finished a quilt, and the only thing which might hold that up is a shortage of fabrics. By default, there are a lot of cats in this one because I've made three in the last couple of years which were all cats, just cats, nothing but cats, but this one also includes sheep, birds, wildlife, flowers, leaves, mushrooms, bugs, fruits and vegetables, tractors, and assorted farm animals. While not exactly a "crazy quilt" (which, after all, is randomly shaped pieces), there is enough here to keep anyone amused playing the Quilt Game, searching for matching pieces, singletons, sequences and even hidden word-play (e.g., an owl with a cat-themed border would be "The Owl and the Pussycat," which I've included in several quilts). The Quilt Game is only limited by your own imagination! At this juncture, I have 68 of 230 hexagons completed. Duplicates will go in the second half of the quilt.

Kittygons

Day 264: After making two cat-themed "Cathedral Window" quilts, I still had a lot of feline prints left over. Since I enjoyed making a Hexagon Quilt so much, I decided to make one using "kittygons." One of the prints was rather large, so I used it to determine the size to which the hexagons needed to be cut to best display the cats. These larger prints need to be "fussy-cut," i.e., carefully centered on the desired image, so I've begun with them to get the hard part out of the way first. Cutting the smaller prints can be more casual. I was struck by how much the focal piece in this image resembled Skunk when she was just a little babycat ("babycat" is one word, people...don't argue with me), so it will have a place of honour in the finished quilt, and yes, I plan to keep this one. The layout requires 192 print hexagons, 32 solid-colour centers and enough background hexagons to sink the Titanic. I haven't chosen fabrics for the background, centers or border yet, but it will be backed with white muslin.

A Few Inches To Go

Day 358: Joe and Sharon's quilt is nearly done! I still have about 12 inches of binding to sew down on the back and a label to sew on, and it will be ready to deliver when they're here next a few weeks from now. I didn't know Joe and Sharon when I began cutting out hexagons about forty years ago, but some of these fabrics date back that far. A divorce, a move, a new job and a dangerous illness were just a few of the things pushing the quilt to the back of the closet, there to remain buried so deeply that it took a pandemic to bring it out of hiding. "What the heck is this?" I said when I found the box. Inside, I discovered two pieced blocks and about forty more single hexagons. As it turned out, making blocks is the wrong way to go about assembling a hexagon quilt, so with a little help from YouTube, I cut more fabric and started piecing with one long chain. I was surprised at how easily it went together. In fact, I would have to say that I enjoyed making this quilt more than any other I've ever created. Of course, once it was pieced, the real work began. It has taken eleven months to hand-stitch with shadow-quilting around each hexagon and a narrow border of foliage and "daisies" to acknowledge the wonderful relationship I've had with Joe and Sharon as my botany partners.

Binding

Day 352: Several things got in the way between completing the hand-quilting of the Hexagons and this moment, not the least of which was 3/4 bushel of apples which needed to be processed into winter nibblies. I canned 8 pints of chunks, three pints of spiced sauce, and filled a one-gallon container with dehydrated slices. The kitchen smells wonderful, but enough with the apples already! It's time to bind the quilt!

I have to admit to a certain degree of laziness here. I piece by machine, and I also apply the front side of the binding by machine. Once turned, I will stitch it down by hand on the back. Then all I have to do is attach a "Made with love by Crow 2021" label, and the hexagon quilt will be ready to deliver to my botany partners Joe and Sharon, just in time for those chilly autumn and winter nights. There are wildflower dreams in these fabrics, and paths of friendship wend through the miles of stitches. Mountain and meadow, the memories are here in this cloth.

Honeycomb And Flowers

Day 103: The Hexagon quilt was a joy to assemble and now that I'm well into the hand quilting of it, I have yet another reason to add it to my favourite patterns. It is proving to be much quicker to stitch than I'd anticipated, and I am roughly a quarter of the way done with it already. The measure of a quilter's skill can be better appreciated when the back side is presented to view. It is there that the design is shown to best advantage, as well as the regularity of the stitching. In this instance, I am only putting "daisies" in the gold center of each motif; the surrounding prints and white pieces are shadow-quilted, following the seams of the hexagons. On the back, the "beehive effect" is showcased by the cells, some of which contain precious "pollen" in the character of the flowers. I'm debating whether or not to add one strategically-placed bee just to see if the intended recipients notice.

Batt, Back, Sew!

Day 41: When I pulled Patience Corner off the quilting frame, I couldn't immediately mount the Hexagons in its place. I still had to apply the outer row of white hexagons to two sides, and then add a straight-edged border fabric, tasks which I've completed over the last three days. The next step is to batt and back it, i.e., lay a piece of muslin out on my living room floor, cover it with a layer of quilt batting and then safety-pin the quilt top (above) to the lower layers. I've left a wide border for ease of mounting on the frame, but that will be trimmed down to three inches once the border is hand-quilted. Each hexagon will be shadow-quilted, with six-petalled flowers in the center of each gold hexagon. It should go fairly quickly, which is to say that I will be able to finish it in something under a year. Ready, set, go? No, that's "Batt, Back Sew!" and she's off and running!