Faster And "Funner"

Day 173: After many years of making elaborate costumes and other clothing, I came to a conclusion: I hate machine sewing. However, I love to sew by hand. That said, I've pieced dozens of quilts with the machine, although I almost always finished them with hand-quilting. The machine-sewing phase has always been the part I least enjoyed, and by "least enjoyed," I mean asking myself over and over why I ever wanted to do this again. This new project is entirely hand-stitched, and what has come as the greatest surprise is the fact that it's going far more quickly toward the finished product, partly because each piece is fully completed once it's sewn in place...all backed, batted and quilted, done! In addition to these assembled pieces, I have an equal number done except for stitching them together. That part goes quickly, and I decided to do it that way in order to randomize the second half with hexagons identical to those in the first half. The photos show the front and the back of the quilt respectively. It's not only faster, it's "funner" to do it by hand!

Catching Up To Myself

Day 169: As I was adding new hexagons to the quilt-as-you-go project, it occurred to me that I needed some way to ensure a semblance of randomness. I had already decided that I wanted no more than two of each center, although there might be four from a single piece of fabric (e.g., isolating two sheep for one pair and two chickens for another) and no more than four of each border/reverse side fabric. It seemed the best way to achieve this would be to make pairs as I went along, sewing one into the quilt and setting the other aside to be added in the second half. I had already assembled a dozen, so I've spent the last few days catching up to myself by sewing their counterparts (this is in addition to hand-stitching the binding to a different quilt). I have one to go, and then I'll have caught up to myself. If I have enough different fabrics, the finished quilt will be either 53.5" x 60" (218 hexagons) or 56" x 60.5" (230 hexagons).

Quilt-As-You-Go Tutorial

Day 164: A couple of people asked for more detail on this quilt-as-you-go project, so I've put together a little tutorial.

First of all, you will need to cut your fabric and batting. It won't matter if you want to use larger hexagons. The stipulation is that the sides of the large one are an inch longer than those of the small one so you can turn a 1/4" border. I have used a 3" hexagon for the backing and a 2" one for the center. The batting should be cut to the same size as the center (top left image).

Turn the large hexagon face down. Center the batting on top of it, and place the 2" hexagon fabric on top of that (top right image).

Begin by folding one edge of the large hexagon to meet the edges of the batting and center. Crease it with a fingernail. Turn it again and place a clip in the middle of the side temporarily. Turn the second edge of the large hexagon to meet the edges again, then turn it a second time and crease it as before. You will notice that the corner automatically mitres. Place a clip on the corner. Repeat the process all the way around (left middle image).

When you reach the last corner, remove the clip from the middle of the starting side and place it on the corner. Now you're ready to sew the border in place (middle right image).

Take tiny stitches through the center fabric and just catch down the border with each one. Do NOT stitch through the large hexagon backing! At the corners, take a few stitches out to the edge, then pass the needle back through the fabric to emerge at the inside corner. When you have stitched all the way around, you're ready to quilt the centers. I prefer to poke down, poke up through all three layers as if I was doing needlepoint, but you can use a running stitch if you like. It's faster to use a running stitch, but the stitches on the back will be smaller than those on the front. When you've finished quilting your hexagon, stitch it together with another one, using an overcast stitch with the front sides facing each other. The quilting stitches will be more visible on the reverse side of the piece. Build your quilt as large as you like!

Quilt-As-You-Go

Day 163: As if I don't already have enough projects going already, I stumbled across a cute "quilt-as-you-go" idea on YouTube day before yesterday and thought, "Well, I'll make just one to see how it goes, tuck it away as a reminder that it's a possibility." I've never done a quilt-as-you-go before, although I started one once, and when it came time to add the centers I'd cut beforehand (several hundred), I discovered that I'd forgotten to add a seam allowance. This was fifty years ago or so, and probably only the second or third quilt I'd ever tried to make. I was so disheartened that I abandoned the project and forty years later, used the base fabric for something else, and turned all those tiny little squares into a streets-and-alleys quilt which I gave to a friend for a graduation present. I've learned a lot since then, and the idea of being able to make fully quilted pieces one at a time has an irresistible appeal. These are easy to make. Cut two hexagons, one at 3" and one at 2", lay the larger one down with the back side facing up, put a 2" hexagon of batting in the center, put the 2" fabric on top of that rightside up, and then turn the border. Stitch the border in place, then work a line of quilting around just inside it. Bingo! Your first hexagon is done: backed, batted, quilted all in one go. I have no idea how large this quilt will eventually be. I'll just keep going until I run out of fabrics or out of enthusiasm, whichever comes first.