"HEXAGON JEWELS" Wedding Quilt #7

This quilt will be set aside for Lauren's wedding day, age 10, my sister's granddaughter.

On my bucket list was to make a kaleidoscope quilt. I found this book, Precision Patchwork for Scrap Quilts by Jeannette Muir, in a used book store with 8 different hexagon designs.

 I had already purchased (on sale) these coordinating fabrics with stripes, repetitive prints and large focus designs. It took larger amounts of fabric because they needed to be fussy cut. The finishing touch that tied it all together were the triangles, an idea that came from Eleanor Burns. 

My goal is to make all of these wedding quilts queen or king size and to hand quilt them. So far so good. 

There was only 6 yards of the perfect backing fabric so "killed 2 birds with one stone";  I was able to use up left overs and add to the width of the backing. 

"BONBORI", Japanese hexagonal paper lantern

I finished the hand quilting and binding.
I am so pleased. This one is for me.

Thank you again Janet, Quiltsalot, for sharing this pattern idea with us.

Looking forward to handquilting

Ready to hand quilt! The border became quite a dilemma. I wanted to use the kimono fabric my mother bought for me years ago in Japan but once I put it on I knew it wasn't right. It took away from the hexagons. So . . . I ripped . . . and then went back to Quiltsalot to look at her borders. I was surprised that I had enough scraps to cut triangles for a border. Janet of Quiltsalot has had so many inquiries about this quilt that she posted some directions to get you started. The pattern is no longer available. I figured it out by myself, so can you.

Hexagon progress

I'm having so much fun hand piecing this quilt that I'm zipping along. Here I'm working on baggie #10. All the individual blocks for 12 rows are done and I'm working on the half blocks to fill in. Of course I still have the connecting to do.

My mom and dad made a trip to Japan in the 80's, getting to travel the "back roads" and visit in homes. Mom bought me this roll of fabric but I never could figure out how to use it in a garment. I got to thinking about what I will use for the border and remembered this wonderful gift. There's plenty and fits in with the colors and theme of this quilt. My only regret is that Mother isn't here to share in the joy of designing and making of my quilts.

Hexagon Explosion

I've been busy cutting and arranging. I revisited YOKO Japanese Antique and Fabrics shop in South Pasadena that was still there after 5 years. I bought some more vintage fabrics: the red and pink dragonflies, blue crosshatching on white, red/pink flowers on white, and white flowers on navy. I really feel like the design has a balanced look. I still have some half blocks to cut but I'm ready to start hand piecing them together. Next week we are visiting our good friends in Cave Creek Arizona and this will be prefect to take along.

A Good Start

Well, I just started to cut. I got out my design wall (flannel backed tablecloth) and rigged a way to hang it over the bookcase. Oh to have a space just for quilting. Nothing is balanced yet but I can see what colors and patterns stand out. More to come.

How to start?

Here's my collection for a project that's in the planning stages. The center fabrics are from Japan, some I purchased there and others I found in an antique shop in South Pasadena. What a find! The fiber content is undetermined but hopefully they are not rayon because they feel like cotton. The outer layer are some US prints with a Japanese flavor, purchased with that in mind.

I'm thinking of following the octagon pattern on the header of Quiltsalott. Janet lives in Australia. She told me that the pattern came from Australian Quilting Companion but even with her help I was unable to locate the pattern on line nor purchase the back issue. I enlarged her hexagon quilt, calculated the scale and made the templates. Now all that is left is the courage to cut into these wonderful fabrics and start.

“BETTY BEE'S BOUQUET”, a Grandmother's Garden

My mother, Betty, was an incredibly creative person and a talented artist. Like most wives and mothers in the 40's/50's, she did not pursue a career outside the home but used her creativity to make clothes, decorate our home, and volunteer to be the artist/craft leader for all groups. Both my sister and I were in awe of her abilities but instead of intimidating us, she encourage us and supplied the materials and opportunities to follow her. This quilt is dedicated to her.

Most of the fabrics for this quilt came from her scraps. It contains memories of clothes she made for herself, my sister and I, and her granddaughters.

As I commented to Jackie, I didn't follow the conventional technique for grandmother's garden because I didn't know any better. As I cut the hexagons, I marked each corner with pencil. Matching these dots, I joined the seams with alternating running stitch and backstitch. I really found this less time and work intensive because I didn't cut paper templates, press under the seam allowance or baste. Maybe it wasn't the "right" way but it worked.

I hand quilted this queen size bed topper. The whole process took about 2 years with other projects in between. As of yet I have no granddaughters to pass on this heirloom so if my oldest son doesn't have any girls, it will go to our first granddaughter-in-law.