I’m feeling kind of
“woo hoo, hotsy totsy” today. If you
follow my blog, you’ll understand that it’s similar to the goofy cockiness
I felt last summer when, after 20 years as a quilter, I finally sewed in my first zipper! (Conquering my fear of zippers) So what has put the spring in my step this
time? I finally sewed my first hexagon
applique project! Yes!
I bet a lot of you are
like me. You have been quilting for
years, maybe decades, but there are still many quilting or sewing techniques
you haven’t tried. I’ve found a lot of excuses
in the past for not trying new things and avoiding challenges, but mostly I
think fear was holding me back. It’s so
much easier to stick with what you know.
But in 2015, I experienced a few life changing events that sort of
kicked me in the backside as if to shout, “Taunja, what are you waiting
for?”
I have wanted to sew
some type of English Paper Piecing (EPP) / hexagon (hexie) project since this
summer when I began noticing darling hexie quilts, bags and pouches on
Instagram, but I kept pushing it to the back of my mental sewing list. (Yep, the fear of what I didn’t know was
winning.) Then a few nights ago,
probably in some type of subconscious New Year’s resolution mentality, I found
myself in my sewing room determined to make something, anything, which included
a hexie. I pulled several fabrics and
found myself drawn to a collection of items from Lou Lou’s Fabric Shop: a
charm pack of “Gooseberry” (Lella Boutique for Moda), a bit of graphite Moda
Cross Weave yardage, and a sweet little sewing machine zipper charm. (Please check out Lou Lou’s Fabric Shop by
clicking their banner ad in my left side bar!)
Lying nearby on my
cutting table was my newly purchased “idea journal.” The colors on the journal looked lovely with
the Gooseberry fabric and I knew what I would make . . . a Lori Holt Quilty Zip Pocket! I had made two during the Farm
Girl Vintage Sew Along. This would be
the perfect pouch to hold my idea journal.
Full of determination
but lacking experience in making hexies, I did some Internet searching and
found a great tutorial. In a nutshell, here’s
what I did:
- I watched Ellison Lane’s video tutorial for the basics: Hexagon Tutorial: A Step-By-Step Video. The instructions provided by Jennifer Mathis are excellent and the video is only 5 minutes long. I’m sure there are many other wonderful tutorials available, this is just what I stumbled upon.
- I used my Cricut paper cutting machine to cut
out several 1” hexie templates onto card stock.
(Note: I learned that when speaking of hexie sizes, 1” refers to the
length of one side of the hexie. Also,
you can purchase hexie templates from several sources. Or, you can print them yourself if you have
software which allows you to draw a hexie shape and a printer that prints card
stock. If you have a Cricut like I do, you can make fast work of producing hexie templates.)
- Then I selected my
favorite reds and pinks from the “Gooseberry” charm pack and made several
fabric hexies as instructed by the Ellison Lane video. The first one was a bit tricky. The paper template kept slipping. After three attempts, I finally pinned the
shape to the fabric and it was smooth sailing.
Before I knew it, I had made 19 fabric hexies.
- I cut an 8 ½” square from the graphite Moda
Cross Weave. After playing around with
several designs, I finally settled on a simple flower. I removed the paper template from 7 of the
hexies, pressed them flat, and pinned them in place onto the square of Moda Cross
Weave. I then appliqued the shapes using matching
thread and a blind stitch.
- Finally, I followed Lori Holt’s free tutorial for her Quilty Zip Pocket. I added fusible fleece to mine to give it a bit more weight. I added the darling zipper charm from Lou Lou’s Fabric Shop, a bit of measuring tape twill ribbon, and some fun text print from my stash for the lining.
My first hexie project
turned out to be pretty easy! Really and truly, it was not hard. If you can bind a quilt by hand, you can
applique. If you can use a needle and
thread, you can baste. If you like to keep your hands busy while watching TV or
riding in the car, you have a great new activity. You see where I’m going with
this. ;)
It’s a new year and
it’s a great time to throw fear aside and try something new. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog
today! I hope you will visit Lou Lou’s Fabric Shop and see all the loveliness they have available for you!
~Taunja
This is one of the prettiest quilt zip pockets I've seen. Your hexies are the perfect companion for the grey linen.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Your kind words mean a lot! :)
DeleteYou are seriously not going to believe this, but right before Christmas I had cut out different sized hexies on my Cricut hoping to do them during our homeschool Christmas break. Too afraid and intimidated, I didn't do them. After seeing a blog post from @janesfabrics from IG, reading your post here, and watching that Ellison Lane video, I think it's time I give them a shot. Thank you.... again!!!
ReplyDeleteGood good good! Sometimes don't you just wonder, what are we WAITING for!! And yes, this Ellison Lane video is very good. Keeps it nice and simple and I thought, well . . . I can do that. I know you can too! Keep me posted!
DeleteOh, and another thing I'm going to try with help of my Cricut is cutting out pieces to applique! I have a ton of cartridges needing to be revisited!! I have a list of quilty things to try in the new year! Thank you for the encouragement!! Happy Quilting!!
ReplyDeleteNow that is an excellent idea! I'm not using my Cricut for scrapbooking lately . . . although I should be. I could be making other templates too! I'll be watching IG to see what you come up with!
DeleteSome friends and I started a monthly challenge for our layouts this year because we haven't scrapbooked in forever. I am yeeeeeeeears behind, sadly!
DeleteI am way behind too . . . and have a daughter graduating in May. I need to get on the stick! ;)
DeleteHa, I like that, "need to get on the stick." That's exactly what I'm trying to do. Mine are 9 & 11. At the rate I'm going I just may be where you are when mine are graduating. LOL Oh, have mercy, Lord. There are just not enough hours in the day.
DeleteI saw your first hexies in "Canyon" and they are beautiful!
DeleteI LOVE the Gooseberry with the graphite crossweave! It's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI do too! Thanks so much!!
DeleteHere I am again, in awe of your project. Love reading the other comments too, gives me inspiration!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you!! The quilting community is so good . . . inspiring and encouraging!
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