Candied Hexagons continued....

Hi all,

As many of you know there is something of a groundswell in Australia at the moment for a quilt called "Candied Hexagons".

I've been working on mine for just under a year now, and I'm quite pleased to give you a progress report. So far I have sewn 74 hexagons out of a total of 104 (in case anyone is counting, there are only 73 in the pile, but I finished another hexagon after I took these photos).

I really love this photo - on the left is the hexagons that I've sewn, and on the right are the "cheat" hexagons - that is the ones that are made of a single fabric (the feature floral). All you really need to do is baste them, that's why I can't help but think of them as the "cheater" blocks!

This is my favourite block to sew, which I was very surprised about - but I love the way the pieces all fit together like a puzzle. The original quilt (by Kerry Dear) was actually sewn by machine, but I was looking for a hand sewing project. A number of the women at my quilting group were doing it by hand, so I decided to give it a go. I know in myself that I don't have the discipline to sew a whole quilt with only the sem allowances marked - so I'm paper piecing it.

I've never paper pieced (or hand pieced for that matter!) before, so I did a lot of reading online first (there are a couple of really great bloggers who had step-by-step photos!) and then sewed one block, and trapsed off to the quilting group the next month to check that I'd done it properly!!

Since then I've just been sewing away - matching colours as I went along. I also asked some loved ones to choose a block design and colours for me - so there will always be a block designed by my Mum, a block designed by my sister, a block designed by Sir Pinkying... it's kind of nice to feel like I'm sewing my "family" into the quilt!
Because I'm starting to get close to "the end" of making the blocks, I put aside randomness for a while to make up the "sets" of blocks that are featured in the original pattern. These are ones like the three blocks above where the positioning of the fabrics and the designs of the blocks create a secondary pattern. LOVE them!

I already know that I want to do another hand project when I've finished this one - but I will FINISH this first!!

Where have I been?

Hi all,

Once again, despite my best intentions, it has been far too long between posts... and where have I been you ask? Well, we've been away we went here:


we also saw a bit of this


spent a couple of days driving through scenery not unlike this...
enjoyed a lovely boat trip through here

and were constantly in awe of natural wonders like this

so, has anyone guessed where Sir Pinkying (he's not Mr Pinkying - but he's my knight in shining armour!) and I have been??

We went to New Zealand! All I can say is if you have never been, you really must go. We loved every single second of the trip. So many photos, so little time!

I did pick up a small bundle of Maori styled fabrics, which I will post a pic of soon.

While we were away, I had intended to sew 15 blocks for my Candied Hexagons, which I had cut out in preparation for the trip, but I only got as far as doing the basting! I have made some progress though (which I will post later too!!)

Happy Quilting!

Ta-da!

So, I've been sadly absent from this blog for far too long. A combination of work, quilting and life in general has gotten in the way... not that quilting EVER gets in the way! :)

On the bright side, I've had two short trips out of town in the last 4 weeks, which has certainly made a difference!

I also managed to finish a quilt, and in time for the deadline, which was my boyfriend's birthday. I've never gifted a quilt this size before, so it's quite exciting (especially as I finished it in time!)

I haven't had a chance to get an "approved" photo of the Birthday Boy and his present, so these photos will have to satisfy for a while...

....... presenting "Paradiddles"