A Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - Part 2

A Finished Quilt!

Click on any image for a larger view.

I am so pleased to have finished my Scrappy Hexagon Quilt. One inch hexagons are the best! They are just the right size to comfortably hold together in your hand while stitching, and the scrappy patchwork fabric created by the use of ALL the fabrics is rather delicious. I do so love a scrappy quilt! I estimate to have used 250+ different fabrics and many hexagon pieces have been fussy cut to feature a fabric design element. There's a lot to see! The perfect I-Spy Quilt.

I basted the quilt sandwich late July and immediately got started with the quilting. I have kept the quilting really simple by stitching vertical straight lines across the quilt, spaced 1" apart. Lots of straight line quilting! This works perfectly for this quilt with lots of stitching guide points to avoid having to mark lines on the quilt top. It also is the simplest way to straight-line quilt a hexagon quilt that has been English Paper Pieced without ditch-stitching any of the hand sewn seams; these seam lines may not fare well when the heavier needle of the sewing machine stitches into it (particularly as seam allowances have been pressed open).

For the back of the quilt I have used a single text fabric from the Vintage Made Modern Collection by Amy Barickman for RJR Fabrics. The text design is printed on a soft yellow background. This collection was released in 2015 and the yardage, bought for quilt backing fabric, has patiently been waiting in my stash for the right quilt to come along.

And for the binding I have used a soft pink and white stripe - Essential Stripe in Baby Pink for Moda Fabrics. (I am rather fond of this stripe fabric for binding - it is not the first time I have used it for binding - see this quilt).

QUILT DETAILS

Scrappy Hexagon Quilt

The finished quilt measures 54 inches x 63.5 inches.

1 inch hexagons.

A total of 1332 Hexagons.

Started: June 2019.

Finished: August 2019.

English Paper Pieced.

Machine Quilted - domestic sewing machine.

All quilting cotton fabrics.

Low loft cotton batting.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

 1 Inch Hexagon Papers

1 Inch Acrylic Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads

(a neutral color thread - I used color #655 throughout).

For more details and step by step instructions

 on how I English Paper Pieced this quilt top

please click on over to the work in progress blog post:

https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2019/07/a-scrappy-hexagon-quilt-part-1.html

If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing this quilt

 please don't hesitate to contact me: 

redpepperquilts@gmail.com

Lots of photos today! As always, thank you for stopping by and scrolling through.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

A Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - Part 1 

More RPQ Scrappy Quilts:

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt - November 2017

Scrappy Bow Tie Quilt - August 2016

Modern Half Square Triangle Quilt - May 2016

A Scrappy Day Trip Quilt - February 2016

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - Part 1

I had no business starting another English Paper Piecing (EPP) project but I did it anyway. Having a slow sewing project on the go continues to give me so much pleasure, and while I have yet to baste and quilt several of my already completed EPP quilt tops, this one quietly slipped in without any guilt or regret, and has now been added to my pile of finished quilt tops.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

A traditional 1 inch Hexagon Scrap Quilt has been on my quilty bucket list for some time. I just love the look of scrappy patchwork and by keeping the hexagon pieces relatively small I get to use many of my favorite stash fabrics. As you can see, many of the fabrics have been fussy cut to feature a design element (it seems I have many different fabrics with strawberries!). If you've been quilting - and collating a fabric stash for a while - I think you will recognise many of the prints that I have used. Some fabrics have been around for quite some time, and others are fairly recent additions to my stash.

Making this quilt top has been a labor of love! Just like any hand pieced quilt, the process is very time consuming. I spent a lot of time cutting fabric pieces. Most fabrics have been repeated up to four times, and I estimate to have used up to 300 different fabrics. I really do enjoy pulling fabric from stash and can happily spend days cutting hexagons, watching the pile of hexies grow. All fabrics were cut by using a rotary cutter and an acrylic hexagon template.

I continue to glue baste my papers/fabrics for English Paper Piecing and have no trouble keeping the papers in place for as long as is required, nor do I have difficulty removing the papers. Most of the hexagon papers used for this quilt were previously used to piece my Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt.

All the photos shown here are of the quilt top after the papers have been removed, except for along the very edges of the quilt top. Pictured above is a photo of what the back of the quilt top looks like.

QUILT DETAILS

Scrappy Hexagon Quilt

The quilt top measures approximately 53 inches x 63 inches.

Started: June 2019.

English Paper Pieced.

1 inch hexagons.

A total of 1332 Hexagons.

To keep my project portable - sew anywhere, anytime - I pieced 16-patch blocks.

Step 1 :: Piece strips of four hexagons together as pictured above.

Step 2 :: Piece four strips together into a 16-patch block as pictured below.

A total of 324 strips of four hexagons (Step 1).
A total of 81 16-patch blocks (Step 2).

I then arranged the 81 blocks in 9 rows of 9 blocks,
 pieced the blocks together in vertical rows,
and finished by piecing together the vertical rows with
a long vertical seam.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS
 1 Inch Hexagon Papers
1 Inch Acrylic Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.
Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.
Straw Needles - Size 11.
The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads.

Points to note:

• Whenever possible I like to ensure that my fabric pieces are cut and sewn together on grain. This should result in a nice and flat completed quilt top with the least stretch and fabric movement, which will make basting and quilting easier.
• Removing papers as you go makes for much more comfortable piecing. I started removing papers when sewing together blocks into vertical rows.
• Once the quilt top was completed I decided to add one extra row of hexagons (36 hexies) to add an additional 2 inches to the length of the quilt. 

My goal is to baste this quilt top by the end of the week, and then start quilting it next week. I have already sorted through my fabric stash for a suitable quilt back, and cut a piece of batting to size. Now ready for basting ....

Thank you for stopping by and for scrolling through the many photos!

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS

More RPQ Scrap Quilts: 

Delectable Mountains Scrap Quilt

Bright Hopes - Color My World Quilt

One Patch Quilt - Diamonds

A Custom Order Baby Quilt

More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:

A Stretched Hexies Quilt

Liberty of London Hexagon Quilt

Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt

Liberty Stars Quilt

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt - Part 1

Work in Progress.

At last, another blog update! I know some of you have been wondering if I am still stitching. I am doing the best I can right now and stitching (in particular English Paper Piecing) is still a daily pastime, but I am very much enjoying the relaxed timeline. Having taken a step back I can see more clearly that the pressure (self-imposed!) to update my blog regularly was starting to impact the joy of making and sharing. I am slowly getting back on track - I sure spend a lot of time thinking about the quilts I want to make - but make no promises. The focus for now is on enjoying the process.

I had no business starting another English Paper Pieced (EPP) quilt for I have yet to baste and quilt  my B is for Blues Hexagon Quilt, but I so enjoy the slow sewing process that starting another EPP quilt was inevitable. This project is a traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt; with a traditional layout, solid center flowers with a solid yellow center. (This is my second Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt - see details of my Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt here - it includes instructions on how to prepare the "Flower Units" for easy row sewing).

QUILT DETAILS

Traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt 

The finished quilt measures 72 inches x 80 inches.

Started: May 2019.

English Paper Pieced.

46 Hexagon Flowers.

1¼ inch hexagons.

A total of 1440 hexagons.

Background fabric:

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Snow.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

 1¼ Inch Hexagon Papers

1¼ Inch Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads.

A Traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt - 72 inches x 80 inches.
English Paper Pieced.

The fabrics used for this quilt are all from stash; some fabrics have been part of my stash for some time, some are more recent additions. My fabric selection for this quilt includes medium scale graphic prints (like stripes and gingham) which create striking movement, as well as medium and small scale floral prints, and stash basics (dots). Numerous fabric designs have been fussy cut to feature a design element or to create a graphic element. All fabrics used are quilting cottons, and all solid fabrics are Robert Kaufman Kona Cottons.

I continue to glue baste my papers/fabrics for English Paper Piecing and have no trouble keeping the papers in place for as long as is required, nor do I have difficulty removing the papers. Many of the hexagon papers used for this quilt were previously used to piece my Liberty of London Hexagon Quilt. All the photos shown here are of the quilt top after the papers have been removed, except for along the very edges of the quilt top where papers were left in so that I had the option of making the quilt top bigger should I wish to do so (this now seems unlikely😄).

Thank you for your patience everyone! I really do appreciate that you continue to stop by to check in on what I have been up to.

Happy Stitching!
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
More Red Pepper Quilts English Paper Pieced Quilts:
A Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt - September 2018
Mandolin Quilt - May 2018
Liberty Stars Quilt - January 2018
The Daisy Chain Quilt - November 2016
Stretched Hexies Quilt - April 2019

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

An English Paper Pieced - Low Volume - Stretched Hexies Quilt: Part 2

My Stretched Hexies Quilt is finally finished. I may have spent more time thinking about basting and quilting this quilt than the actual doing .... I am such a procrastinator! Of course, the task was not nearly as ominous as I had imagined it to be and I am really very pleased with how the finished quilt looks. Quilting my own hand pieced quilt tops still raises the level of quilting anxiety but I am always happy to embrace the challenge even if it takes that bit longer to get started on the basting and then the quilting.  I have lots of photos to share so please do bear with me!

The quilt has been quilted with straight vertical lines only. I love the simplicity of straight line quilting, both the actual task and the look (and feel) of the finished quilt that closely spaced lines offers! The lines are spaced ½" apart and run from top to bottom edge of the quilt. I have used a quilting guide attached to the walking foot to assist with keeping my lines nice and straight (by running the guide along previous quilting lines). It took many hours of slow stitching, multiple bobbin changes, and lots of quilt wrangling to complete the quilting but it was well worth the effort

When quilting I start at one side of the quilt and work my way to the center of the quilt. I then turn the quilt around and work my way from the center of the quilt to the edge of the quilt. I also start by quilting the lines more widely spaced apart - like 1 inch apart - and then go back and fill in the lines in between.

For the back of the quilt I have used a single floral and strawberry design cotton fabric from the Strawberry Biscuit collection by Elea Lutz for Penny Rose Fabrics. I bought enough yardage of this print for a quilt back and it has been patiently waiting for just the right quilt top ... and this was it.

And for the binding I have used a soft pink and white stripe - Essential Stripe in Baby Pink for Moda Fabrics. (It's not the first time I have used this pretty stripe fabric for binding - see this quilt).

QUILT DETAILS

Stetched Hexies Quilt

The finished quilt measures 49.5 inches x 60 inches.

English Paper Pieced.

710 Stretched Hexagons (Coffin Shapes)

(Custom cut papers from Imprezzio).

Stretched Hexagon measurements:

Short Sides: 1 inch.

Long Sides: 1½ inches.

Fabrics Used: Quilting Cotton

Started: February 2019.

Finished: April 2019.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

710 Coffin Shape (Stretched Hexagons) Paper pieces.

Coffin Shape Acrylic Template with 3/8" seam allowance.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads

in cream (655).
More quilt top construction and piecing tips here:
https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2019/03/stretched-hexies-quilt-english-paper-pieced.html

This quilt is available for purchase from my Etsy Store.

You will find all the listing details here:
Low Volume ~Stretched Hexagon Quilt 

AND new:

English Paper Piecing Kits
Custom cut Stretched Hexagon papers
plus acrylic template with 3/8" seam allowance
are available for pre-ordering from my Etsy Store.
(limited time only)
SOLD OUT

I have loved working on this quilt! It has been the perfect portable and on the go project over the Summer months. I am busy working on the next EPP quilt and hope to have more to show you of that project soon.

As always, thank you for stopping by! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me: redpepperquilts@gmail.com.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS

Stretched Hexies Quilt - Part 1 Work in Progress
Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store:

Stretched Hexagons - English Paper Piecing - Quilt Kit

Low Volume Stretched Hexies Quilt - The Finished Quilt

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.