Quilters Bearing Gifts

I've been doing a bunch of this lately....packing and unpacking. My travel schedule has been heavy. That makes for lots of work, but also for opportunities to connect with people and learn from them. I've been in Albuquerque and Minneapolis over the last couple of weeks speaking and teaching and both were inspirational experiences.

Everywhere I go I'm experiencing the generosity and spirit of the quilting community.  In Minneapolis, the MQG members volunteered to be my testers for the Hexagon class I'll be teaching at QuiltCon.  I learned so much from them and because of their feedback the class will be much better for it.  They were amazing sewers and mastered the cutting and sewing technique in no time.  That was a gift in itself, but in addition they presented me with a bouquet of fabric roses.  Each person contributed a piece of fabric in my favorite color.

I don't know how they knew I had a pitiful needle case, but no longer.  Karen made this exquisite one for me complete with needles, grippers, and a fabulous pair of thread snips.

I'll always remember this trip.  The fabric on the needle case was carefully chosen to maintain those good memories!

In addition to my class, Sewtropolis, an amazing fabric store in Minneapolis, hosted a book signing and trunk show.  I was happy to see a familiar face in the audience and throughout the weekend I was able to connect with old online friends and make new friends as well. Thanks to Flaun and Nikol for organizing the trip and turning one little email exchange into a fabulous weekend!

In Albuquerque I did a talk and trunk show and did some teaching as well.  These are some talented students and we had a wonderful day!  During a break we all got inked.

My visit was part of the four year anniversary celebration for Hip Stitch, another great fabric shop and the headquarters for the Albuquerque Modern Quilt Guild.

 I arrived at Hip Stitch and found that the shopping center had been "quilt bombed" which is quilter talk for wrapping pillars in quilt tops.  Amazing!

The local guild set up a mini quilt show in the venue and had a wonderful catered affair for my talk and trunk show.  I returned to the hotel to find flowers in my room (by sneaky little quilty elves) and a handmade basket, Lois's amazing handiwork, filled with goodies to welcome me.

I was treated to a little taste of New Mexico.  Being a coffee addict, I was pretty excited to try that Pinon coffee!

Bralia, who works at the store, used some of her special Samoan fabric to make me these great microwave mits and...

this potato baking bag.  Who knew you could get really great baked potatoes out of the microwave?

You can see how much fun we all had.  Thanks to Suzanne, Carla, Melissa and the whole staff at Hip Stitch for making it an amazing weekend!

I haven't had much time for sewing lately.  Things will settle down eventually and I can continue my mini obsession with hexagons.  I have these cut for another low volume hexie quilt, but this one will be much larger.  I'm hoping this will be a couch quilt in the new condo.  Still no news on when we might move, but I'm trying to stay hopeful.

Suitcase is packed again.  Off I go.

Granddaughter Star and Hexagon Portrait

The Granddaughter Star is finished and took its place on the ladder as all new quilts do.

I added a small appliqued hexagon in the center...it needed something there.

I'm not really satisfied with the quilting, but it's done and sometimes that's satisfaction enough.  Thanks Kate, for talking me out of ripping out the quilting!

I did another design for the back, Hexagon Portrait.  It's for those who like the look of machine pieced hexies, but don't want to sew 200 together to make a quilt. (only 12 hexies on this side)

I like the back more than the front.  Simple, yet still interesting.

The Granddaughter Star

Over the last couple of months I've been trying to get all my class samples done, handouts ready and class plans written. I'm excited for my new class, Machine Piecing Hexagons. I think I have some good info about cutting and piecing hexes as well as lots of tips to make this technique work smoothly for quilters. I'm rolling out this class in Minneapolis at Sewtropolis on September 15th and I'll also be teaching the 1/2 day version at Quilt Con.

In addition to all the technique info, I want to give folks a bunch of modern hexagon inspiration, so I've been working hard on some modern hexagon designs. I can't wait to show you all of them, but for now, here's one of my favs. I'm calling it "The Granddaughter Star."

I really like this design...lots of graphic punch!

I only have the last 4 columns left to piece, but I don't know when I'll get back to it.  I sure hope to have it finished for the Minneapolis folks!

Good news!  Alissa let me know that the Action Kivu fundraiser has been extended one more day. We've done really well, but haven't reached our goal.  Every dollar counts for this organization, so now is the time to give if you haven't, give a little bit more, or if you happen to know Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, (or anyone else you think might want to support this cause), ask them to click that donate button.

Sewing Hexagons by Machine Without Marking

A couple of things to remember before starting to machine piece hexagons with this method:

*Cut your hexagons accurately. Perfectly cut hexagons will help you achieve the precision required for this method.

*Sew consistent 1/4" seam allowances. A 1/4" foot or patchwork foot is helpful. I'm able to place my needle 1/4" in by lining up the edge of the fabric with the edge of the presser foot.

*You may want to reduce your stitch length to 2.0.  Smaller stitches will help you hit your stop points more accurately.

*Don't press until all hexagons are sewn.  I know this seems counter intuitive, but I found that it's easier to sweep seams out of the way when they aren't pressed down.

*Be sure not to backstitch into the seam allowance.  Even one stitch will make a difference!  It's better to stop a tish in front of the stitching line rather than stitch too far.

*The KEY TO THIS METHOD is your stitching lines.  Instead of marking those 1/4" points, the stitching lines will tell you where to start and where to stop sewing.

*This method works sewing individual hexagons onto a column or sewing two columns together.  For the purpose of this tutorial, we'll sew one column and then add one hexagon at a time.

*Relax...this really does work.  It's going to feel odd at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Take a deep breath and grab some hexagons and let's get started.  I used black thread for the purpose of this tutorial, but you'll want to use matching thread.

Step 1 Sew a column
Start by sewing the hexagons together to make a column.

Sew from edge to edge as shown and backstitch at each end.  Don't press.  Repeat and make your column as long as you'd like.  For the pink quilt above I sewed 10 hexagons together to make my columns.

Step 2 - Sew Seam #1
Place a hexagon in the second column as shown.

Place the hexagons right sides together along seam #1 lining up edges and ends of the hexagons.  Notice how there is a stitching line on the left side and no stitching on the right.  (If you don't see a stitching line flip the entire piece over!) Make sure the seam on the left is swept away from the hexagon you are going to sew. Pin if desired.

Position the hexagon under the presser foot.  Drop the needle on the stitching line 1/4" from the edge.  Notice how the presser foot is lined up with the edge which will automatically place the needle 1/4" in.  I move the flywheel by hand to make sure the needle drops right on the stitching line.  Sew from this point a couple of stitches, backstitch the SAME number of stitches.  Continue sewing to the end and backstitch. You can sew to the end because there is no stitching line to stop you.

Step 3 - Sew the next adjacent seam (Seam #2)
Turn the hexagon right side up and the first seam is finished.  Time for seam 2!

Place the hexagons right sides together along seam #2 again lining up edges and ends of the hexagons.  Sweep any seams away from the hexagon so that the two hexagons lay flat and are aligned.  Pin if desired.  Notice again that there is stitching on one side and no stitching on the other side.  This time I decided to stitch from non stitching line side toward the stitching.

Start sewing at the end, sew forward a few stitches, backstitch and continue sewing until you reach the stitching line on the other side.  The stitching line means STOP!  The picture below also shows how the seams and the other hexagon is swept out of the way.

It is better to stop just in front of the stitching line rather than sew past it.  Notice how I stopped just before I reached the stitching.  Be sure to backstitch at this point.

This is how your intersection should look when sewn.

Step 4 Add a hexagon to column two
Place the next hexagon in sewing position in the second column.

Place this hexagon right sides together on the one above.  Notice in the picture below how no stitching lines are visible.  Don't be fooled.  There is a stitching line, but you need to flip the entire piece to see it.  Flip the piece over.  Feel for stitching lines...find them and make sure you can see them before you sew!

There is the stitching line. Make sure your hexagons are aligned and pin if desired.  Make sure the seam is swept away from the hexagon you're sewing.

Sew this seam just like Step 1.  Drop your needle on the stitching line, sew forward, backstitch, continue sewing to the end and backstitch.  Remember, you can sew all the way to the end because there is no stitching line to stop you.

Step 5 Continue sewing adjacent seams.
Flip the hexagon right side up.  The next step is to sew the next adjacent seam.

Place the hexagons right sides together along the seam making sure they are aligned.  Sweep the seams away on both ends.  Flip the entire piece over so that you can see the stitching lines.  Notice this time that there are stitching lines on both sides.  This means you have one START point and one STOP point.   Sweep the seams on both sides AWAY from the hexagon you are sewing.

Drop your needle on the stitching line 1/4" in, sew a couple of stitches, backstitch, continue sewing and stop on or just before the stitching line.  Backstitch.

These are the most difficult seams to sew.  Make sure your hexagons are aligned and lay flat.  I pin these seams to make sure everything stays aligned before I sew.

Continue sewing adjacent seams as shown above.  Be sure to check for stitching lines.  Repeat the process for each additional hexagon.

When all the hexagons are sewn in, turn the piece right side down and finger press the seams into position.  Trim threads at this point.

Place the piece right side down and press.

**Sweeping seams away from the hexagon you're sewing means sweep the seams and everything else too...in other words, any other hexagons need to be moved out of the way so that the two you are sewing lay flat and are aligned. You don't want to catch any other fabric in your seams.

**This tutorial demonstrates sewing one hexagon at a time. This method also works with two columns of hexagons. Sew as many columns as desired. You'll sew one seam at a time just like above except most of the seam will have a stitching line stop and start point and you'll have a floppy column of hexagons to keep out of the way.

I recommend you practice one at a time and when you feel comfortable with that, go for the column.

Many thanks to blogless Elaine for sharing this method with me! You're the best, my friend.

If you have questions, please ask in the comments or drop me an email. I'll do my best to help.