Comments On "How You Sew Your Hexies Together"

NOTE: Thank all of you for your comments! Your name were put into a hat and the winner of the mystery prize is:

Carole writes:

"I sew my hexies together edge to edge--thereby NOT taking a chance on having accidentally gone through paper and /or having my stitches showing on the right sides.

Sewing edge to edge permits me to use up threads I may not have used up otherwise. Traditionally, it didn't matter as I have seen vintage quilts with the stitches exposed.

And another note--I no longer use glue as I don't like the results.Often, I found I was going through paper because the glue permits folding right up to edge of paper not permitting me to *catch* one or two threads :-) and/or I was trying to stitch through the glue if I attempted to stitch edge to edge instead of face to face ;-) clear as mud -right? :-) edge to edge works for me :-)"

Melinda adds:

"I have one of the bobbin donuts from Superior Threads and use a thread that is the same color family as my hexies and I rarely see the stitches. I recently took a class from Mickey Dupre and she sews them together flat but I find it very awkward and fold mine."

Sandy says:

"I have always sewn my hexies with a whip stitch, right sides together, lining up edges. I do not mind seeing my stitches. For me, this adds authenticity to the hand made process/product. Also for me the whole process of quilting is to see the stitches, whether by hand or machine."

First, you can never have too many hexies. But you can have too many paper piecing templates still inside the hexie.

 

Pat suggests:

"Think outside the box. So far I have used these lil guys on a purse, checkbook cover, pouch, mug rug, and ongoing quilt project. And I've shared some sets in a swap.

 I made myself a vow to not buy anymore templates. Instead work on the ongoing quilt and remove templates as I can."

 

Handy Way To Work With Your Hexies

Many of us store our working hexies in shoeboxes, divided plastic containers, etc.

Why not use muffin pans? Great for sorting your hexies when sewing together. They stack for multi-colored projects and can be purchased at your local dollar store.

How Do You Sew Your Hexies Together?

Over the years, I have always seen hexies sewn together with fronts together and a whip or ladder stitch.

Maybe I'm the only one, but yes, I do see stitches showing in the front with this method. The Scrappy Appleyard shows the hexies butted side by side and sewn from the back with a much cleaner look.

This leads me to the question--how do you sew your hexies together? Any tips or suggestions to pass along to other hexie lovers? Email me at 2013hexagonswap@gmail.com with your comments. They will be posted here to share with others.

If you send me your suggestions/photos (in .JPEG format please!) by midnight July 25th, I will draw one name out of a hat for a prize!

Check out the tutorial on The Scrappy Appleyard for more on this alternative method:

http://thescrappyappleyard.blogspot.com/2010/11/hexagon-tutorial-with-plastic-templates.html

17th Hexie Swap--sign up now!

Time to select our themes for the 17th Hexie Swap!

 Email me your top THREE choices to 2013hexagonswap@gmail.com. The poll will stay up until July 26th; the official sign ups begin immediately and ends on August 9th. The swap is due in my hands no later than September 19^th. The top votes win!

 Guidelines would be the same as the previous swaps, but always feel free to contact me if you have any questions on fabrics. You can check out the blog at http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/ for past swap guidelines. We are looking for small prints to make the most of our hexie quilts.

The terrific gals at Paperpieces have been kind enough to extend their 20% discount for all merchandise purchased (shipping not included in the discount). Visit their website at http://www.paperpieces.com/

 Vote for: (running total of votes will be listed to the right of the theme on the hexie blog):

*Stashbusters prints (like in the 16 past swaps)

 *TRUE 1930's repros-no children’s novelties

*TRUE 1930’s repros-only children’s novelties

*TRUE Civil War repros

*Batiks (must prewash your fabrics for this theme, please)

*TOT (tone on tone)

*TRUE black and white prints

*Spring colors (pastel colors)

*Summer colors (bright colors of summer flowers)

*Fall colors (deep reds, maroon, dark oranges, golds, browns, etc.)

*Winter colors (white and blues)

*TRUE red, white and blue prints

*BRIGHT prints

*Small floral prints

*Children's novelty prints

*Novelty prints-not children’s

*Solids

*Neutrals (black, cream or white)

*TRUE red and white prints

*TRUE blue and white prints

*Shades of blue

*Shades of pink

*Shades of green

*Shades of purple

*Small print polka dots

*Christmas prints

We Have A Winner!

A special thank you to all who participated in our photo contest! We do have a winner..drum roll, please...

 

Congratulations, Teresa!

 

She received a prize of an L.L. Bean tote bag monogrammed with her name for toting her hexie projects.

Photo from PatV82

 



PatV82 shares with us "This is from the hundreds of hexies we have all been swapping. I got the idea from a book you shared with me, Kathleen. I'm about halfway through with at least two more colors scheme areas." Looking good, Pat.

I started it in December of  2014 and included it in the UFO challenge when I joined on OCOF. 

Shares from Christelle in France

 Our dear friend Christelle from sends us three photos.

The first is how she organizes her hexies prior to sending them to me for her swap. I spy dots! Almost pretty to use, aren't they?

Her second photo shows her use of the black and white swap. I love the pop of color in the centers and borders!

 The last photo is is Christelle's first Stashbuster quilt. She selected colors to make a rainbow wheel and added 1" diamonds in black to join them together.

Christelle also sent me a postcard from her "Postcrossing" meeting held in Toulouse earlier this month. It was especially nice to have three of her friends, Valeraine, Emilie and Camille add their thoughts. Such a beautiful scene of the city.

If you wonder what "Postcrossing" is, I did a bit of research. From the Postcrossing website, "The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world. So, you do not get one back from the person you sent a postcard to. This is not pen pals. The chances you will get one from somebody you sent one to is out of this galaxy!

If you would like to participate, check out their website at https://www.postcrossing.com/about

I just signed up and my first postcard will be going to Hamburg, Germany!

Christelle is also a lover of ribbons and trims, and she is currently is a contest on the Crafty Ribbon website http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/challenge-121-rainbow.html

The theme is rainbows--and she made a beautiful entry using ribbons and buttons on a cloud. Just makes you smile, doesn't it? :)

 

In closing, Christelle is excited to tell us that in Sepember she will be giving  paper piecing classes in a very well know haberdashery in her town Toulouse. Christelle, please be sure to share some pictures with us and also to let them know about our swap. There is no reason you cannot send them all in one package to save money.