I continue to hand stitch little hexies like mad in the hopes that one day this year
Minnie will become a flimsy. Many of the units that I had sewn together earlier lean to the lighter colours so I've tried to work in more medium to dark prints to balance things out. And, my hexie box is like the gift that keeps on giving - I still haven't had to cut more hexies!
Because I am not doing EPP my units end up looking like a bit of an ungodly mess when they are all together. The upside - I don't have to baste the hexies to paper or spend time removing them, I can simply sit in and stitch.
It doesn't take long to go from this...
to this. My secret? A good hot iron and a little steam, working from the back of the piece. I know that using steam is frowned upon but it works like a charm giving me nice crisp edges, and I don't have any issues with distortion. I like to iron them into a pattern where the centre hexies sit flat on the back side. This is what it looks like on the shorter units.
The longer units are a bit easier to press.
Here's a front view of the same unit.
I keep thinking that I'm nearing the end but all of these smaller units still need to be made into larger setting triangles and then bordered with another round of hexies, so I think my cutter and I will become fast friends one of these days....M
3 comments:
This is really neat, to see how you can do hexies not using EPP. I don't think I realized that your beautiful Minnie wasn't EPP. It's really giving me food for thought, that maybe I *will* do another hexie project at some point.
I can’t wait to see these gorgeous colours & patterns come together, Marie! I’m amazed that you can piece this with out paper, but you are a quilting rock star! I found hexies so relaxing to make ... might have to make another quilt!
I am so glad to see someone else hand piecing hexies, not EPP. Although I press differently, what a timesaver! Congratulations! I've hand pieced lots of quilts this way and absolutely love it! I can get to the good stuff sooner. For those still on the fence, I recommend anything by Linda Franz; both she and her books are charming and delightful and full of good information. Check it out! Love all the quilts you and your friends make!
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