It has been a while since I stitched up a hexie for my hand-pieced Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt project...so long in fact, when I picked it up the other night while baseball was on, I couldn't quite remember what order I used to join those darn shapes in the most efficient manner. I got the flower done but it really bugged me that I had become that rusty in such a short amount of time! I've been waiting to cut more fabric for the petals AND I need more paper templates (on order) so once I get those two tasks checked off, I'll be able to get back to my daily hand-sewing.
That frustration led me to pull out my two new English Paper Piecing books. The first is Happy Hexies which is a fine little book of 12 hand pieced hexagon projects. There are some "basics" on tools, hexie sewing, and finishing techniques. The projects include a tote, tea cozy and mats, table topper, mini quilt and a couple of pillows (you can see a few on the cover). They are all really cute and fast ways to incorporate a taste of hexies into sewing and certainly less intensive than a full-size hand sewn quilt! I might just pick one or two of them to do while plugging away at my 175 florets and I can use up some of my practice flowers from last year. I had originally started with a sort of 1930s vibe stash of fabric so they just might be really cute in a tea cozy or placemat.
When I placed the order I added in Mollie Makes Patchwork. While the reviews weren't stellar with this one, it was so inexpensive I figured it would get me free shipping while costing less than a magazine at the drug store. When it arrived I was actually quite pleased! It is a hardcover book with 158 pages of sweet projects and techniques instruction. Many different quilt blocks are featured, like a nine-patch, rail fence, dresden, pinwheels, log cabin, etc. so there is a lot to experiment with. I could envision using this book with my grandchildren (when that day might come???) as the diagrams are good and the designs aren't too complicated. There are indeed a couple of hexagon items including a quilt (on the cover!) and a fun apron. For a few dollars, I think this book was a great deal (and it just may remind me in what order I need to sew!).
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