How small can I go?

1/2" hexies. How cute is that!

Charm-ing Hexies

I've got hexies-on-the-brain. What can I say??   :)

This okay photo is the center of my latest project.....which consists of over 300 two inch hexies, with no two fabrics being the same. Or at least I hope so. I've spent hours going over the center looking for possible duplicates. I'm pretty sure I found them all.  :)

Now that everything is pinned to my design wall in a manner I find pleasing, it's time to get the rows labeled and ready for sewing. The photo below shows the labeling in progress. My labeling system is pretty simple. Every row has a letter designation. Every hexie in that row is labeled with row letter and block number plus annotated as to what gets sewn to what. I'm hoping this simple system will keep me organized enough to where the sewing is enjoyable and the center is sewn together exactly as it was put together on the design wall.

Hexie Update

My first hexie flowers were joined by a few more......

......along with a few leaves and a large rick rack vine. The background is made up of 3" squares. A multitude of fabrics was used. So far everything had come from my rather large stash of 6" squares....until it came to borders. I knew what I wanted to do but couldn't find the perfect fabric in my stash. So off to the quilt shop I went.

And this is what I found.

The perfect inner and outer border fabrics. Plus the inner border fabric will be used for the binding. In the photo above, the borders are sewn on. The hexies in the outer border are simply pinned in place. I'm still playing with placement. I know I want to use them in the outer border just haven't quite figured out the "how" part yet. I'm sure it will all fall in place with a bit more playing at the design wall. :)

On the "sheepy" side of things....all the lambs have been born and are doing well. Shearing is nearly done. I will be shearing the final 3 ewes this morning. Tons of fiber to go through and get ready for sale. While I would love to keep it all there is simply too much for me to use....so I will be sharing the wealth. And there is a wealth of beautiful fleeces, Shetland as well as alpaca, that will be available soon.

Ending this post with a few lamb shots....

Cookie and her twin Hamish.

Rocky with his twin Flower and their mama Willow.

Flowers of a Different Sort

And that would be hexie flowers!!! Thought I would do a couple for practice. Try different stitches, needles, and thread to see which combination I prefer. Here is my first hexie flower.

And my second.

Both are made using 1" hexies. I used my Silhoutte Cameo to cut out my papers. Worked great!!!

Hooked on Hexies

Wow. It's been a rather long time since I posted......the beginning of March.......and here April is nearly gone. Lots has been going on which is pretty normal considering I have ewes who are due to lamb soon and shearing right around the corner. Weather has been kinda crazy. We actually had snow couple weeks back. Looked like winter again. Everything was covered in white, including the trees. Very pretty but so not what I wanted to see in April.

Was in town enjoying one of our warmer days (and doing a bit of thrift shop hopping) when I saw a quilt store that I hadn't been in since it opened some years back. Was curious to see how it had grown  since the last time I was in so I stopped. It was a very pleasant surprise. While the shop is small it had expanded its fabric selection. There was a nice assortment of patterns (two came home with me) and a nicely stocked notions selection. Lots of beautiful quilts to see. I got pulled in by this small hexagon sample. It was done in reds and blues. Really caught my eye....and my curiosity. Ending up going to the counter with a package of 2" hexagon papers in my hand.....among other things.  :)  ( What quilter  is going to walk into an enticing new quilt shop and only buy one thing?)  The lady that helped me was amazing. She showed me how to prep the papers and sew the hexagons together. Yes!! A new-to-me quilting technique to try. I went home, pulled out my stash of 6" squares, and started playing. Started off with this.....

....which turned into this (and had to be moved from my design board to my design wall)......

......which morphed into the beginnings of a charm quilt.  :}

Another finish.....

.....and another photo taken with my iPad.  =)   This one has been waiting a very, very long time to be finished. The blocks are dimensional applique and I had started hand quilting it (the center). Then, for some reason no longer remembered, it was set aside. I opted to finish it on the machine (sashing and outer border). The fabric I had originally set aside for the binding was not to be found. It was off to the fabric shop for a new binding. While the gold was not what I had originally planned I think it looks nice. Really brings out the gold in the blocks. Maybe there are times when it's better to set a project aside for a bit.....

Finishes

Bertie's Winter is done!! Love, love, love the way it turned out.

Here's a blast from the past.....Sheep in the Willows. I had started hand quilting it (big stitch), but had to put it aside due to hand pain. Thought it would pass, but never did (may have carpal tunnel...still waiting for testing appts and such). Anyway, I decided to pull it back out. Spent an afternoon pulling out all the hand stitching and two more afternoons machine quilting and binding it. It is now done. WoolHooo!!! Love the way it turned out.  =)

I have moved on to yet another "blast from the past" and hope to have that completely finished as well. That's for another post.  =)