Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Hexie Layout

I started making crumb hexies back in 2015, as a lark.  Something to do with the pieces of fabric that seemed too big to throw out but too small to put back in my stash.  I had a bunch of extra flannel, which I used as batting.  Additionally, I wanted a project (eventually) that I could work on while hanging out with my friends, like they did with knitting or crocheting.  I created a pair of templates and started sewing these bound little blocks.

Obviously, the pick-up-and-go portion of this project was way far off.  Somewhere, maybe a year or two into making these, I decided I wanted this to be a throw quilt.  I did some calculations how many pieces I'd need (and some idea how long it would take) and went out to buy enough flannel to complete the set. 

The last time I cut flannel pieces, I finished off the yardage I had bought.  The end was in sight!  As I paired up my latest batch of hexies to fleece, I had only two pre-cut fleece pieces left.  So close!  I dug through my leftovers and cobbled together two more hexies, then cut more backing and stitched together my very last dozen hexies.


The rest were all jammed in a basket.  As I unpacked them from the basket, they looked a little like an inchworm.  298 pieces.  I can't believe it.  I managed to cut and assemble the exact number I needed.  When I laid them out on the floor, I was certain I'd either have a few extra or more likely, be one or two short.  Doesn't it look terrific?

It's a noisy quilt.  I put off stitching it together until I had all the pieces because I wanted to impose a little order on it.  I had no control over the middles, but I decided to lay out the quilt based on the backing/binding (which I couldn't do until they were all cut).  I ended up with a lot of pale colors, whites and creams.  There was lots of blue, a fair amount of green, a splash of red and a little yellow/orange/gold.  I planned to run the colors from one corner across the quilt.  But when I sat down with all the hexies, I started with the black, grey and brown, and moved out from the center.  So the colors run in a circular manner around the quilt.

Actually, now that I look at it, my black is hardly in the center.  Of course, there's lots of fabric that isn't predominantly one color.  Yeah - chaos.  But I'm quite pleased with this chaos.

I came up with a basic assembly plan, pinned pieces together, pulled the quilt off the floor.  I am laughing at the irony - I finally have a project that can travel and have nowhere to go.  Ah, the best-laid plans of mice and men....

Sharing with
Love Laugh Quilt - Monday Making
My Quilt Infatuation - Needle & Thread Thursday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

8 comments :

  1. how big did the individual hexie become? This is so cool!

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  2. Can you explain more about the flannel? I thought it was to be a solid batting, then I wondered if you were batting each hexie before joining. Also where did the fleece come in? I've done quite a bit of EPP, so I'm eager to understand here! Thank you. This is a very cool quilt.

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  3. That is neat as can be, Sally! The kind of quilt that I would like to sit under and look at every piece up close. Are you stitching these together by hand?

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  4. Sally - I am not a quilter, but I have read enough quilting blog posts in the last three years to know what 298 tiny hexies means! WOW. And yes, it does look awesome - I think there is a lesson in here somewhere - in chaos lies beauty.

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  5. Thank you so much for your message with complete info! Its an idea I've never seen before, and now I expect I have to try it! How generous you are

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  6. I have a pile of bigger hexies somewhere, but where exactly, no idea. Mine are done in the same colorway of red, orange, yellow and orange. I'll get back to them sometime, but I still have to figure out where they are so I can direct my husband to locate them. That might be harder than actually sewing them. Oh well.

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  7. Your crumb hexies are amazing! Why, it is as if I am looking down a kaleidoscope at dazzling patterns. How fabulous they all look. Now for the sewing of them together. Enjoy!

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