Hexagon Tree for do. Good Stitches

Look, look!  I had such fun making this:

It’s my block for the Love circle of do. Good Stitches, a charity quilting bee.  This month, Ara Jane asked us for tree blocks on white.  My head was spinning with so much freedom until I landed on a bowl full of hexagons that have been languishing in my kitchen…

I arranged the hexagons randomly on a white block and then sketched the tree trunks and branches in between with pencil.  Then, I removed the hexagons and machine stitched the outline of the trunk and branches in medium brown thread.  The idea to fill in the tree with free-form stitching came from Meg’s book “Sew Liberated“.  She makes some cool tree pillows with trunks like these.  Meg suggested free motion stitching using a stabilizer fabric underneath.  After some trial and error, I decided not to mess with stabilizer or free motion.  I stitched this with a simple clear presser foot.  It was quick and fun!  Last I machine appliqued the hexagons in place.

But, guess what, I need to make TWO blocks!  Hmm… what to do next?

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This Little Potholder

Phew!  This little potholder took a looooong time to make.  Now, I really enjoy handwork, but piecing hexagons does not seem to be my cup of tea.  It’s SO slow going.  And, is it just me or are hexagons sometimes cuter before they are stitched together?  (Please don’t throw things at me, all you hexie lovers!)

Well, I truly needed a potholder, so this fits the bill.  I like this style made for folding.  There’s an oval one like it in Patchwork Style, and I also have one by Kitchenaid in the same shape.  However, I have a feeling that my next potholder is going to be more like one of these beauties from Flickr:

1. New potholders, 2. Patches potholders, 3. YIP 365.208 :: Potholders

So, I kinda like the back of my hexagon potholder better.  See:

Some scrap hexies along with linen tape jazz it up, and my quilting lines were drawn from the print design.  I hand applied non-bias binding, hence the puckers.  But, you know, I like the puckers.

Now I did join Heather’s Flickr group {Handsome} Hexies – The Swap.  Whenever round 2 begins, I’ll be basting and trading 25 adorable hexagons. BUT, this time I’m not piecing them together.  No siree.  I’m going to applique them, probably by machine.  Because, that’s just So. Much. Easier.

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Ultimate Hexagon How To

It’s time!  I’ve been just ogling all the hexy goodness out there for too long.  What, don’t know about the craze?  Check out this Flickr group – The Handsome Hexies – but be prepared to catch the hexagon bug!  They’re cute sewn together, cute appliqued on anything and darn cute just sitting in a stack.  LOVE!

Ready to start making hexagons?  Here’s a smattering of the best how to make hexagon resources on the web.

Video Tutorial

I’ll dub Melanie of Texas Freckles the “Hexagon Queen.”  Her 1000+ hexagon quilt in progress is going to be smashing and her tutorial is my absolute fave.  Watch her hexagon video tutorials to learn how to baste and piece hexagons in a tried and true, classic technique.  Melanie uses paper templates, hand basting and the super-speedy whip stitch for piecing.  I guess that’s why she’s been able to make 1,016 hexagons and counting!

Printable PDF Tutorial

If you prefer a handy, printable guide, checkout this PDF hexagon tutorial by Amy of Badskirt.  Amy’s technique is similar to Melanie’s, but she uses the ladder stitch for piecing.  Some say the ladder stitch hides stitches on the finished side better than the whip stitch.  The PDF also includes some fun piecing designs and templates for cutting your own paper pieces.

Compare Techniques

Will you cut out paper pieces or buy plastic templates?  Cut your fabric to hexagon shapes or to squares?  Whip stitch, ladder stitch or running stitch for piecing?  What about assembling a large design?  If you’re an info junkie like me, you’ll adore Adventures in Hexagons from The Sometimes Crafter.  Christina’s excellent pictures and notes on what worked for her will help you choose your favorite technique without all that pesky trial and error.

Browse Hexagon WIP

The Hexagon Queen (aka Texas Freckles) is hosting a Hexagon Charm Quilt Piece-Along, where you’ll find a great list of other bloggers making hexagon quilts.  She’s also got a handy list of hexagon how to links at the end of that post.  What else could you need?

Printable Hexagon Paper Templates

Oh, how about a template to print so that you can start making hexagons NOW!  Texas Freckles’ Easy Cut templates for 1″ and 1 1/2″ hexagons look just right.  Off I go!

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