New Plan for the Hexagons

Remember this?

We all had a debate back in June about the half hexagons along the sides. I finally decided to take out the ones in the corners, but leave the rest. They were not easy to remove, which reassures me that the whole thing will be very sturdy!

My plan at the time was to put this panel in the centre of an appliqued border from Lori Smith's book, Fat Quarter Quilting. This is the quilt I had in mind:

Part of the delay, though, has been that while I really like the idea of the vines and birds, I don't love the flowers themselves. This month I started to play around with something that I might like better, and this is what I came up with:

This is just a little sketch on a 4" x 6" notepad. I have found that it is much easier to make a small sketch, and then enlarge it all later. Also, with these notepads the paper is thin enough that you can put a previous sketch underneath and trace the parts you like and revise the rest. I went through three iterations on this with very little fuss. I did the same thing when I made the template for the flowers.

I thought quite a bit about making the flowers in the borders from hexagons too. I figured that using hexagons that were half the size of the ones in the centre panel would be the right scale. Those hexagons are 3/4", so the flower hexagons would be 3/8". I actually like the challenge of using the small pieces, but when I auditioned some hexagons beside the centre panel, it all felt too stiff. It's just too much, and I like the contrast between the symmetrical hexagon centre and the looser, "fluffier" round-petaled flowers better. I don't have a photo of that, unfortunately. You will have to take my word for it!

Tomorrow I'll show you my debate about the background fabric.

Allegheny Santa

Just a quick finish to show you today.  I've been working on this while waiting for my replacement bulb for my sewing lamp.  It's one of the many Santa ornaments that Mill Hill has produced over the years.  This is one of the three Appalachian Santas.

Usually I work on these while on the road.  They are great take-along projects, and can be done in a small space and with any reasonable light.  I've done quite a few over the years!

In any case, my new bulb arrived yesterday, so now I am spoiled for choice while I consider what's next!

You Know it was Cheap...

These were sold side by side at the store, but you can see they are probably not both licenced by Maywood Studio!  I am pretty sure, though, that they were both less than $5/yd.  Rite Aid stopped carrying fabric shortly after I bought these - maybe this dodgy supplier was the reason! The fabric quality is ok, with no obvious flaws, so I am happy to have them.

I have been working out the yardage I will need to complete the RVQG BOM.  I bought one yard of the stars, and only half a yard of the moons, and both have already been cut into for another project.  The blocks will all finish at 12" square, and many are applique so I will need the whole square.  But I have worked out that if I piece some of the backgrounds in quarters, there will be enough.  And actually, that will probably be more interesting too!

In any case, I intend to do the whole thing from my stash.  I have plenty of batiks that I've bought over the years "just because," so this is my chance to use them!