Edit:

I think I have it fixed now. What a mess!! Once again, I lost comments. So sorry about that!

*******************

I had no idea that making my profile link up with Google+ would cause it so that my readers had to have a Google+ profile in order to leave comments, so I switched the setting back to the way it was. Thank you, Sue, for pointing that out to me. =) The downside of switching back is all the comments that were left today, are now gone. =( Sorry about that....

Russ' dad is doing well. Thank you for the prayers!! They removed the ventilator and he is resting comfortably. If all continues to go well, he will be out of ICU in the morning. 

As for how much I got done on my hexagon quilt....

Not much.

And that is okay...=)

Edit:

I think I have it fixed now. What a mess!! Once again, I lost comments. So sorry about that!

*******************

I had no idea that making my profile link up with Google+ would cause it so that my readers had to have a Google+ profile in order to leave comments, so I switched the setting back to the way it was. Thank you, Sue, for pointing that out to me. =) The downside of switching back is all the comments that were left today, are now gone. =( Sorry about that....

Russ' dad is doing well. Thank you for the prayers!! They removed the ventilator and he is resting comfortably. If all continues to go well, he will be out of ICU in the morning. 

As for how much I got done on my hexagon quilt....

Not much.

And that is okay...=)

Waiting

Today I am spending time waiting....Waiting for my sweet father in love to get out of open heart surgery. He is receiving a new heart valve and having a bypass. 

While I wait, I am able to keep my fingers busy...

Today I am spending time waiting....Waiting for my sweet father in love to get out of open heart surgery. He is receiving a new heart valve and having a bypass. 

While I wait, I am able to keep my fingers busy...

Hubby is back from his annual trip to the Boundary Waters in MN. I used to be super pathetic when was he was gone because I am one of those wives. In the earlier trips the phone connection was next to non existent. This time I was only slightly pathetic because we could text anytime we wanted. I like that!

While he was gone, I made a baby quilt for a couple at church. We are having a baby boom at church. I have girl quilts galore ready to go. Boys quilts? Not so much. I need to get busy because we have two baby boys recently born. =) 

I am in high gear for fall cleaning, although it is still very much summer in our area. I love summer, so that is fine with me. =) 

As soon as I get the background hexies added to the 3 diamonds I will have 8 of them done. Still love making them. =) 

 I hope life is good for you. =) 

Hubby is back from his annual trip to the Boundary Waters in MN. I used to be super pathetic when was he was gone because I am one of those wives. In the earlier trips the phone connection was next to non existent. This time I was only slightly pathetic because we could text anytime we wanted. I like that!

While he was gone, I made a baby quilt for a couple at church. We are having a baby boom at church. I have girl quilts galore ready to go. Boys quilts? Not so much. I need to get busy because we have two baby boys recently born. =) 

I am in high gear for fall cleaning, although it is still very much summer in our area. I love summer, so that is fine with me. =) 

As soon as I get the background hexies added to the 3 diamonds I will have 8 of them done. Still love making them. =) 

 I hope life is good for you. =) 

...lots more to go. =)

...lots more to go. =)

The number one reason why I wanted to use paper templates with my diamond hexie quilt was the ease of being able to glue baste each of the hexagon shapes instead of hand sewing them. I thought I was going to have to give up that notion because I decided to switch back to the mylar templates. {I explained the reason for that decision in yesterday's post.}

Then I had a light bulb moment....They do happen from time to time. =) 

The mylar templates are heat resistant which means, in theory, you can use an iron to set the glue!! 

The question for me was, would the mylar pieces hold their shape after having heat applied to them? 

Let's give it a try, shall we? 

You can real use any washable glue you have on hand, but I really like Roxanne's Glue Baste It because the applicator is so precise. It only lets out a drop of glue at a time and because you don't need very much to glue baste the hexie, this is perfect for the job. 

You fold and finger press the fabric around the mylar hexagon template. You can't see it in this picture, but there is a straight pin holding the template to the fabric so it won't move and shift. Just under the fold, you place a couple of drops of glue.

Give it a quick press to dry the glue

Simple as that and the side is basted! 

Do the same thing with the other sides.  Add a bit of glue under the fold, 

and give it a quick press to dry the glue. 

Here is the hexie all basted. Take out the pin and you are done!

 

In no time you have a whole pile of hexies waiting to be joined together. 

None of my templates warped from the little bit of heat I used to set the glue. 

I am so glad this works It will make the process so much quicker than hand basting all of them. 

I hope this helps someone get off of the fence and give making hexies a try. =) 

Have a happy day!

The number one reason why I wanted to use paper templates with my diamond hexie quilt was the ease of being able to glue baste each of the hexagon shapes instead of hand sewing them. I thought I was going to have to give up that notion because I decided to switch back to the mylar templates. {I explained the reason for that decision in yesterday's post.}

Then I had a light bulb moment....They do happen from time to time. =) 

The mylar templates are heat resistant which means, in theory, you can use an iron to set the glue!! 

The question for me was, would the mylar pieces hold their shape after having heat applied to them? 

Let's give it a try, shall we? 

You can real use any washable glue you have on hand, but I really like Roxanne's Glue Baste It because the applicator is so precise. It only lets out a drop of glue at a time and because you don't need very much to glue baste the hexie, this is perfect for the job. 

You fold and finger press the fabric around the mylar hexagon template. You can't see it in this picture, but there is a straight pin holding the template to the fabric so it won't move and shift. Just under the fold, you place a couple of drops of glue.

Give it a quick press to dry the glue

Simple as that and the side is basted! 

Do the same thing with the other sides.  Add a bit of glue under the fold, 

and give it a quick press to dry the glue. 

Here is the hexie all basted. Take out the pin and you are done!

 

In no time you have a whole pile of hexies waiting to be joined together. 

None of my templates warped from the little bit of heat I used to set the glue. 

I am so glad this works It will make the process so much quicker than hand basting all of them. 

I hope this helps someone get off of the fence and give making hexies a try. =) 

Have a happy day!

My first major decision for my diamond hexie quilt was what fabric should I use. I seriously considered breaking into my precious Simplicity stash to make this quilt, but after looking it over, I knew I didn't have enough variety left in my bin to make it interesting. Then I remembered I had a fat quarter bundle of Scarborough Fair by Robyn Pandolf. Perfect!

After sorting through the bundle and deciding which prints I wanted to use, I also shopped my stash for a few more prints that would go with it, I got busy cutting and cutting and cutting. 

Whew! 

800 squares for the diamonds, 100 yellow ones for the centers and some Kona Snow for the path. I will need many, many more path pieces than what I cut yesterday. 

For my quilt, my math man said I will need 94 diamonds for the project to make a 60"ish x 70"ish quilt center. I decided to go ahead and make a few more extra to use them for a pillow or something. The left over fabric from the fat quarters are safely tucked away so I don't use them until this project is finished. I plan my quilts as I go, which means I have no finial vision in my mind yet. 

You can find the free pattern I am following here.

The second decision I agonized over was what kind of templates to use. Did I want to use the mylar ones that I already own, or paper ones and glue baste them? 

I decided to try the paper ones and use glue....

The glue worked great and basted the hexies nicely, the part I didn't like is using the paper itself. I found it felt too flimsy and was hard for me to handle when it came trying to sew the hexies together. There is nothing wrong with the product, it's only my personal preference. I know many who love the paper ones. The feel of the Brandy's mylar templates is much more to my liking, so I will be hand basting the hexies after all. 

Okay...Time to get busy! 

Have a happy day!

My first major decision for my diamond hexie quilt was what fabric should I use. I seriously considered breaking into my precious Simplicity stash to make this quilt, but after looking it over, I knew I didn't have enough variety left in my bin to make it interesting. Then I remembered I had a fat quarter bundle of Scarborough Fair by Robyn Pandolf. Perfect!

After sorting through the bundle and deciding which prints I wanted to use, I also shopped my stash for a few more prints that would go with it, I got busy cutting and cutting and cutting. 

Whew! 

800 squares for the diamonds, 100 yellow ones for the centers and some Kona Snow for the path. I will need many, many more path pieces than what I cut yesterday. 

For my quilt, my math man said I will need 94 diamonds for the project to make a 60"ish x 70"ish quilt center. I decided to go ahead and make a few more extra to use them for a pillow or something. The left over fabric from the fat quarters are safely tucked away so I don't use them until this project is finished. I plan my quilts as I go, which means I have no finial vision in my mind yet. 

You can find the free pattern I am following here.

The second decision I agonized over was what kind of templates to use. Did I want to use the mylar ones that I already own, or paper ones and glue baste them? 

I decided to try the paper ones and use glue....

The glue worked great and basted the hexies nicely, the part I didn't like is using the paper itself. I found it felt too flimsy and was hard for me to handle when it came trying to sew the hexies together. There is nothing wrong with the product, it's only my personal preference. I know many who love the paper ones. The feel of the Brandy's mylar templates is much more to my liking, so I will be hand basting the hexies after all. 

Okay...Time to get busy! 

Have a happy day!

My first epp hexagon wall hanging is finished! The hexie flowers are sewn together and then I appliquéd it to the background fabric like I appliqué my dresden plates.  I couldn't decide what to do in the middle, so I played with a larger hexie flower... 

...and fussy cut the lamb for the center. =) This wall hanging will be going up in my sewing room. It measures 29"x31".

This was my "test" piece, to see if I would like making hexagons and the hand sewing it involves. 

The verdict??

I DO!

I am getting ready to start a larger project. I have my sewing kit all set up and I am auditioning fabric. The  free pattern I am going to follow can be found at Paper Pieces.

I am not ambitious enough to make a queen size quilt that the pattern is written for, so my math man helped me figure out how many diamonds I would need to for a 60"x70"-ish size quilt. Once I get there, I can decide if I want to make it bigger or be done. 

Now back to auditioning fabric. =) I can't wait to get started! 

My first epp hexagon wall hanging is finished! The hexie flowers are sewn together and then I appliquéd it to the background fabric like I appliqué my dresden plates.  I couldn't decide what to do in the middle, so I played with a larger hexie flower... 

...and fussy cut the lamb for the center. =) This wall hanging will be going up in my sewing room. It measures 29"x31".

This was my "test" piece, to see if I would like making hexagons and the hand sewing it involves. 

The verdict??

I DO!

I am getting ready to start a larger project. I have my sewing kit all set up and I am auditioning fabric. The  free pattern I am going to follow can be found at Paper Pieces.

I am not ambitious enough to make a queen size quilt that the pattern is written for, so my math man helped me figure out how many diamonds I would need to for a 60"x70"-ish size quilt. Once I get there, I can decide if I want to make it bigger or be done. 

Now back to auditioning fabric. =) I can't wait to get started! 

A work in progress. =) 

A work in progress. =) 

I want to make another Swoon quilt. The two I have made were gifts and I want one for me. I can't make up my mind on what fabrics to use or how I want them to look. I think I am over-thinking the whole deal.  

In the mean time, I got out my old hexies and worked on them. But I got bored. Why? I wasn't using fabric I loved. So I put them away, got out scraps and cut into yardage to use fabric I did love. It hasn't taken long for me to use all my templates! Now to start putting them together. =) I have no plan. Just having fun. 

I want to make another Swoon quilt. The two I have made were gifts and I want one for me. I can't make up my mind on what fabrics to use or how I want them to look. I think I am over-thinking the whole deal.  

In the mean time, I got out my old hexies and worked on them. But I got bored. Why? I wasn't using fabric I loved. So I put them away, got out scraps and cut into yardage to use fabric I did love. It hasn't taken long for me to use all my templates! Now to start putting them together. =) I have no plan. Just having fun.