I love EPP (English Paper Piecing) because it's sociable! You can sit with the family in the evenings, watching TV, sewing away.
This is what I did this week on holiday - growing my hexie collection (as inspired by Lily's Quilts Hex-a-Long).
I've done my usual thing of not planning out a design in advance, and just going with the flow.
Well the flow has stopped! I'm not liking the floral shapes the hexies are making, nor my 'filler' hexies.
While I choose vintagey fabrics, I didn't especially want a traditional design.
I don't even know what I'm going to turn these into - a cushion, a quilt?
What to do?
1. Unpick the hexies and resew them into a more modern shape e.g. pyramids, giant hexie?
2. Stick with what I have, add a few more & make a cot size quilt?
3. Abandon all hexies made so far, and start again, making a few more intricate hexies (as seen on flickr) which could then adorn a cushion front?
I think they're lovely and I really like your fabrics. How about combining options two and three? Pair the GG flower hexies with some white/ivory and make a beautiful cot quilt and use the filler hexies to start a different hexie collection. Whatever you do will be lovely, maybe you just need a break from them for a day or two?
ReplyDeleteI don't have any suggestions to offer, as I've never done a hexie. I'm sure you can find something to do with them-- see what suggestions come in, put them aside if you need a break to let the ideas brew in your brain. There are so many people doing hexies-- I'm sure they'll have good ideas to share. I would like to try hexies-- i like the fact, too, that you can sit down and be with family while you work on them (as opposed to being at the machine/sewing table). Good luck! I'm sure you'll come up with something just lovely.
ReplyDeleteThey look very pretty. Could you add some solids to change things up a bit? Other than that...
ReplyDeleteWhat about those diamonds you spoke about a while ago? Put some diamonds in solids into the quilt to make it less traditional and less flower hexie.
ReplyDeleteNo1. Sorry! I'm not a huge fan of hexies because they remind me of patchwork/quilting before it got modern. However, the hexie quilts that do speak to me are the random ones that are an eclectic mix of different types of hexies (like Lynne has been showing on her blog). Well you did ask!
ReplyDeleteDepends what you want mate, are you happy making hexies? If so unpick one or two of the flowers (you dont have to unpick em all) and make some more modern ones to mix it all up a bit. If you think you've lost your interest in doing hexies, just do enough for the cot quilt! If you think you actually wanted something like the flickr ones, get stuck in! Its all up to you, just stop and have a think about what you're happiest doing and what you'd like from it!
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely by the way:-)
I agree with Sarah, if you are no longer happy making hexies do the quick fix and move on.....but if you love making the hexies maybe add some solids......maybe it is the color pallet you are working with......if you want to do a quilt like the flikr ones maybe you should start over with a new pallet of colors and plan a bit before starting......above all follow your own creative muse.....if you don't want a traditional design go ahead and explore the more modern designs being worked on the flikr site as it is full of inspiration....maybe try bolder fabrics to give it the more modern feel that you seem to be looking for.....vintage looking fabrics will still have the feel of traditional at the end of the day, so you may need to rethink your fabrics for this quilt.....
ReplyDeleteHmm, unpicking is a right pain in the butt, so I would opt for trying to make them not look like flowers by adding more of the spotty prints and triangle hexies and some other complimentary prints and solids until you have a 1/2 apron!!!
ReplyDeleteI am going to bang on about those at any opportunity!
Oooo tricky, having never worked with hexies I don't have loads of ideas to share...what you've done is cute, but quite traditional...
ReplyDeletecould you unpick half of a flower and join the halves together in a different way? you could create a long row of the flower centres with the lighter prints around it?
oooo or unpick the middle and replace it with another light fabric so you've just got a block, and then join these blocks to make a different shape.... or swap the middle out for zingy orange, or teal, make it a crazy flower?
well there's a few thoughts for you
My thought is to make some other kinds like from the hexalong and see if you like those. Then see if they can combine with what you have or then unpick a bit to make them fit together. If you end up not liking the new ones, you still have the sweet vintage flowers to finish off.
ReplyDeleteI would applique them onto a background fabric at different heights add bias binding stems and applique leaves on the stems - add a butterfly or birds and finish - it might give you a more modern look - see Katy's version.. http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/finally.html
ReplyDeleteIt could either be the centre of your quilt or a border!
Good luck but do finish it somehow!
Oh and I would make some on a larger scale too with darker fabrics for a close up view of the garden - if you get what I mean!
ReplyDeleteThen the paler ones recede in the background!