Saturday, January 17, 2009

Hexagon Quilt, one-patch, charm, all or not

I have recently become quite intrigued with the prospect of attempting to make my own hexagon quilt. This would be a hand sewing project and could be taken along on trips, outings, etc. and worked on little by little when I had a few mn.

I first became aware of this type of quilt at my parents' house when I saw one that was made by my grandmother and her mother, I believe. It is a hodge podge of different fabrics and I just really like it. I haven't inspected it closely to see if there are any repeating fabrics. Because the entire quilt is made of hexagons, it is a "one patch" - IF there are no duplicates in the fabrics, it would also be called a "charm quilt" - and it is a hexagon quilt. There are a few other names I ran across also, such as Honeycomb and Six-sided patchwork. Can you tell I've been doing some research?

I know, when will I ever have the time to do such a project, right? I don't know, but I really would like to give it a try. It will no doubt be a long term project, I'm a realist, but it's something I'd like to start in the near future (this year) and then just see how it goes. I believe I would go about it via the English Paper Piecing method and the local quilt shop has 2 ladies currently working on this type of quilt, so I could ask for help, if needed. They are both working on 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' hexagon quilts - while those are ok, I prefer the one patch with all different fabrics - not sure if I'll worry about having any repeats or not, I haven't found a source yet to see how many different fabrics I'd need for a certain size hexagon to make a certain size quilt - if anyone knows where I can find that info., I'd be most appreciative as it would help me figure out some things to get started. I picked up a charm pack of Feedsack V fabrics recently that has 50 fabrics in it - a good start, but I don't think it'd be enough if I was worrying about duplicates. Like I said though, I don't know that I care so much if it's a "charm" quilt or not, it's the hexagon shape that appeals to me for some reason.

Here are a few links that show Hexagon quilts, charm quilts, Grandmother's Garden examples and more if you care to take a look. I hope to have a picture of the one my grandmother worked on soon and will upload it when I do - I meant to take a picture of it myself when I was at my parents' house at Thanksgiving, but it slipped my mind - must've been that stomach bug that attacked us that impaired my thinking :)

http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_pattern_history/mosaic.htm

http://www.fabrics.net/charmQuilts.asp

Example of Grandmother's Flower Garden:
http://www.womenfolk.com/grandmothers/1evaflrgard.jpg

Example of charm/hexagon:

http://www.fabrics.net/colpics/CharmQuilt/Mvc-025s.jpg
and
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_pattern_history/mosaic.jpg

Anyway, anyone else who is working on one of these type of quilts, HAS worked on one, knows where I can get more info. on planning it all out (size and such), I'd be thrilled to hear from you - or if you just want to tell me how crazy you think I am, well, I guess you're welcome to say hi too :) I'll update as I make progress along the way - again, I know this'll be a longer term project, but I am looking forward to it!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, I'm sure you will love making a hand-peiced hexy quilt. I have just finished making one and I'm about to hand quilt it. It is made from all different fabrics, with an overall theme of "autumn colours" but it's peiced in no particular pattern. Like you, I enjoy the "scrappy" look. I just joined a Blog group of ladies who love to make hexies. if you would care to visit my blog, you will see what I have been doing with hexagons. best wishes Kath www.railwaycottage.blogspot.com

sandy old marsh farm said...

Hello, I have just started one of those"will take forever projects" also with hexagons. Mine are 1" fininished and I'm using 12-1930's prints and solids. Mine will not be a one patch quilt though as I'm going to lay out my hex's in a shape and applique that shape to a background block. It will make me feel as though I'm actually getting something accomplished if I do one block at a time. Hope you enjoy it as I am and will check back on your blog to see your progress. Have fun quilting.
Sandy

Anonymous said...

I use a faster stitching method than paper piecing - begin a running stitch 1/4" from the edge of the hexagon patch, stitch to 1/4" away from this edge. Secure it with an extra stitch and a knot, and begin stitching the next edge and so forth. I coordinate the colors by deciding whether it goes with the two or three hexagons near it, and have had good results.

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