My Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt is together and as promised it is BIG! Very big! It measures a whopping 97" by 128"! Even I was shocked at the measurements and I already knew it was big (I think I was afraid to measure it until it was done). Not only is it big but it is also very heavy. Honestly this means it is not a quilt that could be used because it is too long for even a king size bed!
Birds in the Loft by Karen H 2015
I ordered a Hobbs Polydown king size batt because it is lightweight (this quilt does not need more weight) and I'll have to look at getting extra wide backing rather than using a pieced backing. Given its size there is a good possibility that it will never get quilted. On the other hand I might just take a couple of rows off the top and two off the bottom to make it shorter. It would still be wide but it would be more of a square than a rectangle. Oh well, I had fun putting it together and for me that's what it is all about. I might have fun taking it apart and putting it back together again too! I am sure that I would eventually find a use for the leftover hexagons (there would be 50 of them if I take out the rows).
For now I have smaller quilts that can be basted for quilting. I added a lovely wide border to my Lozagons hexagon quilt. My plan is to fill that border with free-form feathers similar to those I quilted in Babs quilt Yellow Bird quilt. I'm not sure how I would machine quilt this one and may consider combining hand and machine quilting. I'll decide when it is pinned and ready for quilting!
Lozagons by Karen H 2015
Finally I added borders to my Value Proposition hexagon quilt. I appliqued the quilt top to side strips and then I added the top and bottom borders. I have a lovely wavy brown stripe fabric and I think I will applique it to the sides of the quilt.
Value Proposition by Karen H 2015
If you are new to my blog Value Proposition was a hexagon quilt along in 2014. You will find all of the instructions and patterns under the tab Quilt Alongs by Karen H at the top of this page.
One final note about Value Proposition; I found a mistake! I am always going on about the use of directional prints and as I started pinning the borders to the quilt I found a mistake. The striped hexagon in the red circle is going in the wrong direction. How the heck did I miss it?
I also tend to go on quite a bit about learning to live with mistakes but if you just can't live with them, then one should fix them. This is a mistake (albeit a tiny mistake) that would bother me so fix it I did. It isn't a big change but it would have bothered me knowing it was there!
I've been casting about for a new project and have settled on a series quilt in QUILTmania (issue 107). The name of the quilt is Brinton Hall by Leigh Latimore. The first part is the blue section with all of the hexagons. I think it will be a great way to use scraps and also to feature some large prints in the seven panels in the centre. I've already started pulling fabrics!
That's it for today. Until I post again happy sewing!
Karen H
