Sunday, January 6, 2013

Its a One-derful life

This is a continuation of something I started before the holidays, so technically a UFO ( see "what's not so old...").

Some of the hexagons, sewn to the
half-hex stage, and then pinned together.

Recall that this is a one-block wonder. It is made from kaleidoscopic 60' triangles cut from the same place in a large print pattern repeat. After staring at the 'blocks' up on the design wall, and rearranging many times, I spent most of yesterday assembling vertical strips out of half hexagons, and adding half triangles on the tops and bottom.
Left-overs


This was specifically planned as a small foray into one-block wonderland, so I intentionally chose a large print is a relatively small repeat. The fabric I cut up yielded 20 hexagons plus about 1/2 yd left over. After all the arranging, I have 1 whole one and 2 halfs left. I plan to sew them together with half triangles to square-up and use this on the back.




Then, what to do for a border? It seemed to need something. I finally settled on a 1 inch strip around the inner section, using a piano-keyed stripe, and a wider border around the outside.
Finished quilt top (~52 X 35)

The outer border is actually the 'wrong' side of the fabric that was used to make all the hexagons. I think it gives a muted effect and makes the center appear more vibrant. In order to get the leaves to radiate from the center, I had to use strips cut on the length-wise grain, and the border is pieced in several places. I cut the strips to use the repeat and the piecing perfectly connects on a repeating motif (I folded under a 1/4 inch seam allowance, dotted with Roxanne Glue Baste-It, and carefully aligned to match motifs), so they are essentially invisible. I finished sewing and mitering the borders this morning and now the sewing machine is off to shop for a long overdue cleaning and preventive maintenance, so no machine sewing for a while.

Til next time, all the best...

I'm linking with Leah Day on UFO Sunday