MLVI

In February 2020 I attended a quilt show in Venice, FL. I recall stopping by a vendor booth where the shop owner was working on "hexies". Hexies are made using a hexagonal piece of card stock paper and a scrap of cloth. I picked up a package of hexie papers and a recommended fabric glue pen before leaving the show, and before COVID shut the world down. 

Here are a few of my hexies. The sides of my hexies are 1" in length, to give you some perspective. The fabric is either basted around the paper, or the edges are glued on the back of the paper. I tried both methods, finding the glue to be a bit faster. Then, the edges are sewn together, by hand, connecting hexies in whatever pattern desired. 

When I began, I was just playing around. I had no plan. I used my scraps to make "scrappy flowers". I created a number of them. Slowly, my ideas gelled and I decided to make a small quilt with a field of flowers. 

I saw a picture of a quilt in a magazine that had interesting swirls,  using heavier thread. The designs stuck in my head. (If you zoom in you can see what I am talking about)

In 2022 the hexie flowers had multiplied. I put them up on my quilt wall to see how they might look as a "field" of flowers. This would do!

Also in 2022, when we were traveling again after Covid released its ugly, threatening hold over us, I visited a quilt shop.... in Rock Springs, WY! The shop had two darling prints with bees on them. Suddenly I thought I could incorporate the bees in my hexie quilt. The bees plus the swirly quilting design for their 'contrails' could make a fun quilt and a unique design.

Here are some hexies, front and back view, and a close-up view of the bees.

 I began interspersing bees among the flowers, and the quilt began to take shape.  

The 'field' is an ivory white in color. Some of the hexies look like they are gray. That's because they were made using card stock from mailers I received from companies advertising their service or products. I have a die that I can use to cut the papers and fabric to make the hexies. 

Now flash forward (a 6-year 'flash') and the quilt is finally constructed!

Earlier this week I removed the papers that had not already fallen out. Whenever I worked on the quilt, some papers would end up on the floor, along with threads! 

Will you look at that pile of papers?! Wow! There were a lot. 

Just how many? The quilt, which is roughly 50" x 55", 

used 1056 hexies!

That would be MLVI in Roman numerals!

So...now it's time to do some machine quilting to stabilize the quilt,  and then hand quilting the swirlies. 

But wait.... that's not all! 

In 2023 we stopped in Frankenmuth, MI. There was a huge bead shop that we wandered through. I saw some beads and thought to myself, "self, wouldn't those beads look pretty sewn into the center of the flowers on that quilt I will eventually finish?" Sew.... I picked some up and who knows?! maybe they will embellish the quilt - some day!