A hex on you

 Since I started the quilting thing I've been wanting to make an old fashioned hexagon quilt. But researching them I found they're pretty tricky to make, not the best undertaking for a beginner (it's joining all those "Y" seams that's tough). But then I stumbled upon a way to make them that's much easier: you assemble the hexagon with HALF hexagons and just use straight line quilting. It requires a lot of planning before you start sewing. You have to make sure everything is placed exactly where you want it because once you start sewing the rows, it's not easy to undo mistakes. 

The first step is to lay out all your cut half hexagons on the floor (I lay down a sheet so as not to dirty the fabric pieces). 

Here's a close-up of a practice piece I did...I eventually turned it into a small throw pillow. You can see how the half pieces make up the whole hexagon....and how you sew the rows across. 

Here's an 'in-process' shot of how I attach the backing to the quilt top with the batting attached to it. Oh how I wish I had a huge work space with a big work table to lay out everything, it would make life so much easier. 

And finally the finished piece...I love it. It's exactly what I envisioned in my head. I wanted a vintage 1940's vibe to go with the age of the house. I call it "granny chic"...very Todd Oldham, a modern take on an old-timey idea. 

Here's a close-up shot of the detail in the quilting...

I wanted this quilt specifically for the day bed in the craft room. It got a cabin-y Adirondack-y feeling so I thought this would work well in there...and it does. The first picture above was shot in the bedroom for better lighting, here's the quilt in the craft room. A perfect place for afternoon naps or curling up with a good book...

Lastly, here's a look at the back, the "after quilt" as one YouTube tutorialist call it. It's a terrific way to use up scraps of fabric. This all have a floral and/or fruit pattern and they're all in the colors of the front, yellows, golds, oranges, greens, burgandies, etc