Hexie BOM: April

I'm a little behind with the Block a Month patchwork project. I ran out of the hexagons that I had already made and making more and completing the patchwork takes longer than I thought.

Anyway, I've had this block finished for a while but I hadn't had chance to take a photo of it. This was the April design - an Easter basket.

I think it looks very cheerful and Spring-like against the blue. I haven't actually been sewing the finished patchwork designs on to the backing blocks yet as I will lay out the whole quilt once I am done to work out which colour to use for each block.

Hexie BOM: March

I admit that my biggest failing with this blog is getting around to taking pictures of the things after they have been completed. The trouble is I tend to craft in the evenings after work and by the time I have finished something the light has gone and the pictures don't look very good in the indoor light. So I inevitably think that I will take a photo in the daylight, then start making the next thing and never get around to taking the picture!

Anyway, I have finally taken a picture of the March Hexie BOM. The March design from the Hexie Blog BOM was a shamrock for St Patrick's Day. However, as I am using the fat-quarter material I already had mine has a less green feel about it but I still think it worked out really pretty.

I've also finished the April BOM (and taken a photo of it!) which I'll post next week. I've fallen a little behind with the BOM - I ran out of ready made hexies and it does take a bit of time to make them each month. However, having seen the half made quilt on the Hexie Blog it really inspired me to stick with it. So the May block is underway. I may not finish this all in a year (in fact it is highly unlikely with all of the sewing together of the quilt top), but I am determined that I will finish this however long it takes me!

Hexie BOM: February

During February I was working on the second block from the Hexie Blog's BOM challenge. Who would have guessed it would have been a Valentine's heart block.

Whilst the original version looks very pretty in pink, I have stuck with my plan to use up some more of the fat quarter material used in my January BOM. So here's finished block number 2!

I finished this at the end of February just in time for the March block to be revealed. It's then only taken me a month to get a picture of it! It's so hard at this time of year to get good pictures, as by the time you get home in an evening the light has gone.

I've actually already finished the March block too! So now let's see how long it takes me to get a picture of that one!

Hexie BOM: January

There's been a bit of a delay since the last post, but nevermind. I managed to finish the January hexie block before the end of January! Hooray! One block down and still on schedule. Here it is:

The Hexie Blog BOM has a yahoo group set up where everyone can post pictures of their completed blocks. It's amazing how many people are taking part and also how different the blocks look. Everyone is working from the same simple pattern, but by changing the colours or fabrics used the finished blocks all have their own personalities.

My quilt's personality is definitely going to be loud and bright. I went shopping for the backing fabrics for the blocks and this is the happy collection I came back with.

I love the colours and can't wait to see it all come together!

Hexie Block a Month Challenge

The other day I decided to have a browse around on Pinterest. A dangerous thing to do as a quick couple of minutes on the craft boards inevitably turns into a much longer time! However, I came across an idea for a Block a Month challenge using hexagon patchwork. Julia from The HEXIE Blog is going to post a Block a Month throughout the year.

I have to confess that I quite enjoy the process of making paper pieced hexagons – although I know that there are quicker methods. I already had a small stash of hexagons that I had been making whenever I had a minute with the idea that I’d sew them all together at some point. So the idea of being given a block to complete each month seemed ideal. It would actually make me sit down and sew some of them together and I’d have 12 completed blocks by the end of 2014! As each block is supposed to measure around 15” square that’s a lot of finished patchwork!

Hexie stash

 The materials I had already been using to make hexagons are a selection of fat quarter pieces that we had picked up on various visits to the local material shop. I’ve already started the January block which Julia calls a Snowflake block and she uses a few shades of blue materials. 

January's Snowflake block - Julia at The HEXIE Blog

Mine may look a little more summery than a snowflake but I still like the idea of leaving some gaps in the hexagon pattern. The only thing I need to decide now is what colour material to use as the backing square. Oh and finish sewing the hexagons together obviously!

January: My 'Snowflake' block - work in progress