April 8th, 2013

WIP – Hexy Pillow

by Julie Hirt

For some reason I feel the urge for English Paper Piecing and decided to chop up a charm pack. I think this is Gypsy Girl from Moda.

hexieproj (2)

 

I have enough projects I need to be working on right now:

  • Block Rockn’ Blocks needs to be sewn
  • Lucky Stars Block of the Month
  • Sugar Block Club (which I haven’t even started)
  • 4×5 Modern Bee Hive blocks due soon – Eeek!
  • Had planned to make a block a week for The Farmers Wife Pony Club
  • Fabrics are purchased and just waiting to be cut up for a Kaleidoscope quilt

So what am I working on?  A new project.  So much for my “2 projects at a time” resolution.  But aren’t the little hexagons cute?

I have a dozen or so charm packs floating around and wanted to use one, but I didn’t want large hexies.  Playing around in Illustrator I made a template to the size of my liking.  They are perfect sized hexagons for 2.5″ fabrics.  Just take a charm pack and cut it in half, then in half again.  You’ll have 168 squares.  OR use a Moda Candy pack – they are precut to 2.5″ squares. Perfect!

Download the Charm Pack Hexagon PDF Template.  You’ll be able to make 4 hexies per charm.

hexieproj (3)

How do you baste and make your EPP’s?  Everything I know I learned off YouTube videos (really), so I don’t even know if this is the correct way.  I like that I don’t have to undo the basting thread – I can just leave it attached since the thread doesn’t pierce through the front.  One less step, whether it’s right or not!

hexieproj (1)

I also found another use for the Clover Wonder Clips.  These things are so awesome.  Rather than pinning my paper to keep it from slipping, I just clip a corner and go.  Saves me a lot of time pinning.  Well, seconds – but it sure seems a lot easier.   AND the clip holds together my papers when I store them.

hexieproj (4)

After I started making a couple of hexagons I realized my Triple Zip Pouch is perfect storage for an English Paper Piecing kit!  I can also throw it in my purse and everything stays fairly organized.

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For some reason I have scatterbrain lately.  I didn’t like my current needle book for my EPP kit, it seemed too large and didn’t fit right in my little pouch.  So, I got side tracked again and made a 2″ hard back needle book. It’s perfect for what I need.

minineedlebook (2)

How do you EPP?  Any tips for me?  How in the heck do people make full size quilts like this?  I’m about a quarter of the way done and I worked on it a LOT this weekend.

 

 

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17 Comments to “WIP – Hexy Pillow”

  1. If you got all that done in a weekend, you’re doing pretty good. I like the idea of using the clips to hold the fabric on to start. I usually use a pin, but like your idea better. The one thing I find helpful is to punch a small hole in the center of the paper to make it easier to remove. You can stick a stiletto or tweezers in it to grab them.

  2. I do it that way! I like paperclips..the darn clover clips get in my way when I am spinning them around. I also like to pre-clip them all at once so they are ready to go. Saves seconds, right? *snort* I have some with holes like Laurie punched out, but it is easy enough to slip the your snips under an edge too this method!

  3. Your EPPs are super cute–love the fabric. I’m going to try the clover clip AND the paper clip idea.

  4. Love your little hexagons! I use pins to hold them together while basting, I really don’t think it is time consuming. Thank you very much for the template!

  5. I totally want to be you when I grow up, Ms. Self Sufficient! Love everything about this!

  6. I love the fabric you chose for your hexies. I also get side tracked into making little projects, when I should be finishing off other started projects.

  7. Neato! I’ve not tried anything like this ever so it looks like you’re doing it exactly right to me! Should be very cute when you’re finished up.

  8. Wow, your hexies are great! I’ve only tried a few (7 to be exact). Lots of fun and lots of work. I love your fabric choices. Great job! Can’t wait to see it all finished.

  9. I’m about to venture into the wonderful world of EPP. I love your tiny ones! And I need to get some of those wonder clips before I attempt another Weekender bag. Glad to know they are good for lots of things!

    Love the Gypsy Girl hexies too. I have lots of scraps from my GG quilt – might have to duplicate this cuteness!

  10. I really want to learn how to do hexagons, so I always find myself stopping in from the linky to those who show them in their photo.
    I have 2 boxes full of 2 different sizes of hexagons already cut.
    Maybe I should do like you and check out youtube videos!

  11. I love how your basted those hexies. It’s a lot faster than the technique I learned. Thanks for showing it, and BTW, I love the gypsy girl fabric too.

  12. I love your hexagons. I do what you do – I have just started playing with them as well just with small projects.

  13. I worked for 2 years on an EPP hexagon quilt. I used freezer paper to print out my hex papers. Then you just iron them onto the back of the squares. Fold over edges and baste just at corners. Whip stitch hexes together, then pull out basting and papers. You can re – use the freezer paper hexes many times. I would use hand quilting thread for basting as it is stiffer and easy to remove. I finished the quilt last fall – it is queen sized, all hand pieced and machine quilted.

    • QUEEN?? Insane. I’d go nuts and give up before I finished a project of that magnitude. I bet it’s awesome. Thanks for the freezer paper tip – I have some around here somewhere. I’ll try printing on it later this week.

  14. Your hexies are so cute, and I love your triple zip pouch. The deer cracks me up. I use two small paper clips to hold my fabric in place.

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