Still in a “finish up the old stuff” sort of mood, although compared to most of the stack this is paper-pieced hexagon quilt top is fresh! I bought the fabrics as a “scrap bag” in 2018 in Iowa, and turned them into 52 seven-hex “flower” units in 2019 while grieving Smokey (I also streamed North and South while stitching, which was a megablockbuster in West Germany when it was released. This stands out somehow, and I don’t know why).
Then I couldn’t find a border I liked and shelved it.
Earlier this month I got up the gumption to cut into a big “good” piece of solid fabric and the first border problem is solved. I found the 1.5″ hexagons easier than the half-inch hexagons, or maybe my hand has improved.
The local all-purpose fabric store went out of business last fall, due to the owner’s retirement. I managed to to snag a few discounted meters for backings before the government closed all the stores in December. So next up, I can put the layers together and do some very simple machine quilting–probably just in the ditch around the flowers. (After six years of owning this sewing machine, I have recently discovered my walking foot came with a special plate for quilting in the ditch.)
Curiously, this quilt resembles a baby quilt, in the mid-early-21st-century fashion of rejecting fabric and patterns with baby- and child-motifs in favor of weirdly-accented soft colors in traditional blocks. This was absolutely unintentional; my goal for this project was using up the brown paper bag of matching scraps I had purchased in Iowa–and the mindlessness of matchy-fabric hexagons was helpful in the grief process. It is what is. It can go to a great-niece or nephew some day–just not for about ten years, kids, OK?
Looks good!