Hexagon Baby Quilt Top Finished OMG

Thankfully, we have finished our April One Monthly Goal (OMG) and we will share it on Patty’s Elm Street Quilts linky party just as soon as it opens.  We were going to concentrate on a hexagon baby quilt top.  The icing on the cake would be to get it quilted and possibly bound as well.  How did we do?!!

Hexagon Party Time

Prior to starting this project, I’ve been seeing loads of different hexagon projects on Pinterest and in friends’ blog posts.  I wasn’t drawn to shape or even a project until Sue’s boss was expecting a baby in June and their favorite theme is the hexagon.  A pattern without y-seams was a necessity and Melissa from the Polka Dot Chair shared the perfect tutorial for our needs.  Fabrics were chosen from the Stonehedge collection, and then cut using a file-folder template (ooh, fancy!).

Hexagon Layout – Does it Work?

Here’s a peek at the first three rows.  Oh yes, this tutorial and our pieces are going to work just fine.

Hexies 1-3

Here is a look at how the seams go together:  first, there is a bit of fabric hanging over each side when aligning up the edges.   Formal ruler templates would have the dog-ears eliminated.

Secondly, once sewn you can either press open of to one side.  I chose to press to one-side just to have each row nest together nicely.  The points match very well as you can see below. Come on – I’m not going to share a picture where they didn’t line up perfectly although there were a few!

Hexi Points

Hexagon April OMG Met

Our charge for the April OMG project is to sew the half-hexagon shapes into a quilt top. 

Hexi design wall

We did that by mid-month . . . but could we push further and get it quilted as well?!  I did ponder the quilting design and came up with something I in my own Pinterest account that I had PINned ages ago.  First, I tried drawing it on a picture on the computer. 

Hexi quilting design idea

Then, I gave my plexiglass a shot with near disaster results, coming too close to the edge for comfort.  We both said PHEW! (Sue DID add painter’s tape to the edges so that won’t happen again.)  Angela’s version looks so much better than my attempt on the plexiglass.

A ruler is going to be used for nice crisp straight lines and to stitch-in-the-ditch, followed by FMQ for the pedal/wavy shape.

Hexagon Backing, Quilting, and Finish

If you’re with me this far you probably know how this is ending but you would be WRONG.  Quilting of the above shape has happened but not as successfully as I had hoped.  Two hexagon shapes were quilted without issue and then the dreaded thread break happened and happened and happened.  Why??  I rethreaded, changed the needle, lowered the position of the presser foot, and did plenty of ripping along with some growling.  Finally, I used a different thread on top with success but walked away to complete the rest of the ripping in comfort.

Hexi One block

Rather than rush through the quilting I’m sharing one successful block.  I’ll write a separate post sharing all the FMQ and ruler work tips I learned because there are plenty.  Finally, I smile when I look at that picture above.  Even though it’s not in the pretty gray thread that I had planned . . . the stitches look fairly even, I consistently hit the center point, and most importantly I have the wave on the left side of the straight lines.  Those are three major wins for me.

 

Join us each Tuesday for our hosted linky party called To-Do Tuesday.  Our other Linky Parties can be found by clicking the link above or along the sidebar on our website for more quilting fun – check out what our friends are up to.  Like/follow us on our Facebook page and you can share your photos of what you’re working on.  We would love to see them!

Sharing

You may also like...

24 Responses

  1. Love your hexagon quilt

  2. Patty says:

    Lovely. Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

  3. This is such a pretty baby quilt <3 Someday I want to make a hexagon quilt (fabric and pattern are in my stash).

  4. chrisknits says:

    Look at you be all daring with the quilting!! I need to come and spend time with you and learn your magic.

  5. Sandra says:

    Lots to relate to here: first as you know I love this quilt, and am sorely tempted to make one, second I learned of this slick way to make hexagons thanks to Bethany Reynolds’ Stack ‘n Whack years ago, and oh BOY can I relate to the plexiglass near miss, except mine was a hit. I died. it was on white fabric no less. I did get it mostly out and never did tell Dayna as it was her humongous gorgeous, heavily quilted graduation from university quilt!! Finally yay Angela designs, and yay YOU! It looks spectacular thus far, and I cannot wait to see the finish. And remember to breathe (and have a glass of wine, seriously) and to step back and look and not judge with your nose 5″ away from the quilt.

  6. Congratulations on meeting and exceeding your goal. It is a sweet quilt. Love those hexies! Good Luck on the quilting job when you find/found a thread that works. Looking forward to reading about your tips. I sure need them these days 😉 Carol

  7. Cocoa Quilts says:

    I love a nested seam too! Your quilting is coming along. I look forward to seeing this one completed!

  8. Kathryn says:

    It can be frustrating and challenging to get something to your satisfaction and to solve things like thread breaks. But very satisfying when you finally nail it. Love the one you’ve shared, looks awesome.

  9. I agree with the other Laura: looks terrific and looking forward to the post sharing the troubles and tips learned along the way.
    Have a great weekend…whew, made it through another week!

  10. Rochelle Summers says:

    Why do our machines give us fits and get so finicky when we are trying to do everything just so? You have beautiful quilting in that block and those points matching were great. Looking forward to all the tips and tricks.

  11. Brenda Ackerman says:

    Hello Roseanne, Sorry about the troubles you have encountered quilting this wonderful quilt. Yet, the one block that you showed. It does look fantastic! I hope the remainder of your quilting goes much better and I look forward to your post on what you have learned. Have a spectacular day!

  12. GREAT quilt! and the quilting is really fitting for it! Hope you figured out what made your thread break – every so often I get a spool that just does not like me!

  13. I agree with everyone…the colors are great and I’m sure your quilting will be beautiful! Have a great weekend!

  14. Good for your for sticking with quilting, Roseanne! (P.S. Fear not the y-seam! It is easily tamed!)

  15. That’s so awesome. I am sorry for the trouble quilting, but I do look forward to your tips! That one is perfect and you should be so darn happy with it. I love that you were able to stay on the correct side of that perfect straight line and hit the centers – that is worth everything. The baby will love this as will the parents knowing all the love put into this quilt.

  16. Brenda @ Songbird Designs says:

    This is a great baby quilt. I love Stonehenge fabrics. Good job on figuring out the quilting. And I definitely have to have a ruler to stitch in the ditch!

  17. Vicki in MN says:

    Whoo hooo glad you got that thread thing solved, good is done even if it isn’t the color of thread you wanted. Hitting the middle-good job!!

  18. Jocelyn Thurston says:

    Better late than never, Roseanne. Loved your Thursday post…that cat picture saying is a hoot. And I also like the ones with the cat speaking to Karen.
    Smiled all the way through those kid’s photos so thanks for that.
    Your quilted block is perfect there. It sounds like quite a learning lesson for you…something I could never attempt on a machine but perhaps by hand. Thanks as well for taking us through it. I love reading about the process.

  19. Dawn says:

    I like your quilting pattern within the hexagons! It is going to look terrific when it is complete! I also have had thread breakage issues which confound me because they happen after I’m partially finished quilting the quilt. I’ve changed the needle, rethreaded the machine and bobbin and even cleaned the bobbin area. Any insight you have as to why this happens, I’d be happy to hear about.

  20. So glad you got that quilting issue figured out. This is a fun idea for a baby quilt, and I like the colors!

  21. karenfae says:

    I like your hexie – I have a half hexie die I was cutting some pieces from it last year from scraps and never got back to it – one day?

  22. Laura says:

    What you have shown looks terrific, Roseanne! I look forward to the post sharing the troubles and the tips that you learned! 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.