December 05, 2013

Slow and Steady

Slowly, but surely, I've been making progress on my hexie quilt. There are only 18 left without the blue outer ring, out of 56, so it feels like I'm nearing the end of this phase.

I laid them all out this afternoon on the living room floor for a photo op.
 
 I'm so pleased with how they stand out against the blue background.

Then I decided to lay them out again, this time making the four sides and then filling in as much of the middle as I could.

I couldn't join the four sides laying them out the way I've been doing! Panic! I tried again, carefully laying each block next to the ones around it, and again the last corner just would not connect. There are no pictures to document this phenomenon as I immediately went into problem solving mode

 If I lay the flowers out so that they connect perfectly without gaps, the top edge gradually slants downward. The quilt will not be straight!
You can kind of see the slant in the first picture if you look at the sides. I took the picture lining up the top and bottom to be straight, not even noticing how slanted the sides were. That's not what I want.

But see the gap between the purple and yellow flowers when I make the top row straight against the edge of my ruler? Aargh!
So, after looking at many pictures of Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts online, I went back to my flowers on the floor and started rearranging them again. Eventually I came up with this...
The top is straight and everything looks like it will fit together properly. I just need to add two hexagons between each of my flowers as I join the rows together. All told, this will add about 100 hexies to the total, which isn't bad considering how many are in the quilt already.
Crisis averted, but now I'm even more anxious to get those 18  flowers finished so I can start putting the rows together. I want to be sure it will work without more surprises.

On a completely different note, here's a sneak peek at a project I'm working on for Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day next week.
 Be sure to check back for that!



5 comments:

  1. I really like your new arrangement! Well done, you certainly need to be a devoted quilter to do all of those Hexies :)

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  2. I love love your hexies. I am making some too (along with my Lucy Boston Blocks) but have never started putting them together. I love the last layout. The only other way I have seen them is in an oblong shape - 3 hexies added on each end I think. It gets confusing:)
    I will be watching your progress.
    xo jan@sewandsowfarm

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  3. WOW! your hexies are so pretty, and look amazing on that gorgeous shade of blue.

    Thank you so much for sharing at Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  4. good problem solving! it must feel great to be nearing completion on this project, even with the addition of a mere 100 hexies. =)

    thanks for linking in with "in hand" epp link party!

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  5. The blue background is perfect! Shows off the other colours so well.

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