Anticipating an entire blissful week of uninterrupted sewing, how would I choose which quilt should get the most attention?
It was like asking to pick a favorite child.
I wanted to take them all.
Having only one suitcase to take on the airplane, I tried to narrow my choices down to a small pile.
Recently, Victoria Findlay (Bumble Beans) showed pictures on her blog of a hexagon quilt she had designed.
You can see more HERE.
Festive Cheer went right to the top of the list!
I see Christmas with bright red and green!
I have an entire bin of green scraps that were just waiting to play together in this quilt.
As you know, I am on a mission to use up as many of my scraps as I can this year, and Festive Cheer is helping me reach my goal.
Victoria's pattern has been published in the latest Quilt Almanac 2012.
I found my copy at a local Joann's store, but it can also be ordered on line from Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works.
Victoria and Jackie are good friends, and they meet often for creative endeavors at Victoria's studio in Manhattan, New York.
One of the things I love about this design is that it gives instructions for traditional cutting and sewing, plus it gives the option to paper piece.
Seeing all the bias edges, I went with the paper piecing technique, to keep all the sections even and free from stretching.
Every time I go on a retreat, I always overestimate how much I can really accomplish.
The pattern calls for 270 red wedges and 270 green wedges, that are sewn into 180 arcs.
I probably got around 1/2 of the sections completed.
It was fun to lay them out on the floor and see the hexagon pattern start to emerge.
Now that I'm back home, I'm prowling through my green scraps, seeing which ones can still be added to my quilt.
I love every quilt Victoria makes, and am so impressed with her charitable contributions.
She heads an organization that gathers quilts for the homeless in New York City, and contributes so much to the quilting world.
I am really enjoying working on Festive Cheer.
I think of you Victoria every time I pull out a section to work on.
Thanks for a great design!
9 comments:
l am so guilty of taking TOO many projects on retreat, but l like the option of what to sew when the mood strikes. Plus, l drive to our beach house, which is where we retreat, so l have the luxury of taking way too much!! LOL
l do love what you chose to take and work on. Its going to be wonderful, and with such a great christmas feel to it.
Looks fabulous Nedra...I can see why you were so keen to start it!
Gorgeous I love all Victoria's creations - love this one - hugs Nat
I didn't realise the retreat was for a whole week, what a treat! You're quilt is looking amazing already, I love it. I would have gone for paper piecing too, that way you know it'll all fit together. Better to have more than enough sewing than not enough.
those blocks {can you call them blocks if they aren't square?} look tricky and awesome. i'd say getting half of them done was quite an accomplishment! i can imagine myself in a retreat environment just making the rounds, chatting, snacking, admiring everyone else's creations and getting absolutely nothing done myself. so ~ great job!!
This is a really striking design and love the red/green choices you've made. Right away I also pictured it done in cool blue/purple/green combo too.
Can't wait to see the finished quilt.
Truly a classic pattern. Can't wait to see this finished...
Mary
Yep, this is a nice one, I especially like the colors.
I've been forgetting to ask you....
what red fabric are you using on your red/white quilt. I have a red/white quilt I'm planning on and I am afraid to order any unless I get some referrals on a good red!
Can you help a quilty girl out???
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