Funny story! I've spent the last month stitching next month's blocks because I got mixed up with the order in my head. And then this morning, when I realised, and went to get out the papers for this month's blocks, I discovered that I used the papers up for my last version of Hexie Harvest and didn't have any jewels.
But! The sun is shining, and after 3 weeks of my kids tag-teaming colds, I have a kid-free day! So nothing's getting me down today.
I did go through all my scraps from my quilt so far and found the whites to make diamonds. And I thought that while I'm at it, I should baste the diamonds for the Aster blocks I haven't finished yet. So really, I'm still making progress!
These blocks use the same shapes laid out in different ways, which makes it easy to batch cut and baste. I decided to use white fabrics for the diamonds, and then a second, single colour for the jewels in both blocks. That way, I can cut 6 jewels in 14 different prints, baste them, and then decide which prints suit Honeydew best and which prints suit Lilly Pilly.
These shapes are at the smaller end of the spectrum, so pick out basics for the diamonds and jewels, or use your acrylic templates to fussy cut.
When you're using the same print for each piece in a block like Lilly Pilly, it can end up looking a bit messy if you've cut off motifs through a body or a flower. This matters less if your petals are different prints. But if you centre your acrylic template on a motif, draw or cut around it, (I draw and then cut with scissors to avoid cutting myself with the rotary cutter), you can use prints that aren't ‘basics’ and they look neat and effective.
Fussy Cutting
Fussy cutting can be anything from centring a tiny moon inside a diamond so that your star is neat and tidy, to creating a kaleidoscope from cutting the same portion of the fabric print over and over. To do this, you need to find the ‘repeat’.
The repeat is the whole section of pattern that has been repeated across the fabric. You don't necessarily need to figure out where it begins and where it ends, you just need to pick a motif, like a flower, and then find it again.
In the print above, you can see I've chosen one flower, and then I've found it again several inches over. If you want an exact kaleidoscope effect, place your acrylic template where you'd like it on the design, and then use a whiteboard marker to draw around the flower on the acrylic template. Then draw around it, ready to cut. Now, move the template and line up the marker outline over the next flower. Repeat until you have the amount of flowers you need.
But this print has quite a big repeat, and in the size of fabric I had left, I could only find 3 of these flowers. So instead of cutting out the exact same flower, I've just cut a selection of flowers that were all close together to create the least waste.
You can see in the Lilly Pilly Flower below that it's a little messy in the centre (exact fussy cutting would make a cool pattern in the centre), but it's still a nicer effect than if I'd cut from a strip.
And it's quite lovely as Honeydew as well! I might even prefer it!
If you want to delve in more, scroll down to the regular links. Stitched in Color's blog post on choosing fabric for EPP is all about her beautiful Ice-Cream Soda Quilt which has similar sized shapes.
May Faves!
Check out these beautiful blocks found in the #hexieharvestquilt hashtag!
I love the scrappy effect of these Honeydew blocks by Taz! It's a great way to keep the woven look the jewels create.
I'm really drawn to the simple and beautiful colour palette of these Valentina blocks by Ann. Using mostly basics, with a splash of lovely florals is going to make this quilt stunning!
If I start a 5th version of this quilt and make it Christmassy, it's going to be all your fault, Alyce!
This quilt is so happy! And these Honeydew and Lilly Pilly Blocks sprinkled in below are a great example of mixing fussy cutting with strip cutting. If you decide to fussy cut, you don't need fussy cut everything. Having the occasional star made from fussy cut fabric really draws the eye and allows them to shine.
You get a sweet EPP needlebook by me, some Sohmo clips, Victorinox scissors, a sweet quilty tin, and a small sampling of pins and needles. Reply to this email with your address to claim your prize!
(winners are chosen each month at random from the HexieHarvestQuilt hashtag.)
Helpful Links
My Secret Garden Hexie Quilt Pattern is full of very, very beginner-friendly instructions, pictures, and videos of the whole EPP quilt process.
I hope you enjoy exploring the different prints you have in your stash, to see how you might cut them to produce secondary patterns. It's the kind of learning that's really fun!
