Pausing For "La Passion"

I've seen this quilt popping up time and time again in my Google searches for hexagon quilts. I finally decided to investigate this glorious quilt. It is  called "La Passion" and is made by Grit of the blog Grit's Life.

(photo credit: Grit's Life)

This quilt is just freaking beautiful. I am in awe every time I look at it. Seeing quilts like this inspire me to continue studying the humble hexagon. It is just amazing that can come out of one simple shape.

What's even better then the "La Passion" quilt? Making your own, of course! That's right, Grit has provided a free pattern for us to duplicate her wonderfully intricate quilt. Many quilters have taken up the challenge of making this quilt. Grit even has a blog site just for people to show off their progress.

I am highly tempted to start working on this quilt. It looks like it would be both a challenge and a beauty to put together. But alas, I have several other English paper piecing projects on the burners at the moment. maybe I can convince someone to do a "La Passion" quilt-along in the near future.

Free EPP Hexagon Downloads

Love of Patchwork & Quilting has these cute hexagons that you can print and cut out for your next EPP project. They are available in 1 inch, 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch sizes. You can learn more about them and get the link to download them HERE.

Paws, Health and Hexies

This is about as much as I've gotten done on the bear paw block. I know, I should be done with that block by now. I was able to draw on the lines to make my half square triangles before my quilting was put on hold. I had all of Sunday to myself while my hubby took our daughter to spend the day at Magic Mountain with his uncle and his family. The plan was to complete the bear paw block, start on a new quilt for the church group I just joined  and maybe even get the bow tie quilt top basted. Alas, the rainy weather and the stress I put myself under getting the house cleaned before their weekend stay with us, caused my health to go down hill.

My ankles swelled and that along with a slitting headache saw me quickly abandoning my quilting for two aspirins and trip to the couch to keep my feet propped up. Even today, I'm still not back to myself and I have my in-laws coming to visit this weekend.

On a positive note, I did manage to make nine hexie flowers over this past week. All my Instagram #Hexiefreinds will be seeing hexies in the mail from me this week.

Hopefully my health will pick up before the in-laws come knocking at the door.

Hexified!

If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that my quilting world is slowly being taken over by hexagons.

Yes, I kissed a hexie and I liked it! *giggle*

Craftsy has a great post on English Paper Piecing (EPP)

As we speak I have three different hexie quilts in the works along with making hexie flowers for the Hexie Friends group I joined on Instagram.

I actually thought this hexie love would only last for just a season, like a summer love. But it seems my relationship with hexies have entered into a more serious level. I'm thinking this may become a permanent relationship. And I'm fine with that!

Check out Julia C. Wood's blog and hexie block of the month

I have this desire to explore the hexagon in quilting and see how far I can push it creatively. I love both the simplicity of just using one shape and the complexity of designs achievable with that shape.

The fact that this work requires almost all hand sewing is just the icing on the cake for me. But so as not to neglect my sewing machine, I will continue to make other types of quilts as well.

Sue Daley is an EPP Specialist with an awesome blog

So, now that I have given you fair warning on what to expect, I hope you will continue to come back to my blog and share in my continuing journey and growth through the world of quilting.

Feel free to share some of your current hexie or EPP work in the comment section. I would love to see what you are up to.

Product Review: Fiskars Hexagon Squeeze Punch Extra Large

Today I am reviewing the Fiskars Hexagon Squeeze Punch (Extra Large).

I first noticed this punch on Instagram. Several people showed using them to cut out hexagons for English Paper Piecing (EPP). I was skeptical at first, seeing that the only ones I noticed being used were for smaller sized hexagons. It wasn't until someone mentioned that the punches came in extra-large size that I decided to take an interest.

The extra large hexagon punch cuts out hexagons which measure 2 inches across or 1 inch on each side. This is equivalent to what most of us in the EPP community refer to as a 1 inch hexie.

So on Monday afternoon I went to my local Joann's Fabric store and purchased one for myself. 

In the San Diego area the extra large size will run you around $18.00. 

(The fact that Joann's was having a 40% off sale on all Fiskars' items made it an even better price.)

First thing I noticed about the hexagon punch? 

The large handles. This makes the punch easy to grip and use.

A simple squeeze is all it takes to cut out the hexagons. 

The punch cuts the paper and then pushes it out for easy removal.

You insert the paper you want to cut inside the slot shown above. The company website says it can be used for 65-lb card stock or lower. This is nice considering that the paper thicknesses used by quilters doing EPP varies about as much as the quilters themselves.

To show how it works I used a heavy card stock label from a pillow I recently purchased. 

I inserted the label into the cutting slot.

Adjusted the label to where I wanted it to be cut.

Then I gripped the handle and started applying pressure.

Just like closing a pair of scissors or applying the handlebar breaks on a bike. When cutting in slow motion like this I could actually start to hear the paper being cut.

Then suddenly, POP! The piece of paper popped out of the cutter.

Easy, clean cut with little effort.

I can see this hexagon punch saving me a lot of money. I no longer have to purchase packages of pre-cut hexagons or waste paper and ink printing out hexagons to cut. I can use papers I would normally just toss in recycling. Those postcard-style subscription forms found in magazines, the free song download cards I always pick up at Starbucks, and price tags on clothing- these are all now fair game for making hexies. Every piece of junk mail will now get evaluated to see if it is hexie worthy.

Pros: It works just like it says!

Cons: Hey Fiskars, you guys think you could make one for me in indigo? (It's my favorite color.)

Have an item you would like me to review? Drop me a line at michellecalimattingly at gmail dot com

(This is NOT a sponsored post. This is just me sharing information for information sake.

 Why? Because I'm just cool like that.)