Hexagons

A few people have been blogging about paper piecing with hexagons this week. I know I'm not widely read, but I figured I'd chime in with a tip of my own, since I recently finished my full-sized quilt top made of 3" hexagons.


Instead of cutting your paper pieces, purchase them from Paperpieces.com. They use a die-cutter and heavy card stock to cut their paper pieces. You can order all different sizes, all different shapes, and all different amounts.  Their customer service is great and they have super-fast shipping.


The great thing is, you can reuse your shapes since they are cut from such heavy paper. I ordered a package of 300 3" hexagons and spent around $20. This was plenty of hexagons and I still have them for the next quilt!

Coats and Clark Thread

I've been piecing with this great Coats and Clark Hand Quilting Thread. It's awesome. The glace' finish is really nice-- the thread glides so smoothly. I like it even better than my waxed thread (and I like that thread a lot)!

Cast-On Stitch

DSCN7758
Originally uploaded by kleio's belly

Look at this cool thing! Turns out, she's using something called a Cast-On Stitch to create those curlicues.

Thankfully, on her blog, she linked to Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary, where she found the Cast-On Stitch Tutorial.

Totally going to try this.

A Month of Hand Sewing

red hands sewing
Originally uploaded by Bascom Hogue

What a coincidence! The folks at Sew, Mama, Sew! are rediscovering handwork, too.

To celebrate handwork, the sewing mamas are hosting A Month of Hand Sewing. There'll be tutorials, photos of the day, and giveaways, including this cute little hand sewing kit.

The quiet patience of a needle sewing thread has always appealed to me. A month of hand sewing isn't a bad idea, so I'm going to try not to go near my sewing machine this month. Instead, I'll work on the various handwork projects I've got going.

Buttonhole Wheel

TAST Portuguese Knotted Stem
Originally uploaded by Kay Susan

A while ago I purchased the Leisure Arts Embroidery Pocket Guide Leaflet. It's laminated and folds up just like a map, which is extremely handy. I love using it to refresh my memory on stitches that I already know how to do-- the diagrams are great.

However, it lists some stitches I don't know, which looked pretty cool. The stitch I taught myself today was the buttonhole wheel stitch (seen above in Kay Susan's awesome embroidery).

If you're curious about how to do it, check out this video tutorial for buttonhole wheel stitch from Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread.

Perfect Little Box Pouch

Perfect Little Box Pouch
Originally uploaded by Indie House

Here's a fun and easy-to-follow tutorial on how to make a boxed pouch. I've never put in a zipper before, but this seems an innocent enough project for zipper virgins!