My Trunk Full of Hexagon Quilts

Soma, who has the most beautiful blog, Whims and Fancies has come up with an inspired idea. She is hosting a virtual 'Trunk Full of Quilts' inviting quilters to showcase some of their quilts that their creative imaginations have lovingly whipped up. So I decided I would join in the fun.

As some of you know, I am rather enamoured with hexagon quilts. Oh all right.....I confess, I am besotted with hexagon quilts. I love the hexagon shape. I love how the shape is repeated over and over again, the juxtaposition of each shape forming a beautiful tessellated pattern which fits neatly into each other without any overlapping. I love the myriad mosaic patterns which are conjured up. I never tire of gazing upon these hexagon beauties.

So........I decided to showcase my trunk overspilling with some of my completely hand stitched hexagon quilts that I have stitched over the last few years.

My skipping along the yellow brick road of hexagon quilts began when I happened upon a wonderful method for sewing hexagon quilts a few years ago. Individual hexagons are sewn with the top fabric, the batting and the backing fabric all at once and then a little of the backing fabric is brought to the front to form a narrow border. Then the finished hexagons are whippd stitched together at the back to form the quilt.

My first 'hexie' was made from hundreds of scraps of fabric and I must admit it is one of my favourites. It is an oft-used quilt and I love how it has faded with age and has become wonderfully squashy. Indeed, this quilt is like an old friend!.

The back of  these hexies are almost as pretty as the front, which means you have two quilts in one.

A bright and fun hexie quilt I made as a present for a little boy.

The seams on the back of this quilt are covered by lengths of fabric binding which adds to the scrappy look and gives a more visually pleasing finish.

Brightly coloured, scrappy hexagons flying in the breeze.

This hexie was fashioned from gorgeous Chinese brocades my daughter bought as a gift for me whilst on a trip to China.

The front........

The back is rainbow-filled with gorgeous satins.

Aaah yes.....a vibrantly, coloured hexie quilt always adds a little something.....a little pizzazz to the landscape!

To use up some of the gorgeous vintage fabrics.....brocades, silks, velvets, satins....and the pretty vintage laces, gloves, jewellery, ribbons, doilies, buttons and all those other pretties I have hoarded gathered over the years, I decided it would be wonderful to incorporate a lot of these pretties into some sumptuous, hexagon quilts. Yes indeedy, I am a gal whose heart swoons over vintage lovelies, but as a result of my addiction, my plethora of vintage lovelies more often than not, escape their rather confined environs, weaving their way throughout our humble abode. They seem to tangle anyone and anything that crosses their path; thus the eventual compulsion for them to be whipped up into gorgeous quilts and embellish my hexies to within an inch of their lives.

I wanted to incorporate a sense of those crazy patchwork quilts from a bygone era into my hexagon quilts.  I love how there is no rhyme or reason to these crazy patchwork quilts. I love how these quilts are filled with glorious embroideries, swirls upon swirls of pretty ribbons dancing across the sumptuous fabrics, pretty buttons, vintage jewellery, opalescent beads........I love how crazy quilts are filled with treasures from a stitcher's Aladdin's Cave.

This 'Rhapsody in Blue' hexie was fashioned for a dear friend's 50th Birthday.

An overspilling abundance of sumptuous extravagance.

My luscious, vibrantly coloured, hexagon quilt celebrating a bohemian spirit. I wanted this quilt to be awash with glorious colour, breaking a few 'so called' colour rules along the way....oh.....and embellishing with the odd pretty or two.

My pastel lovelies.

This one sits prettily atop our bed, in our boudoir.

I love the random craziness of the hexagon quilts that I fashion. There is never a grand plan. I just adore seeing what exciting journey the fabrics and all those 'to-die-for embellishments take me on, experimenting with colour and texture; and playing with design. I love to twirl all the gloriously vibrant colours round and round in a merry dance! 

It has been a delight to show you a few of my hexagon lovelies. All these hexagon quilts have all been lovingly stitched by hand. Yes indeedy, there is no machine stitching to be seen here.

For those of you whose eyes have looked upon all of these pretties before.....I humbly apologise for this virtual 'Trunk Full of Hexagon Pretties'. I am so, so sorry you have had to plough through these pretties yet again! I promise, with my hand on my heart, to finish those works in progress, of which there are many, and showcase them next year, if indeed Soma should host this fun show again. Thank you, Soma, for hosting this enjoyable 'Trunk Full of Quilt' show....it has been the best fun. It also has been a delight to visit others' lovely blogs and to have a bo peep at their gorgeous quilts. Oh my goodness, there are some wonderfully clever quilters out there!!

 But for now, it's toodles from me.

My cup runneth over.........

.....with loving kindnesses from dear friends. Each day I find there are thousands of fibres that connect us to our friends, discovering fragments of yourself in others..........even friends that we have never met.

One such friendship; (a friend whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting face to face), started just a li'l while ago in 'The Land of Blog'. I met Vicki of A Quilters Mission  perchance, whilst wandering (as you do) through cyberspace. You click on one blog, which leads you to another blog and another, and another; until you find yourself  wandering with amazement and awe through a maze of delightful blogs written by clever stitchers; showcasing their glorious handiwork and writing about their creative lives. 'Tis a wonderful world filled with colourful inspiration!

I happened upon Vicki's lovely blog and discovered that a lot of quilts that she stitches are for charity. Vicki (together with other ladies) stitches beautiful quilts transforming them from 'lemons' into 'lemonade' and raises money for local and worldwide relief, thus giving many a warm hug to those who are finding travelling along the road of life rather tough! The work that Vicki does is such a blessing to many........indeed the work that Vicki does (I think) is eternal!!

Anyway...........why am I telling you about my friend, Vicki? Well.....after a particularly sad day (I had just received some very sad news), my friendly postman delivered a rather substantial parcel, all the way from the USofA!! Imagine my surprise when upon looking as to whom the sender might be, I discovered 'Miss Vicki's' name printed thereon. When I opened my present, gorgeously stitched items by the clever Miss Vicki spilled out.

There were 2 scrumptious polka dotted strawberry pin cushions, a needle ring, a needle book, a thread catcher (I had never heard of these before entering the Land of Blog....I know, I know...I don't get out much), a zipper pouch, an armchair pin cushion and 4 gorgeous mug rugs!! All of these items are made of gorgeous fabrics from hues that I love!! There is even a Laura Ashley, cornflower blue, fabric design from which I had fashioned curtains, long ago in my humble abode in Sydney!

 

The two buttons on the strawberry pin cushions are some of Vicki's mother.

Though I love every fabric that Vicki has chosen, I particularly love the cheery aqua and pink/reds of the armchair pin cushion! I love the lemon backing on the mug rugs to remind me of the 'lemonade' quilts that Vicki so tirelessly stitches for charity! She's a treasure, is Miss Vicki!! I am so very thankful that I have 'met' her and so very thankful that she has travelled through cyberspace and happened upon my life!! 'Tis a blessed gal that I am!!

 

 Now........my cup runneth over with yet another token of thoughtful friendship. Anne, another dear friend, said to me the other day......."Miss Kim, I have a surprise for you!! I have bought a 'few' buttons for you!"

Mmmmmmmmm................just a few!!!!

  

 I might add that this is just one jar filled with these pretties. There is enough to fill ten more and then some!!

Thousands and thousands of glorious buttons spilling out in rainbow-filled hues.

 

 Those of you who follow my li'l blog, will know that every afternoon after school I teach children (prodigies....well I think they are) the art of stitching. And.......as so many of the projects they stitch demand oodles and oodles of buttons, I am slowly running out of these fastening doodads! And......of course these children who attend "The Kim Sharman School of Stitching Excellence" seem to have developed a sophisticated and expensive taste in pretty buttons.........mmmmmmm......I wonder from whom they have developed such cultivated taste!!!

I predict many a contented hour sorting through these buttons over the next couple of weeks. There is something soothing about running your fingers through a plethora of buttons!! I know, I know...I am a tragic.....but I LURVE buttons!!

 

Both these expressions of friendship, in their own way, have warmed my heart this week. They have been perfect illustrations of how daily miracles appear in the most ordinary of circumstances.

 

As I sit and indulge in a cuppa and home-baked treat (a favourite pastime of mine); with my mug resting on one of my gorgeous mug rugs, I can't help but be reminded of how "my cup runneth over" with warm friendships! Yes indeedy.....'tis a blessed gal that I am!!

I spy with my little eye something beginning with the letter.... "B"

Whilst visiting my daughter in Adelaide earlier this year I happened upon the coolest little button shop. It was brimming with container after container of exquisite buttons of every possible colour, shape and size. Having a penchant for collecting the odd button or two, there were enough fastening doodads before me to make my little creative heart sing.

 

You would be hard pressed if you could not find the exact button in this little shop to add the finishing touch to your creative project. Let's just say that quite a few treasures found their way into my handbag that day.

Shops like these always evoke in me the sense of wonderment I felt as a small child upon entering a haberdashery or drapery. Some of my favourite childhood memories are of those going shopping with my mum every week just because I could visit the haberdashery, where my mum would purchase her weekly supply of wool for whatever project she was knitting.

Upon crossing the threshold I always felt as if I had entered into a bejewelled wonderland, a needleworker's Aladdin's cave filled with indescribable treasure. As far as my little girl eyes could see there was row upon row of shiny buttons representing every colour of the rainbow, in a wide array of shapes, textures and sizes. They shone like precious jewels all bustling to be noticed.

My eyes would wander to glass door cabinets, where beautiful laces all sat prettily in rows showing off their varying degrees of extravagant lavishness, waiting for someone to purchase a snippet or two for their next creation.

Then there were the ribbons. Even today I consider ribbons en masse to be the prettiest sight! I imagined that my short bob was a long flowing ponytail; that my mum would buy me a pretty ribbon, so that I could wear a beautiful ribbon bow around my lustrous locks.

There were rolls of fabric everywhere. From bright and colourful cottons representative of the 1960's, sweet plisses, delicate baby lawns, sumptuous silks and brocades, shiny luminous satins, plush luxurious velvets......bolt after bolt of assorted textiles just waiting to be transformed into the latest fashionable frock.

I loved the snipping sound that the heavy dressmaker's shears made as they moved decisively along the wooden counter whilst cutting the fabric. Even today I find the sound of cutting scissors along counter tops strangely comforting.

Of course, my visit each week was much, much too short.....I always wanted to stay a while. I wanted to hide from all the adults and just be in that place where I felt strangely protected as in an insulated cocoon, a place where I could in my mind's eye whip up fabric concoctions heavily embellished with all the treasure that surrounded me. Aaaahh yes..... it was my fantastical Utopia.