Memorial Day 2021

Remembering and honoring the fallen who served our country. Our freedom does not come for free.

Red, white and blue hexagons.

Completing The 100 Day Project: my thoughts and observations

Back in January, I committed to participating in The 100 Day Project. It started January 31, 2021. The 100th day was May 10. Here are the results of showing up every day for 100 days: 

243 three-quarter inch, selective-cut, English paper pieced hexagons.

243 hexagons for The 100 Day Project 2021.

My thoughts about The 100 Day Project

It takes commitment to "show up every day" for 100 days! This was precisely the point of Michael Beirut's assignment to his graphic design grad students. Through this project, I discovered I had just enough stubborn tenacity and focus to see it through. Here are my thoughts...

• The 100 Day Project does take commitment, but it is rewarding.
• It is about the process, not necessarily about the results. You often have to make bad art before the good stuff surfaces. It's about the practice of making.
• I began to look at fabric in a different way. Searching for small motifs to selectively cut, or larger motifs that could be partially cut or subcut for an interesting pattern.

Selective cutting partial motifs.

• I learned to notice the color value of fabrics, especially when laying out the hexies all together.
• I liked the frugality and recycling aspect of using small fabric pieces, swatches and especially trimmings from other projects. 
• At first, I thought I'd do much more glue basting on these EPP hexagons. I found myself enjoying the thread basting and did handwork for most of these, especially the last 25-30 days.
• It's OK to switch gears! I also thought I'd do just one hexie a day and have 100 at the end of the project. That was a self-imposed rule up front which I abandoned early on. Glad I did.
• It got to be fun finding corresponding backgrounds on which to photograph the hexagons.

Finding fun backgrounds for the hexagons.

More interesting backgrounds for the hexagons.

• I found myself trying to come up with interesting layouts for photographing the hexagons.

Various layouts for the hexagons.

• Occasionally, the commentary accompanying the daily IG posts reflected on real life.

Some days you need a crystal ball and some days you wish it was a caldron.

• Admittedly, there were days when it was challenging to find the energy to stitch at least one little hexagon. So, I'm glad I chose a do-able project and one that was also portable. 
• It is often said, if you work on something for short periods of time on a regular basis, a lot can be accomplished. Every little hexagon made a contribution to the whole.

In the end, I was rewarded with 243 of these fun little fabric gems, daily photo documentation, and milestone blog posts of the project. 

A possible option for using the hexagons.

Now that the 100 days have concluded, I don't know how (or if) I will put these hexagons into a final project—or multiple projects. But I consider this project a success—and even a "finish"—because The 100 Day Project is all about the process.

I showed up!

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Milestone progress photos of my 100 Days of Hexies can be found in these blog posts: 7 days, 33 days, 50 days, 75 days, 90 days.

At 90% of The 100 Day Project

It felt a bit "draggy" around the 70-80% mark... and I was pushing myself to stick with it... but now, at over 90%, I can't believe it's nearing the 100 Day finish line.

221 three-quarter inch hexies at day 90 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

At the 90% mark, this is 221 three-quarter inch hexagons for one of my 100 Day Projects. 

Past mileposts are: at 75%.

Day 75 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

At 50%

Day 50 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

At 33%

Day 33 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

After the first week.

The first week of the 100 Day Project 2021.

And, the 2021 Stitching Success Tracker has moved into the month of May.

Starting May 2021 of the Stitching Success Tracker calendar.

The background fabric is a canvas panel called "September Morning" from Northcott Fabrics. I'm contemplating a slow stitching zipper bag or possibly a combo of hand and machine stitching. Mood and inspiration will dictate.

The 100 Day Hexie Project at 75%

These are the fruits from Day 75 of my 100 Day Project. These little gems are three-quarter inch hexagons. Each with an image that is selectively cut from the fabric.

193 hexies for the 100 Day Project.

A more organized view:

193 three-quarter inch English paper pieced hexagons.

The 100 Day Project for 2021 will conclude on May 10.

The 100 Day Project: 50 days, 141 hexies

This is the halfway point of my 100 Day Project of 3/4-inch English paper pieced hexagons. 

141 three-quarter inch EPP hexagons. 50 days into The 100 Day Project.

There are 141 hexies. Each has a selective cut image. I have no project(s) planned for these. I'm just enjoying the hunt for fabric... and thread- or glue-basting each hexagon.

It's all about the process.

A third of the way through the 100 Day Project

My 100 Day Project with EPP Hexagons is about a third of the way through. I have 118 three-quarter inch selective cut English paper pieced (EPP) hexagons thus far. What?

118 hexagons for #100daysofepphexies 

At this rate, I could have over 300 little hexagons by the end of the 100 days. This batch is about 12 inches wide. 

Over 12 inches wide.

What would 3 feet of hexagons look like??

The pile of hexies grows daily. The 100 Day Project. #the100dayproject 

And what can I make with them?

Week 1 of the 100 Day Hexie Project: it's about the tools

Progress: the first 7 days of my 100 Day Project, #100daysofepphexies. 

January 31 through February 6 of The 100 Day Project.

I'm using 3/4" hexagon papers for English paper piecing [EPP] and selective cutting (fussy cutting) motifs from the fabrics. 

3/4" hexagons with fussy cut images.

Initially, I thought I would do a single hexie a day. However... there are often multiple images on a piece of fabric—the same image or different, but related—that shout out to be included. As long as I'm tracing and cutting, I might as well take advantage of what that fabric offers.

There were multiple kitties on this Small Things Pets fabric by Lewis and Irene.

Tools

Daily posts of The 100 Day Project are on my Instagram [veronica.fiberantics] and Facebook feeds. One of my friends commented that she was impressed that I liked all the handwork. 

Confession: I'm using a fabric glue pen to glue-baste these hexies. I haven't been thread basting any of these hexies.

Back side of the hexie EPP pieces. Fabric is glue-basted with the glue pen.

It's all about the right tools to: 

• make the process more efficient, 
• make it more accurate, 
• make the assembly easier or quicker, 
• ______ (fill in the blank).
• and, in the end, to enjoy the process more! 

That's what it's all about—enjoying the process. Don't you think?

Prep for the 100 Day Project with 3/4" EPP hexagons

I'm prepping for the 100 Day Project. It starts in less than a week—on Sunday, January 31.

From Dr. Seuss

My 3/4" paper pieces from Paper Pieces have arrived along with an acrylic template for selective cutting the fabrics. I also cut my own preview window from cardboard (because I couldn't wait). So I have two tools.

Paper templates for English paper piecing and acrylic viewer.

I'm collecting fabrics with small images or motifs that look interesting.

Templates for selecting images from fabrics.

Everyone should think about doing this! 

It's a new day for the USA!

November 7, 2020: to commemorate yesterday's presidential election news, I abandoned piecing the hexagon blocks I'd previously prepared... to make these. 

Election 2020 patriotic hexagons.

Whatever red, white or blue fabrics near the top of the stash pile were pulled for cutting and assembly.

Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris hexagon block.

President-Elect Joe Biden hexagon block.

Some units were thead basted... then I turned to the glue stick to expedite the basting process as we awaited the President-elect and Vice President-Elect televised speeches.

Hexagon block backs show thread and glue basting.

It's a new day for the USA.

Kantha stitched and hand embroidered Flag Girl.
Shall we name her Kamala?

Fabrics:
birds on navy—Small Things Pets from Lewis and Irene

girl faces—Friends and Faces from Paintbrush Studio

tonal red blender—Suede from P&B Textiles

flowers on red—Alexander Henry Fabrics

small flags—unknown, from my stash

A month of hand stitching, a virtual stitch party and social distancing

Another productive month of stitching!

October was all about hand work. My Stitching Success Tracker shows that time was split between English paper piecing [EPP] and progress on my Make Nine 2020 knitting project. 

October Stitching Success Tracker: knitting and English paper piecing.

I've continued adding 6" hexagons to my Glorious Hexagons project. The 10 blocks completed in October puts the count over 130! (No quilt layout in sight... one day I'll decide on a project or three.)

Participating "virtually" in the daily prompts of the Instagram-based I Love EPP Party with @the_makers_stash was also very motivating and inspirational. I picked up a few good tips from world-wide EPPers and there are several new-to-me things I now want to try.

Ten hexagons completed in October.

A recent purchase of two packages of Glorious Hexagons paper pieces has provided me with fresh templates and different shapes to work with—including the kite shape. New block design possibilities! I'm also referencing Katja Marek's latest book, "The New Hexagon 2."

The kite shape is offering new hexagon block designs.

My Make Nine yarn project—a yarn stash buster—has been traveling with me. Progress has been made on my garter stitch wrap. 

Yarn stash buster garter stitch wrap.

Last week, I exercised my 19th Amendment right with Early Voting! We wore our masks, social distanced, and waited in line about 45 minutes.

"I Voted!" 2020

I hope your October was proactive and productive!

Happy Hexie Halloween

EPP hexagons in September

This is one of my favorite hexagon blocks I finished in September. It's something about the graphic, stylized leaf motifs that speaks to my aesthetic. 

English paper pieced hexagon block.

My EPP [English paper pieced] stack of hexies increased by eight last month. I don't have a layout plan for these Glorious Hexagons... I'm just enjoying raiding the stash of scraps, selective cutting the images, and hand piecing each little hexagon gem.

Eight hexagon blocks made in September.

The mint and chartreuse colored boxes of September on the Stitching Success Tracker coincides with the EPP hand piecing activities. 

Stitch Success Tracker: September

However, now that it's October, I decided to revisit a Make Nine 2020 project that was started early this year—a knitted stash buster shawl. The Stitch Success Tracker is changing from green to orange. 

Stitch Success Tracker: early October progress.

It might be something about this cooler fall weather that is making me turn to a yarn project.

Studying, experimenting, learning...using Kristin Omdahl's "Day of the Dragonfly" fabric collection

For the last month, I've been experimenting with a different kind of embellishment for quilts and quilted items. I'm studying a new technique (and learning a lot!), but I don't feel I have a solid foundation just yet to put it out into the world. For the next quilt study in the series, I've chosen fabrics from the recently released Day of the Dragonfly fabric collection by Kristin Omdahl for Blank Quilting and added a couple basics (Starlet and Pearl Grid) to the mix.

Selected fabrics from Day of the Dragonfly fabric collection by Kristin Omdahl
with Starlet and Pearl Grid blenders.

If you're a crocheter or knitter, you probably know Kristin Omdahl—through her books, patterns, yarns, TV shows or maybe taken a class with her. She's been a professional in the yarn world for quite a long time. If you're not a "yarny," here's the back story about how I met up with Kristin and how the seed was planted that lead to this fabric line.

The back story: Two years ago, I was returning from AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah, KY and popped in at the Stitches South knit and crochet convention in Nashville, TN. Flying through the vendor mall (the show was closing in about 3 hours), I stopped at a booth that had tote bags for knitters/crocheters to keep their projects in. The fabric that was used for the bags had delightful designs done in a carefree, painterly style. Being a fabric representative, I was curious to know whose fabric line it was. When I asked, the woman in the booth told me Kristin Omdahl had designed the fabrics and was printing them [digitally] in small quantities to make and also sell the bags.
        Long story short, I introduced myself to Kristin and when I told her who I was, what I did, and asked about her designs, her eyes welled up and she hugged me. A dream of hers could possibly come true... to design a line of fabric for a major fabric company. I forwarded Kristin's name, a short bio and a summary of our conversation to the lead stylist in the design department at Blank Quilting. A few months later, Kristin was contacted and the Day of the Dragonfly fabric collection was born. Here is Kristin's blog post about the concept for the line.

Day of the Dragonfly fabric collection by Kristin Omdahl for Blank Quilting.

In the Day of the Dragonfly collection, I was drawn to the red-violet and turquoise tertiary color palette with the bright yellow and chartreuse accents. Also, the lively, stylized flowers and swirls are happy and fun. Being married to a Grateful Dead aficionado (a deadhead), the sugar skulls and similar skeleton designs are common motifs around our house.

This next quilt study is on the design wall. It will incorporate Kristin's fabric line, English paper pieced hexagons [slow stitching] and free-motion machine quilting techniques [fast stitching] with a new embellishing technique (that is still percolating in my brain).