Save The Bees Block #3

Save the Bees - block #3

It's time for the reveal of the next block for the Save the Bees quilt.... drum roll please... 
it's bee hive hexies! 
Click here to see Jacquelynne's block and get the instructions. 



There are many ways to sew hexagon blocks, and for this block I used the hand piecing method. I enjoy all types of hand stitching and host a weekly linkup for hand stitchers called "Slow Sunday Stitching".  Because I enjoy it so much, I am always looking for opportunities to incorporate hand work.

Hand piecing the hexagons

These blocks were a delight to piece together! I chose a few golden honey fabrics for my hexies, cut freezer paper templates and ironed them to the back of the fabrics. Then I traced around the freezer paper with an air erasable pen to get my stitching line. 

Then I removed the templates, and with right sides of the hexagons together, I stitched on the drawn lines using a running stitch. It's such a relaxing way to sew the seams together without sewing any Y seams. This photo shows the first 4 hexagons joined together. I finger press the seams as I go along and don't use the iron until they are all sewn together. There are so many bias/stretchy edges that I don't want to risk wonkiness developing at the ironing board!

Appliqueing the hexagons to the base

When all the pieces were connected, I folded under a  1/4" edge all the way around, and thread basted with large stitches. This gives a nice crisp edge to stitch, although you could also use needleturn or other applique methods.
Then I appliqued the whole section of 8 hexagons to the base fabric.

Cutting away fabric from the back of the block

The last step was to remove the excess fabric behind the hexagons. This makes it easier to quilt with one less layer of fabric. But safety is crucial here. My advice is to go slowly and make small cuts, being very careful you only cut the background fabric and not your hexagons! I make a tiny snip and place my finger as a barrier between the backing and the hexagons. When the cut is larger I put my whole hand in there to prevent any accidental cuts.




If you press the seams carefully where the hexagons are joined it will form another tiny hexagon. Here is my block from the back. Those tiny hexie shapes made me smile :)

I am excited to visit the other featured bloggers to see how they made their block this month. It's so fun to see the variety of techniques and fabrics being used in each of the  projects. Here's the line up of blogs to visit: 

• The Crafty Quilter
• Podunk Pretties
• The Quilting Nook
• The Sewing Loft
• Flamingo Toes
• Kathy's Quilts (that's me!)
• Freemotion by the River
• A Quilting Life

Remember to enter the draws being held at each blog when you visit. The terrific prize this month is the Valori Wells collection of Aurifil thread. Everyone knows I adore Aurifil thread and just look at those vibrant colours! If you enter at each blog, you have 8 chances to win one of the thread boxes (one prize per winner). The draw is open to quilters in any country, so be sure to enter before midnight of October 7.
To win my draw for the thread box scroll down to the end of this post and click on "comments". Draw is now closed
Leave me a comment telling me how you feel about hexies. Do you make and collect them? Are you addicted to hexies? Are you trying to resist their charm? Have you made hexie quilts? Do you dislike hexagons? I do like them, but not as much as my friend Debby does - click here to see some of her collection. 

To see even more photos of Save the Bees blocks being made, hop over to Jacquelynne's Facebook Group. 
⬡⬡⬡ Happy Hexieing! ⬡⬡⬡

Save The Bees - my  first 3 blocks on the design wall

Linking up to Design Wall Monday.