Hexie Love Blog Hop

I am interrupting our regularly scheduled program (Modern Baby Quilt) again with TWO pieces of news for Julia Wood’s Hexie Blog Hop!

Hexie Love by Julia Wood

ONE!  Julia Wood is self-publishing a new online magazine called Hexie Love, and you could win one free issue. ($5.99 value)

Julia has assured me that Hexie Love is not just about English Paper Piecing and I have agreed to write an article about Inklingo for an issue later this year.

Hexagons are not just for quilters who use EPP!

 

Hexagon Quilt Design Book

TWO!  I am offering the Inklingo Hexagon Quilt Design Book ($20 value, PDF download) FREE until midnight on Tuesday, April 14, so read on!

 

Print hexagons on fabric with Inklingo

Printing shapes on fabric with an ordinary Inkjet printer and Inklingo is a hexie lover’s dream come true!

There is fabulous hexagon inspiration everywhere these days.

However, if English Paper Piecing was the only way to quilt, I would probably not be a quilter at all—let alone gluing and basting and picking paper out of hexagons! I would have found another hobby.

I hear the same thing from Inklingo quilters almost every day. Gluing, pinching and whip-stitching is not fun for everyone and can be very hard on hands and wrists.

ENGLISH PAPER PIECING RESCUE

I often hear from quilters who are stalled on a project they started with EPP, discouraged by how long it takes. You can finish with a running stitch!

English Paper Piecing Rescue is one of the most popular pages on my website.

 

Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses

Lucy Boston has inspired quilters all over the world with Patchwork of the Crosses and other hexagon quilts. She taught herself to sew by mending clothes and old quilts. English Paper Piecing was the only method she knew.

The brilliance of Lucy Boston was the artistic way she used designs in the fabric–fussy cutting—not her sewing method.

The Patchworks of Lucy Boston by her daughter-in-law, Diana, illustrates and describes all 20 of her amazing quilts. It makes me sad to think how many more masterpieces would be part of Lucy Boston’s legacy if she had the advantages we have today.

 

Millefiori Quilts by Willyne Hammerstein

In Millefiori Quilts and Millefiori Quilts 2, the Dutch artist Willyne Hammerstein uses English Paper Piecing but says it is the least favorite part of the process for her too.

“Choosing a pattern, selecting the fabrics that go with it and piecing together a small part to see the result, gives me the most pleasure. Thereafter, my perseverance is tested. Quilting is not my favorite occupation.”

Do you admire all the hexagons you see in books and magazines and on Pinterest and other websites, but can’t imagine basting and whip-stitching your way to a finished quilt?

Hexagons are not just for quilters who use EPP!

I quilt for relaxation and to express my creativity. Life can be hard. I don’t need my hobby to test my patience!

There is an easier way to sew Willyne’s exquisitely complex quilts with hexagons, diamonds, pentagons and other shapes. Quiltmania understood that making the shapes in Willyne’s quilts Inklingo-able would make these stunning designs accessible to more quilters, not just quilters who EPP.

Last month we introduced two shape collections for Passacaglia, the quilt on the cover of Millefiori Quilts.

 

Hexagons and Stars with Inklingo

EPP FORESAKEN!

When a project takes so long that I lose interest and abandon hope of finishing, it creates feelings of guilt.

Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville is part of Julia’s Blog Hop too.  Bonnie stuck with her vision for her hexie quilt for FOURTEEN years, not including time to quilt it. Bonnie is an inspiration for all of us, but oh, my!

HEXIE LOVE!

  • I love hexagons, especially the 90° hexagons in Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses.
  • I love a portable project.
  • I love precision.
  • I love relaxing with a needle and thread for some slow stitching—a running stitch.
  • I love fussy cutting.
  • I love finishing what I start.

Hexagons are not just for quilters who use EPP!

I can sew with a running stitch instead!

There are at least two good ways of preparing hexagons for hand piecing which are faster and more accurate than EPP, so you can make wonderful hexagon designs in a fraction of the time.

 

Quilted Diamonds and Quilted Diamonds 2

1. Prepare the shapes with freezer paper templates and sew with a running stitch. This is the method I teach in my Quilted Diamonds books.

 

Sew hexagons with a running stitch.

This method of hand piecing gives you complete design freedom!

If you can print or draw the shapes on freezer paper, you can cut them apart, draw sewing lines on the fabric with a pencil and sew fabric pieces together with a running stitch. It is the same for hexagons AND any other shape.

I decided to reprint Quilted Diamonds 2 this winter—while hexagons are hot—because it can help quilters who are looking for an easier, more portable way to sew hexagons or any other shape, not just the diamond designs in the books.

Quilted Diamonds 2 DVD lesson

Every copy of Quilted Diamonds 2 includes the comprehensive two-hour hand piecing lesson on DVD. The lesson takes the mystery out of this simple, relaxing technique and includes all my best tips.

 

Video - Hand Piecing with Inklingo

2. Print the shapes on fabric with Inklingo (VIDEO) and sew with a running stitch.

Of course, this is my favorite method. Precise, simple, fast, portable.

Print, rotary cut several layers at a time, and sew! The video shows every step.

Hexagons are not just for quilters who use EPP!

 

 

VIDEO - Machine piece hexagons

Everyone loves the portability of hand piecing, but it is also easy to machine piece hexagons when you have the lines printed on the fabric.

I hand piece hexagons that are smaller than 1 inch and machine piece the larger sizes. I also like to combine hand and machine piecing in the same quilt, a hybrid.

I hand piece when I need portability and machine piece for speed.

 

Inklingo Pieced Hexagons Video

The same hand piecing and machine sewing techniques also work for 300 Pieced Hexagon designs (video above) and for fussy cutting.

 

8 Good Ways to Use Inklingo for EPP

8 GOOD WAYS

On the other hand, if you do enjoy English Paper Piecing, there are 8 Good Ways to Use Inklingo for EPP. 8 Good Ways on QuiltingHub.

In addition to the flexibility of printing your own templates and choosing your own perfect template material, Inklingo includes illustrated yardage requirements and TWO wonderful methods for fussy cutting!

 

Print circles on fabric with Inklingo

FOLDED CIRCLES

If you use Julia Wood’s method of folding fabric circles into a hexagon shape, you can skip the tracing and print circles on fabric with Inklingo instead!

Hexagons made from folded circles are pretty thick, so you will want BIG circles. A three-inch fabric circle folds into a hexagon with sides less than 1 inch (comparison above), so instead of cutting 225-250 hexagons from a yard of fabric, you only get about 120.

 

Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses POTC

1. Leave a comment to enter to win an issue of Hexie Love.

I will be posting more hexie photos on Pinterest and Facebook during Julia’s Blog Hop, but the winner of the copy of Hexie Love from Julia Wood will be chosen from comments left below—not anywhere else.

Comments on Blog Lovin or other blog readers or on Facebook or anywhere else will not be in the draw. Please comment on this page to be included.

 

Inklingo Hexagons, sewn with a running stitch

2. Order the Hexagon Quilt Design Book—free. 
Order on the website.

Tell your friends!

Normally any Inklingo design book is only free when you buy the related Inklingo shapes.

If you already have the Hexagon Quilt Design Book, there is no need to order again.

After midnight on Tuesday, April 14, the Hexagon Quilt Design Book will go back to $10—or free when you buy a related shape collection. (Details – 60° hexagons, 90° hexagons for POTC, shapes for Willyne Hammerstein’s Passacaglia, Colonial Garden or Periwinkle Octagon).

 

Inklingo Pieced Hexagons

THE BLOG HOP CONTINUES!

For more information on Hexie Love Magazine and Julia’s books about folding circles into hexagons, please visit Julia’s Blog.

Visit these links for more chances to win!

April 6  Bonnie Hunter http://quiltville.blogspot.ca/2015/04/hexie-love-e-magazine-give-away.html
April 7  Catherine Redford http://catherineredford.com/hexie-love-blog-hop/
April 8  Linda Franz http://www.inklingo.com/blog/hexie-love-blog-hop/  (me)
April 9  Cheryl Sleboda http://muppin.com/wordpress/index.php/blog/
April 10 Geta Grama  http://cadouri-din-inima.blogspot.com
April 11  Victoria Findlay Wolfe http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com
April 12 Becky Campbell  https://www.facebook.com/sewforeverquiltingbybeckycampbell
April 13 Joan Shay https://www.facebook.com/joan.mooreshay

 

Inklingo Modern Baby Quilt

ARE YOU SUBSCRIBED?

I will write more soon about the Modern Baby quilt design you can make with the new Inklingo for Quilted Diamonds shape collection.

I post one or two photos on Facebook every day, but Facebook only shows my photos to about 20% of the quilters who have “liked” the Inklingo Facebook Page, so the best way to stay up to date is to subscribe to the blog (top of right sidebar).

 

Print hexagons on fabric with Inklingo

REMINDERS

I will keep the special sale price of $15 on the  new Inklingo for Quilted Diamonds shape collection for a few more days, okay? Main Quilted Diamonds Page

There are FAQ about Quilted Diamonds on the blog and you can see my first Modern Baby Quilt designs too.

I will be sharing more photos on the Inklingo Facebook page. If you are on Facebook, please “like” and “comment” and “share” my photos. It spreads a nice friendly feeling!

I’m looking forward to reading your comments about hexagons. Good luck in the draw!

Linda & Monkey

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New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

$10 Coupon! 8 Year Anniversary Special on the handbook

Inklingo for Beginners

25 Signs YOU are an Inklingo Quilter

Inklingo on Facebook

134 thoughts on “Hexie Love Blog Hop”

  1. Loved this blog post, liberating my thinking about EPP vs Inklingo!
    thanks for the chance to win and love love the pdf. I am totally fascinated by the countless ways of putting hexagons together..Granny would be envious!

    Reply
  2. I am an EPP’er, but I think you may just have inspired me to try your way of piecing. I’m now going to peruse more of your blogsite as I like what I have seen here so far. And thank you so much for the Hexagon Quilt Design Book. A very generous offer.

    Reply
  3. I have been following Inklingo for a few years, and LOVE what is being done with hexagons these days. I would love to win a copy of the Hexies Magazine. Thanks for the free copy of your Hexagon Quilt Design Book, Linda! Inklingo is helping make those awesome complex hexagon designs accessible to more of us.

    Reply
  4. As e Reynolds else I am being reeled in with the hexies. I had a grandmother’s flower from the 30’s. Sadly I have worn it out. Would love the hexie magazine. As soon as I finish my current project I am going to be printing pieces. Thank you.
    MA

    Reply
  5. I have never used Inklingo, but I am going to one day soon. I think I would use Inklingo on my next Hexie Project:) especially if I had a new Hexie book. So happy to hear Quilted Diamonds is out again. I love my copy.

    Reply
  6. I love hexagons!! My mom before she died in 2000 had made five of her children a quilt except me because I was quilting a lot. She realized that she had not made me a quilt and so because my grandmother had taught me to quilt my mom made me a Grandmother’s flower garden quilt. I will forever love hexagons because she made me that special quilt. The thin is my mom didn’t like to quilt but she wanted to do one for each of her children so we would always have something from her!!!!

    Reply
  7. Just discovered Inklingo when I ordered Patchwork of the Crosses book from Linda. Wow! What a breakthrough in hand stitching. Looking forward to learning this amazing technique instead of EPP.

    Reply
  8. I love hexies!!!! It was my first quilt. I made when I was pregnant with my son. I taught many people to make GFG quilts. they taught their kids, who taught their kids and on! You are an inspiration!
    Miss Ya!
    Steph

    Reply
  9. Until recently, I thought I was among the very few who loved hexagons. Not so, I’m finding out! Going to order your book right now while it’s still free. Thanks!

    Reply
  10. I am going to have to quit reading these blogs-I can feel myself getting “reeled in” by the hexie hex! Have already done one that took me over 5 years to get together, not sure I want to start another. But, who knows! 🙂

    Reply
  11. I need to try machine piecing hexagons. So far I’ve only EPP’d them. Love your fabric use in the pictures above with all the repeats fussy cut, gorgeous!

    Reply
  12. I love hexagon quilts. I’ve never tried English paper piecing. Luckily when I began exploring the possibility of of a hexagon quilt (2008) I ran into Inklingo. It seemed like a much better method. I ran with it and never looked back. Thanks.

    Reply
  13. I am hooked on Hexies, love Inklingo, and would love to receive a free copy of the new “HEXIE Love”. Thank you for the opportunity!!

    Reply
  14. I enjoy working with hexagons, as well as many of the other shapes available. Have been a follower of yours for quite awhile. Keep up the excellent workings.

    Reply
  15. I am new to Inklingo and just learning about all of the possibilities with hexies and related shapes. WOW! the possibilites seem endless.

    Reply
  16. What beautiful pictures. I have not tried Inklingo but it sure looks intriguing. Thanks for being a host for this blog hop.

    Reply
  17. Thanks for another chance at a free issue of Hexie Love and being able to download Hexagon Quilt Design Book for free. It will be my first Inklingo download altho I have been doing EPP for many years.

    Reply
  18. Dear Linda and Monkey,
    greetings from Norway where I live now for 2 more years due to DHs duty. I’ld love to start with Inklingo soon, just ordered the. Millefiori book I.
    Greetings as well from my little peppermint bear
    Brigitte Baierl

    Reply
  19. It would be great to have another book of hexies. I discovered Inklingo only two weeks ago and I love this method. Greetings from Italy. Ciao!!!

    Reply
  20. OMG! Your blog is so full of interesting information. I love, love working with hexies and can’t wait to try some of your ideas. Owning a new book would be fabulous as well.

    Reply
  21. I am taking an EPP class soon and would love to start a collection of pattern books. I am ready to start a new chapter of my quilting addition and I have chosen EPP to do that. Thank you for this opportunity to win.

    Reply
  22. This would be an entirely new arena for me to explore for quilt making. I would love the magazine to give it a try. Thanks for your downloaded book. I am going to read that too. YOu have some really great ideas.

    Reply
  23. Would love to win the magazine and am waiting til payday for the QD2 book and DVD. Thanks for your generosity.

    Reply
  24. I would love to win…I don’t have a printer yet, when I get one I am going to try this! It looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the chance! vickise at gmail dot com

    Reply
  25. Love to quilt and work on my EPP projects. Have done a Grandmother’s Flower Garden and Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses and have about 3 other hexie’s on the go. Thanks for the inspiration. From northern Iowa . . . .

    Reply
  26. would love a chance to win a hexie book. I decided to try EPP just to see if I did like it on a new project – I normally use Inklingo and do the running stitch with ease – well I have gotten as far as I am going to with the EPP – I can now say I have tried it — and I don’t like it!! switching back to the running stitch LOL — At least I can say I experimented

    Reply
  27. I love the chance to win a free Hexi book! I love working with the hexagons, what I need is a method of making the days longer and my energy stronger! I’ve got a Grandmother’s Flower Garden and a POTC and Jinny Beyer’s BOM all going at once. Oh happy days!

    Reply
  28. How fun to have a magazine for us hexagon addicts! Thanks for all the information and free download too!

    Reply
  29. I’m just starting with epp & found your website….I’m so excited! The milliflori look and all the options are mind boggling! I can’t wait to dig in!!!!

    Reply

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