I got one!
I completed a UFO that's been on the go since 2012.
Reporting style a la Quossum, although this isn’t necessarily going to show me at my best… 😊
Quilt Origin – I went to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK in the summer of 2012 and saw a trunk show done by Marti Michell. She had the most amazing quilt, done in gorgeous oriental fabrics, made out of hexagons with a sort of basketweave border making a secondary hexie pattern. So I trotted off to Ms. Michell’s booth straight after the trunk show ended and got me one of her huge hexagon templates. I was so proud. And enthusiastic 
I bought the Paddington Bear fabric from one of the members on this Board (who unfortunately doesn’t seem to be active anymore). Don’t ask me why I looked at the rather sophisticated oriental hexies pattern and went “kid’s quilt!” (especially since I had no kids at the time). I have no clue what went on there, but my brain goes off on its own sometimes.
Why it became a UFO – What I neglected to do (purely because I didn’t think of it, so this was me being dumb rather than ornery) was purchase the *pattern* for the quilt. Up to that point in my quilting life I only really used traditional blocks, and was used to making up my own arrangements/patterns as I went along, and it genuinely did not occur to me that I needed anything more than the template.
Uh huh.
Well, in a nutshell, I would absolutely, positively advise anyone wanting to do this quilt to get Marti Michell’s pattern. I imagine she has some wonderfully simple manner of putting it together. And also watch some Youtube videos on how to machine piece hexies properly. I had never even hand-pieced hexies before, never mind machine-pieced ones. And, well… Yeah.
The cutting was fine, the arrangement of fabrics into the pattern was fine, the sewing it together was… interesting. There was a lot of stop and start (with often years of ‘resting’ in a cupboard between attempts to progress).
I started sewing the hexies together in 2012. I finished sewing them together in August 2020.
I like to think that my piecing skills have improved between the start and the finish .
Why I finally finished – Pandemic-enabled fit of ‘Git ‘er done!’
I also have to thank Tartan from this Board for her help in finding Cath at Cumbrian Longarm Quilting, who did a fabulous job of longarming the quilt together. The thought of hand-quilting a quilt this size was somewhat off-putting, so longarming was the way to go, although I hadn’t had a quilt longarmed in years, and had never done one “long distance” prior to now. Absolutely worth it.
Quilt's fate – Birthday present for my son when he turns 3 later this year (not that he was even a glimmer on the horizon when it was started, lol!!). But the perfect recipient.
Attached photos show the whole quilt, detail of a random hexie, and an edge flipped to show the backing.
(And for anyone wondering, the proper name of the original inspiration pattern is ‘Interlocking Hexagons’. I looked it up. Only took me until yesterday to think “I wonder if I could find it online?” Honestly, sometimes I amaze myself. 
)
Hope the hanging pole works brilliantly oksewglad.
Great placemats RobR.
Sync that is a seriously lovely quilt I'm sure your hubby will love it.
And way to go on the organising WMUTeach!