Making a hand sewing kit
 

In August I'm going to have a hysterectomy so I'm going to be laid up for awhile. I want to start sewing a hexagon quilt, and I figure this will be a great time to start. So I want to make a little kit up so that everything is together and easily portable. I don't do a lot of hand-sewing, so I'm not sure where to start. So what do you guys suggest? Also, what size is a good size to start with, in regards to the hexagons?

hexes- i got the fiskers punch in 3/4" at michaels, i like to use heavy card stock or manilla folders. i'm doing three tog, one on top of two.
My travel sewing kit is a 6 x 12 inch pieced work and sewn around a 2 1/2" yo yo. i put cardboard 2 1/2" with a pc of batting in it and sew the yo yo around it. make two of these. sew the pieced pc of fabric ( i do strip piecing) long sides to the yo yo. about 1 inch unstitched. do this on both sides. i sew a narrow pc of ribbon to tie it up. On one side inside the rollup on the yo yo inside, i make a small incushion. i cn keep needles, pins 3-4 spools of thread and scissors i it, oh and seam ripper. these can carry alot of stuff. my quilt in under pictures probably 5-6 pgs in now titled lynnies hex quilt, posted by a friend. good luck with the surgery and with your hexes.

One of the ladies in my quilting group has a tiny kit - and she gets oodles of things done -

She has needles, a few straight pins, thread, scissors, and a thimble - maybe a six inch ruler and a seam ripper - all in a tiny case - maybe 4x6 inches - max.

I found this website that might help you to decide what to put in your kit, http://www.mommybydaycrafterbynight....y-madness.html

There was also a thread on the board about a quilt kit bag to make to keep all your notions in, this may be helpful for you whilst your recovering as well quite useful after. Even if you don't want to make the kit she has a list of what she stores in her bag that may give you ideas. http://bionicgearbag.com/buy-the-pattern/
Hope this helps. Good luck on your surgery and hoping you have a speedy recovery.

There are so many different ways of hand sewing hexie quilts, I would suggest deciding on your method first. When I tried it, I discovered that I am really bad at whip stitching and do not enjoy it. After looking at other methods, I found that I greatly prefer simply piecing hexies together like any other hand quilting -- with a running stitch. Jinny Beyer uses this method; your library may have her book on hand piecing.

These days I would probably use my Accuquilt Go! to cut out the hexies. What I did in the past, however, was cut strips of fabric to fit two sides of an Ardco hexagon template (http://www.ardcotemplates.com/ ). These templates are good for using with a rotary cutter because they are metal and have an anti-skid coating on one side. I got the window template so I could use a mechanical pencil to mark corners. I found it was not necessary to mark all sides of the fabric pieces; just marking the corners was enough.

To make a kit, I would cut out and mark hexies in advance (just the corners). Applique pins are very short, very sharp, and very fine. They work great for matching corners before you piece. You don't need many; just a half dozen in a small pincushion will work just fine, as you are usually using only two at a time.

Another good thing to do is find a needle size and length that you like -- and brand; they vary in sharpness. John James needles are one of the good brands.

You will want a thread cutter. If you use scissors, you will probably want a small pair with large handles.

I really liked working on a lap table -- big bean bag bottom, flat top.

You need some kind of basket or plastic case to hold all the components.

Edit: Personally, I wouldn't start too small with the hexagons. If I am not feeling well, I would prefer to work with slightly larger pieces than really tiny pieces. Plus, it looks as if you are accomplishing more!

Edit 2: Instead of a pincushion, you might want to get a magnetic needle case:
http://www.amazon.com/Wrights-882130...dp/B000AMB9R6/
I really like mine because it seems as if I can keep track of my needle and pins much better with it. It's a good idea to always count your pins and needles to make sure you haven't lost one in your clothing or in the bed! For this reason, it's also good to keep just one needle and a couple of pins out at one time.

I sure hope your surgery goes well, and that your recovery time is swift. Let us know.

When we go on longish car trips, I use felt and zip lock bags. I cut the felt into 4" squares: one for needles, one for straight pins, one for my scissors, one for safety pins--for "just in case." I include 2 or 3 spools of thread--depending on how much I think I'll get done--one spool is usually enough, but I'm ever hopeful; a fabric glue stick, a needle threader or two, a seam ripper, thread conditioner, needle-nose pliers (for hand quilting mostly, but also for when my hand is tired), and a thimble. I use a small pony-tail holder to wrap one square of felt around the tip of my scissors. Haven't gotten around to making a fancy holder yet. I put the to-be-sewn pieces in one bag, the finished pieces in another, the tools in another and stick them all in a gallon size zip lock. I like the zip lock because I can readily see everything and don't have to dig around to find stuff. I try to keep it simple and take the bare necessities.

As for the size of the Hexies, depends on the feel you want, maybe smaller for traditional and larger for a more modern feel (and maybe a faster quilt?).

I agree with Prism - I don't like how the stitches show when I whip stitch. However, my preference for hand sewing is the ladder stitch.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9JJbEZqeAm...R-STITCH-1.jpg

Everything else Prism said is spot on. Good luck!

Ladder stitch is the best but if whip stitching use a thread such as silk which matches and disappears into the fabric.
You may think about cutting some ready before hand as I think cutting with rotary cutter may be too painful at first. Prepare ready to tack onto the paper and then join together.
Good luck with your operation.

This is my 'grab n go' bag! I use 2 1/2" squares of fabric(cut from jelly rolls or charm squares) and 1" hexie papers(printed from a free site www.texasfreckles.com) when I sew hexes together I use a blanket/ buttonhole stitch! I am using 1930s repro prints/white......it is a long term project!!

thanks, ladies, for all of the great ideas. i have my hand-sewing kit, but want to start hexies soon.