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.

Love those totally scrappy flowers...was afraid that wouldn't work but I see it work great.......

I recommend getting a Clover Dome Thread Needle Case http://www.joann.com/clover-dome-thr...4&prefv1=false You can thread multiple needles and load them into this and there is no tangling. When you use all the thread on one needle, pull out a new threaded needle, place the empty needle in the case, and continue sewing. Once you have used all the threaded needles, you rethread and reload and you're ready to go. I also pretreat my thread with Thread Heaven before I load them in.

I use mine when I am doing hand work, red work, binding, applique.

Great ideas here for your hexie project. The only other thing I would suggest is to start now making a few hexies in a few different sizes to determine what you would be comfortable with. By doing that, you will also determine what you need to include in your "take along" bag/box. I use the zip lock bags usually. As someone mentioned, you can see what you are looking for. I print the papers and cut them out.........great mindless job while watching TV etc. I use one inch hexies, and cut 2 1/2 inch squares of fabric. Pin the paper to the square, then lop off the corners, leaving plenty for seam allowance.

Hoping all goes well with your surgery, and for a speedy recovery.

I use altoid tins for my tools, you'd be surprised what all can fit in there. Right now I'm hand sewing little houses and the tin has 1 spool of mettler thread, thread heaven, stork scissors and something else but I can't remember right now:)

I used to make them as raffle prizes when the Dear Janes had cyber retreats, too cute to be legal. for the project itself I use zip lock baggies.

When I was doing my little hexie project I took a print out of the hexie size I wanted and had Office Max print it on heavy cardstock. Cost next to nothing.

I knew it was a good idea to ask here! You guys are a treasure trove of information. :) Thanks for the different suggestions on trying different stitches to see which one I like best; that hadn't occurred to me and it would be a good thing to know before hand. And also to try out different sizes before hand and then get fabric cut out and ready so I don't need to worry about doing that when I'm recovering.

I will keep you guys posted! I have about 2 months to get stuff prepped and ready and do some practicing. :)

Sending good wishes for your forthcoming surgery!! Glad we have given you plenty of ideas!! Another little tip if you are making hexes into flower shapes keep all your middles the same colour( mine are all red but they could be ble,green yellow etc) It helps to even out your scraps!!

I wanted to mention this too, but couldn't remember the name! If you have a friend or relative who can thread needles for you, you might want to get two of these and load them up beforehand. When you use up one, hand it over to friend or relative to thread more needles for you! (That is, assuming you are like me and would find this task challenging when not feeling well.)

I also want to second the recommendation to keep all the centers the same color if you are doing scrappy. It really helps!

Regarding my description of cutting strips and using the Ardco template, I should add that I cut out the strips as usual about 4 layers of fabric at the time, then placed the Ardco template on the 4 layers. Two of the fabric sides matched two of the template sides. I used my rotary cutter to cut the other sides of the hexie. This went pretty fast, and I would *definitely* recommend cutting your hexies out before going to the hospital.

Definitely practice before hand, it needs to be mindless, by the time you have surgery. The brain won't work if you have to concentrate and figure it out after. I know, have had two surgeries since may 5. Cut plenty so you don't have to be up as well. Enjoy your handwork. Best wishes in your surgery as well.

I thread 10 to 12 needles right on the spool, a few at a time, with a needle threader. Wind a length of thread around the spool, put in the notch (or horizontal slit) to hold the needles. Then I can pull off one needle at a time with the length I need. Please be sure to let us know how you're doing, with the surgery and the sewing.

Last week I stopped at Joann's. They had 3 sizes of hex punches, and amazingly they weren't on sale, so I went home to print out a coupon. The next day I was running errands and found myself by Michael's. Sure enough, they had the exact same punches, the exact same price, and they accept Joann's coupons. :thumbup:

The smallest one would make about a half-inch size hexie, I'm guessing. I bought the largest one which has 1" sides.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]479940[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]479941[/ATTACH]

Look at this post. Lots of great ideas for on the go containers:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...o-t248769.html

I have the med size Fiskars punch and it is one inch across in the center from point to point. What size is the large and extra large across the center from point to point?

The extra large is 2 inches. Not sure what the large measures, I don't have that one. But if your medium is 1", and my XL is 2", then I'd guess the large is 1.5".

[ATTACH=CONFIG]480046[/ATTACH]

Hopefully, your surgery recovery won't be any worse than my sister's. She had a complete hysterectomy (laproscopic) and did very well. She went to a swap meet about 10 days later. Prayersfrom the gulf for speedy recovery.

A thimble, maybe?

I use the Poka Dots for my go bag instead of a thimble. I have lost too many thimbles on the go!

Thanks Peckish for the picture. I think the large size is what I want. Next time I'm at JoAnns with a coupon I'll get it.

Peckish, my local Michaels has them (no Joanns in Canada) and I plan to pick one up tomorrow. Thanks for showing the size on your ruler. That was very helpful!

I use the ziploc bag method too. The only thing I haven't heard mention is that I use the Clover round necklace thread cutter. It looks like a medallion and cuts thread like a charm. I have it attached to a ribbon around my neck when I sew, no poking or dropping the scissors.