Good evening everyone, Rob those chicken are Gorgeous, Sync, loving those appliques, and congratulations to the both of you on those finishes

Speaking for myself, the mask making is getting stale with me, I think that I got 15 or 20 more to go and I am going to pack that up until after the new year. It's time to get in a little piecing. I don't even want to make another apron

Happy finishes everyone and stay safe

cherryb

Sync: Congratulations on your great finish!

oksewglad: I look forward to seeing your hanging pole set up.

Cherry- you're sick of making them - I'm sick of wearing them! I know its important but ...just...so...tired ...of...Covid.....

In the meantime- a moment of respect for my pretty points here. Hope I manage to keep them when this block meets up.with its friends.

I went diving in to my UFO's last week to find one to finish for October. Well, I got really distracted, (squirrel) but for a good purpose....I think. Part of my challenge is that I love the planning and piecing part of quilting and not the finishing part. Then add the out of sight our of mind thing. Well I found eleven, yes, 11 quilt tops that need sandwiching and quilting. Some need backing because I have used up so much of my larger pieces this year already. But, in an effort to "see" the UFO's I hung them in my stash closet using skirt/pants clippy hangers. Each has its backing and batting all on the same hanger, when possible.

I know there are more lurking in hiding places about my sewing room but three are still in the piecing stage. They are going to wait. One additional one is so, dare I say ugly, that I have no desire to finish it. That puts me up to 14. Oh, goodness! November should be a record breaking month for me. I am determined to get these out of my closet and into the hands of someone who can use them. Besides I have run out of clippy hangers. Tee-Hee-Hee!

Rff, I certainly share your feelings on Covid. Right now I’m in the middle of an unexpected 2 week “vacation” from work because of Covid. I work at an early childcare center with infants. Long story short, a co-worker went on vacation and came home with Covid ......... her toddler room is okay (not closed) since she was away but she is good friends with my assistant. Since my co-worker tested positive and was in contact with my assistant, the center closed my infant room for 2 weeks. <sigh>

Had made quilts for a fire here several yrs ago. Discovered many of those houses were rarely used and didn't know whereabouts of owners. Lesson: get it done ASAP after a fire while there's still contacts.

Took those quilts to the Creek Fire assistance program. That's 17 out of my house and someone getting benefit for them. Once the new bobbin case for LA comes, I can quilt again and get many more ready for next disaster.

Good afternoon everyone, Rff1010, those points are looking really good, make it a scant quarter of a seam and you just might make it. Sync, I hear your pain and praying with you, but I've been making the mask since March. First, I made 20 for my DD that lives in Vegas and is a Doctor of Physical Rehab at the VA, the I made 20 for my DGD that live in Oceanside, CA, five or six for a cousin that lives in Moreno Valley, CA and eight for a cousin that lives in Dallas, TX. I left two custom made for my former neighbor and my hair stylist and my DGS in Kansas. I'm trying to get about eighty to ninety made to send back to my hometown in Kansas. Oh yea I made my ex-grandson-in-law one and the six great grand daughters one. When I get that number that stated earlier I am finished for the year

Have a safe evening everyone

cherryb

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 https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/biggrin.png

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 https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/biggrin.png.

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. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...s/rolleyes.png)

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!

Panchita - I think your hexagons are a fantastic used of larger print or focal fabrics. And Paddington is a classic. An inspiration for us all!

Panchita, how big is that quilt? and how big were the hexagons? I agree with Rff1010, it is an great quilt!