Friday Finish: {Hugs}

I finished the hexagon quilt I started in Jacquie's workshop in time to gift to a dear friend who can use an extra hug right now.  I hope the cheery fabrics and quilted messages of hope, love and peace provide comfort to her.



There were times when I wasn't sure how this quilt would turn out, but in the end I am very pleased with the finished product.  I kept remembering some of Jacquie's pointers which really helped:  pin, pin, pin; use the bias to your advantage; sew with previous seams facing up so you aren't sewing blind; sweep seams away; and when finished press all seams down and to the left.  If I ever piece hexagons by machine again, I will stitch with a darker/contrasting thread for better visibility.





The size of the quilt was determined in class basically by filling up the portable design wall with the oversize hexagons I had cut from my fat quarters.  Jacquie and friends helped with the placement of the hexies.  It wasn't until I was home and finished sewing the rows and columns together that I realized the quilt wasn't quite tall enough so I added borders to the top and bottom.

Backing
I used a fat quarter bundle of Technicolor for the hexagons, with the remaining fabric coming from my stash.  The borders are from Connecting Threads; the backing is a Amy Butler Soul Blossom print; the binding is the last of the pink ribbon binding leftover from my mom's Got Pink? quilt.

"hope"
"peace"
You can't really tell (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing), but I free motion quilted words of "hope", "love" and "peace" here and there among meandering loops.  I used Aurifil 50wt thread for the quilting.  This is the second time I have quilted with Aurifil and I love it.

"love"

 I spent a few minutes admiring the crinkly goodness that comes after washing and drying a quilt before I wrapped it up for gifting.

more "love"

Quilt stats:
Name: {Hugs}
Pattern: Piecing Hexagons by Machine technique by Jacquie Gering
Finished Size: 52" x 75"
Fabric: Technicolor by Emily Herrick; Connecting Threads Quilter's Cotton; Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler
Quilted: Free-motioned loops and words of hope, love and peace using Aurifil 50wt 2024 White thread


Thanks for stopping by!  Linking up with Amanda's finish it up Friday.