Down a Rabbit Hole

I used up all of my washable glue pen on Sunday. Amazon would have taken a couple of weeks to deliver one and shipping would have been extra. Local quilt shops aren't open on Sunday and Monday so I had to wait until TUESDAY to get the glue pen I needed and some more hexie templates.

In the meantime, I experimented with what I had and just using scraps and the 3/4" templates that came with the hexie kit. The fabrics are really random with blue being the only common factor. I did fussy cut the bee in the centre.

Then I made another sample from a partially-used jelly roll. This way the colours are designed to coordinate. I realize I needed small motifs so that narrowed my choices somewhat. 

I'm now on the hunt for ideas for using these hexie 'blocks'.

I started the kit and got this much done on Sunday evening.

The kit has supplies for 5 of these but I only need to make three for the particular project I have in mind.

I got going early on Tuesday morning to try to get the supplies I needed. The first store didn't have any hexie templates. They were in stock but no one could locate them. I was able to purchase the glue pen and some #10 Tulip appliqué needles there. Off I went to the next shop. There, they had the hexies I wanted in 1" and 7/8" sizes.

Sue Daley seems to be the Queen of English Paper Piecing. Although she's Australian, many of her products are made in Japan and are available here. I'm trying to decide if I'll get a small rotating cutting mat for cutting fabrics myself.

I've been using my little cutting mat and rotary cutter. That Purple Thang is helpful for pushing the glue fabric off the template so I can pull the templates out of the hexies that have been sewn on all sides. I love Love LOVE the green-handled micro-serrated scissors. Tula Pink recommended the #10 Tulip Appliqué Big Eye needles. They are a little shorter than the Clover Black Gold needles I purchased last week.

Last night I made this. I didn't get it finished because I forced myself to go to bed early. I had to get up early to attend my first in-person yoga class in two years.

Raiding my scraps again, I whipped up this sunflower using my new 1" templates.

With a bit of batting on the back, I will experiment with embroidery to embellish it. The 1" hexies are a good size for making this into a pincushion.

My brain is whirling with all kinds of possiblities.

Tonight is the Trillium Embroidery Guild's first in-person meeting since February 2020. Although I have seen many of my stitching buddies,  it will be pretty neat to see everyone in person again.

Last June I distributed templates for folks to design their own piece of stitching to be fashioned into a triangular scissor case. Tonight I will be going over the instructions on how to assemble the case with its lining.