Happy Friday Finish!

Do you remember this block? I made it last year using The New Hexagon Perpetual Calendar by Katja Marek (published by Martingale).  This is the January 13 block:

January 13 block from the calendar using Kaffe Fassett fabrics

Wow. That's a lot of funky angles. How did I sew it? For my years working on the editorial staff of Quilt Magazine, we were advised to always "look for the long seams." Allow me to show you.

Step 1: Sew the center two triangles together

Sew two triangles together

 Step 2: Sew one half-hexagon to the bottom triangle

Adding one half-hexagon to the bottom triangle

 Step 3: Sew one half-hexagon to the other side of the bottom triangle

Second half-hexagon sewn to bottom triangle

 Step 4: Sew a diamond to a half-hexagon twice and then join to the top triangle.

Adding the last half-hexagons and diamonds

See?! No y-seams. All straight seam sewing. And each of those patches were cut using a rotary cutter and my 60 degree ruler!

Then, in a show of how much of a renegade I am (because these are NOT EPP - English Paper Pieced), I chose to add setting triangles to each of the six blocks instead of appliqueing each block to a huge background triangle. Saves a lot of fabric, btw.

Simple triangles added to 3 sides of the hexagon block

And my version of the January project:

January wreath of six January 13 blocks. Mine is a bit larger at 18" tall.

And the FINISHED table topper is perfectly bordered using a Brandon Mably print called Brandon's Brocade. I added a blue inner border (which picks up the bits of blue in some of the patches and the blue in the border print). I quilted it on my HandiQuilter Sweet 16.

Happy Hexie Table Topper

And, yes, I did put a label on the back using my method of NO hand sewing. I folded a square in half and then trimmed it to 120 degrees and tucked it into the binding (before it was stitched on). And, also yes: I stitch my binding on from the back and then sew it down from the front (reverse of what is "traditional." Didn't I tell you I was a renegade?  What do you think about that?

Thanks for stopping by. I love to finish my quilts. That Brandon's Brocade was a perfect finish for that Hexie Wreath I made one year ago. Have a great weekend!