WIP Wednesday: Fussy Cut Hexagons

If you had asked me a year ago about sewing together hexagons by hand, I would have laughed... or used some colorful language. Probably both.

Except little hexagons are actually adorable. And fussy cut hexagons are even more adorable. And what a perfectly non-boring way to use scraps... and cutting them up is easy with, say, a Sizzix die-cutter. I mean they practically make themselves, right? Right?

It really is the perfect project for sewing on the go. Two weekends hosting old friends and then a wonderful weekend at a "summer camp themed wedding" took me away from my sewing machine, but my trusty little English paper piecing kit was able to come right along with me. Stitching during a long car ride? Yes. Paper piecing by the lake? Double yes.

In all honesty I started this project months ago, but I've never blogged about it. My plan is to make a coordinating pillow for my Good Fortune Quilt and Rainbow Window Pillow. It sure is slow going, but I am making progress. The only problem? It looks great, until I zoom out and see how much more I have left to do!

Ah well.  Slow and steady, right?

Linking up with WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced ... because this one is sure to be in progress for quite some time!

Toddler Survival Kits AKA Quilt-As-You-Go Pouches

When I made these quilt-as-you-go panels I wasn't sure what I would turn them in to.  Now that they are finished I've decided to make them into little "Toddler Survival Kits" for Baby Bee's teachers. I'll be stuffing them with  sunscreen, hand sanitizer, tissues, and of course, chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

I had a lot of fun making these, especially fussy cutting the little critters to peek out here and there. And as much as I was dreading the zippers, they really weren't so bad. I especially love the "zip ends" technique I found here from Sew Sweetness. The little zip ends keep things neat and tidy and give the bags a more professional look. See how cute they are?

A few notes on the specs, mostly for my own memory. These little guys started as square 8.5 inch panels, and I finished them by adding box corners to the bottom around the 1 3/4 inch mark. Why those measurements? Because they were handy on my rulers. Heh. 

I have to admit that I'm particularly in love with the red and aqua one. Like, so much so that I'm planning a larger quilted tote in the same color scheme... which conveniently doubled as an excuse to add more Aneela Hoey to my stash. I call that a win-win :)

WIP Wednesday: Teacher Appreciation Edition

I am fortunate enough to have my daughter enrolled at a fabulous preschool just a few minutes up the road. She spends her days playing *hard* under the watchful eye of four amazing teachers.

In just a few weeks we'll be moving up at school, but I wanted to give each of her teachers a token of our appreciation. So this week I'm taking a mini-break from my Summer Solstice Quilt, and starting a few "quilt as you go" panels. I haven't settled on exactly what I'll be making with them. Pencil bags? Makeup bags? Gift card holders? Yeah, something like that.

This isn't my first time using the quilt-as-you-go-technique, but I think I've improved since my first mis-adventure. I took Tara Rebman's "Quilt-As-You-Go-Bags" on Craftsy, and picked up a lot of great tips there. I just love projects like this - lots of improv fabric play, and a great excuse to visit the scrap bin. I'm excited to pull colors for the next two bags!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced :)