Third place

My batik hexagon quilt won third place in the Large Pieced Duet category at Quiltfest Jacksonville 2011. The quilting by Jackie of Canton Village Quiltworks made all the difference.

I am working on my entries for Quiltfest 2012. The Octagons and the Patchwork of the Crosses and maybe a miniature batik hexagon.

The Journey

The quilt is finally finished. If you read all of the posts filed under “Batik Hexagon Quilt” you will see that it was indeed a journey – and that is what I am calling it.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

Quotation by Greg Anderson.

It measures 74.75 inches by 75.5 inches. My friend Carol is taking it up to Jacksonville when she leaves Panama on Thursday. I am entering it in Quiltfest 2011 in Jacksonville, Florida. I entered my appliqued Angel quilt last year and won an honorable mention. This year I am in the Large Pieced Duet category – and if I remember correctly that is the largest group.

I certainly don’t expect to win anything – I enter because it’s fun. I get to go to the US and spend a few days in a large room with hundreds of women who quilt. I get to see – up close – in person – hundreds of beautiful quilts. And the vendors – oh my – that alone is worth the trip.

My daughter is going with me and my cousin from Atlanta and my sister in law from Virginia are coming down – so we’re going to have a mini family reunion. We’ll be doing some shopping in the fantastic malls in Jacksonville. Can’t wait!

Batik hexagon quilt is quilted

It arrived yesterday. I am thrilled to say the least – it is all that I expected it to be and more. I think Jackie did a splendid job!

I am trimming the border – that’s why it’s not quilted to the edge.

Batik hexagon quilt on the longarm

Jackie – of Canton Village Quilt Works sent me these photos last week. She finished the quilting on Wednesday and the quilt is winging it’s way to Panama – via our freight forwarder/courier in Miami. Can’t wait to get it in my hot little hands – I am dying to know what she did with the cream hexes and the border. Jackie said it looks terrific and I am sure it does!

Jackie quilted my applique Angel quilt last year and I was thrilled with how it turned out.

I have never seen a hexagon quilt quilted this way – they are usually quilted by hand – since they are made by hand. I hand piece but I do NOT hand quilt – I wanted something modern for my modern version of a Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

Finished

Safely tucked into a jumbo Ziploc bag. It will travel with me to the US in my carry on bag. I can not take the chance that my checked luggage might get lost – I can lose all my clothes – I can always buy more – but I can NOT lose this quilt top! After showing it to my family in Virginia I will be shipping it to Jackie for quilting.

Border on three sides!

Only one more side to go and it will be finished – finally!!

I have been working all day on this – a full 8 hours! The piano keys border fits PERFECTLY and I am absolutely thrilled. It wasn’t easy. I did a lot of stitching and ripping and re-stitching to adjust the length.

The border is 2.5 inches wider than it is going to be. When it comes back from my long arm quilter (Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works) I am going to trim off the last strip on each end of the top – and of course the same measurement on the other three sides. At this width (7.75″) I think it overwhelms the hexagons. I blocked off the extra 2.5 inches with strips of white fabric to see how the smaller width looked and I like it much better. The finished width will be about 5 inches.

 

A peek

… at what the piano keys are going to look like – I am excited – I think it’s going to be the perfect border.

Purple border

I have been working on this all day – lots of measuring and trimming and measuring again – it’s the best I can do and I think it turned out very well. I may trim down the width later – I’ll decide when I get the piano key strips done.

Batik hexagon quilt top – done!

Except for the bits on the 4 corners. I have misplaced the background batik – so I’ll do that when I find it. I will find it – I am not going to panic yet.

Last seam

I have just started sewing the last seam – the end is in sight!