It's finished! (Alternative title: Hexy Heaven)

Yes, you read that right - my hexy quilt top is finished!  I actually finished it a week ago but haven't managed to blog about it until now!  I've had trouble getting photos of it because I can't find anywhere outside where I can hang it and take a photo.  Here's a photo of it outside, before the borders were added:

Hexies on the fence

but it's now too big and trails on the ground!  Once it's been layered and tacked (and so has a bit of weight to it and somewhere to put stones without hiding the hexies) I might try laying it on the front grass and leaning out of my sewing room window but it's a bit breezy today to try that with just a quilt top - it'd be off down the road before I got upstairs!  Right, that's enough chat, let's show you more photos!  (I copied Hadley and hung it in the conservatory - it's a good place to take photos and you don't risk dangling your pale quilt top in mud.)  It took 21 months and 12 days (not that I'm counting!) to get to this point:

and I think it was worth every minute!  Do you want to see some close-ups?  Yes, I thought so!  (Tough if you don't!)

As you can see, I added a narrow (1" finished) border of a grey on white dot (which was going to be the backing fabric but I only had 3m of it - nowhere near enough!) and then a wider (1¾" finished) pale pink and white striped border.  I decided to butt the corners of the dotty border because the corners were next to a 60˚/30˚ corner and I thought a 45˚ angle right next to it would look a little odd but I mitred the corners of the stripy border because I think mitred corners and stripy fabric are a match made in heaven!  

After 'keeping' it in a heap for quite a while I finally got to fold the quilt top (photo taken before the borders were added):

I love how it looks from the back!

This quilt was started during Lynne and Gayle's marvellous Hex-a-long, which was inspired by the Candied Hexagons quilt (designed by Kerry Dear) and this version by Lizzie Broderie - Lizzie makes the most amazing quilts, make a cup of tea and then pop over for a look, you'll be there a while!  I  hand pieced (not EPP, as many people assume) my first hexagon on 13th August 2011 (they're 3" hexagons), my final (178th) hexagon on 13th December 2012, had stitched all the hexagons together by 9th May 2013 (more photos  here) and finished adding the borders on 25th May 2013.  I'll be honest, I really miss piecing this project and I suspect there are more hexagons in my future - maybe a quilt full of type δ?  Or a quilt-sized version of my hexy cushion?!

I've got my backing washed so now need to go and iron it and hoover the carpet(!) and then I can start layering and tacking.  I haven't yet decided how I'm going to quilt it (except that it will be by hand - I have some ideas but nothing is settled) or even what thread I'm using (at the moment it's between Gutermann Sulky 30, Perle #12 or Coton a Broder #16 - a generous friend has given me samples of each so I'll be trying them out to see which I prefer) so if you have any suggestions please shout!  

I also want to mention that I'm part of the Siblings Together Quilting Bee which Lynne has set up.  I'm not a 'full' member but have joined as an emergency/angel bee and am also acting as a cheerleader bee.  (I feel I need little cartoon bees to illustrate this - anyone good at drawing?!)  Each month the bee will make a 60" x 80" quilt for Siblings Together (read more about this charity here), to be given at the 2014 camps.  There are several very generous companies sponsoring the bee:

 Moda are providing a FQ bundle each month

 Lady Sew and Sew are providing the wadding

and these companies are providing backing fabrics:

       

            

      

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Lynne for setting up the bee and to the sponsors for being so wonderfully generous!

The bee is starting this month with Lynne and I can't wait!  I know that I'm unlikely to be making any blocks (hopefully I won't because that means that everyone in the bee is healthy, happy and okay to sew!) but I do enjoy cheering from the sidelines!  There will be lots of blog posts about it, too, because the bee is full of wonderful bloggers - keep your eyes peeled!

Archie finally has a new bed in the conservatory.  Those of you with a good memory for insignificant details will remember that I've already bought him a new bed for there but it was too cold for him to be in there at the time so I put it under my sewing table and realised just how much he loves being up there (it's become his third favourite place, after a sun-filled conservatory and a patch of sun on the front room carpet) so I can't take it away from him.  And he really needed a new bed:

I need a new bed in here...

It's taken me a while to find a(nother) suitable bed but then a trip to a garden centre for compost provided the answer:

It must be for me, it's got my name on it!  

Of course, there's an obvious drawback to getting a dark-coloured bed for a white dog that moults incessantly (it's particularly bad at the moment because he's shedding his winter coat) but he does love it and it's easy to hoover!

Ah, this is the life!

And finally, it's come to my attention that Archie has a twin:

A twin?  Are you sure?  He'd better show himself right now - has he brought biscuits?

Can you imagine how wonderfully cute it would be if he really did?!!  

I'm linking up with Lynne's Fresh Sewing Day - I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and settle down to catch up with what people have been making in May before Archie starts demanding his teatime walk!

I'm also linking up with Annabella for the Let's Get Acquainted link up (organised by Beth@Plum and June) and am desperately trying to think of my favourite holiday destination for the link up!  (I don't really 'do' holidays, I prefer staying at home!  I'm lucky enough to live a fifteen minute walk from the beach, which Archie and I love to visit.  I like to look at the sea and collect pebbles/sea glass.  Archie likes to dig holes, eat seaweed and carry pebbles/driftwood in his mouth as he jogs along the dunes.)