April 03, 2011

C'est merveilleux!-- French General!

In my haste to post about my finished block for the UFO Challenge, I spaced out (do people still say that?) something I wanted to show! Look at what I won!


I was VERY lucky to win this wonderful French General kit--pattern, hexie template, and lots of gorgeous French General fabrics!   It was one of three great prizes in a giveaway celebrating Thelma's 250th post at her blog, Cupcakes 'n' Daisies.
 
Thelma always posts lots of photos of lovely quilts and her steps in the process of making them. I enjoy seeing the steps and learning about her decision making process, and it's fun to follow along, but I have to admit that Thelma makes me feel highly inefficient. She actually finishes her projects--they look great too!  And she has an organized sewing room! All right, I admit I read her blog hoping to learn her secrets!
 
Right now Thelma's leading a Quiltalong of the quilt Eventide, and it's worth reading about just to see the different fabrics variations people have chosen and how each changes the look of the quilt.  Here's her last Tuesday's Eventide posting.  Next Tuesday, April 5, is the Eventide parade, so you should visit and check all the different versions out!
 

I've never worked with (or even owned) any French General, and I'm excited to start on the kit, but admit the hexagons intimidate me a bit. They are quite large (5+ inches), and while that should be reassuring compared to the little ones, somehow the size is intimidating too. This is the pattern, Reine des Abeilles.  (I believe it means queen bee)
 
And somewhere lost in my sewing closet is a bin of little hexies and a bunch of vintage fabric and flowers garden circles I purchased already in process that I'd like to finish.  My fear of hexies needs to be conquered!  Each time someone posts photos of their hexie projects and English piecing, I'm intrigued--almost enough to give it a try.  I think winning this kit, is my nudge to get on with it.
 
So I'm going to save up courage for a couple months (and try to finish a few UFO's), but will likely give these scary hexies a try this summer or fall. So if you don't see some progress on them by fall, please remind me, and help get me past my Hexie Anxiety.  And Thank you so much Thelma--the fabrics are beautiful!  Merci beaucoup!

1 comment:

Marjorie said...

Now that we've discovered that we're neighbors (in a loose definition of the word...) I would like to volunteer to be your hexi-support team. I LOVE hexi quilts and can be at your house in 20 minutes with a paper bag to breathe into and lots of encouraging words.