My next hexagon quilt starts here

I have a bag of patchwork hexagons left over from my last quilt. I have umm-ed and ah-ed about how to use them. They are an assortment of about 12 different fabrics. Every now and again, I get them out, clear the kitchen table and make patterns with them. Each time, I put them away, no further forward.

Last week, we went to Bishop’s Palace, Wells, where we saw the Created in Somerset exhibition. The children were particularly taken by the stained glass arranging activity over a light box. It must have captivated them for a good 15 minutes. Impressive, as there were plenty of interesting exhibits around them, also to see.

I watched as they worked as a team. They tried a few different approaches. They discovered that they might have coloured tiles, but leaving gaps meant that they had white too. It was still limited, but enough to make interesting patterns.

As I watched, the penny dropped. I was trying to put all the fabrics in my hexagon quilt. I had some fabrics that really did not want to go together. That’s why it wasn’t working. I was trying too hard.

Today, I cleared the kitchen table, pulled out my bag of hexis and made a pattern. A simpler pattern. Turns out I needed to stop overdoing it and leave some gaps too. (A lesson in life. Who knew that designing a quilt, could reflect life so well.) It might mean I need to add a few more hexis, but that’s OK.

Needless to say, I’ve started sewing. I’ll need to crack on, as inspiration struck twice, while at the Bishop’s Palace. I suddenly figured out what to do with all my suffolk puffs too. So obvious, now I think of it. It should look amazing, but that will have to wait for another time.