Nutmeg: The Perfect, Undemanding, Slow Stitched EPP Quilt
Nutmeg Quilt is one of the EPP quilts from my Hexie Handbook, an e-book made up of several hexagon blocks and the quilts they make. I started stitching this quilt when I first wrote the Hexie Handbook 6 years ago! And with slow and uneven progress, in between other quilts that grabbed my attention more completely, she's finally finished. And I love her so much!
The Perfect In-Between Quilt
Nutmeg has been the perfect in-between project. I started with my small collection of Liberty prints, and then around 3 years ago, I bought a fat quarter bundle of Melody Miller's Stay Gold collection and realised it would complement the Liberty perfectly. I cut and basted little blocks with a single colour for the centre hexagon and diamonds, and a white or low volume print for the triangle star points. Because there were no fabric decisions to make, and because I kept the original fabric pull in the tub with the blocks and pieces in progress, it was easy to make a little progress here and there. I kept each basted block in a little ziplock bag and stitched them while waiting in the car during after-school activities, took them away with me to family holidays. When I finished a different quilt, or got stuck or bored with one, this was the perfect, easy little 'palate cleanser' to make some easy progress on while my mind mulled over the challenges of the quilt I'd been working on, or decided what to make next. Each block was simply a round of triangles and then a round of diamonds and then it was done, then added to the slowly growing pile!
A Quilt for All the Other Times
I've decided it's essential for me to have quilts like this in my WIP (Work in Progress) collection. They are not quilts that excite me or draw me in for long stretches. But, the quilts that do, the ones that need lots of colour decisions, or I'm stitching in every spare moment to see if my idea will pan out the way I hope, are quilts for certain seasons. Seasons where I can carve out large chunks of time and headspace, seasons where the kids are at school and no-one's sick or injured, and other interruptions aren't arising. These little seasons magical when they arrive, but they're never guaranteed. For all the other times - the messy, interrupted, demanding, uncertain times, the times beset by grief or change or even the joy and chaos of kids home on holidays or family staying - these are the times that love a quilt like Nutmeg. A quilt without demands or deadlines, that slowly gets done a few blocks at a time, until one day, you count them all up and there's 105!
Once the quilt top was sewn up and basted, I decided on straight-line, machine quilting. It's one of my go-to quilting designs because I love it's simplicity, and also the action of it. I love getting lost in the whirr of straight lines and not having to think too much! I considered stitching on each side of the triangles because I love the way they create this allover, lacy pattern across the quilt, but I decided I would prefer it to sit flat rather than have the triangles made puffy from quilting.
The Sweetest Finishes
The quilts that are stitched over years instead of weeks or months always become my favourites, do you find that too? They feel more precious and part of me because I took my time, imbued with the faith that's required to sew a quilt, not knowing when it will be finished. And that finish is all the sweeter, knowing I came to it patiently and steadily, knowing this quilt walked with me through some unquiet times.
Make Your Own Undemanding, Slow Stitched EPP Quilt
Nutmeg Quilt is one of the 16 quilt patterns in my Hexie Handbook, all quilts made from various hexagon blocks. It's full of simple quilts that are perfect for stitching through steadily. Grab your copy and the Nutmeg EPP kit below!
I love how fresh and fun your quilt is with white for the star and prints for the background; lovely way to marry modern and vintage vibes. Beautiful quilt!
This quilt is delightful. I really like the unexpected use of print fabrics for the background paired with near-solid low volume fabrics for the stars. And you created a really nice mix of prints, by the way. I love me some Liberty as much as the next quilter, but the quilts that mix prints from multiple fabric lines in a cohesive way are so much more interesting to my eye. I like the idea of kitting up each star block in its own Ziplock baggie so it’s ready to go. I’m currently in a period of Slow Stitching Deprivation because I love the hand stitching but keep getting stuck on the prep phase — I have been procrastinating the making of 96 tiny stuffed berries that are all that stand between me and the finish of a needle turn appliqué project that has dragged on for way too many years now…
I love all things hexi!!! Favorite shape! I also like to have a carry along project. Beautiful!
I know exactly what you mean about the quilts that take years to complete. I was given a kit of hexagons and pre-cut fabrics when I was 9 years old, in the 1970s. I have worked on it for nearly 50 years now. It has pieces of old clothes belonging to my mum, my friend who recently died, as well as clothing from my children who are now grown up. As a teen I used to save up and go to the remnant bin in the department store, and a neighbour gave me lots of small offcuts. I can still identify each piece of fabric with a story behind it, or a memory and it truly gives me joy to look over it, my eye catching a fabric I haven’t noticed for a while. Now I try to incorporate a piece of every fabric that I buy and it is becoming a record of early 21st century fabric design! I work on it when I don’t have another thing to work on, or if I just need a break from a bigger project, or if I just want the joy of handling and working with some new fabrics I have bought. If the house was on fire, I would save my photos first, and this quilt second!
I really enjoy your blogs and looking at your wonderful, colourful, joyous quilts. Thank you.
Wow, such beautiful work! I love it! All of the blocks are so pretty but there was one that stood out to me. The yellow gingham block looks like a pretty little sun in the middle of your quilt. :)
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