Hexagon Quilt Inspiration

Today's post is inspired by some outstanding hexagon quilts we've seen over the last few years.  The hexagon shape is so versatile, it can be used to create flowers, diamonds, tumbling blocks, and even pixel quilts (check out the Hexie Hummingbird, below !)

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Hexie Hummingbird No. 2, 42 x 36", by Gail L. Weiss

Gail L. Weiss created her original design, Hexie Hummingbird No. 2, with 474 one-half-inch English Paper Pieced Hexies!  This quilt is hand pieced, appliqued and quilted with fine silk thread on the Hummingbird, and with #12 Perle Cotton for the background.  Gail describes Hexie Hummingbird as "A quilt that makes me happy!"

You can find a pattern for this quilt, and for more of Gail Lizette's wonderfully creative works, at her website (click here: gaillizette.com.)

Lupines by Karen McCarty

Winner of a ribbon for third place in the Applique - Solo category at the 2020 Quilt Arizona show, Lupines was inspired by a photo which Karen McCarty took in Ushuaia, Argentina, in 2014.  She says, "I knew that someday it would be a quilt. Just needed to find a way to make those tiny hexies."  We admire Karen McCarty's excellent technique and the many artistic details, including tiny bead embellishments.

City by Crystal Bray

Inspired by Libs Elliott's "Weight of Love" quilt, this quilt combines whole hexagons and hexagons divided into 60-degree triangles, radiating from light to dark, creating a 3-dimensional appearance. Crystal Bray says that she pieced hexies by the values in the Hoffman City fabric (shown below), hence the quilt title, City.  This quilt "reads" modern without being overtly minimalist... we love the look!

Oranges, Lemons and Limes - Oh My!  by Lynn G. Kough

Made by Lynn G. Kough, a member of the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame, and exhibited in 2015, this quilt is a whimsical celebration of citrus in Arizona.  The fragrance of citrus blossoms is a beloved scent in the Valley [of the Sun] and throughout Arizona's warmer regions.  Small and large hexagons combine to create a lively mixture of lime green, orange, and lemon yellow hues. 

Diamonds Are Forever by Susan Cox, quilted by Jessica Gamez

Bright colors in many different hues create the sparkling diamond-shaped emblems in this beauty. Winner of a second place ribbon in the Scrap Quilt category, Diamonds Are Forever is made up of 4066 hexies. Susan Cox created this heirloom quilt using the traditional English Paper Piecing technique and many, many hours of work -  a true labor of love.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Quilt Arizona show (Lupines), the 2015 Quilt Arizona show (Oranges, Lemons and Limes), the 2018 Road to California quilt show (Hexie Hummingbird), the 2018 Quilt Arizona show (City), and the 2019 Quilt Arizona show (Diamonds Are Forever).

Pineapple delight: Pineapple log cabin quilts!

This is our first-ever feature on Pineapple Log Cabin quilts. The Pineapple block design radiates from the center, and the overlapping angled strips produce a jagged edge that creates a whirl of motion.   Here are some dazzling examples!  

Note:  We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter! Check us out @QuiltInspire.

Summer Love by Keith Dommer

Blue ribbon winner at the 2014 Tucson Quilt Fiesta for Best Machine Quilted Pieced and Appliqued quilt, Keith writes, "Finally - it's finished !  My first quilt adding turned-edge machine applique to amp up a traditional pieced quilt. And apparently 15 years ago when I started this, I really liked green and orange together."  Keith's message is humorous, but it contains an important lesson:  Never give up on a UFO ( unfinished object), because you might achieve spectacular results upon its completion !

The use of gray and black neutrals as a background really help the green and orange blocks to "pop", in order to display the distinctive triangular, geometric look of the pineapple design. The circles within the center diamonds provide an innovative adaption to this traditional pattern.

Pineapple Log Cabin quilt by Sheila Arnold

Sheila Arnold notes, "I made this quilt to research methods of construction to teach a pineapple log cabin class." Sheila's quilt was part of the "Pieced Pineapple Special Exhibit" shown at the 2014 Quilt Arizona Show in Mesa, AZ.

The pineapple pattern is one that looks great in high contrast colors, whether the fabric is batik, solid colors, or small calico prints. The midnight blue, cream, and red calico prints give a contemporary, but warm and cozy look to this eye-catching design. Extra visual interest is provided by the four-patch blocks which nicely frame the quilt's center medallion.

Red Licorice, 34 x 34",  by Linda McGibbon

Linda explains, "I used pineapple blocks in a diamond shape. I then used black background fabric in some of the pieces and Stitch-n-Ditch to make the design three dimensional." Red Licorice won Second Place, Pieced-Small, at the 2013 Shipshewana Quilt Festival. A pattern for Red Licorice is available at Linda McGibbon's website: Lakeview Quilting.

Close up, Red Licorice by Linda McGibbon

Set against the dark black background, these high-chroma hues glow beautifully, almost as if they are illuminated by a black light.

When Pineapples Kaleide by Judy D. Birchett, quilted by Kate Snyder

This elegant creation is a cross between a Lone Star and a Pineapple quilt.  Judy Birchett says that When Pineapples Kaleide was based on the New Day Dawning quilt pattern, which can be found in the book, Pineapple Stars by Sharon Rexroad (2005).

Close up, When Pineapples Kaleide by Judy D. Birchett, quilted by Kate Snyder

Judy used the word "kaleide" to title this quilt, because her design looks like the pattern seen inside a kaleidoscope, a mirror-filled cylinder which displays fragments of images when one looks into it. This intricate center star is surrounded by an intriguing quilting pattern which replicates the sharp points of the pineapple blocks, but also adds some lyrical curves to provide a sense of balance to this innovative work.

Aurora by Dixie Haywood, exhibited by Lynn Kough

Lynn Kough says, "[This] quilt was purchased at a National Quilting Association Little Quilt Auction, which benefits the Grant Programs. It's wonderful to own a pineapple quilt made by one of the "dynamic duo" - Jane Hall and Dixie Haywood."
There are actually nine pineapple blocks in this quilt. In the blocks on the edges, the four outer pineapple rings were done in a single color (purple), which emphasizes the octagonal shape within each block.

The center block, done in four different colors, is shown below:

Jane Hall and Dixie Haywood have promoted the paper-piecing method of constructing pineapple quilts in order to enhance accuracy, which you can see in these blocks. In fact, in their book Hall and Haywood's Foundational Quilts, they advocate for using paper-piecing in the construction of almost every traditional geometric pattern.

Fresh Pineapple Possibilities, 2013, by Jane Hall and Dixie Haywood (Amazon)

On her website,  Jane Hall says, "My friend Dixie Haywood and I have written six books about this old-made-new technique. We wrote the first book on Pineapples and have been known ever since as ‘The Pineapple Queens.’ "


Image credits:  Quilt show photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Arizona Quilters' Guild show, the Tucson Quilt Fiesta (Summer Love), and the Houston International Quilt Festival (Red Licorice).

Quilts of illusion: tumbling blocks

Hexagon quilts are making a comeback, and we've seen some inspiring modern variations.  Tumbling blocks are hexagon shapes made with three diamonds (or two diamonds plus two 60-degree triangles), which are shaded so that they look three dimensional. They can be combined with other hexagons to make tessellating designs. They are our favorite quilts of illusion!  Today we are sharing a gallery of tumbling block quilts we've admired.

Tumbling Blocks Quilt exhibited by Janet Kraus, 2013 AZQG show

The interesting fabrics and blue border really make this classic-yet-modern tumbling blocks quilt.  There are bits of orange and red, large and small prints and batiks!  The blocks are pieced in the classic way with diamonds that form inset or Y-seams. Janet chose a spiral quilting design which reminds us of the planets in orbit around the sun.

close up, Tumbling Blocks Quilt exhibited by Janet Kraus, 2013 AZQG show

Tumbling Blocks quilt exhibited by Joan Bergdolt, 2013 AZQG

Here's an example of how nearly solid colors create an excellent optical illusion of a three-dimensional figure. The wavy line quilting of the inner border creates visual interest and helps to soften the stark and angular geometric lines of the blocks.

In the close-up you can see that the top of each cube is made from two 60-degree triangles instead of a single diamond; this "quick" method of tumbling block construction avoids the need for inset or Y-seams.  The quick method was described in detail Sara Nephew's classic 2001 book, the Big Book of Building Block Quilts.

Primary Half-Hex quilt exhibited by Lynn Kough, 2013 AZQG show

Every shape in here is a hexagon comprised of two pieces (a "half hex").  They are placed such that they make a tessellation, in which all the pieces interlock together. Lynn's use of mostly solid red, blue, and yellow fabrics creates a sharp, clear, contrast so that the individual blocks really "pop" off the background fabric. The primary color hexagons do not create a 3-D illusion; however, in every other row, the taupe blocks are shaded so that they create the appearance of a 'Y' shape when sewn together.

Close up, Primary Half-Hex quilt exhibited by Lynn Kough, 2013 AZQG show

1000 Pyramids - Inner City, exhibited by Lynn Kough, 2013 AZQG show

Lynn Kough has created a very contemporary quilt by combining an Inner City design with 1000 pyramids (1000 pyramids refers to 60-degree triangles placed side by side in a tessellation).  "Inner City" was originally named by quilt artist Jinny Beyer. These interlocking blocks can be seen as representing hundreds of closely placed buildings in a high density neighborhood. In this quilt, Lynn has broken up some of the hexagons and triangles into even tinier pieces as shown below.

Close-up of  1000 Pyramids - Inner City, exhibited by Lynn Kough

You can see how perfectly pieced these small triangles are. Lynn's quilt is really a marvel of workmanship.  For more information,  and other beautiful photos,  take a look at Lynn Kough's website. For a view of the original Inner City pattern, please see Jinny Beyer's website.

Izobel's Quilt by Barbara Beil, 2013 CCCQG show

This tumbling blocks variation is another Y-version illusion and it is pieced in a manner similar to Lynn Kough's Half Hex quilt.  We first discussed the illusion in our 2010 post called Tumbling Blocks - More Illusions  (careful selection of fabric values is the key!)  In the closeup below you can see the light fabrics (top of the Y), medium value fabrics (right side of the Y) and dark fabrics (left side of the Y) which create the illusion of three dimensions. 

Exhibitor Barbara Bell writes, "After our friend and fellow quilter Izobel Scully left the Bay Area, a group of us went to visit her in Roseville, California. While showing us her new quilting room, she opened a drawer full of unfinished quilt tops...I was attracted to the top with the geometric shapes.
I could imagine the fun Izobel had finding the perfect fabrics to get this three dimensional effect... I floated the blocks on black and then used a small blue border with an additional black border to finish it off. I constructed a backing that I thought would complement the front and machine quilted it in the ditch."

Spinning Blocks by Louise Tilby, 2012 AZQG show

We like this intriguing tumbling blocks variation, in which 6 blocks surround a central hexagon.  Louise Tilby says, "The hand applique was done using the English paper piecing method, which entails basting the fabric to paper templates, then appliqueing them to the background fabric."  We enjoyed Louise's marvelous craftsmanship and her monochromatic color selections.  The blocks are quilted with wavy lines that enhance the "spinning" effect.
 

 Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration. For more information and links, see these original articles: Optical Illusions,   Tumbling Blocks -More Illusions, Cubic Construction, and Tumbling Blocks Divided by 4 or 9.  Also see "What's In Your Box" by Elisa Lawrance at the 2010 Arizona Quilt Show.