Hexagons

I knew as soon as the post went up that the next round at the ORBC was going to be Hexagons that I was in. Julie posted the materials list and I immediately went about trying to find a matching Jelly Roll and Layer Cake. I didn't really have a plan for this quilt as far as if I would be giving it away or keeping it for myself so choosing the fabrics proved to be a little bit difficult. I like bright fabrics so originally I was drawn to something like Plume by Tula Pink. However, I also know I can't keep every quilt I make and so I thought maybe something more neutral would be the best. As I was searching I kept coming across Fresh Cottons. I really liked the line but it was hard to get a real feel for the colors on the computer. One of my good quilting buddies, Corey, took photos for me so I could see parts of the line in more detail. I guess I wasn't really paying attention because I didn't notice the flowers that were on the polka dot strips or that there were all those pastel versions of the colors as well.

So I ordered the line for my quilt. All in all it is okay but as I started trying to pair up my first five strip sets to make into hexagons it was very obvious which colors and patterns I liked and those I didn't. Immediately I tried to write off the stripes. I don't know what it is about stripes but I hate them. Okay hate is a pretty strong word so lets just say I'm not that fond of them. I remember when my mom and I were making those figgy pudding quilts and she told me she was going to use the stripe for her border I tried to convince her not to do it. And I tried to make sure she got all the blocks made with the stripes. Of course her quilt top looks great and the stripes worked out well, I just don't like stripes. Okay I digressed. In my first five sets I realized I had all pinks and yellows paired up and I had only used the bright pink none of the more pastel pinks. So I reshuffled my fabrics and picked again. Here's what I ended up with:

So much for trying to change it up. As you can see I ended up with pink, yellow, and browns. That last one there with the stripe and the mint green of course was my forced effort. Since Julie is going to show us 5 or 6 different block types I didn't want the last one to end up being made entirely out of stripes and pastels. Hopefully next week I will do a little better with my balance and it won't be so tricky.