Ring around the Rosie....... and giveaways!

Hey Yall! And welcome to the last day of the "Be a Hexie Queen Blog Hop!  I have to say that this has been one of the most inspiring blog hops I have participated in. We have had hexagons made just about any way you want. From the traditional hand sewn to machine stitched and even glued! They've been made in all sorts of sizes and colors. They've been going round and round in circles, made into flowers and we've even had them made into a christmas tree!  I have made a few over the last few months, but I too am new to this type of hand sewing. 

I must say that I have had a hard time trying to decide on how I wanted to use my hexagons. Things have been so busy around the farm with three new baby calves and 11 new baby chicks. But with time running out I new I better come up with something! So the other day I was playing around with some gingham hexies and my hubby walked by.  Well his jaw fell open and he started shaking his head! He said" Uh-uh , no way are you doing that!" Well I looked down to see what he was talking about and I realized he thought I was going to sew them on this shirt this way. I laughed till I cried.

    

 Well he stormed off , still shaking that head so hard I thought his hat was gonna fall off. He turned back around and said" You better stop monkeying around and get busy on your project"!

So I did!

Well this earned me another good shake of the head . I think its kinda cute! Sometimes he drives me bananas! (just kiddin)

Anyway, I guess I better show yall what I finally came up with:

I call it "Ring Around the Rosie".  Yall, this is the hardest quilt I have ever tried to photograph!

I think it is hard to photograph because of the gray background with tiny yellow dots. It measures 42x54" and I used a combination of Happy Go Lucky precut hexagons and some Briar Rose Fussy cuts.

 The hexagons are hand sewn and then machine appliqued onto the quilt TOP. With the exception of the center flower. The center flower is hand sewn and then appliqued to the quilt AFTER I sandwiched it to the back.  Here is the back so you can see the difference. The large flowers do not have the hexagon quilted shape like the center one does.

 Each hexagon is one of the large flowers going around the small flower in the center. Therefore, Ring Around the Rosie. I really experimented with some free motion quilting designs for the first time and I love it!

I free motion quilted circles in the flower centers.

I then free motion quilted a large petal in each hexagon and a small petal between two hexagons.

On the outside of the circle of flowers, I free motion quilted a meandering vine with flowers and
leaves. 

 I love the look of the quilting on the outside of the circle of flowers and I left the inside of the circle
blank except for the small flower with the bees.

I think the non-quilted neutral space in the center looks like a large snowflake.

I love the grey background with the yellow dots. It looks like drops of honey from those adorable bees.

I just had to take a picture on my Butterfly hook! I used the same yellow from the flower centers for the binding.

The binding is machine stitched to the front and stitched in the ditch on the front grabbing the binding on the back . The back is a green bias plaid flannel!  I love the look on the back and these adorable bees are carrying honey in their aprons.

Yall I really loved making this quilt! It makes me Happy, Happy, Happy!

I hope my "Ring around the Rosie" quilt made you happy today! I am sad to say that I did not get to use my gingham or monkey hexies this time. I've had a little bout with carpal tunnel in my right arm and figured I better give it a rest for a few days. But those hexies may just be for an upcoming  blog hop! ssssh..
    Now, I would like to say thank you to Mdm Samm of Sew We Quilt. She is our reigning Queen and continues to inspire us all ! Also a huge thank you to Debby of Debby Kratovil Quilts for leading us all toward the crown! She has truly been a fearless and tireless leader!
And please visit these other ladies that share today with me. They have been hard at work on their hexagon projects and are ready to share their talents with you:

Day 7: Wednesday, August 28

  

Adventurous Quilter 

Scraps of Life 

Sew and Sow Farm

Kwilty Pleasures

Just Sew Quilter 

   
Marjorie's Busy Corner   

NitaDances

Pig Tales and Quilts 

   
Quiltscapes

Livinbluequilter

Sew We Quilt 

 Yall , I would also like to give a very warm welcome , as I hope you will,  to two of my newest friends and followers:
Terry Straubel of Quilting Time and Dora Farrier!  Welcome to the farm ladies! I am so happy to have yall plowing along with me. Please feel free to grab my tractor on the right sidebar for your blogs.
Oh, I almost forgot, I do have two little giveaways if you've stayed with me this long. One lucky reader will get two Moda "Juggling Summer" mini charms and another reader will get two Moda "Metropolitan Flair" mini charms.

Just leave a comment below and be sure and tell me which you prefer. Also if you would like a second entry you can sign up to follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know you did or if you are already a follower!  This giveaway is open to everyone. I will ship international.
 Now yall I hope you have really enjoyed visiting with me today! I hope that something here brought a smile to your face and warmed your heart! And speaking of smiles, what exactly is that little guy up there that is wrapped in my quilt, doing on my front porch? Well that my friends is a story for another day!   So until then, I hope yall have a quilty kind of day and get out and see if you can find some honey dropping bees!
xo jan