New Pattern- Polygon Quilts! Napa Workshop Sign Up Soon!

My new Polygon Quilts pattern is a riff on hexie quilts and pushes the concept of polygons by taking them toward an improvisational bent. It came about as a mistake, a roadblock due to lack of supplies. And that can be pretty exciting. Who needs a perfect little template anyway???

I'll tell you the story:
A while back on a Friday afternoon just as the kids were getting off the bus, Todd and I were packing up "the brick" (our old red, beater SUV), to head up to the mountains. Rushing to get the dogs in... Is there enough room? The duffle just fell on Indie and Luna! (they're such a putter uppers- love my dogs) Don't forget the kibble... William did you feed the chickens? Marky lock the back doors...Is Tommy even coming? Todd scrambling to get the last bike on the rack and I was sweeping through my studio full force gathering up my hexie weekend project stuffing my supplies into my tote. Let's go! We'll Beat the traffic!

The next morning, waking up in the fresh mountain air, eating a big breakfast and after a hike in the woods I was ready to settle into my sewing project with my new fabric Studio Stash (2015) while the boys went fishing. Peace and quiet at last. Ahhhh.

Within minutes of unpacking my supplies, I realized I had forgotten my hexie templates on my studio table.%$#%#()& !!!! I was frustrated that of all the stuff I packed into that car, I had forgotten that little stack of perfect paper pieces I hoped would bring joy to my afternoon. 

Now what should I do? Too lazy to drive into Truckee... as well as too cheap/irritated to buy another pack of hexies (these qualities drive creativity indeed!) I decided to mess around with my new 5" charm packs. O'well. Let's see what comes of it. So I chain pieced a few HST, cut them and pressed. Felt pretty good. I love the repetitive process of sewing, cutting, pressing, fooling around with turning over and basting the imperfect edges. Within a few hours, I had amassed a pile of wonky hexies. It was a super fun and forgiving process, plus each shape was slightly different than the one before. They each had little personalities...! The creative juices were flowing and I was in the zone. 

 Techniques: Sew baste vs glue. Both work. Polygon layout took more studying, measuring and figuring. Puzzle pieces. 

Machine and hand appliqué are both rewarding ways to secure the polygons to background fabric. 

I am thrilled to announce I will be teaching a workshop at Pokey Bolton's Art Barn in Napa March 24-25, 2018

Napa Workshop INFO

So there you have it. Thats how this quilt and pattern came to be. Making these wonkie shapes became a little addiction and I had made multiple pieces by the time we were ready to offer the pattern. Endless ideas for Layout of Polygons: Spiral, Wave, Rain etc (images in pattern booklet) and varying scale of polygons is also a fun study. We are tickled at the potential of this concept and can't wait to see what you all do! Make sure to hashtag on Instagram #jennifersampou #polygonplayquilt #polygonquilts so I can see your creativity at work! And hey! I would love to see you in NAPA!! 

Pillows, table runners, bags are all options for projects with Polygon Play Quilts

Polygon Toile. Shows off the main toile fabric while center panel dances with colors and shapes. 

Be well. Make well.
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