More lovely pix from the peony and iris farm last month. So breathtakingly pretty; caught in one short-lived shining moment of time. All over now. Fortunately I took lots of pictures to re-visit this pink paradise for inspiration. I love watching honey bees, they are such industrious little fuzzy buzzy things. We had a good nest of them rooted deep in the side of our barn when I was growing up. My dad would remove a plank or two from time to time and Oh, the honey we would raid from it! Each spring a queen bee would emerge and all havoc would break loose and everyone would be running for cover to avoid the swarms. But other than that scary bit, it was awesome. Especially those jars of raw honeycomb on the cellar shelves. Sweet memories.
Speaking of busy bees. My youngest daughter has caught the "honeycomb" bug. It was bound to happen. She stitched up one patch, and that led to another. And another. And before I knew it she'd made herself a snazzy little camera bag. Woot!
She followed the basic instructions from mama's book, using a 16" x 6" section of machine-quilted patchwork for the foundation that was hand-stitched together with one-inch hexagons. Stitching hexagons is easy and fun--and apparently addicting. In a good way, of course! There are various methods and lots of good tutorials on the Internet to guide you. Search: 'English paper piecing' to find a method that suits you.
Here's the basic foundation ready to be folded and bound. The bias binding was sewn in two pieces: across one end, and then down the sides and top flap. This was a slight modification (due to bulk) from the original directions. An inch of overhang on binding ends allows them to be tucked in and hand-stitched to enclose raw edges. The original camera tote (shown here) was made from pre-quilted cotton and was bound all the way around.
Mostly it's pretty much the same bag, this time with a longer strap (for a taller young lady), and with the "battery pocket" placed on the inside so as not to cover up the pretty patchwork. I think it turned out darling. So clever that girl of mine.