Modern Hexagon Baby Quilt, Part 1

For Christmas, I was in a Secret Santa swap, and received this beautiful Citrus Marbles charm pack by Moda.  

I knew as soon as I saw the charm pack exactly what I wanted to make.  I had in my stash a half hexagon template from Missouri Star Quilt Company, and was itching to use it.  I took off to Pinterest to find some inspiration, and spotted an unusual layout on hexagon floor tile.  That’s it!  I started to cut the charms into half hexagons.  The easy way is to line up the smaller edges of the template with the charm square, and cut down the center of the charm.  Then cut off the small triangles on each side.

Once you’ve cut all the charms, start laying out your design.  I have a design wall by Fons & Porter, which is a great tool.  After a few tries, I settled on this pattern.  I love how it flows from light to dark, and light to heavy. 

Turning to my white stash, I realized I only had enough yardage in a thin muslin – off to my local quilt shop!  Thankfully KC Framing and Fabrics had white Kona in stock.  For this design, I needed 9 2.5 by WOF strips.  A jelly roll would have been easier, if I had one on hand.  I cut 90 half hexagons out of the strips, then cut 17 of those in half to form the edges.   

If you're right handed, the easy way to cut a template out of strips is to lay your template on the right hand side of the strip (I always lay the selvage on the right) and cut off the right hand side.

Once you have the right side cut off, flip the entire strip of fabric around so the cut side is on your left.  Now cut each section, flipping the template as you go.

Once everything was cut (finally!!!), I laid out the white half hexagons on the design wall, and stepped back.  For now, I love it.  If I feel the same tomorrow, it's off to the sewing machine!!

Part 2:  Sewing all those hexagons together, the easy way!