Gorgeous Liberty Hexi Swirl Wall Hanging

Anne Commin from The Lewes Sewing Bees has made this gorgeous Liberty Hexi Swirl Wall Hanging using my Halcyon Daze Exclusives Liberty fabrics. This gorgeous wall hanging showcases just how well Liberty prints work with their plain colours – such a vibrancy about them! Anne tells me about her project.

“My Hexi Swirl is inspired by a small, heavily quilted beauty made by @nordiccrafter on Insta. This is the second time I’ve made one – the first has a more limited palette of just the bluey-greeny colours so I was a bit concerned about extending outwards into purple and yellow. I sititched the hanging sleeve on and replaced the original with the new one to try it out and was relived to see that, at a glance, it does the same clean job. In my mind’s eye I visualise a palette of colour blobbed into water in a circle. Then, someone comes along and very gently swirls their fingers through the circle from bottom left to middle right. Of course, in real life, the circle would be distorted , but in the world of my imagination, it is only colours which drift and blend. Alice’s notes about the inspiration behind Betsy Splash were very much in my thoughts as I played with colour and placement.”

“This year I decided to stitch everything by hand. Not everybody has a swish sewing machine and many people prefer hand sewing. I’m definitely calmer when there is no machine to run away with me! I didn’t make any marks on the background fabric (LOVE those snowdrops). I simply put a favourite round copper tray in the middle and placed the big hexies in a circle. Once I was happy with the placement, I put a dab of basting glue on the Ashmead Designs Hexiform blocks, which I had already covered with Liberty, and then did big running stitches round the circle to hold them in place. With Hexiform you leave the fabric hexagon inside for a lovely padded effect. Once the inner circle is in place, you can play around with the outer hexies and the swirl. Then, it’s just a question of stitching the hexies on reasonable neatly, sandwiching and quilting. The inspirational version that Irina, who is the brilliant stitcher behind @nordiccrafter, made is heavily quilted. I’ve kept mine to a minimum but then again, I can always add more if I feel the need. The knife edge finish keeps it unfussy and makes sure the hexies are the focus. You could use this for a cushion or a quilt centre but I love it as a wall hanging and also I really like this size. I guess I was hoping to achieve a fresh modern look in the most traditional manner possible!”

Anne has also made these gorgeous ribbon pictures with an accent of Betsy Splash and Capel Mint. “I find these little copper delicate frames so useful. They come in various sizes and are just right for ribbon pictures. My daughter @jennywrennests gave me these gorgeous ribbons recently and I was itching to use them. I love the beautiful little pictures of flowers and wild creatures – they chime so well with the Liberty prints. I had so much fun playing about – it felt like I was back at school at the ‘make and do’ table again!”

Thank you Anne for sharing your gorgeous Exclusive Liberty projects with us – I really love to see what creative things you make when given artistic freedom!