Some time ago I spotted a gorgeous travel kit for hexies in a wonderful series of tutorials on English Paper Piecing by Haley from The Zen of Making and quickly ‘pinned’ it to make ‘one day’. (I wanted to share my Hexie Travel Kit Add On so I contacted Hayley and she graciously permitted me to use her photos – thanks Haley!)
Imagine my surprise when soon after, I received a gift from an online friend that was exactly that kit! I couldn’t believe it and felt so special!
As some of you are aware, my Dad is in an Aged Care Facility and I visit with him most days. I take my kit with me, and if Dad is having a ‘quiet’ day , I will sit with him and sew.
It was during this time, concerned about roaming hands and the welfare of residents (some of them move very quickly when you are not looking), I decided to plan some additions to the kit to make it better suit my needs and make my sewing experience ‘safer’ for all.
My friend had included some of the fabric in the kit so I used it to make a needle keep. Of course it had to be a hexie with a hexie flower added!! This fits perfectly on the back of the hexie flower flap and was easily hand stitched to the backing fabric.
On the next section of the flap, I stitched a piece of cord to the flap using a button and added 2 jewellery 10mm Jump Rings – my thread is now secure but easy to change if I need another colour.
Then on the next section, I wanted to have a spot for some scissors or snips. An easy solution was to stitch two ponytail elastics to the flap. If you were doing this as part of the total construction, you could make a fabric scissor keep for here.
The changes I made were quick and easy and I now have a fully functional travel kit with a secure place for everything I need.
and it hasn’t changed the exterior of the original!
I love my Kit and if you like to carry stitching with you – on the train, waiting for children etc etc then I would say get over to The Zen of Making and do yourself a favour – make yourself a Travel Kit – you will not regret it and you might even like to try my Hexie Travel Kit Add On!
Until next time
Nanny xx
