Finally! Some Hexie love for me

I have been admiring all the hexie projects that are everywhere for the last year or so that they've been the all the rage in the crafting world. Admiring from afar.

I am not a person who does fiddly, involved or time consuming hand-sewn projects well. I will either find a way to do it by machine or will suffer without. The repetitiveness kills my interest-meter and attention span, and my hand-stitching sucks leaves a lot to be desired. Any time I've taken an on-the-go sewing project with me in a car or wherever, it's not too long before I'm picking up my phone and surfing the net or playing games instead of getting anything accomplished. The extent of my hand-sewing is closing up any seams I've left open for turning with the invisible stitch!! *snicker*

So...no yoyo's, or beautiful hand-stitched quilts, or embroidery, beading, etc for this gal, no sirree...and thus far hexie's have been on that list.

I took one look at the EPP method of making them, and then at how many would be needed for most projects and instantly added them to my 'never-do' list...with a frown and a bit of a sniffle. Unlike most of the other things on that list, I actually really wanted to do some of the hexagon things I've seen.

I know many people find handwork calming and relaxing...I wish I were one of them. I find it repetitive and mundane, and I just don't have the patience for that kinda thing. I often zone out which leads to mistakes that I then have to take out and start over/give up...whichever. *sigh* Let's just say my half-done on-the-go project pile is kinda large and falling over on my WIP pile.

BUT!!! Oh yes, there's a but...and even a then...I'm sure another but somewhere along the line.

Last week I found a link thru pinterest for sewing hexies by machine!!! (And now I've remembered to go and PinIt so I can find it later when I forget where I saw it...see, blogging is saving my sanity already.)

Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio has an awesome tutorial for machine piecing hexagons (without marking!) here for anyone interested. ;) Woohoo!!! I was saved...and have already started adding hexie projects to my list.

Image via Tallgrass Prairie Studio

THEN!!!

Yesterday Mr. Man and I had to take a trip to Madison, a 2hr+ drive for us, so I was frantically searching for a project that I could take with me in the car. (I really must stop waiting til the last minute.) I was initially looking for a knitting project. Those don't involve sharp needles that I stab my fingers with when I start to zone out. ahem.

 My search quickly veered off course (as it often does) and I ran across this article. How to hand-sew hexies...without the paper/basting/EPP craziness. *gasp* I know!!

Yes yes, I know. This is still hand-sewing... I hear you all snickering.

BUT. (told you)
     A) it doesn't require first basting & then sewing them together (who came up with that plan anyway?!?)
     B) it doesn't involve whip-stitching. I never like my whip-stitches, they're messy
     C) you can't see the stitches anyway. Score!!

I figured I'd give it a whirl and quickly got a small batch of them ready to take with me on our road trip.

I am happy to report, that I actually sewed together 19 hexies. And. They turned out beautifully. Aren't they gorgeous?! The method is actually very quick. I can now do hexies all over the place! Tho, I will try to keep myself under control. *grin*

I hope the links help some of you who may also have an aversion to the EPP hexies...for whatever reason. You can join in on the hexie love too! :)

I saw these floating around Pinterest & now I could make one for myself.

Room for another??

Hello Blogland!!

I've long wanted to start a blog...and actually did briefly a couple years ago. Due to some personal issues tho, I abandoned it almost as soon as I began. So, that first attempt was a brief one. Lets consider this take 2.

I love to sew and sew a bit of everything...quilts, bags, home decor, some clothing and any other items & accessories that are needed or useful around the house. I am mostly self taught and have never taken a sewing class. I've learned from good ole trial and error (along with the internet of course. ;) My methods may not always be correct and proper, but they work for me. One of my favorite styles is patchwork and I tend to favor the more modern patterns and colors.  I am also addicted to love Pinterest and spend too much time surfing around the net. This is starting to leave me with a lengthy 'to do' list. All you Pinter~freaks will know what I'm talking about!

You will usually find me working on several different things at once. I often have a couple quilts that I'm working on blocks for, as well as little quick~ish projects that I work on between them. I have a bit of a short attention span. Doing more than one thing at a time tends to keep me from getting bored/never finishing and keeps my WIP list at a more manageable level.  So, I'm hoping this blog will also hold me a little more accountable to finish things...so I can move on to the next thing on my 'to do' list!

The biggest reason I wanted to start a blog is that I need a place to catalog my sewing life...a journal of sorts. I want a place to write about and show the things that I make. I've been reading blogs for years and years, so naturally a blog of my own would be a great answer. I hope it will make it easier to look back and see that I have indeed improved and tried new things. It will also be easier to see and remember all the things I've made. And, maybe, it will give others some inspiration as well. I know I've gotten my fair share from others' blogs over the years. Now, I just need to get better about taking photos of the things I make.

I will give you all one warning. I tend to be a very casual, go-with-the-flow kinda girl and my writing will reflect this I'm sure. I write the way I speak most of the time so be prepared for incorrect terms, words, etc. and some net lingo and emotes thrown in for good measure. I love words like wonky (I used it long before it became a sewing style!!!), kerfunky, bumbled, bobbled, and any other possibly-made-up word that makes me smile. My grammar is certainly not always correct. I try, and do appreciate good grammar, I just don't always have it. If you're a member of the grammar police, a small disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any health crises that may arise from reading here. Consider yourself warned! *grin*

So, do you think there's room for another sewing blog? Can I take up a little corner of blogland?

I hope you'll stop back and take a look around, leave some comments, say hello. Oh, and if you notice me dragging my feet at all...give me a nudge to finish something. :)

** ETA ~  This was my original post from the WordPress blog where I started. After just the one post and some fiddling around, I decided to move here. I loved WordPress's dashboard (much more than Blogger's . . .) however, I was terribly disappointed with my lack of customization options. I do not want to pay to do simple things like changing some colors & fonts or moving a search bar. So...hello Blogger! Cheers! **

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