Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Machine Pieced Hexies Progress


The Final (Organic) Layout

In my free sewing time, I'm following along with Mary Huey's Scrappy Hexagon Quilt. Her method allows for chain piecing these bad boy angles, and makes it easy to whip up a crazy, difficult quilt in no time. (It's kind of like the magic of having an Instant Pot, ya know?) Last week's post had us laying out the sets we'd made. Groups of 4, 3's, and a few 2's. Then the border or edge pieces were cut, and the whole shebang laid out as one quilt. 

I was awakened to the fact one doesn't have as much control over fabric/color placement after the fact. Those navy hexagons pop like eyesores in this photo. I tried to disburse them evenly, but the other colors butted up against like colors. Even so, there is some of that too. In the end, I said, "Oh, well. At least I can say it's organic."



As soon as the border and corner pieces were cut, I set to work sewing. A few days into constructing the small groups I had given up on marking the start and stop dots. I began to have the sense of playing "Twenty-one". You need to be just close enough without going over. A nervous gambler at best, I often chose to stay shy of the mark, and my intersections did fine except for a few. I kept my ripper nearby just in case, and there were cases.



Following Mary's instructions I worked in sections vs. rows. 


This is about an afternoon's work in between a haircut for a son, shuffling laundry loads, and petting needy doxies who keep me company. I recently set up a sewing room at home again, and find there are definite benefits. Those 15 minutes here and there truly add up. Instead of losing myself online, I sit and sew until the Instant Pot beeps. How funny that having a project like this at home keeps the family well fed!



And me, too! (A kitchen near my work space is also problematic for my waistline.) As soon as the leaves have a tinge of color, I embrace fall in its entirety: tastes, textures, and colors.This is my happiest time of year, and I am known for nesting. I have been a busy bee, and can't wait to show you the stack of quilts we've finished! Stay tuned, as they say, and grab a pumpkin latte while I get the pictures ready.

I hope you're making time to sew a priority for you, too. Nest away!

Come on, Doxie girls.




12 comments:

Jayne said...

What an ambitious project and sewalong! It'll be amazing when it's done and you will be better for it when it's all said and done...right?!

Roseanne said...

Hi Julie! Yum - that cornbread looks delicious. Isn't it inevitable that like colors gravitate towards each other??! You can lay things out, and move them about and in the end there is still a few grouped together. If it really drives you nuts like it does me (yet it still happens), I found that a photo helps a bit. The caveat is that if you move things about after the photo, you have to take another to see the newly misplaced pieces. I love how this piece is coming together! Thanks for linking up. ~smile~ Roseanne

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Some people sew scrap vortex blocks. I make hexies and then I wonder if I ever will have enough for a quilt, lol.
xx, Carol

Marsha Cooper said...


i always look at anything hexies hoping to get inspired to get my own out again.

audrey said...

Your hexies are looking very striking but sweet too! I think that's the hardest part about sewing in rows are largish groups, not getting to fuss overly much with the layout. Maybe that's a good thing?

piecefulwendy said...

So if the dark hexies bother you, how about placing a smaller colored hexie inside of them? Or is that too much hassle? Just a thought. You make the sewing look so simple. I think it would confuse me. That cornbread looks delicious!

Kate said...

The navy does pop, but it also draws the eye across the quilt. Love the other colors, makes me think of a box of sugar coated candies. I'm ready for fall, it may be the time of year, but our temps haven't dropped yet (still in the low to mid 90s).

Susan said...

You're little organic hexie quilt looks great! I didn't even notice the navy hexies until you mentioned them, then had to go back and look. It's funny what pops out at us, but others don't see.

Dione Gardner-Stephen said...

I was going to write the exact same as Susan - the navy hexies didn't even register until you mentioned them. And I agree with Kate that they add visual interest as they are. Thanks for sharing with the Clever Chameleon, I'd like to give this go at some stage.

Rebecca Grace said...

Now see, one of the ladies in my bee built their new home with a giant craft room that is right off the back of the kitchen, with double pocket doors at the entrance so it can easily be closed off if she has a giant mess back there and wants to entertain without cleaning up first. I LOVE that idea and wish I could magically move my studio from the second floor above the garage to the main floor, the center of action, where the people are. Sometimes I just don't want to be so isolated, tucked away in a far corner of the house. As for your hexies -- I am so interested in your chain piecing method! Did you lay the hexies out on a design wall ahead of time, or is the machine piecing method you're doing more conducive to randomly grabbing the next hexie to sew rather than preplanning? I think you're overthinking the navy blue hexies. When I first saw the quilt photo on Susan's blog, I didn't notice anything bad about the navy hexies; I just was struck by what a beautiful top you've put together and had to come straight over to your blog to learn more about it.

Sandy Panagos said...

Not eyesores at all. I think they look cool!

Angie in SoCal said...

Did Mary give a reason for the units she has made in this project? Just wondering even though I did read her opening posts. I'd be inclined to sew along one of the vertical seams. Love yours. I actually like those navy hexagons. Blessings,