Addictive little hexagons

I had pretty much vowed not to start any more projects until my holiday sewing was done.  However, my grandfather passed away about a week ago, and last Tuesday I spent a significant amount of time at my mom's house, watching her newborn puppies while she and my dad wrapped things up at my grandfather's funeral.  I didn't want to bring my hand crank machine along because my back has been acting up (its weight is the only thing that makes me occasionally consider getting an electric sewing machine), and I was afraid to use my mom's sewing machine for fear that it would bother the puppies (however, their ears are closed, so they wouldn't have been able to hear anyway).  So I decided to try English paper piecing by sewing some hexagons.

I hate hand sewing so I figured I'd hate making hexagons.  However, I love the look of hexagons and wanted to see how much of a pain they were to make.  I printed off this template and looked at a few tutorials.  This video was the most helpful for me.  Then I tried it.

Hexagons!

Those little things are like potato chips - you can't have just one.  I made a whole bunch that day, and have made more since.  There's something so satisfying about ending up with that perfect little hexagon.

I think I'm going to make a bunch and applique them to a quilt...just a long line of hexagons down one side of the quilt.  I don't have the patience to make a whole quilt that way, and I don't really care for the hexagon flowers.  I love these little things, though.

I'm definitely motivated to get moving on my holiday sewing so I can spend my winter break making a whole pile of little hexagons.

Practicing FMQ

I'm still getting acquainted with my Singer 115 so I haven't sewn any projects with it yet.  Right now I'm content to just practice.

 It runs so smoothly, it's amazing.  I was capable of free motion quilting on my Singer 27, but I had to use some muscle to move the quilt around.  I was putting a lot of tension on those poor threads!  This machine is so fluid, and such a pleasure to work with.

After making a lot of loops, swirls, and shapes I practiced doing some drawing and writing.

I also tried making a feather plume.  That will definitely require some practice!

I'm so excited.  And the deal I got on this machine is even better!  It was a fraction of the cost of fancy quilting machines...it was even less than the cheap ones you get at Target. 

I guess it's time to work up the courage to quilt that big Dresden block quilt. 

Back in the saddle

This morning I sat down at my machine and decided to do something I've been putting off for a while. 

I practiced free motion quilting.

I actually started last night, but got frustrated and stopped.  I hate being patient with my sewing.  I think it's because I have two little children who require patience and a job that requires patience, so in my down time when I sew I just want it to work.  I hate ripping out seams, I hate re-doing things, and I hate practicing.  But I knew that if I didn't do some practice that I'd be doing more seam ripping and more re-doing, so I grabbed some scrap fabric and batting and gave it a try. 

I'd just like to put a little disclaimer here that it's totally possible to sew on a cheap machine.  I've done it!  But without a stitch regulator or the appropriate foot, it's harder.  So if you have a cheap machine, don't give up.  Or, if you truly can't do it on your machine, go vintage before you drop a grand or more at the sewing machine shop.  Many of those old sewing machines are built to handle this type of thing...it just takes some know-how to get it to work.

I got the hang of it this morning and grabbed my quilt before I forgot how to do it.  I did a section of free motion quilting - about five inches by ten inches in the border of my quilt.  The stitches aren't all even but the tension is right.  I was so relieved that it was going better!

And then my needle broke.

Oh well - it was nice to put the project away after having experienced some success.  I'll change the needle and try it again later.