Posted on by agilejack

And Now For Something Completely Different

I’ve wanted to try some English paper piecing (EPP) for some time. So last week I ordered some hexagon papers and a glue pen. The pen arrived this afternoon so on my afternoon break I started cutting some scraps.

I got 25 of them cut pretty quickly. One of the benefits of having a little organization to your scraps.

After asking a few people I know who do EPP the best basting method, I decided to go with the glue method. So after work I hit my sewing room and glued up the 25 hexis I had cut earlier. It all went pretty quickly.

After our walk I cut 20 more hexis from scraps, for a total of 45. Then I sat down on the sofa and glued up these 20 as I watched some pickleball.

Here’s the second set of 20 that I got all glue basted.

And here’s all 45 on my cutting table… all glue basted and ready to start sewing.

And here they are in a stack because they’re so pretty.

So I selected seven hexagons to sew….

And took these hexis, my thread, needle and scissors out to the living room, moved a nice bright lamp next to the sofa and started sewing.

I don’t love hand sewing, but this is relatively easy. One person did say that the glue basting can make the hand sewing more difficult than thread basting. And I think they’re right. It was a bit of work to get the needle through the edge of those hexagons without going right through the paper. I will definitely try the thread basting method at some time in the future.

So, the hand sewing went pretty well until… well shit…

It was bound to happen.

I did eventually get it sewn together successfully. Not bad for my very first one.

I’m not sure what I’ll make out of these hexagons when done. Maybe a pillow. Or maybe I’ll cut it all up and make it into a pouch.

We’ve been having some really lovely summer weather the last week or so. Today was a little cloudy and it even rained a little tonight. We had some sprinkles through most of our walk.

I noticed on our walk that the daisies are in bloom. Here’s a couple pretty varieties.

The past couple of days Bender has decided that sleeping under a hammock dog bed on the patio is the best thing! I’ve gone out a couple of times and can’t see Bender anywhere, and when I call his name he stands up and up-ends the bed!

I caught him yesterday laying on the bed like this after he had up-ended it.

And this was the spin he put on it today.

He is such a goober!

30 Replies to “And Now For Something Completely Different”

  1. I’ve recently tried EPP too. I love the glue Basting method, but had more success when the templates were made of card rather than paper. I found this easier and just followed the edge of the card without stitching through it. It also means that the templates are reuseable as they are more robust than ordinary paper. I don’t mind a new challenge, but preparing the individual Hexies for sewing tested my patience. I still prefer patchworking using my sewing machine
    Enjoy your day
    Alison 🙂

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  2. When I do EPP I also use glue stick and found if I cut the fabric closer to 3/8 bigger around vs 1/4 around, it gives just a little more room to put the glue around the paper template and not get it near where you hand sew, really helps! Good luck with your new project.

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    1. I actually did leave a larger seam allowance on the second set of fabric I cut. I’m going to have to get more accurate. I’ve also ordered stronger glasses and better needles. Thought that was a good place to start!

      Anne

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  3. I love all your Hexies! You mentioned that you don’t know what you’re going to do with them. Here are a few ideas… Maybe you can add another few rounds, trim the edges to square it up and use the piece in one your Frankenbags. Or, use the piece you have and applique it to a background fabric. Then add a free form stem and a few leaves to make a flower. A number of those blocks put together would make an interesting quilt. I can also see taking a large piece of fabric, sewing some green fabric near the bottom to represent grass and then adding your Hexie flowers. You could add a few trees using the orange peel pattern for the leaves and some fussy cut birds flying around. Add a few sheep and Rico and Bender (printed on fabric, haha) and you would have an awesome scene. What a personalized creation that would be! Thanks for taking the time to put together the crumb piecing tutorial. I love crumb piecing and got some new tips from your presentation. As far as you voice being too loud and formal … It was just fine. Too often, when people make tutorials, they go for chatty, like friends sitting down having a cup of coffee together. To me, this approach can come across as flighty and annoying, which can interfere with the flow of information being presented. Your voice was fine as was the delivery. Your voice was friendly, and you were very clear about your process, both with your words and visual demonstrations. You also added in a few tips about how you like to do things and what works for you. Being a special ed teacher, I am used to breaking things down into manageable pieces and also not assuming that my audience comes with any prior knowledge. Your tutorial checks all the boxes for a great lesson about how to do crumb piecing. You have earned an A+ in my book!

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    1. Thanks! I have no experience or training in teaching, but people have told me I’m good at teaching concepts. A friend even told me that I made some pickleball rules make sense to her after others had explained them to her several times. For me, context is important. I like to understand WHY you should do something in a particular way… not just that you should do it that way.

      Anne

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  4. I agree with Sara K. on the video presentation. Sone people will go on and on and on before they actually start their video tutorial. Your voice was just right. Delivery and quantity of information spot on.
    Now as for Bender… you gotta love that guy. So sweet and goofy.
    Good luck with the hexies. I started a bunch for a quilt a few years ago after taking a class. The instructor said she only worked on them on vacation. So that’s what I decided to do to break up the hand sewing which is way far down on my list of favorite quilting processes. Well then the pandemic hit and we stopped traveling! Now you are going to inspire me to work on them at home. I think I’ve got something like 49 flowers sewn and need maybe 56. Can’t wait to see how quickly you progress as opposed to me.

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    1. I’m looking forward to having these to do during long and frequent work zoom calls for a database conversion. I knit my way through the last one and It’s really good for me to keep my hands occupied while my brain is busy. Makes those long meetings much easier and more tolerable. Plus, I end up with and actual thing at the end!

      It would be good to have a pile of these to work on while traveling. I’ll have to remember that if I’m ever on a plane again!

      Anne

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    1. It’s been really nice here the last week. I don’t think this behavior is because of heat. I think it’s just that his brain is a little haywire!

      I’m also not a fan of hand work, but I have great appreciation for when others do it. I don’t know how long i’ll do this, but I’m enjoying it for now.

      Anne

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    1. I just searched for Lucy Boston blocks. They are amazing, but I want to add some color! Definitely above my skill level in EPP!

      Oh! The Alewives kits are much more to my liking in colors!

      Anne

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  8. Your EPP efforts look pretty good to me, but don’t you find that whole process “fiddly” ? Please don’t decide you need to make a whole quilt. You’ll lose your wonderful sense of humor! Your crumb piecing video is wonderful. Your voice is great and you presented a very doable process. I may just have to give it another try!

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    1. I do find it all quite fiddly. I’m not a fan of hand work, but I really appreciate it when others do it. And rest assured, a full size hexi quilt will not be forthcoming from my hands!

      Would love to hear if my tutorial made crumb piecing easier for you.

      Anne

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  9. I glue baste my hexis. But I also take a larger seam allowance minimum 3/8 inch. This makes it easier to keep the glue away from the edges of the papers. It does not impede the sewing.

    I have 80 or so Flowers made for my ongoing project. The petals are KFC, the centres are a different print.

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    1. I actually added a larger seam allowance on the second set I cut. But I’m still trying to get more accurate in my glue application. I will try thread basting at some point in time.

      Anne

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  10. Light on the clue and you won’t have a hard time stitching through it. Do you want to glue the edge of the material not the edge of the Hexi. I find it a nice relaxing thing to do when my fingers will work well. I love the combinations of flower units they’re so fun to put together.

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    1. I bought a glue pen so the glue is a little easier to apply in a more accurate way. it seems to be working well, but I do want to try thread basting at some point in time.

      Anne

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  11. Love your Kaffe hexies! If you try the basting method, I suggest a 3/8” seam allowance to make it easier to sew. The other trick if you use glue is, don’t get the glue right up to the edge of the paper. Keep on inspiring us!

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    1. I made my seam allowances bigger with the second set I cut. the 1/4 was just too close for me.

      The glue basting seems to be working well. But I do want to try the thread basting at some time.

      Anne

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  12. I like the way the hexies look but don’t think I’d enjoy hand sewing them. Then you have to pick all the paper out too right?

    The flowers are always so pretty there. Any land for sale cheap that I can move all my kids and their partners with me haha.

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    1. You do have to pick the paper out, but I pulled one out last night out of curiosity and it came out really easily. So that’s good.

      Unfortunately, there isn’t much cheap land up here. My property has nearly tripled in value in 12 years! Great for my investment, but terrible for people who want to buy property here. You might all have to live together!

      Anne

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  13. I’ve always wanted daisies, but I just can’t get them to grow. I’m a brown thumb. But I keep hoping! I did recently but some Japanese tea shrubs from the local conservation dept. One even bloomed already!
    Lol! Ruining Bender’s siesta! Tsk tsk!
    Fyi … On a recent 2022 fons & porter episode, they showed how to machine stitch epp hexies. I put it on the list. I’ve had my fill of handsewing, so I thought it might be a good alternative for myself.

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    1. Hmmm. I’ll have to see if I can find the Fons and Porter episode. I watched a video on Instagram the other night on machine stitching but I didn’t like the end result.

      I have a large clump of daisies that bloom every year on the side of my garage. I totally ignore them. Don’t even give them water. They are on their own and they’re pretty spectacular!

      Anne

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      1. That’s exactly the kind of plants I need! Short of cacti, which can’t survive our winters, there aren’t many out there that fit the bill.
        I think you’ll like the F&P episode. They cover different “mounting” processes, papers, and proper gluing as well.

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