1. vessels  And they’re turning up everywhere, in my paintings, the stitchbook and as ceramics.

I’ve been taking classes at the Guilford Art Center since I landed in Connecticut and have lately gotten obsessed with vessels. Mostly little ones. There are lots more in progress. The little group below is pre-firing.

2. the stitchbook I’m very surprised and happy at how many people are participating! And it continues to be a fruitful practice for me. I go on and on about that here.

*This post contains affiliate links – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.

3.the cardboard house I’ve been imagining the pattern for the downstairs walls for a very long time. And carving the little stamps made me want to carve lots more little stamps.

The old linen napkin I was offloading ink onto made me want to block print some fabric. I love the pattern, I see tea towels in the future…

I’ll get into more detail about the process in an upcoming cardboard house progress post. If you’d like to try making stamps you can *get a kit here – this is an affiliate link – I get a tiny commission if you purchase through the link.

4. packages Making sweet packages makes shipping orders way more fun. Brown paper, stickers, stamps bakers twine and little extras are all magic to me. Also there are  a couple new cards for spring.

5. twinkle lights  Most things can be improved by twinkle lights. And I’ve had one long string for many, many years that is particularly awesome. It’s the mini kind – wire with tiny lights, the light is warm and it has a plug rather than batteries. It finally died about a month ago. I tried a bunch of replacements that did not sing to me until this one arrived. It’s just right – warm light, nice and long and it plugs in. *You can get it here – and fyi this is also an affiliate link – meaning I get a tiny commission if you purchase through the link.

6. The tiny garden and  imminent lilacs. So much joy. I am so ready for the garden. I’ve got some herbs, flowers and lettuce I started from seeds in March (that feels so adult), the beets have appeared and it’s looking like my repurposed cedar chest planter is going to give me another year.

Also I’m sure it’s a good omen that a mystery plant has appeared. You gotta admire its chutzpah just showing up like that so it stays. I am gonna move it so it does not dominate the tiny space and has something to climb since it looks pretty climby.

7.  House plants make life better. Freshly repotted, happy plants. The little jade has been with me for 25 years.

Are you a plant person? What’s bringing you joy this spring? Let us know in the comments.

It’s a perfect plan, here’s why: You can do it in bed, all you need are some scraps, the most basic sewing ability and paper. Plus it has a calming effect, for me anyway. The first thought was to use only pale, small prints. But then the idea of playing with scale and color was appealing – using large prints in these little hexies. That dissolved into abandoning all constraints and going with a fully random assemblage – no planning, no thought, inviting serendipity.

I also didn’t really have a plan for what they would become, that evolved too. At first I thought I’d patch a quilt with them- I love it when hexies or groups of them just turn up somewhere. And I used a few in my mending.

I like making them so much though I want a legit hexie project. The current plan is to just keep going and going. Instead of a fully random situation I’ve begun to plan some color transitions and shapes and lines, still taking a meandering, “yes and approach” and  not laying out a design beforehand.

The idea of approaching a hexie project in a painterly and abstract way is super duper appealing to me. It’s also super duper appealing that it will take an immense amount of time over days, months, years…

They are simple to make.  There are tons of detailed hexie (english paper piecing) methods, tutorials, tips and ideas on the interwebs to explore, I’ll give you some basics on my process  here. I started with template paper that was precut and later made my own paper templates using magazine pages. My shape is 2 inches at the widest point. Place the paper on your fabric and cut about  3/8th of an inch from the edge.

Fold one side over the edge and finger press the fold.

Fold an adjacent side down, finger press the edge and stitch through the fold to hold it in place. Don’t stitch through the paper.

Keep your needle attached and fold down the next side and finger press the edge.

Stitch that fold and continue around until all 6 sides are basted.

After I get a bunch I press them. To stitch them together place 2 with the right sides together and whip stitch the edge. Keep adding hexies stitching one edge at a time.

After a bunch are assembled I’ve been pressing the whole thing and taking the paper out to use again – snipping out a couple stitches and using my needle to lift out the paper. This may be controversial…. I think you’re supposed to leave them in until it’s finished.  Feel free to share your opinion.

resource – find printable hexie templates here.

I’m working on it every morning, marking these strange moments with hexies. I so recommend it. If you’d like to join me use #hexiesforsanity on instagram. Make something small, make something big, make a design or go free form or both – that could be awesome. I’ll be updating you regularly on my progress.

Onward,
ann

PS – if the idea appeals to you but you’re not on instagram let me know in the comments – I’ll try to put together another sharing option.

PPS – If you have tips for making and assembling hexies please share in the comments.

Be sure to check the comments for great tips!

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