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Hexie Hummingbird – Start!

mass-O-hexies

It’s been almost a year since I’ve had a hexie project to work on. I really needed a little break, and I wanted to focus on some machine stitching – which was great. But I’m starting to really miss having a hand-project.

mass-O-hexies

It took some time to figure out what I wanted to make next. I have a whole bunch of 1/2″ hexies basted, ready to use… but I needed a plan. Last week I saw my therapist  (Shiatsu, Rolfing, Cranial Sacral, & Energy Healer) and while on the table in full meditation mode, I envisioned a hummingbird. No reason… but I came home and felt the need to make it come to life, so I spent a little time on the computer and laid out a Hexie Hummingbird!

Since I have so many basted hexies already, I didn’t want to make anymore. Just wanted to use what I had in my stash – which turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined. I wanted to share the evolution of this layout:

First I print out my design layout and use that as reference for hexie placement. This was my first layout:

Hexie Hummingbird Layout 1

It’s not bad… but it could be so much better, so after a day of rearranging, this is my second layout:

Hexie Hummingbird Layout 2

Wow… that just got super messy – but I really liked the purple wing and the orange tail feathers. I just needed to get that back wing and the head to read better.  So this is my third layout:

Hexie Hummingbird Layout 3

Now that back wing is just driving me nuts. I’m about 4 days in at this point and about ready to dump the table and start over. I do really like how the face looks better a bit lighter.

I took a full day off of looking at it – sometimes you just need a break. This type of creative work can be exhausting… but the time invested always pays off!

Next time I worked on it, I spent another day picking and switching and changing my mind, then I came to this layout:

Hexie Hummingbird Layout

I’m really happy with this! I posted it on IG late last night and got a lot of great feedback, so I think this is IT! For this hexie quilt, I plan on just doing the main image in hexies, then I’m going to try appliqué and place it onto a solid background. Maybe I’ll add some hexie flowers too. I’m excited, because this approach should make this a fairly quick project.

I’m so happy to be back in the hexie swing again!

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