hexes

I have been hexing! I feel like I should follow that sentence up with "but Mom, all the other kids are doing it". 

It all started when I stumbled upon a picture Ashley had posted of her new found hexagon addiction. Up until that point, I had resisted all temptation of falling into the hexagon world. But in Ashley's pictures, she didn't just have any hexagons.....she had flea market fancy hexagons. The two of those items combined was all I needed to see to start my new found obsession. Thanxs to some amazing and gracious ladies, ebay and etsy, I finally feel like I have enough FMF to make a throw size hex quilt (I have never been one to shop ebay...but in the last month my bidding has been off the hook). 

I am pretty sure that I have every print from the fabric line accounted for, even if only by a couple of hexes. I decided to go with one inch hexagons, mainly because I think they are just soooo adorable at that size. I love the basting process and I don't even mind the hand stitching part. I find it all to be very relaxing and mobile. The mobile part is probably one of my favorite aspects of this new hobby. I can hex at the dentist, doctor, school, park....literally anywhere (although my poor knitting bag has been stuck in the corner for weeks now, totally untouched). I'd have to say the the only part of these little beauties I don't like, is seeing them all sewn together. Not because it isn't beautiful, but because of my own stitching. I have been practicing and practicing and practicing, but no matter how hard I try, I hate the way my stitching looks! I don't have any other sewers around me to ask, so I need to get some tips from all of you. My problem is that no matter what stitch I use, I can see the thread pulling on the fabric on the front. I don't know if this is normal, if I am pulling too tight, or if it has to do with something else that I am doing wrong! Here is an example:

See all those little tugs on the fabric....they are driving me CRAZY!! Is it suppose to look like that? Is there anything I can do not to get them? Any tips, suggestions or assurances that this is normal, would be greatly appreciated. I want to move past this so that I can actually feel comfortable enough to start piecing them together.