Finished Scrap EPP Flower Pillow

There are times when I'd rather hand sew than sit in front of my sewing machine. The downside to the flexibility of that is that I sometimes just end up with these random blocks that I don't have any use for. This is one of those blocks.

Earlier in the year, my friend, Marci, put together a fundraiser for her coworker so she could get a cochlear implant. I offered a prize for donations. Not only was this a good cause, but I wanted to get motivated to finish something.

The lucky winner was really patient with me because when she won the drawing, I was in the midst of finals for grad school. She was sweet enough to let me know I could take my time. Unfortunately, right after finals is when my dad had his stroke and then passed away. I didn't have a lot of sewing mojo for a while after he passed, but I finally finished this pillow the other night and got it sent off in the mail.



I had sewn the flower using English paper piecing and then appliqued it onto some crosshatch fabric. I needed to enlarge things a bit so it'd fit a 20" pillow form so I added a border using the same colors I used in the block.

For the backing, I chose some flannel pieces that were leftover from a previous project and pieced an orange stripe through one of the sets. I opted for no binding and no quilting on this one as well as an envelope style closure instead of a zipper.

#SLMQG May '14 Mini Quilt Swap

I missed out on our guild meeting last night, but I was able to virtually participate in our mini quilt swap via Instagram (thanks for posting, ladies!). Here's the mini I made (and that Barbie took to the meeting for me).

I had an orphan English paper pieced block (star blossom) sitting around that I just didn't know what to do with. I initially was planning on turning this into a pillow or bag,

but then I had this leftover block from a quilt I'm working on using my quick curve ruler that matched the color scheme and fabrics. I added a border from one-inch scraps and a section of patchwork below it.

Then I joined them together.

I've really been enjoying a fluid approach to quilting lately. I haven't been planning out quilting designs and instead have just been quilting a quilt however I want. If I change my mind during the process, I let my quilting change. This mini is no exception. I started hand quilting the black background half. I quilted a few Xs and just kind of went with it.

I quilted three rows around the star and then went willy nilly around other sections.

Since most of the fabrics on the front are from Denyse Schmidt, for the backing I used a piece from her Chicopee line, which I think goes really well with the fabrics on the front.

I used two blue/green solids for the binding, which I machine stitched to the front of the quilt and then hand-stitched to the back. I usually do my binding all by machine, but I wanted to sit in front of the TV instead of in front of my sewing machine to finish this one. And I'm happy to report that my hand-binding is getting better!

I don't know the exact measurements of this one. I think it's around 16"x22" or thereabouts.

My Pillow for the X Factor Pillow Swap

Quite a while ago, I joined the X Factor Pillow Swap on Flickr. With my goal to finish existing projects before starting anything new, I didn't join in on any of the rounds. But then I had surgery last month and I really wanted to sew something. Since I couldn't use my hand very well for my rotary cutter, I thought English paper piecing would be a good type of therapy. I also have been wanting to try a low volume project for a while now, something that is definitely out of my comfort zone, so round 7 of the X Factor swap was the perfect opportunity!

I looked through my stash and gathered a variety of low volume prints in rainbow colors. Then I pulled some whites, creams, and grays. I bought some diamond paper pieces from paperpieces.com a long time ago, but hadn't busted them out yet. I tried out several layouts, but ultimately settled on this one.



I tried to find a background fabric that was a little more low volume, but everything I auditioned just felt muddy. So, I used this yarn-dyed linen in black and while it's not quite "low" volume, I think it works as a fairly neutral background that allows the diamonds to stand out.

I quilted wavy lines vertically across the pillow with a white cotton thread.

I thought it'd be fun to place a dark print in with all the light fabrics. This text print from Madrona Road by Violet Craft is one of my favorite text prints of all time, so I just had to use it here. I also think it goes nicely with the background fabric.

For the back, I used this Heather Bailey light blue hop dot print and paired it with a light yellow (I can't recall the name of it now). I also used a strip of the yarn-dyed linen to cover the zipper and tie the back with the front.

The way this swap works is that you make a pillow and send a photo to the group admin. When all the pillows are posted, you vote on your favorites. If your pillow scores the most points, you get your first choice pillow. If not, then your second, third, fourth, etc. choice on down the line. I think it's a great swap idea because you can make a pillow any way you want (within the guidelines for that round of the swap) rather than making a pillow specifically for someone else in mind (although I love those types of swaps too).

This pillow is headed to its new home and I hope the recipient likes it. I really enjoyed doing something outside the norm for me.

Pillow stats:
Fits 20" x 20" pillow form
Diamond paper piecing
Low volume rainbow prints
Wavy line quilting
Hidden zipper closure

Finished Spring Carnival Kona Solids Pillow

At Sewing Summit last month, I started this English paper pieced (EPP) Spring Carnival pillow in Katy's EPP class using a charm pack of Kona cotton solids in the bright colorway. I finished it up just before Thanksgiving, and I must say that I love how it turned out.

I wanted to quilt this pillow pretty densely so I pulled out my walking foot and set to work quilting in organic straight lines. After 30 minutes or so (I didn't really time it, but it felt like forever), I had only quilted about a 2-3 inch wide section. Ugh. This was going to take a while. So, I set the pillow aside to work on other, more pressing projects. A few days later, I pulled it out again after freemotion quilting (FMQ) on an apron for my husband's aunt to give my mother-in-law and thought I'd try straight-line quilting with my freemotion foot. Huzzah! It was so fast and slick and awesome! I finished the rest of the pillow in the same time it took me to do those 2-3 inches with my walking foot. Definitely a new favorite FMQ technique that I'm sure to use over and over.

For the back, I made another hidden zipper enclosure. I love that the pattern of the back fabric sort of mimics the design on the front. I can't remember the name of this fabric off the top of my head, but I picked it up during Sewing Summit and thought that'd be fitting too. The green zipper flap is Patty Young's Running Stitch in green.

I've entered this pillow in Pink Castle Fabrics Fall for Solids contest over on Threadbias.

Linking up to Kati's At the End of the Hallway.

 

Oh, and I wanted to mention that I survived my first-ever Black Friday shopping experience! My sister has vowed to never go again (once was enough for her), but another sister happily offered to do it again with me next year. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend!

Finished Modern Meadow Spring Carnival Pillow

Some time after Spring Quilt Market, Sukie brought the gorgeous Spring Carnival pillows that Katy gave her to our monthly SLC Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I had seen the pillows on Katy’s blog, but I about died actually seeing them in person. Absolutely amazing – and HUGE! The next day, I printed off the templates and set to work on my own.

Fast forward a couple months to Sewing Summit. Katy taught a class on English paper piecing, and while I already had tried my hand at the Spring Carnival pattern (which is what Katy taught in the class), I wanted to learn from her to make sure I was doing it the right way. I also started a new version and love how the pattern changes based on where you decide to place your fabric.

Here is my first version, which I turned into a pillow that is ready to be gifted for Christmas. I used mostly prints from Joel Dewberry’s Modern Meadow line with the addition of a DS Quilts print (the blue/teal-ish circle). I bought the Modern Meadow fabric ages ago because I really love the large medallion print. I fussy cut those medallions for this pillow.

For the back, I made another hidden zipper enclosure and used more of the JD prints. This really is such a slick way to finish the pillow. I think next time, though, I’ll try offsetting the fabric rather than installing the zipper in the middle of the pillow.

Last month, I added a few more sewing books to my library. I happened to have 60%, 50%, and 40% off coupons for Joann’s and decided I’d use them on books. I usually order things like this from Amazon and get free shipping with my prime account. I seriously scored on these. (You can’t beat getting three books and an Accuquilt die for $50 – although I don’t think I was supposed to get the discount on the die, but I won’t complain!)

Sara from Sew Sweetness mentioned the Bag for All Reasons book in her Sewing Summit class. I thumbed through it at the store and there are some really great bag projects in there that I want to make.



Come back Wednesday to see the project I made for the Ruby Star Wrap-Along.

August/September Bee Blocks and Other Random Sewing

August was Megan's month in the Sew Beautiful Bee. She asked for Lone Starburst blocks. She sent a bunch of really bright fabric scraps and asked us to follow the tutorial found at the Six White Horses blog here. I loved, loved, loved making this block! I usually start to sweat a bit when asked to paper piece, but this one was very doable for me and I had a lot of fun with it. I'll definitely be making some of these for myself in the near future!

AnneMarie's turn was next for September. She asked for improv hexagon blocks inspired by Angela's block here. AnneMarie sent a bunch of Japanese import prints. It was fun to fussycut these fabrics for the hexagons.

While perusing Instagram, I saw Rae's maxi version of her Washi Dress and just about died. I stalked her blog for a couple days, anxiously awaiting the release of her pattern. I snagged one and quickly bought fabric to make a Washi Tunic and a Washi Maxi. Here's my "quick, honey, take a picture of my shirt with my phone" photo. I haven't tackled the maxi yet, but I am please with how the tunic version came together.

My older daughter is at the age where not only does she love to wear skirts and dresses, but she likes wearing things that I've made for her. I want to take advantage of that for as long as I can since I know all too soon she'll refuse to wear anything I make for her or even hint at thinking is cool, because of course anything Mom thinks is cool will be the complete opposite. Several Saturdays ago, she wanted to wear a skirt (of course), and I sadly, but not surprisingly, was behind on laundry. I pulled out some Heather Ross Crafy Chloe Pin People fabric and made a quick 10-minute skirt. My daughter's friend wanted to play, and when she got to our house, she saw me making the skirt for my daughter. She asked if I'd make her one too. I tried to hide my huge goofy grin, said, "Sure," and asked her what her favorite color is (pink). I finished my daughter's skirt, she got dressed, and the two girls went out to play. I then ran upstairs, found some pink fabric, and whipped together another 10-minute skirt for the friend. (I noticed she was wearing it yesterday when she came over to play...my heart sang!)

I mentioned earlier that paper piecing makes me nervous. But, I've really come to love English paper piecing (EPP). I've been accumulating supplies over the last couple months and decided it was about time I make a zippered pouch to store my paper pieces in. For this pouch, I cut two 10x10 inch squares from Melody Miller's Ruby Star Shining typewriter fabric and two 10x10 inch squares from Joel Dewberry's Deer Valley Lodge Lattice in Azure fabric, and used a 10 inch zipper. I boxed the bottom of the pouch, making the finished bag about 8 inches wide by 9 inches tall. It's the perfect size (for now), and it's great to have all my EPP supplies in one place.

Well, thanks for making it through that hodgepodge of a post. I have a couple more finished quilts to show over the next little bit. Have a good weekend, everyone!

A few random sewing projects, part 2

Tuesday was my anniversary. The mister had to work late, so I thought I'd start a new EPP (English paper piecing) project just for me. I pulled out Katy's Spring Carnival printout and templates and set to work. I'm using some Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow fabric that I've been saving for a while to make a pillow or two for my new couch. Since taking this pic, I've changed my mind on the brown print. I'll be using white for those triangle sections.

Katy's teaching a class on this design at The Sewing Summit in the fall. I'm crossing my fingers that I can take it while I'm there.



I have also been brainstorming some ideas for baby quilts. Two of my sisters-in-law are having babies in the next couple months. One of my good friends is in the hospital right now on bed rest and as a precaution due to placenta previa. I'm thinking I'll make a giant granny squares quilt for her soon-to-be-born little girl using some charms from Kate Spain's Central Park line.



I bought a couple more quilting books as well. I really enjoyed flipping through these books. I've been a fan of Jacquie Gehring since I started quilting and I love how she and Katie Pedersen teach the techniques behind the quilts they show in the book, rather than just the pattern for the design. I think this approach is generally more helpful when you're trying to develop skills and a greater understanding of quilt construction.



I'm a new fan of Angela Walters. I've never loved the quilting part of making quilts, but I think Angela has done such a great job of illustrating how to go about expanding your quilting skills. I'm excited to try more techniques from her book.



And here's a little sneak peek of the quilt I finished last week. I was inspired by Angela's book and tried out a few new quilting designs. They certainly aren't perfect, especially when my nose was an inch away from the quilt, as Angela puts it. But, when you stand back and look at the overall quilt, you can see how I actually put some thought into the quilting.



I'll share more of this quilt next time. I'm off to celebrate my anniversary with the mister. Have a good weekend!

A few quilt blocks

Since making this house block last year for Cara's quilt, I wanted to try making another one with a little more to it. I had a few fat quarters from the Dress Up Days line from Riley Blake, which showcases some super cute little girls doing various activities. I used the piece from the blue colorway as my starting point for this block. I cut out three of the little girls, added an apple tree, a house on a hill, and then hand-stitched a sun, cloud, and chimney with smoke.

I also tried making an atomic ranch-style house block. The mister told me it looks like a rest stop. With that, I put this block away and will try adding to it later when I can see something other than a rest stop crossed with Stonehenge. =)

I'm only three blocks away from finishing my Gradated Color Mod Mosaic quilt top. Here's another blue block. I have one more blue and two yellow blocks to go.

While driving to Oregon for my friend's wedding back in June, I took some paper pieces and fabric scraps and tried my hand at English Paper Piecing (EPP). I wish I would have planned the project out a little better. Since I only had scraps, not all the fabrics went well together. So I improvised. I may sew these hexagons onto some zippered pouches, or maybe make some more random hexagons and just attach them all like this for a table topper or something.

On our roadtrip, I found myself really enjoying EPP so when Kati asked for paper pieced stars for her month in the Sew Beautiful Bee, I settled on a rose star EPP pattern. This shot shows the star in progress, but I've since finished it and need to get the photo off my camera.

I've been spending a lot of my sewing time lately on smaller projects like this. It's really satisfying to start and finish a sewing project in one setting. But, I did manage to finish another quilt that had been basted and patiently waiting for months for me to get around to it. I'll show some more of these projects soon.