paper pieces
Showing posts with label paper pieces. Show all posts
clam points and leaves ~ epp
I am excited to be writing about this make because it's such a fun and useful way to use English paper piecing shapes/blocks. I've made a new project bag and decorated it with epp. There are so many tips and tricks I can share with you; epp curves, light fabrics on dark backgrounds, neat applique top stitching and the awkwardness of metal bits on zips - oh I'm covering it all today!
traditional + modern epp curves
Isn't it always fun to start sewing a new pattern or project? When I found out we were working with Paper Pieces for this months Aurifil Artisan challenge, which is English Paper Piecing, I was super happy. They have a huge range of paper shapes and you could spend a day browsing their website looking at all the possibilities, thinking up patterns and imagining blocks. As soon as I found the Joseph's Coat pieces I knew I had found my project. I have never made this traditional block and I enjoy sewing curves, it's also a pretty design that becomes more interesting as it expands. I'm going to show you my layout and how I handle sewing epp curves.
For shapes like these you can't beat the accuracy of machine cut paper pieces and when shapes are curved I really do like to use acrylic templates for cutting. It makes the job so much quicker with a rotary cutter and of course it's super helpful if you want to do fussy cutting, as you can reposition the template and clearly see the area you are cutting.
London + Liberty
Prepare yourself! I have a lot to show you so this will be a long post. I will start with goodies I got at the Festival of Quilts 2016 and then share some London holiday fun for those of you that are interested in my general life stuff!
First up were these incredible metallic zips from The Eternal Maker, honestly a photo can't capture how pretty these are. The zip tape is a beautiful sparkly black, they also have gold and silver.
I have been wanting an octagon acrylic template, so I snagged one along with some papers at Sew & Quilt. I'm looking forward to using these.
Both of these shops had gorgeous fabric ranges, I wasn't looking for fabric but it was really tempting! If you haven't already I recommend checking them out.
My wonderfully talented friend Nicky surprised me with an incredible gift. She knows I love Superman, she recently made her daughter an amazing bag and I proclaimed my love. This is literally one of the best gifts I have ever been given - handmade, by my friend, beautiful notebook cover with Superman fabric and a notebook!! She even gave me Superman scraps too. Thank you so so much Nicky ❤
Look at those clever fussy cut cover flaps and a pocket too. I will treasure it but also use it!
This past week I have been in London and part of the reason I didn't buy fabric at the festival was because I was saving myself for Liberty. It is the most incredible shop and even if the fabric isn't to your taste, if you are ever in London you must pay a visit!
That floor and all the displays could become fabulous quilt patterns!
I hotfooted it to the Haberdashery section...
If I could I would have bought everything and while I was tempted to go for some of the more recognisable classic prints I was really drawn to the new season fabrics and something more unusual.
In the background - top: Pebble Bay C bottom: Josue A
I got a little bundle too, admittedly because it had this pineapple print in it but it is nice to have a bit of variety too:
Painter's Meadow C
Mae
We had a lovely few days in London on our holidays. It was beautiful weather and we spent nearly all the time outdoors. We stayed right near Tower Bridge:
With a view of The Shard:
We walked through Potter's Fields every day and the kids loved these paint tube flower displays!
They thoroughly enjoyed our theatre trip to see The Scarecrow's Wedding at Leicester Square Theatre. It really was a great performance with brilliant songs!
We did some sightseeing...
Lots of walking...
Exploring and picnicking. Quite by chance we came across a wonderful performance by Zadie Xa - Linguistic Legacies and Lunar Exploration at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park.
They had the most fabulous costumes, bleached and appliqued!
We can only cast our evil together, so
(i tell you) we protect this space
With courage we kill the attempt to hate
on my crew all we spread is love
Good vibes only allowed on our cloud
and thrive off collected strength
Bad omens should only be cast down
the debris falls back to earth
Are you ready to come where we're going
it's a better way
If the earth is spared, only justice
to all living things (and everything alive)
will save you
Adapted from:
Alice Walker 'Only Justice Can Stop a Curse' (1982)
Wu-Tang 'M.E.T.H.O.D. MAN' (1994)
by Taylor Jayne Le Melle
Here is a snippet I recorded:
And then just afterwards we randomly encountered a helicopter right before it took off. The helicopter crew and Police officers that were there were so nice and the pilot shook hands with our kids. Very cool!
I was so thrilled to be able to capture it:
After all that excitement we are home, I've nearly done all the laundry and am looking forward to a bit of machine sewing.
flowering
I finished my third and final appliqué block for my green tea and sweet beans quilt.
The flowers were English Paper Pieced using Mini Hex Den papers and then hand appliquéd.
I didn't really like the appliqué flowers in the green tea and sweet beans pattern book so I decided to make my own and used three different epp shapes:
It is just over a year since I finished the first one and nearly as long since the second one! I knew it would be a long project!
I love seeing these blocks together and it's making me excited about the quilt as a whole! I'm really happy with the background fabrics too.
I still have a few more blocks to hand piece so it might take a little while longer before I get this one done :)
There are some great deals to be had on fabric this weekend...
You can get a discount on Green Fairy Quilts new arrivals with the code LOVE, including Vintage Picnic and Aria
There are lots of temptations at Fluffy Sheep Quilting, the Blueberry Park charms are a great way of getting a selection of Karen's beautiful prints!
And a huge stack of fabulous prints have been added to the Pink Castle Fabrics sale section, no coupon needed just stock up before they sell out!
Hope you all have a LOVE filled weekend!
linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
Sew & Quilt giveaway!
**giveaway now closed**
I am excited to share a lovely giveaway from Sew and Quilt, a beautiful online shop full of gorgeous fabric, a great range of English Paper Pieces and much more... in fact everything you need to make your own fabulous EPP creations.
Here's a little bit more info about the English paper pieces from Jessie:
Prices start at just £2.25 per pack, with bulk packs available in most shapes/sizes with a 10% discount applied. Each pack comes with basic instructions and tips for beginners. Paper shapes are made (in England! yay!) using FSC certified paper, which ensures our paper products come from well managed forests that provide environmental benefits. I'm in the midst of adding my 'EPP basics blog series I did last year on the Sew and Quilt website so there will be a complete guide for newbies in a easier to find location, just have to get round to finishing it! :-)
I also stock supplies for EPP including the popular Superior Bottomline threads which are ideal for EPP! Tulip Hiroshima needles (I use the size 10 Milliners for EPP) Clover wonder clips and of course Sewline! Here's the hashtag for people to share what they're up to: #SewandQuiltPaperPieces
The Sew and Quilt Paper Pieces are excellent quality and come in useful shapes and sizes. Jessie sent me some to play with and it was great creating different shapes and ideas for quilt patterns. With so many quilts on the go though I decided to create some fun designs to appliqué on tea towels, after all I can never have enough tea towels and it's more fun when they look cute!
I was in a sweet summery mood and made some ice cream cones, then I thought why not be greedy and have a whole bowl?!
The paper is nice and strong, more like thin card actually, so the shapes can be reused at least a couple of times. I only used a few to make these designs but have saved them all for a bigger project in the future!
Since it is clearly actually autumn now I also created a little pumpkin. Ok I have to admit I sewed the stalk on upside down and it looked like an apple but with some green tendril stitches it's a bit more pumpkiny!
So would you like to get your hands on some English paper pieces?
Sew and Quilt is kindly offering UK and European readers a chance to win these packages of triangle and kite shapes:
**the giveaway is now closed**
The giveaway is open until 2/10/15, the winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on the blog.
Please leave your email in a comment so I have a way to contact you! e.g. ilovepaperpiecing (at) quilting (dot) com
Good Luck!
doughnut pincushion
I think my one true love in quilting is English Paper Piecing ❤
The practice of putting the paper and fabric together and stitching up patterns with perfect points is so satisfying. It's not the fastest method but it is the most rewarding for me. Smaller projects can be done quickly though, like this adorable doughnut pincushion kit I got from Sew & Quilt.
The kit contains pre-cut fabric squares in vintage prints, all the paper pieces you need, the pattern and instructions. Sew & Quilt stocks the most gorgeous fabric so you know you will have a cute pincushion!
I used some wooden buttons to finish it, the gingham and dots suit the 30's repro style of the fabrics perfectly!
Sew & Quilt have recently added even more paper pieces, making it easier and more fun to create fabulous epp projects! Honestly I want to buy everything in the shop! Pop over to check it out and stayed tuned for an upcoming giveaway :)
linking up to:
stash and a new project
*If you haven't already make sure you enter my favourite notions giveaway!*
At Patchfinders the other day I needed to get some interfacing and then I couldn't help but bring some of this gorgeous print home to add to my green tea and sweet beans quilt fabric stash. Silly me has totally forgotten what line it is so unless someone knows and can tell me I will check when I'm next in work! There's something about it that I really love, though it's not my usual style and I generally don't even like red?!
This week I was thrilled to have won a copy of Craft A Creative Business by Fiona Pullen at Lily's Quilts. Thanks Lynne, Fiona and Search Press! Once I've had a good read I will be doing a review so stayed tuned for that.
I also got myself some Paper Pieces. I usually cut my own but I'm going for some small and more complicated shapes and let's face it these will be way more precise:
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I made a start today and I'm hoping this will become a project that I can teach... we'll see!
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Molli Sparkles hasn't been well :( but I'm Sunday Stashing anyway because it helps me keep track of what I've bought. Hope you feel better very soon!
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