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Friday, April 18, 2014

A Diamond In The Rough!


Paper piecing is so much fun!  It's so much fun to do a project (every once in a while) where its precise and requires patience!  This diamond pattern is a simple design, yes. It's building my confidence to try something a little more involved next time.


It saved me time to do a batch at a pop.  I would sew one corner on a dozen rectangles, iron, trim and repeat.  Doing it that way saved me hundreds of trips to the ironing board! 


With the last corner sewn I get to the other fun part!  Trimming the entire block!


I love pulling the paper off too!  Zip!  Off it comes!  


Not bad!  I added a small border of white and finished it off with a lovely coordinating green.  I plan on adding a white binding in the end.  Pinned and ready for the agonizing quilting...only because it takes me a while to know what I want to do!  I can't wait!!


Each block ended up being 5" x 10" (finished).  I ended up making 54 diamond blocks for this quilt.

It would be wrong of me not to show some of the cuteness of the Briar Rose fabric!   


Go ahead!  You can do it!  Swim!


Gather it up!  


Nothing better than a good 'read' after a picnic at the pond!

I am so happy with this quilt!  I adore Briar Rose and love the quality of the fabric!  I did a blog post here:  HITTING A GOAL,  where you can find a pattern for the diamonds.  You will also see that I enlarged it for these blocks.

There are a few things that I have learned making these blocks.  First of all, it hurts like heck when you get poked by a pin!  Over and over!  Second, small stitches will make your paper piecing life so much easier.  Third, print your pattern on the cheapest paper you can! The thinner the paper, the easier it is to pin.

There you have it.  This quilt is officially still 'A Diamond In The Rough'!  But not for long!

LINKING:

11 comments:

  1. Oh... I LOVE your quilt! And the fabric is just adorable. I am not a fan of paper piecing, but I love the look of your blocks. Might have to reconsider!

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    1. I didn't think I was either! Its a fun and precise method that changes it up for me!

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  2. The scene diamonds are still my favorite bits. :) Nice work.

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  3. Sooo cute! Love the fabric and the way the quilt looks! I have a paper piecing pattern that I've had from long ago (at least 20+ years) -- the blocks are pretty small so I have avoided looking at it for a very long time. I like your idea of enlarging the pattern. I think I'll try this pattern first. Will email you later and tell you about my fun day yesterday! Nadine -- rnwillis@velotech.net

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  4. These are darling! Have you ever tried glue stick instead of pins? I read about that in this post, which looks really helpful, but I haven't tried it. Hope to see you Saturday! http://www.sewwhatsherlock.com/paper-piecing-tutorial/

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  5. Thank you for the tips... Your quilt is looking so beautiful, you make me want to try the diamonds too. Lovely choice of fabric.

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  6. the fabrics are so cute. I love seeing a design, then coming in close for the surprise of cool fabric! I do diamond quilts without the paper, but by spray starching the diamond fabric. I love paper piecing though, and may just have to do one that way! Thanks so much.
    LeeAnna Paylor
    Not Afraid of Color! lapaylor.blogspot.com

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  7. HI, this is so neat! Just love your design+color choices!
    Thanks for sharing!

    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  8. Very very cute....I feel another project coming on!!!!

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  9. Hi Jayne! Your quilt is so lovely! I can't wait to see how this looks quilted!

    I am featuring your quilt over at the Fort Worth Fabric Studio Blog!

    http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.com/2014/04/fabric-frenzy-friday-features_19.html

    -Lindsey

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