EPP ~ WIP ~ AMH

Believe it or not, I did not touch my sewing machine yesterday!  Not once!  Instead, I cleaned the screen porch and basement/garage.  Fun stuff!  It's amazing how much schmutz accumulates.    

Today I thought I'd share with you my EPP ~ WIP ~ AMH project!  Translation: English Paper Piecing, Work in Progress, Anna Maria Horner.  

I'm always on the look out for a new EPP project.  The hardest part for me is finding a design with templates I can print myself.  When I saw that Jodi from Tales of Cloth was doing a Shape Family Design Challenge, I jumped in.  

The first thing you need is a pile of shapes.  I purchased two Hexie Shape Family packages (100 pieces per package).  What's great about these is that all the pieces work together. You are only limited by your imagination.  



I played around with all kinds of designs until settling on this one.  Deciding on fabric presented far too many options!  Do I use prints?  Solids?  A mix?  In the end I settled on two prints.  Anna Maria Horner's 'Pretty Potent', which are so perfect for EPP.  Any of her fabric works well!

 

Once I figured out which parts of 'Pretty Potent' I wanted to use, I carefully cut the shapes needed.  It was tricky, but I was able to get what I needed from two fat quarters.

I basted each shape with thread, my preferred method.  There is glue basting, but I find that it's harder to pull the templates out when the piece is finished. 



The joy of fussy cutting!  The center came together surprisingly quick.  I really wanted to use Kona Wasabi, which coordinates with the center.  The bright pink...I couldn't resist throwing that in the mix as well.



All my pieces were basted before I stitched them together.  I used three different print areas from the pink fabric, so it was a bit complicated and confusing.  Having the basted pieces done first, I could make sure each section around the center was in the right order.



I wasn't sure how I should group the shapes around the center.  I ended up making sections and stitched each one before putting the puzzle together. 



I may have went a little crazy on making sure I had each piece it the right place!  I numbered each section so they would be in the right order, I only had to redo one piece!  And then number each section to its proper place on the center piece.  



This is where it stands.  The big question(s)...what to do next?!  I could applique it to a piece of fabric.  I could add more pieces.  What color for the background?  What will it be?  

I was thinking of making it into a pillow.  I still have three 'ugly' pillow covers from my couch that need to be changed.  I'll stew on it for a bit...it will be something...some day...soon!   

 

Do you have a favorite fabric you like for fussy cutting?  One that has the best designs and shapes that no matter how you slice it, it's perfect?  Anna Maria Horner comes to mind, and Denyse Schmidt too!

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