'So That's Where You've Been'::Hidden WIP

Even though I wasn't able to get much done in the way of quilting after Christmas, I was able to poke through a closet, a drawer or two and touch my fabric.  During the mindless distractions I came across a project I started way back in October 2015!  For me that is unheard of.  

WIP's are more often ones that my daughter started, not mine!  I'm usually a one quilt woman! Finding this 'ancient' EPP Star sparked my desire to get to work, finish this beauty and get my first finish of the year under my belt!

20" x 19"

I had recently found that English Paper Piecing was a new love, a new obsession.  I remember searching google for a project and as soon as I came across this star, I knew then and there it was the one!

I printed the templates, picked the fabric and started my new evening entertainment. I hadn't a clue what I was going to make with the stars, but did it really matter?  Not then it didn't!



I began with one, two, three and it quickly morphed in to seven.  Seven I could work with. Seven makes a circle.  A circle for what never entered my mind. 

Each star went together easily enough, each hexagon fit like a puzzle...perfect!  This is the point where I hit a wall!  What does one do now?  Shoot!  



With little in the way of options and a determination to make it work, what else could I do but draft my own template?  What's the worst thing that could happen...it wouldn't work!  

After a few tests I came up with a template that I was happy with.  I was pretty sure it would fit and not look too hateful.



I got this far before it was pushed to the side like a piece of broccoli on a dinner plate.
Hidden away, forgotten and neglected.  If it wasn't for my need to organize and poke around it might have spent another year in limbo.



Picking up where I left off presented one potential problem.  Do I have any more of the background fabric?  Thankfully I did.  

With one more pillow needing a new cover for my couch, I knew this would make the perfect ending to that awful nightmare!

I had to draft pieces to make the round...square.  This was the 'not fun' part.  It proved very difficult with my limited experience.  What's the saying?  'Close enough is good enough'?!  In this case, yes it was!



Geometric dot-to-dot quilting was calling my name!  I kept it simple and clean.  Just enough to give some visual interest.





I'm a big fan of hidden zippers and use this tutorial all the time: S.O.T.A.K. Hidden Zipper. The last pillows I made with hidden zippers, I decided to try glue basting the zippers before stitching the fabric to the zipper.  No matter how careful or how many pins I used, my back panels never seemed to line up.  Glue basting worked amazingly well for me and seemed to solve my problem.    



The star points are Studio E - Peppered Cottons.  Heavyweight shot cottons that have a beautiful and unique look.  I do love a good weft & warp!  The background fabric is a linen or linen blend in oatmeal.  



It's always fun to have a first finish of the New Year!  It's like breaking the ice...once that happens feels like things can finally get started!

Have you had your first 2017 finish?  I like the idea of starting off with something small and manageable!


UPDATE:: The source for the Star Templates has been located!!  You can find the templates here:  Nellie's Niceties Hexiestars!! 

LINKING:

Fabric Tuesday

Let's Bee Social

Needle & Thread

Throw 'Back' Pillow

It's here again!  Throw Back Thursday  Yikes!  

As I search out a throw back every month, I'm struck at just how far I've come.  Thankfully we learn a lot along the way, improve and grow...with that I give you 'The Purple People Eater'!

The year would be September 2011.  I was still in my batik phase, which isn't always bad. There was a time when I thought batiks were 'all that and a bag of chips'!

Bright, bold colors were used a lot even back then.  Strange color combinations too! That minty green is unsightly!

Improv was probably the one technique that opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of quilting.  It taught me (and continues to do so) that there aren't right or wrong ways, that thinking outside the box is always a good thing.

This I am 99% sure was my first attempt at pebbles free motion quilting!  There are even a few applique circles!  

    
It's so funny looking back at these!  I guess I loved dense quilting back then too!  How could I not remember that?!  Either I'm getting old or...I'm just getting old!

As I rediscover these throwbacks, I actually get a little twinge of excitement.  Some of them make me want to take these ideas and run with them and others make me just want to run!!!

LINKING:

Throw Back Thursday

Pillow It is!

Finished is Good!  Finishes are Fun!  Finally Photographed!!  

You may remember the Confetti block I made ~ Teeny Teeny Tiny Squares

When I posted I wasn't sure what I would do with it.  There were possibilities, options. Eventually I settled with a plain old pillow cover.  It was there to begin with, the perfect size. Had I not put the paper pieced triangles on it I think I would have had many more ideas what to do with it.

Here it is, quilted and washed!

16" x 16" Pillow Cover

I have to say that I love it as a pillow.  Especially after the quilting was added.  I machine quilted a tiny 1/4" lines that run vertical and horizontal that seem to fit in with all the little 1/2" squares!  

Little sprinkles ~ jimmies or confetti!  I think its a yummy mix!

My usually pillow back is the ever classic envelope closure.  Two pieces of fabric over lapping.  This time I decided it was time to try the hidden zipper method!  Super easy!  

I used this tutorial Installing a Zipper Closure by Svetlana at S.O.T.A K. Handmade.  The instructions are very clear and easy to follow.  And the end results are very clean and functional!  I'm happy I finally tried it. 

The zipper is sweetly tucked away!

I am going to make a confession.  Originally the pillow front was large enough to be an 18" x 18" cushion.  I had the entire pillow finished and was so happy with it.  I threw it in the wash and anxiously awaited for the crinkle to magically happen.  And it did.  Looked great.  Then I looked at the back.  Awwwww...don't make me cry silly pillow!!  

I had decided to use Shape Flex Fusible Interfacing for a little more stability.  It seemed like a good idea and it did work.  At least until I washed it!  It seemed like it shrunk?  And it didn't stay fused to the fabric.  It ended up being a hot mess!  I couldn't iron it out...it seemed a total disaster.  What a bad ending...but, I decided it was still workable.  If I cut it down.  Luckily in doing so it didn't change the front design.  

I've never used Shape Flex Fusible Interfacing before.  Have you?  Did I do something wrong? Is it not made for washing, or pillows?  I need to research that a little more before I use it on a pillow again!

Check out the hidden zipper tutorial though!  It's fantastic!

LINKING:

TGIFF

Whoop Whoop

Fabric Frenzy

Crazy Mom Quilts

Feather Pillow Finish

A little while back I made my first trial feathers.  They were a test and something that I had wanted to try for some time.  Maybe you remember...I was going through a period of using Kaffe Woven Stripes in everything!  I wrote a post about it:  Stripes & More Stripes! 

While I wasn't sure what or if I would make anything out of the two test pieces,  in the end I decided a pillow would be worth the time! 

Here are the two feathers I made using stripes and Kona Khaki.  Since I ran out of the solid and just wanted to make something...I decided a simple pillow would work!

16" x 16"

And it did!  I love the straight line quilting (always) in the Khaki.  The feathers I quilted random lines following the feather direction.  

Classic envelope closure always works for me.  One day I really want to do a hidden zipper. I've heard they are pretty easy!

I am looking forward to a little break from quilting now.  A Holiday break!  Hopefully I will come back rejuvenated, refreshed, kicking my heels up and ready to start a brand new year with a brand new direction!

Linking:

Let's Bee Social

Pull Up A Chair & Have Some Hot Cocoa

It's crazy how fast the weather can change.  From a perfectly pleasant summer evening, to chilly with a light jacket required night!  Sleeveless to sleeves.  Shorts to pants.  Lawn mower to leaf blower.  All in a blink of an eye!  Or so it seems.

I won't say it's quilt weather.  To me, every day is quilt time!!!!!  I seriously have a quilt by my side 365 days a year.  And I actually use them too!  What about you?  

I will say that I may choose the colors of a quilt depending on the weather.  Spring fever may bring on some lovely bright colors, summer some cool ocean blues.  Which brings me to a couple projects that I have finished to back that theory up!

51" x 72"

The dark chocolate brown paired with the woven stripes is one of my favorite combinations.  The colors become electrified against the dark background.  Kaffe Fasset woven stripes are pretty amazing! Most of the stripes in this quilt is older Kaffe, hard to find now.  I purchased a good bit of it a few years ago, but my stash is dwindling with each project...and I do use these a lot!  

Because the fabric is thinner, I always use spray starch.  Same with Shot Cotton.  I makes it a little more stable and easier to work with.  Unless I'm doing Improv piecing.

The back is Kona Cappuccino and the front is Kona Chocolate.  I machine stitched random wavy lines from top to bottom in a dark brown thread.  For some reason every time I make this quilt, I quilt horizontal wavy lines!  Not sure why.  But I do love it!

As with most of my quilts, I always have a few left over pieces, blocks or panels!  Many times I will add them to the back of the quilt.  If I don't, I tend to immediately make something else so they don't 'go to waste'!  Of course, that usually leads to having to make even more to finish the left-over project...such a viscous circle!

32" x 39"

A sweet little baby quilt was conceived (no pun intended) from those inevitable left overs. Again, chocolate and cappuccino on the front...

...and espresso on the back.  I used a woven stripe for the binding just for something different.  

What size binding does everyone use?  Me, I prefer 2 1/4".  I like it to be a little smaller.  I know 2 1/2" is pretty popular and I use to use that a lot.  Plus, if you use a jelly roll, well why would you cut it down?  Just sayin'!

You can see I machine quilted a geometric design for some of it and decided I had to try some free motion as well.

After finishing these, I wanted to get a couple more pillows put together.  I followed my pillow pattern from the Fresh Quilts feature.  Seriously, I cannot follow patterns...even my own!  Which makes me wonder why I could even think I could write a quilt pattern!!

18" x 18" Khaki

18" x 18" Off-White

Isn't that orchid gorgeous?!  My son got me that for my birthday!  Nothing like a beautiful photo prop and fantasic son!

After seeing all of these pieces together, it reminded me of cocoa!  Yummy, sweet and warm!  

Linking:

FABRIC FRENZY FRIDAY

CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

Pillows for Christmas

Yesterday was an impromptu pillow sewing day!  I love having a day where I had nothing in mind to sew (or even if I was going to sew), and then an idea takes hold and you go with it!

Case in point:  Pillows for Christmas gifts!

One of my sisters recently lost one of her 'babies'.  Her cat Angus - he was 20+ years old and   as you can imagine, very much a part of her world.  If you have ever had a pet that has passed you can understand how difficult it is.  My son Taylor actually was the one who named this cat for her.  I believe it was a name of one of his boy toys - a mutant troll or some such thing!  He was 2 years old at the time. (time does fly)

I remembered seeing a cute cat quilt via Flickr and I quickly hunted down the pattern.  Six White Horses Blog has an adorable baby quilt and the pattern is a free Craftsy download.  

Whiskers Paper Pieced Quilt Block

Isn't it cute?!  Paper piecing is something that is pretty new to me.  Its one of the 'skills' I'm working on and going to master next year.

FMQ 'Angus'

I decided some free motion quilting could work...another skill to master next year!  Maybe it was the 'magic gloves' I used for the first time ever or the small project, but this FMQ seemed to flow better than ever for me.  I'm not saying its great, just felt better!  I FMQ her kitty's name...it may make her cry...

The other pillow I made was for my brother. My daughter started a Churn Dash quilt years ago.  She gifted the blocks to me and I ended up making a quilt for my brother.  He and I were just talking about this quilt too!  He loves it still! 

2008 Churn Dash

His pillow is not as impactful as the quilt!  I still had (and still have) left over blocks.  I hope he likes green!

Bold Geometric 

Another couple Christmas Gifts done.  And hopefully a couple of happy siblings too!

Do you ever have an impromptu sewing day?

Gloom. Despair. And Agony!

I recently joined our local Modern Quilt Guild.  I love meeting up once a month and sharing, talking and being with quilters!  Its just plain fun!
Of course there is a Secret Santa going on.  And of course I decided to participate.  It took a while for me to decide on what I would like to make, but I had a revelation!  This is the beginning:

Its foundation pieceing.  Lots of gorgeous colors.  It was so fun from beginning to end.

See!  This is going to be great!  

I machine quilted it to perfection.  (for me)

I even did some special and specific embroidering.  

And then...

It goes in the wash.  The best part, right?  

You get to experiance the quilting in a completely different way.

It comes out...you are thrilled...a little rush of 'yippie' hits you!

And you end up with this:

Purples Suck!  

My heart sank.  I wanted to cry.  

I am now working feverishly on getting this fixed!  

I'm open to any advice, method or pep talks!

So, for now I will be in Gloom, Despair and Agony!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict...Whoop Whoop!

AND

Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday!

Paper Piecing - Hummingbird Block, (aka Periwinkle Star)

I like to think of myself as a Modern Quilter.  Being a modern quilter is subjective.  The Modern Quilt Guild gives a great description of what Modern Quilting is about.  We each have our thoughts, twists and turns on Modern.  

That being said, every once in a while I love to 'go back' in time!  Try something traditional, use fabric I don't normally use or learn a new technique.  I have always wanted to try paper piecing.  Having seen so many gorgeous blocks lately, it only fueled my curiosity.  

Paper piecing, foundation piecing or flip and stitch is a traditional method that has been on rise lately.  Fabrics are sewn to a foundation, either temporary or permanent creating perfect blocks every time. 

I was asked if I could make a couple pillows using a Periwinkle Star block.  After looking at the picture and with the help of Google, I decided this was the perfect time to stretch myself.  Jump in.  Go for it.  This block appeared to be the perfect start of my paper piecing adventure.  I watched a video...I could do it!  Well, I likely would have figured it out after many, many attempts.  It wasn't exactly detailed or easy to follow.

Hummingbird Block (aka Periwinkle Star)

When I saw that Rita from Red Pepper Quilts had just written a tutorial for the exact block, I was jumping up and down with relief and excitement!  I downloaded the template and soaked up the tutorial information.  The Hummingbird block and Periwinkle Star are one and the same.  Good for me and my new found paper piecing confidence! 

 

I began the process by printing the template and trying a couple test pieces.  

Make sure you print the template at 100%!  I didn't for my test pieces and I ended up with blocks that were 1/2" smaller.   

Knowing that I was going to be using a variety of feedsack prints, I paired those with a good selection of coordinating solids all surrounded by a bright white.  

I pieced the first part and was so pleased with the results!  Its time consuming, but there is something very rewarding about the entire process!

Perfect Seams!

Another good thing to remember:  when sewing your fabric on to the paper, use small stitches.  It really makes removing the paper so much easier.  

When done correctly, this is what your seams look like.  I seriously never thought I could make cute 'little squares' like that!  

I ended up quilting 1/4" on the inside of the white.  I was provided a picture of a vintage quilt, and wanted to stay as close to the original as I could.

I made two 18" x 18" pillow covers with a classic envelope closure.  Because the blocks were going to be 5" when finished, I added a 2" border around the center panel.  I think they turned out great.  I think they will be well loved when they make it to their new home.  

I love these pillows.  I can't wait to make this block again or even try something else!  I need to start looking for my next project in paper piecing.  I think I am kinda addicted now! Learning to paper piece isn't so bad.  I would highly recommend finding a great tutorial (like the one above) if you are new to the process like I am.  It totally save me and covered every single detail from start to finish.  

 

Paper Piecing.  Using a block drawn or printed and sewn on paper