The benefits of EPP....

When I first started English Paper Piecing, I was all about making the sub-units--piles and piles of stars.  I loved that part, as well and the cutting and basting--all of it was relaxing...

But then I had to assemble it all together.  When doing my last (first) full EPP quilt, I fretted about how to maneuver the quilt while putting all the sub-units together....how do I do it?  Work from the center out?  Work in rows?  Divide it into quarters and do one at a time then put it all together?  What to do...all the tutorials were on how to get the little pieces together, not how take care of the whole top....

So I just started in one corner and worked it in rows.  And I found that I loved sitting under the quilt, with the dog, night after night...watching in come together.  So pieceful/peaceful....

This is my latest Kaffe stars EPP project.  I'm more than halfway through the final assembly and I took this pic tonight while I was watching some Grey's Anatomy...how beautiful is this?  Not the quilt, though I am quite fond of it, but watching a rainbow of river fabric keep me warm?  It is awesome, and not scary at all.  The quilt weighs more as time goes on, but it is comforting to know I'm making progress and I'm very excited by every new star I add to it.  ;-)

I have a four day weekend coming and I can't wait!  Lots and lots of sewing and dog walking and cooking my future....Happy Quilting to all of you!

ps.  It has been in the upper 70's all week here in Las Vegas...Spring has sprung!

Valentine Quilt Tutorial--sort of....

I get inquiries about a pattern for this Valentine quilt I made a few years ago...I had a ton of random Valentine prints and I figured that a Valentine quilt would be wonderful for my classroom.  It's finished size is about 48" x 48".

The design in EQ....

I've never made a pattern, but it was quite simple, though, just log cabin blocks.  Some (8) were all light colored, some (14) were all dark, and some (14) were half/half.  This was the design in EQ....On the half and half blocks, I used a medium pink center.  Maybe this will help if you'd like to make one yourself.  I used 1.5" strips so they finished at 1" wide logs....

I did three rounds around the center...so 12 logs in each block.  I cut the center squares at 2.5" each (finished 2")....

Maybe this will help you out....Good luck!

Finished EPP top...and in-progress one!

So I finally finished piecing the rainbow stars and text print quilt top.  Actually, it was done at Christmas but I didn't have a chance to photo it....it measures 48" x 54".  It will be a wall hanging in my classroom as soon as I quilt it...

And an up-close shot...The text prints were purchased mostly from my LQS Quiltique and some from online shops--Etsy, most likely.  The diamonds and hexagons are all 2"--purchased from PaperPieces.com

And the next one, an in-progress quilt top...all 2" diamonds and Kaffe fabrics....

I really need to figure out a good way to take pics in the backyard.  Or maybe I need to go to the park down the street??  The reality of this shoot was a clothesline strung between a ladder and a palm tree.  LOL....I've never even seen a live clothesline before!!  It sags....??  Darn it, still working on the photography....

Happy Quilting!

Advertising...

Some of you might know that I've been writing patterns for a couple of years now. The math teacher and computer teacher in me can't help it!! A LQS, Quiltique, will be attending an event in Fort Myers called “Kaye’s Quilting College”, hosted by Kaye England-- for shop owners only. They will have an opportunity at the end of the week to promote a new product or designer. Quiltique is going to promote me and my patterns! Yeah....

So this meant that I had to do some updating...new business cards, etc....

An assembly station to put together little gifts/free promotional patterns for the event...two each.

An up close shot....

We'll see how this turns out!  Happy Quilting!

Two inches at a time....old school!

This school year has been hectic...and as a result, I've had no time to sew on my sewing machine.  But I did make time to do some English Paper Piecing and I'm so in love with this....I could easily do this until forever....no kidding!

I spent October basting the pieces.  I don't pierce the papers so I can reuse them over and over again.  Then I spent November making six pointed stars.  This is easily done during the evenings while watching TV--I was sad when I had them all together!

By Thanksgiving I was ready to start assembling all the stars and hexagons into the top.  At first I struggled to handle something like this, but once I realized that it wasn't fragile, I just started going to town on it.  This is a months worth of top piecing....The top is about 48" wide and will be 54" long when it is finished.

Here is an up-close shot.  I'm using 2" diamonds and 2" hexagons.  The hexagons are all low volume text prints, and the diamonds are brights from my fabric stash.

Here is the back.  I do pull the papers out as soon as all four sides are attached.

The only papers remaining at this point are the ones on the bottom row, the one I'm currently working.  I get all my paper pieces from paperpieces.com.

If you are like me, you're thinking "no way!" .... it would take forever.  But it really doesn't.  And it is so relaxing--like knitting or crocheting.  You get in a rhythm...and before you know it, you have a top done.  Try it, you might like it!

Happy Quilting!

Denise's Runaround Sue quilt....

Denise made this quilt as a Christmas gift so I put a panto on it last weekend.  The fabric is Basic Grey (by Moda)--Persimmon.  The panto is a gender neutral one....Blowin' Wind.  I love it!

The pattern is my Runaround Sue and is available here....

That is all the quilting that I've done this fall....LOL.  No time now.  I'm finishing my chalk paint project today and I'll post pics this week...and my EPP project is perking along as well.

Happy Quilting to all of you!

Winter EPP...rainbow style!

This year has been super busy at work.  I had to sell my prep (teach an extra class) due to overcrowding so I've been bringing lots of work home with me every night...way more than usual.  But on the flip side, it's an extra $55 for every class I teach so....more college money for Ryan!!

Because of this, I put away my sewing machine for a while and I've been doing some more EPP.  This will be a quilt for my classroom in the spring...maybe not this year, but sometime prior to retirement ;-).  The six pointed stars are rainbow from pink to blue (no purple) and the hexagons in between are all various low volume black/white text prints.  I'm really loving how it is turning out.

This pic is of a few arranged on the table, prior to sewing it all together....

I make all the stars and hexies first...I love basting the EPP pieces!!  It is a very scrappy quilt...

Anyhow, that is my hand sewing project.  Perfect for the evenings when we are watching Gracepoint, Psych, Franklin and Bash, CSI, Sons of Anarchy, Hell on Wheels, etc.

Ryan has been super busy with the marching band this year.  They desperately needed tuba players so he switched from the baritone to the tuba at band camp in August.  It was tough for him to carry around the tuba at first, but now he is a rock star at it.  ;-)  He also made the Symphonic Band (Varsity Band) as a freshman and that means a week-long trip to Chicago in the fall to play at one of the big symphony halls.  Awesome!  Here is a pic from a recent marching band show in Chino Hills, CA.....

He looks adorable in his uniform...and did you know that sousaphone is almost five feet tall....here is a pic of him after assembling it in the hallway... He is growing up!!  Bear in mind he just turned 14 and is about 5'10 and weighs 180 pounds!  How does this happen so fast???

Anyhow, outside of working our asses off and toting Ryan around to various performances and Student Council events, we are having a great time.  I've been working on a major chalk painting project and I'll photos of that later this week....hopefully!

Happy Quilting....