Tag: Hand Piecing

EPP Progress

EPP Progress-main
EPP Progress-main

I have made a lot of progress on my English Paper Piecing project. I worked on it a bit during my recent trip to the North Coast.

I am now out of papers and basting thread, though I have more to use. I just didn’t have it with me. The papers are a bigger problem as I need to buy more or unbaste some from that big piece and reuse them. I will work on that.

Invisible Stitches from the front
Invisible Stitches from the front

I also tried a different way of stitching the sections together. I used an, supposedly, invisible stitch and I am pretty pleased with the results. The picture with the green star is one of the first tries at this invisible stitch and I can’t see the stitches. I am using Aurifil 50wt in the #2600 color, so I have thinness and a blendy color on my side. It is a bit of a pain to sew the pieces together, because you line them up side by side as they will look when finished. This makes it hard to hold them together while sewing. I can’t use WonderClips to pinch them together. I have resorted to a few stitches at critical points to hold the pieces in place and that seems to be working. I am pleased with the progress.

Back of invisible stitches
Back of invisible stitches

The back doesn’t look quite as nice. Fortunately, very few people will see the back.

In the photo, you can see my needle (towards the center of the picture by the green rabbit ear). That is how the sections, or stars, get sewn together. For the moment, I have been sticking to this method with big sections only.

I have found that using this method means that I trim more of the excess fabric, frayed threads, etc off the back.

So progress. Next on the list is to lay this on the bed and see how much more I have to make.

More EPP

Half Hexies EPP Section - November 2015
Half Hexies EPP Section – November 2015

I have been working on the EPP project while watching TV instead of sewing the sleeve on to FOTY 2014.

A week or so ago, I was in desperate need of some dots on white, so I spent quite a bit of time cutting fabrics to make some stars for the alternate rows. I can’t reap the rewards without papers.

Mostly I have been making stars, but I needed to free up some of the EPP papers so I sewed a section together and will sew it to the main piece next. Once I sew the section shown to the main piece, I can pull out some of the papers. yes, I could buy more, but it seems ridiculous to do so until the papers I have fall apart. I could make more papers from the subscription cards in magazines, but I am too lazy.

I don’t like doing this. I wanted to make all the stars and then sew them all together. I know there were some times where I just couldn’t help myself and sewing sections together is sensible, but still.

 

EPP Details

Half Hexie Stars - Late April 2015
Half Hexie Stars – Late April 2015

I have made my half hexie star project larger. I like making the stars and, as I have said in the past, they are great for a traveling project. However, I seem to be obsessed with making the ‘top’ piece larger. I don’t know why, but when I sit on the couch to watch TV with DH, I add a star or a row of stars to the larger piece. It wasn’t in my plan to do that, but I can’t seem to help myself. Even the sleeve from the Russian Rubix is languishing, because of this new obsession.

I really need to keep this project going through 2017, so that I have something on which to work when I travel with DH on his rounds to the various parlors. I can’t just zoom through it.

The other night I sewed a row of dot-stars (I decided to make the piece have a stripey effect with stars made from dots on white alternating with the other scrappy stars) together and then added them on to whole piece (see top of picture). Yesterday, I laid the piece on the bed to see how big it needs to be. I estimate that it needs to be 2.5 -3 times as wide as it is now to be a bed quilt with a bit of drape over the sides.

Friday night I pulled out a lot of the center papers, because I was running out, so now there is just a row of papers left around the outside. I got a little over enthusiastic with that process and pulled out half of one on the edge. I didn’t want the stitching to come out, so I sewed the blue batik star to the purple star to keep the purple seam from being lost. That is why you see the blue batik star sticking up, seemingly at random, on mid-bottom right. I didn’t really mean to add another row to the top.

The lavender dot in the lower right hand corner is just clipped to the piece so I remember to place that star in that location. I need to sew it to a white dot star before I sew it to the whole piece. It isn’t hard to inset the stars, but it is less work to sew two together and then add them at once.

EPP Stitching
EPP Stitching

What I really wanted to talk about was thread. I have a hand sewing kit I use when I sew on the couch that has random bits of thread and everything I need to do almost any kind of hand sewing. I don’t always have the exact color, but usually I can find one in there that will work for whatever my project is.

At some point I ran out of Aurifil #2600 and never replaced it. I could just walk upstairs, wind a bobbin and voila. Sadly once I have parked myself on the couch there will be very few steps added to my FitBit. As a result I haven’t replaced that thread.

I am using an Oliver Twist thread that came with a pack of those threads when I bought them several years ago. It is quilting thread, I think, so fairly thick. I don’t think it is ideal, but it doesn’t fray like some others, though it is hard to thread.

I am curious to know what thread you use for EPP?

Seeing EPP Progress

I added two stars to my larger piece.

EPP April 2015
EPP April 2015

I feel like adding only two stars to the larger piece is major progress. I like the symmetry of the [kind of] rectangle. Somehow this looks like I am making something.

My plan is to make the piece big enough to cover a bed. I will slowly make the stars as I travel with the Grand President (HA! DH) then add them to the piece when I am at home.

I know it seems like I should be able to take this piece with me. It is, however, 1.5′ x ~1 foot and I want to keep it as flat as possible because of the cardboard EPP templates still inside. Making one at a time is better for travel.

I have a bin of stars that I have been making. I pulled out my bin of stars and picked some to add to the piece later. I made the stars and stored them in the bin thinking that I would just make the stars and put them together eventually. I couldn’t wait, thus I started putting the piece together into what you see above.

Some EPP Progress

I finally took a little time to finish the larger piece. 

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I had sewn two sides of the yellow and red star segment onto the larger piece, but I hadn’t finished sewing the rest of the sides of the two piece segment onto the larger piece.

The folded over bits waiting to be sewn finally started to bug me. I took some time on Friday night to stitch the last remaining sides.

EPP Growing

Half Hexie Cluster
Half Hexie Cluster

My English Paper Piecing half hexie stars are growing into a giant cluster.

I forgot to rotate the photo. What I think of as the bottom is the line of stars with the dark green and Philip Jacobs flower print on the diagonal on the left.

I have some diamonds that will make the border straight. I don’t know what color I will make them, but I would like to decide and make a few to get the feel of how the piece will look. There will be no black stars, so, perhaps, black? I hoping for a look like those 1930s quilts which just have a spark of black. I’ll have to try it out and see how it will look.

I recently finished adding a whole big section, or what I thought was a whole big section and it really turned out to be about four blocks. I thought it was a larger section when I was doing it, because of the twisting of the stars that needs to take place to get them together. I think I will add one star at a time from now on.

My biggest problem is the background stars. I need to make more and keep forgetting to cut the bright white dot fabrics until I am sitting and doing it.

EPP Stars Go Together

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EPP Stars (back)

I have been working on my Half Hexie English Paper Pieced Stars since August of 2012. I really wanted to see if I could actually take out the paper templates and use them again. I sewed four stars together and went from there.

I would have felt a lot better if TFQ were sitting with me supporting me (egging me on). She wasn’t and I needed a stiff upper lip.

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EPP Stars with Papers

I did it. I took out the papers and the piece is fine. I was kind of shocked at how easy it was and how well it worked. It is tempting to take them all out, but I know I can only take out those that are surrounded on all sides by another piece.

I should have been, but I was a little surprised by how well the ‘free’ pieces kept their shape.

I don’t know how many stars I have completed, but I may pull out the box in which I keep them and start sewing them together. I would at least get an idea of how many more I need. I could also start putting a border on, once I decide what fabric to use for a border.
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Car Trips Require EPP

EPP Hexagon Stars
EPP Hexagon Stars

I got all of these stars finished over the weekend. I spent several hours in the car on the way to and from Fortuna/Ferndale.

As an aside, if you haven’t visited Ferndale, it has a lovely Victorian main street (I posted some photos a few years ago) with lots of nice shops. Fortuna is more modern, but there are some great shops and a wonderful Mexican restaurant called La Costa where they make their own tortillas.

Both directions are about a 5 hour drive and DH drove on this trip. It rained and I am not a very good passenger. Having my focus on something else is a good thing.

One thing I did differently was I sewed a couple of the stars together to start a line of them. I want to start putting the piece together. I also have to put some of the stars together, so I can start to take the papers out. I may need to buy another pack of papers.

I don’t have the background nailed down, though I am still thinking of dots on white. I am pretty sure I will use dots on white since they worked so well on Scrapitude. I loved the look. I just need to cut some pieces.

EPP Stars Again

EPP Stars - January 2014
EPP Stars – January 2014

The last time I posted about these stars was September 9, 2013. I can’t believe how time has flown. I have worked on them, but a couple of bindings and the Christmas stockings as well as the Christmas and Birthday thank you notes got in the way.

I’ll need some more of these to work on in the car during an upcoming car trip, so I will need to cut some more fabric. I like the way Scrapitude is coming out and think I will use dots on white background for the alternating rows of this project.

I am surprised at how many of these stars are in the blue range and am wondering if I decided to concentrate on these colors and have forgotten?

Ribbon Star Redux #2

This is the block that would not die.

I made the Ribbon Star back in the midst of the Star Sampler quilt project. You might remember that I went back and forth and resewed, had trouble, unsewed and resewed again. I finally ended up with a block with which I could live and put it in the quilt. I also, however, had a second block laying around which was not up to par.

Ribbon Star on design wall
Ribbon Star on design wall

I finally decided to do something about it. First, I looked at the block a lot. I had it hanging on my design wall for a long time.

As an aside, my design wall is completely crammed. That was part of the reason I wanted to work on this. If I could save it (for a pillow? or the start of a different project?), I could get it off my design wall.

Someone pointed out to me that one piece (blue upper left hand corner immediately next to the background square) is sewed in wrong. Someone else said that it looked like the piece you grab to unroll or unravel the Ribbon Star. I really tried to think that was true, but it bugged me nonetheless.

The other thing that bugged me was the placement of some of the fabrics. I thought I read somewhere that this would look more dimensional, if light and darks were alternated. I messed that up and wanted to fix it.

Ribbon Star unsewed
Ribbon Star unsewed

I unsewed.

First, I unsewed a little bit to see if I could make it work with unsewing as little as possible.

I pretty much had to unsew all of the major seams. One survived. I didn’t unsew the units, except one, which was great.

Then I rearranged. I moved all of the pieces and parts around until I had an arrangement with which I could live.

Press. Resew. Voila!

Final Ribbon Star
Final Ribbon Star

It isn’t perfect, but it is better and all I can do is learn from this and do better next time. I don’t know what I will do with this block, but it will be a good start to something.

More EPP Stars

Thursday, as you may know, was the Fourth of July in the US. We celebrate our independence by barbequing, watching fireworks, etc. We went over to my BIL’s house for a BBQ. It was last minute and very small. We picked up MIL, a friend from the Natives came and an old friend of BIL’s came. That was it. The Young Man was disappointed that his cousins didn’t attend. Since BIL got sick, he is not up for a large event. He said he misses the larger BBQ, especially seeing friends, they used to host, but it just wasn’t possible.

EPP Stars May & June
EPP Stars May & June

Since the event was small, I had a bit of space to spread out. I finished one EPP star and started and finished another. I was pleased to be able to do a little sewing even though I was away from the machine. It was nice, because I could participate in the conversation. I also made a bit of a sensation. People were really interested in my project. The Natives friend, Dave, brought his girlfriend, Teri. She asked a lot of questions about the process and what I did with the quilts, etc. I encouraged her to look into a class. I doubt she will do it, but I always try and encourage people to learn to quilt.

This group of stars also makes me wonder if I should continue with my plan to have alternate rows be dots on white or if I should make alternate rows warm and cool colors.

You can see the last stars I worked on in a May post.

A Week Away and Some Quilting pt.3

English Paper Pieced Stars
English Paper Pieced Stars

I guess I am on kind of a star kick. I am showing you MORE stars, after all.

Aren’t the colors pretty? I think they go together well.

This is the miniscule amount of English Paper Piecing I was able to do while we were out with the Natives. I was only able to piece in the car and it was just a 4 hour drive each way.

I thought I would have scads of time sitting by the pool to work on this project, but nope. I was too busy smiling, shaking hands with DH’s constituents to bring this project out. I think I will have a goal of getting it done by the time he ends his term as Grand President in 2017. It will be my political project. Perhaps I’ll have enough for a table runner?

More Stars Different Stars

English Paper Piecing Stars
English Paper Piecing Stars

I spent the weekend up on the North Coast with my handsome DH. In the car, I like to work on something. The English Paper Piecing project I started in August is perfect and I was able to finish 4 stars. A few of the stars were done during TV watching sessions.

I forgot how much I liked this project.

I organized the half hexagons in the hotel room on Saturday, so they were ready to put together in the car. It worked out great.

Each star takes around an hour to sew together.

Quilt To Do List Update

Earlier this week I wrote the Quilt To Do List, because I had these little things rattling around in my head nagging. Also, I had nothing else to write about having not sewn and already gone on and on about the Spiderweb. I mean how much can you tolerate about Spiderwebs?

I had kind of a brutal week at work. It wasn’t crazy busy, but everything was hard and the most difficult partners and associates were asking me for the impossible. I really wanted to just be at home today and rest. I might be getting a cold, but I feel like I need to rest.

  1. Hurricane Sandy blocks
  2. Binding for BAMQG donation quilt
  3. New journal cover (this is an absolute MUST, because I only have a few pages left in my current journal!)
  4. Patchwork Wheel blocks for BAMQG donation project
  5. Borders for A-B-C Challenge

No, I haven’t accomplished the whole list. The Hurricane Sandy blocks for Vesuvius Mama are done. I had to rummage around for some fabric like she wanted and found some very interesting stuff in the process. More on that later.

I had never made a Disappearing 4 Patch before, though I knew the concept from the Food Quilt‘s Disappearing 9 Patch Design, so I knew the concept. This was a good excuse to try out the Disappearing 4 Patch. I don’t remember if I thought the Disappearing 9 patch was fiddly. I thought the D4P was kind of fiddly. I think I like the D9P a little better, but I am always up for learning a new blocks and I think the D4P has some interesting design possibilities. And I can make blocks until the cows come home. I don’t need to like them much to make them. You’ll have to wait for photos as I forgot to take them!

Letter Journal Cover
Letter Journal Cover

I wrote really small all week and made the last few pages of my journal last. I still have about half a page left. I don’t know whether that is an accomplishment or cramping my creativity. Anyway, the first thing I did this morning was start cutting for a journal cover. I decided that I would make two, then I wouldn’t be behind when I ran out of pages next time.

Advertising Journal Cover
Advertising Journal Cover

I had already ironed fabric that I bought for journal covers, so I cut pieces. The journal cover tutorial is now really right on in terms of size. I have tweaked it a bit lately and the covers went together with little to no problems in terms of size. Also, no frustration either. Nice.

I’ll put up more photos and info later. This post was supposed to be a quick “hi. hello” and it is turning into a dissertation.

I really should have made the binding today, because I could have watched TV and sewed down the back. I just didn’t think of it. Perhaps tomorrow.

I really enjoyed working on these small things.