Tag Archives: quilting

WIP: My First EPP Hexie Quilt!

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epp_hexie_001Ever since I got into quilting, I have dreamed of making a hexagon quilt. I thought it took some fancy machine work with impossible Y shaped seams. I was half right. You CAN do it that way, or you can hand sew them all together.

There’s a process called English Paper Piecing,  EPP or Foundation Piecing (it gos by any of these names), where you take the pattern you want to make and have the pieces cut out of paper. You then cut out fabric larger than each piece, pin the paper to it, fold over the fabric and baste stitch (like my orange stitches shown in all of these photos). When you have enough pieces for your project or block, you then whip stitch them all together and take out the paper pieces. After all of this tedious work, you have yourself a quilt top.

There are loads of proper tutorials all over the internet. Heidi posted a tutorial and template for mini hexies this past week, and there’s a bunch on Pinterest. Plus if you search YouTube, I bet you’ll find some great instructions. Also, if you just want to start small but have an even bigger impact you could try something like Rebecca’s patchwork tote bag! (her IG feed totally made me want to start this project!)

This type of project is perfect for downtime, like watching TV, waiting at the DMV or when being a passenger on a road trip. I myself started it because I am being forced to rest a bit more. Plus it’s a quilt that I don’t have to sit at a sewing machine all day to make. My poor back needs a break from that.

epp_hexie_002I will admit now, I am NOT a strong hand sewer, and I am seriously not looking forward to whip stitching all of these together. For now I try not to think about it and just dream of what the finished quilt will look like… If I ever finish it!

I want to make a 70″ square lap quilt, and by my calculations, it is going to take 800+ hexagons to make. That’s a lot! I am able to finish around 30 a night, so if I work on it every night then it will take me a month. That’s a scary number to me btw, so I may just call it quits at 400 because I am also dreaming up a quilt that is just half hexies and the rest is solid colored gray. I guess I’ll decided when I get to the halfway point.

epp_hexie_003epp_hexie_004I’m happy I went with the 3″ size too! Because if I had done the normal 1″ size, it would have taken 2500+ hexies to finish a quilt. SCARY!!

Have any of you made one of these? Or are making one? Any helpful hints?

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Chevron & Stripes Banner

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Chevron_banner_001A few months ago I was browsing Instagram, like I do way too much, and I came across this awesome work in progress by Elizabeth of ohfransson.com (her IG username is @elizabethhagh ) It was just a small part of a Missoni inspired piece she had started a year or so before, but it looked great as is. I pressed like and went on my way!

The design seriously haunted me for months. I felt like I HAD to make it. It NEEDED to be a banner on my wall. I drew a paper pieced pattern of it into my sketchbook and put it aside for my upcoming “winter sewing months”.

Side Note: Apparently I prefer sewing in the winter, and knowing this has made my whole work schedule easier to handle. Sewing in the winter, jewelry & casting in the summer. It’s been working perfectly and I cast so much during the summer that I can continuously add to the shop all winter long!

So now back to the banner…

Two weeks ago I finally sat down at my computer and digitized the pattern i’d sketched up. It was a little big, but I didn’t mind taping together the paper. I went around searching for fabrics that complimented my house and then sat down to piece it all together. It took me about two hours total and I was so excited to hang it up!!!

Chevron_banner_002I just happened to have a nice blank spot in the library! I added some striped bakers twine and glued a little geometric piece to the screw holding it up. I love it!!

I figured someone else may want to make one of these for their wall too, so I put together my simple paper pieced pattern as a FREE PDF. You will need a basic knowledge of paper piecing to make this btw. If you are comfortable with sewing but don’t know this technique yet, I suggest searching for some videos on YouTube, that’s how I taught myself. Fresh Lemons Quilts blog also has a great tutorial if you’re not into watching videos

Chevron_banner_003

If you do make a banner, I’d love to see it. Just send me a message!

 

 

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A Baby Chevron Quilt

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I have been waiting FOREVER to post this! I made it back in October and wasn’t able to get it to its new owner until recently. Life just kept getting in the way! (or I’d forget to bring it with me, which is a normal occurrence for me)

I made this specifically for an adorable little newborn baby girl who’s mama loves pretty vintage things. So of course it had to be pink, dainty and have something vintage looking on it. I also wanted to give it a modern edge, which is where the off set chevron design comes in. Most of the solid fabrics are Kona cotton and the flower print is a piece of a vintage sheet! I made it a bit bigger than a normal baby quilt, only because I got a bit carried away while making the half square triangles!

I love the design so much that I’m thinking of making another one for CT, but a little bit bigger since she’s outgrowing all of her other baby quilts!

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Handmade Gifts: December 2012

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Sorry for the Instagram photos, I was rushing all month to get things finished and wrapped and didn’t get the time to “properly” photograph everything!

From top left…

  • a doctor who pouch for my friend Molly
  • a Pyrex inspired pouch for my friend Tasha
  • the Modern Maples quilt I mentioned earlier this week for my sister Ashley
  • a hedgehog pillow for my sister Cori (using the paper piecing pattern I found here. Oh and this was my first time trying paper piecing! I’m in love!)
  • a pillow for my grandmother using the Modern Maples blocks.
  • a hedgehog pouch for my sister Cori (as you can see, she loves hedgehogs, she even has one)
  • two Tangled inspired dresses for nieces.

I actually made a few other things too, but they haven’t been gifted yet.

It was all a lot of fun to make, but I am beyond exhausted. New rule: Start sewing gifts in the summer!!!!!

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Sewing, Sewing and More Sewing

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I had plans to share some of the projects Ive been working on, but instead I spent most of my day and night looking for misplaced fabric squares. So I didnt have time to finish things up. We ended up finding the pieces in a suitcase!!! How they ended up there I have no idea. I’m just happy I found them.

The pieces were part of the quilt I started back in January. (apparently I started a lot of quilts in January) I was short a few fat quarters, and couldn’t make up my mind about what fabrics to add, so i just put the project aside! While searching for the perfect binding fabric for the chevron quilt I stumbled upon a different series of Lizzy House fabric. I ordered a bunch of fat quarters and two yards of that floral fabric above for the backing. I’m excited to get this quilt finished! I have all the supplies needed, so I have no excuse to put this project aside again!

Wish me luck!

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