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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Collections: Vintage Souvenir Plates

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platewall_travel_001For the past few years I have been collecting “souvenir plates”. Basically vintage plates that you could buy in souvenir shops during a road trip, vacation, etc. I think it’s my constant urge to travel that makes me love these so much. Then there’s also the nostalgia factor. A bunch of my plates are from local attractions, or one’s I visited a lot when I was a child.

I especially love amusement park plates, like the one shown above. Enchanted forest holds a special place in my art. I have a bunch of memories (and photos around here somewhere) of that place both from my childhood, and then as a stupid teenager who would sneak into it after it was abandoned and all run down. I think we paid the most for this piece, a whole $10, because my husband is also from the area and remembers it.

I am up to almost 80 plates total. I pick up most of antique malls, or thrift shops, but I also receive some as gifts because my friends and family know I love them. I have this grand plan to hang them all going up my stairs to the top level. It’s a huge wall that is about 6 feet wide and 14-18 feet tall depending on where on the steps you are. I figured I could finish it all in about a week or so.

platewall_travel_002Yeah, I was SO wrong! First I forgot that about half of the plates need plate hangers or new hooks. 40 or so plate hangers starts to add up in cost, so I’ve had to slowly pick them up when I see them on sale. Then the second thing I didn’t think about is the fact that I am 5’2″ and I don’t have a ladder that can go on stairs. It’s funny that the second problem didn’t occur to me until I hit my limit height wise! I was just so excited about hanging them all.

For now I have a good chunk of them up, give or take I believe it’s about 30. I am on the lookout for a good ladder to buy, because I know I’ll have more plans that require one. For now I get to come downstairs every morning and see just part of my collection displayed, and I’m cool with that.

Oh and as always, I’ll share more photo’s when I actually finish this project.

 

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Shop Update: Home Sweet Home Banners

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shopupdate_030714_001New banners are in the shop! They are already selling pretty well, I wasn’t even able to get a screenshot for this post before the “sold out” flags showed up. You guys don’t understand just how happy that makes me!!! Thank you!

There are more colors then I’ve shown above, they just wouldn’t all fit on one page. As of this post I believe there is 13 colors left.

shopupdate_030714_002

To go along with the update, there is also a Juxtapose Necklace sale going on. 15% off any Juxtapose Necklace in stock. No coupon code needed, discount applied in the cart. (how neat is that? Storenvy does it right)

I’m going to be good and walk away from the computer for a bit. A watched shop doesn’t boil, or something like that. Ha. I have some things I want to make for my niece’s 5th birthday tomorrow anyway.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

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Sneak Peek: Home Sweet Home Banners

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sneakpeekhomesweethomeI am super excited about the shop update I’m working on for tomorrow!! I kinda posted a peek at these last week, and then I spent all of this week cleaning them up and getting them ready (it’s one of a hundred reasons I’ve been so quiet)

My plan is to have 18 different colors of the plastic version, plus a screen printed gold & cream felt version in the shop around 11am EST. It’s first come first serve. If these do well, I have a few ideas for more (plus I’m open to suggestions!)

If you want to be notified when they go live you can sign up for my shop newsletter here, or keep an eye on my Instagram or Twitter accounts! (I’m having a giveaway on my Instagram account if your interested btw)

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Adventures in Casting: Home Decor

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HSH_banner_WIPIve had this idea in my head lately to try and make more pieces for the home, instead of the body. It might have something to do with cabin fever or the fact that I always feel like changing things up a bit in winter, but whatever the reason, I’m excited.

The first piece I’ve tested out is shown above. They are hand cast plastic “Home Sweet Home” banners. Hopefully the first in a series I’ve been dreaming up. I want a full range of colors before I add them to the shop, so it might be a week or two before I get proper photos.

What are your thoughts? Any colors I NEED to make?