Farmer's Wife Quilt - Finished

I finally finished the Farmer’s Wife quilt and it is on the guest room bed!  I looked back and it took over 4 years from start to finish, but as is often said, “It’s the journey, not the destination.”  It has been a journey, and yet, I'm enjoying the destination. 

Farmer's Wife Quilt - Finished!

Modern Quilt for Nick

I had a hard time deciding what type of quilt to make for Nick, who graduated from college last week.  He has many interests and majored in Mathematics, so I think part of my struggle was narrowing down a topic.  In the end, I went with a modern approach (much admired by me, but never tackled, until now).

Graduation Quilt for Nick

Pin Wheels and Windmills - Japanese Taupe

I don't even know how long ago I started working on this quilt, but I was inspired by the pictures on the Pink Caramel blog.  The blog post does give much information, but I loved the intertwined windmills, as well as the Japanese taupes.  I can't even say I started working on it with the end goal of making a quilt.  Here's the story of how it came together.

Windmills and French Knots

La Passacaglia Quilt - More Progress

I completed my fourth round, cog, rosette (whatever you want to call it) for the La Passacaglia quilt.  Continuing in my quest to complete this ingenious pattern using English Paper Piecing, I'm finding the fussy cutting to be the most tedious.  I think I need to spend less time worrying about where to cut and just cut from the same place in the fabric pattern and let serendipity happen.

La Passacaglia - My Fourth Round

La Passacaglia - My Second Round

About a month ago, I shared my first round or rosette of the La Passacaglia quilting endeavor, so here is my second!  Following along with some of the images I can see online (I haven't gotten the book, yet), I made this one larger, with several more rings around it and with a "bite" taken out for my first one to "sit in".

La Passacaglia - The Mania Begins

As promised in my previous post in English Paper Piecing, here is the first medallion (or rosette) in my venture into La Passacaglia.

La Passacaglia - Number 1

This is also my first time doing any fussy cutting, which seems to be almost a must for this pattern.  I fussy cut the center 5-point star, the 10 brown pentagons around, as well as the 5 light gold diamonds, although it's difficult to tell on those.  It's definitely the sort of thing that I'll keep to a minimum, as it does add extra time to the process.  Plus, the fabric has to lend itself to the purpose.

I'm pleased with the first one here and am well into the second one, which will be larger, consisting of several more "layers" around.

Until, next time!

English Paper Piecing - Milestone

I've come to the edges on my English Paper Piecing trial run!

You can see my journey so far with English Paper Piecing.

I'm very please with how it is turning out.  This is about 42" x 36".  Now I'm working on the border, that I'll do by machine.  I am incorporating more of the medium gray used in the two medallions at the top and bottom center, along with some 1/2 inch checkerboard bits.  I'll finish it off with a sash of the light gray fabric and am still contemplating how I'll bind it.

Now that all of my handwork is complete on this, I'm diving into the La Pasacaglia mania!  Having fun so far and will share my progress soon.

English Paper Piecing - Progress

Back in January I shared my thoughts on English Paper Piecing, something I started after being drawn into what I had been seeing from others online.  I continue to work on it a little at a time, so I thought I'd share my progress.

English Paper Piecing

In my previous post, I hadn't started putting the "stars" and "flowers" together in any sort of pattern, so since then I decided to add some white space between.  I love how the collections take on different shapes as you get them assembled.  Clearly the "flowers" stand out, but sometimes, the "stars" turn into tumbling blocks where they are joined to a white diamond.

I think I've decided to leave the basting stitches in place for the finished product.  I like how it helps to keep the overall piece laying flat.  The one exception may be the center of the flowers and the white hexies.  I still do have an idea that there should be some fabric overlap to help prevent the batting fibers from poking through, and by releasing the basting stitches and pressing the allowances outward, then many of the seams will have a backing.

Now, how big will I go with this project?  I still don't know.  What I'm considering next is changing up the layout a bit to keep it interesting!

English Paper Piecing

For several months now I keep getting drawn into research on English Paper Piecing (EPP).  So, I finally decided to dive in.  I've done a lot of hand-sewing over the years, but it has never been something I particularly enjoyed.  I think I may be a convert!

Read on for some tips and pointers.

Tie Quilt for Mom

When my sister and I discovered that our Mother had saved her father's ties, disassembled them, and was using them for crazy quilting, we were inspired to make this quilt that included some of the fabric from these ties.  It was a gift to her, probably for Mother's Day or her birthday.

Tie Quilt

Seminole Patchwork for Beth

Too many years ago to even remember, I made this wall quilt for my sister.  It's the first introduction I had to Strip Piecing, in this case, making Seminole Patchwork.

Seminole Patchwork and Flying Geese Border

My First Quilt - Lady of the Lake

I am immensely proud of the first quilt I ever made.

Lady of the Lake

It was back in the 1980's and probably took be about 6-9 months to complete.