My Hand Pieced Mini Swap

A few months ago I joined a secret swap on Instagram. We had to make a mini quilt that was completely hand pieced.

I chose to make mine using English Paper Piecing.

I started with an idea that I drew on EQ7

I was hoping to make lots of different pieced hexagons and then appliqué them onto a background with gaps between them that I could do some big stitch quilting in. But after a little experimenting, I found that they were hard to appliqué, particularly if seams came right to the edges, so I reverted to joining the hexagons in the normal manner. I also restricted myself to two or three designs of hexagon to give it a little more unity.

It was fun working on a layout for these!

I got to do my big stitch quilting, too!

I procrastinated for a long time over the label, but once I hit upon the idea of an embroidered flower in the shape of hexagons, i enjoyed that too. I've had to cover up the name in the photo just incase my partner hasn't received it yet!!

I made her a few extras:

There's a Dumpling Pouch from a  Free Pattern, a needle case made mainly from scraps of Denise Schmidt fabric (her favourite designer) and a covered notebook. To make the notebook I backed some fabric scraps with Bondaweb, and then cut out the hexagons. I ironed them in place onto a tiny piece of linen and then worked a small blanket stitch around each to make sure they stayed in place. I finished it off with the wording and border and then used more Bondaweb to secure the design to the front of the notebook. 

It felt good to get all these posted off today. I hope she like what she receives!!

La Passacaglia - My Process

This is my Passacaglia sitting on my design wall. It only just fits and it doesn't photograph very well here as the light is not very good. I shall have to find another spot to take pics from soon.
A few people have been asking me questions about my process, so today however I thought I'd share my method and a few of the tools I'm using.

The pattern is in this book (it's shown on the front cover) and is the work of Willynne Hammerstein. The quilt I'm making is officially called Passacaglia with Mr Penrose. Sir Roger Penrose is a mathematical physicist who, amongst many, many other things, explored tiled shapes, some very similar to the design of this quilt.

The finished quilt will measure 56" x 70" (144 x 176cm). My colour palette is very different to Willynne's. I'm using mainly aquas and pinks with some lime, blue, grey, orange and purple thrown in. 

Willynne pieced hers by hand. I'm using English Paper Piecing for mine. It's a lot slower, but I find it very relaxing. The nice thing about this project is that it is so portable.

There have been many comments on the blog suggesting I must have a lot of patience to undertake this. No, I don't!! This is slow, but it is accurate and therefore stress free. You should see my lack of patience when I've tried machine piecing something and then find that my points are truncated or seams don't match accurately. There is certainly no patience displayed then !!

For English Paper Piecing you need templates and papers to fold the fabric around. When I first started this at the beginning of the year there were no templates available to buy specifically for this pattern. I traced the templates given in the book onto overhead projector film, added a seam allowance, cut them out and drew around them onto the fabric. Yes, it was a tedious process and it's not the most accurate method, so for the first rosette, I didn't do any fussy cutting.

Several of the shapes used are popular english paper piecing shapes so I was able to download free pages from which to cut some of the papers. You can find these at www.incompetech.com.  Others I had to trace from the book several times until I had enough to fill a page and then photocopy it.

This pattern has since become so popular! I post regular photos of my progress on Instagram and the number of people making this pattern is incredible. Just search the hashtags #lapassacaglia and #passacagliaquilt to see some of the amazing work that is being created by quilters all around the world.

The upshot of this popularity is that you can now buy acrylic templates and papers specifically designed for this pattern from several places.

I bought acrylic templates from www.Etsy.com/shop/SunsetSeams

You can choose the colour of the acrylic and whether you want 1/4" or 3/8" seam allowances added.

You can also get them from www.paperpieces.com

Papers specifically for La Passacaglia can be bought from www.paperpieces.com and from www.sewandquilt.co.uk

There is a lot of possibility for fussy cutting in this quilt.  I fussy cut the centres of the rosettes and sometimes the diamonds in between the stars. It is fun seeing the different designs you can make with fussy cutting, but the reason I do it is to create movement. I want to keep the eye moving around the quilt and fussy cutting helps to create circles and therefore movement. The other way to create movement is to have areas of light and dark as in this rosette.

Without the light areas the circular motion would not be so pronounced.

I use the templates to help with the accuracy of the fussy cutting.

I use a Frixion pen to draw around the templates and to mark sections of the design right onto the template when I create my first shape. Then when I move onto the next one I can use  the drawn lines to ensure I'm placing it in exactly the same position on the fabric as I did with the first. I also mark through the little holes at the seam allowance intersection. When I've finished a set of fussy cutting shapes for a particular rosette, the lines on the acrylic can be simply rubbed off.

I hadn't done a lot of fussy cutting before I started this project and if you are thinking of buying fabric purely for this purpose I would suggest being a little cautious. Often a fabric that you think is going to fussy cut well ends up being problematic, whilst others you already have in your stash surprise you  with how useful they are. 

I have got a lot better at choosing fabrics to fussy cut as time has gone on. My local quilt store is now used to me wandering around with templates in my hand, pulling out bolts and laying the templates on to see if they'll work. I would suggest buying as the need arises rather than making a lot of purchases at once.

When I first started I was determined to baste the pieces in the traditional way with needle and thread. I soon changed my mind and swapped to glue basting.

I use a Sewline glue pen. It is widely available and you can purchase refills for it. I like the precision of this glue. Some of the pieces like these star sections are very small and I use the glue very sparingly. Just a very fine line from the edge of the glue stick or a couple of dots is all it needs. That way they come out easily when I want to remove them.

Finally I want to show you the thread that I use.

YLI silk thread is very fine and the stitches just blend right into the fabric. I use a small quilting needle and short lengths of thread so that it doesn't shred and break. I don't knot the thread. Instead I hold down the end of the thread with one finger and work 2 or 3 stitches in the same place before starting to progress along the seam. I do the same when I finish the seam. It's how I was taught and I'm a creature of habit! The thread is quite pricey so I've restricted myself to a range of neutrals and they seem to be working very well.

Well if you've read this far, then Thank You! You certainly do have patience! I hope this has been of help to anyone considering starting this quilt. It won't be a quick project, but I hope you'll find it enjoyable. I certainly am!

Linking up with Lorna at Let's Bee Social @Sew Fresh Quilts

More Passacaglia Progress

Slow, peaceful and contemplative stitching. My english paper pieced Passacaglia quilt continues to grow. So much so that it is too large for my design wall now - hence the need for photographing it on the carpet if I want to show all the rosettes together. 

Just 4 more grey stars need to be added to this one and then its complete.

This one is my favourite so far.

This one has a place in my heart too.

And this was the first large one to be completed.
All the big rosettes are complete now. Its time to work on the little ones! That means lots of fussy cutting for the centres and lots of playing around with colours. Its a little too pink for my liking at the moment. Need to tone it down a bit with more neutral colours.
Heaven knows how I'll photograph it though until I start sewing some more of the rosettes together.
I can honestly say I'm enjoying this project more than any others I can think of.
Slow hand stitching is good for the soul !!

Passacaglia Progress

                 

My Passacaglia quilt is progressing well. It's all hand stitched, english paper piecing. It's slow stitching, happy stitching, calming and relaxing stitching, the best sort! When I know I can't rush something, that I'm  not going to get in finished in the next week, month or whatever, I just slow down and enjoy the journey, take time to gather my thoughts and unwind. I'm sure it's good for the soul.

Part of the reason I've been working on this quilt is that my sewing machine is being serviced this week. It made me wonder what life would have been like many years ago when everything had to be hand sewn. Being without my machine really does make me appreciate having the choice to hand or machine sew!!

The top photo is where I'm at now on the second large rosette. These are BIG and take a long time. I couldn't resist trying out the final round of stars before I'd finished the round of pale pink pentagons. 

                                  

This is a close up of the first large rosette. (None of them are complete as they all have to interlink when the quilt is put together). The pattern is from Millefiori Quilts by Willynne Hammerstein.

And this is all three together! Although there is one more large rosette in the quilt, I'm going to work on some of the smaller ones next. A little (almost!!) instant gratification is needed!

Linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday     Let's Bee Social   and Work in Progress Wednesday

Thanks for stopping by.

Julie

Cosying Up With Needle and Thread

I think I should have been a hedgehog, or a squirrel ! I almost hibernate in winter ! I slow right down  and I'm perfectly content with quiet pastimes. Even my sewing takes on a slower pace. I've been happily hand stitching my english paper pieced Passacaglia quilt. I'm working on the second rosette which is quite a lot larger than the first. When I've finished the orange section there are still two more layers to go.

I'm really enjoying playing with colour whilst working on this. I have to admit to making a few new purchases last week so as to have more variety to play with. It's funny that, no matter how much fabric we have, we still can never quite find "the one" in our stash.

I'm also thinking that as this is such a long term project, I could do with a design wall. I normally lay blocks out on a white sheet on the floor and then roll it up when I'm not working on them. But, it would be nice to be able to look at these rosettes often during the day and be able to swap them around as I pass by a design wall. I have an old lightweight board lurking in the garage that was once the base for a train set when my kids were young. It would make a perfect design wall, so it may get dusted off and de-spidered in the next few days and brought inside to take on a new role. 

I'm also in dire need of  decent thimble! All this hand sewing has resulted in permanent perforations in my fore finger. I can't work with one if it's too bulky. I thought I had the answer when I bought a neat little leather one. But it stretched within a matter of days and now it's constantly slipping off my finger and I'm spending more time picking it up and replacing it than I am sewing! If you know of a good one, please let me know.

Linking up with Work in Progress Wednesday and Let's Bee Social

Passacaglia with Mr Penrose

Woah, where did the last couple of months go? In my defence, I have been having a wonderful time with family over from Canada for Christmas. That involved lots of culinary preparations etc and then we all had a little family holiday in Yorkshire and, and, well to be honest, my little blog just didn't take priority! But things are back to normal now. My sewing room has seen some activity at last, and among other things I've started a new project!

It is a hand sewn, English paper piecing project. Perfect for sewing whilst enjoying a quiet evening in front of the TV or for snatching a few moments to work on without having to set a block of time aside (or clear enough space in the currently very disorganised sewing room!)

It's a biggie though, and I've set myself the challenge of completing it this year...yes, by the end of 2015!

The project is the last and most complicated quilt in this wonderful book that I purchased before Christmas.

The Passacaglia quilt that I'm making is the one shown on the front cover. Isn't it wonderful? Passacaglia is apparently a musical term. (I had to look it up.....I've also got to learn to spell it without checking each time!) I can certainly see lots of music in this quilt. The eye waltzes around it following the circles. I just hope my version does justice to the name.

Here is a close up of the first rosette that I've completed so far.

The pieces are tiny, and as far as I can tell, they are not a standard size, so there are no pre-cut papers available to purchase in this country. (You can buy them from the US). I've traced the templates provided in the book, and then photocopied them. I'm also basting the templates rather than using fabric glue. That may change as time goes on!

Hopefully I'll have the second rosette to show soon.

I hope you have an exciting project for the New Year too!

Not My Usual Sewing

The lovely sunny weather we have been enjoying has meant I don't want to spend too much time in my sewing room. My current knitting project is big so I haven't wanted to do that either. The solution? English Paper Piecing whilst sitting in my favourite chair in my most favourite spot in the garden!

These are 1" diamonds and they're all organic cotton.This is a slow project, I'm talking years here, not months, and I'm just making it up as I go along. When I've made a few of these, I'll switch to a different shape. I've no idea how big this will get. I may be in my dotage before it becomes something useful, but for now I'm enjoying a few minutes each day sitting in the garden english paper piecing!

I've also been making table runners for my youngest son's fast approaching wedding. Working with hessian is interesting. I LOVE the smell of it, but Oh how it sheds fibres! They were everywhere - the floor, the work surfaces, my cup of tea, even my underwear!!

These are my blocks for this month's Siblings Together Bee. This was a great block to make - quick and fun and all made from scraps!

This is the sewing that has taken most of my time over the past few weeks, but is not the most exciting thing to photograph!
It is a set of organic cotton bed linen for my eldest son and daughter in law in Canada. I've made a fitted bottom sheet, a flat top sheet, a duvet cover and four pillow cases and edged them with one of the decorative stitches on my machine.
These were very easy to sew and ended up costing about half the price of bought ones. The hardest part was manoeuvring a very large amount of very wide fabric and cutting it up.
The fabric is cotton percale from the  Organic Textile Company

And finally, I've been helping my soon to be daughter in law make a dress to take on honeymoon, but I suspect that either this will not get finished, or we are going to have one almighty panic sewing session in about 2 weeks time!! This is the stage it has been at for quite some time. It is very pretty fabric and it's going to really suit her. We just need to find the time to get together and finish it !

English Paper Piecing and an Early Christmas Present

I've been hankering after doing some English Paper Piecing for a while now. Each time the thought entered my head I told myself not to be silly, I didn't need another new project, and certainly not one as long term as hand sewn paper piecing. But eventually the urge got the better of me and I cut out and tacked a few hexagons.

At the time I didn't have a project in mind. I just enjoyed the process. This week I put them to good use in my strip for the Bee that I'm in.
Now we are only supposed to give teasers until the strips are finished, so I hope I'm not giving too much away here. I hand sewed a single flower out of some of the hexagons and then machine appliquéd it to a quilt block. Just enough to keep the EPP urge at bay, I think!

I do enjoy appliqué and the strip was great fun to make. Hopefully the final owner will like it too.

I've also been happily playing with a new addition to my sewing room this week.

My sewing machine normally just sits on the desk top. For most sewing this works just fine, but when I'm quilting the drag on the quilt as it moves up to the height of the machine has been making me very frustrated and disappointed with the quilting that results. I really wanted a flatbed table.

I had looked at perspex extension tables (which seem very expensive for what they are) and sewing cabinets with a flatbed, which are even more expensive and I haven't got room for, and then I stumbled across a fold away version at a very reasonable price at Sewing Online

I watched their hilarious video showing you how sturdy it is. I measured and re-measured to check my machine would fit in it and then I hit that "Buy Now" button.
It arrived 48 hours later !!

 I soon had it set up and my machine fits very nicely in it. I can place it in front of my L shaped desk whilst I'm quilting and the desk will support the rest of the quilt. When I've finished quilting I can fold it away.

So now I'm practising my free motion quilting on scraps of fabric. It is such a luxury to have a nice smooth surface to work on.

I don't mind if I don't get any other Christmas presents this year. I'm a happy bunny, just playing with this one !