I recently hand quilted this lovely Warm Hearted quilt. I just love the vintage quilt vibe, and I'm so glad I gave myself permission to spend more time with it!

I've been collecting my favourite Ruby Star Society prints to create these beautiful bundles. I just love basics (designs that read almost as solids), small geometric prints, sweet florals - they're all perfect for the small pieces used in EPP. Once collated, I was chuffed to discover that the colours together reminded me of my favourite antique EPP quilts from 150 years ago. They were just the inspiration I needed to make Evensong, a traditional EPP design, known as Rose Star! I made my quilt from the scraps of these bundles, so I wasn't working with exactly the same fabric sizes. But if you'd like to make Evensong with this bundle, you'll have enough for at least 2 rounds per print. (details for the most efficient way to cut fabric from a fat 16th in the Evensong pattern!) You'll be able to make all the blocks with the fabrics included, and you'll need to add to the low volume prints for the joining blocks.  Containing 96 beautiful pieces, each 10" x approx 10-11". Ruby Star Society make my favourite fabrics for EPP, not just because of their modern, whimsical vibe, but because the fabric is soft and fine, and really easy to baste, without being so tightly woven, like lawn, that it's harder to stitch through. It's the best of both worlds!  These fabric bundles contain 6 metres (a little over 6 1/2yds) in total. Each bundle is exactly the same as pictured (with the exception of 3 or 4 bundles where a single print ran out at the end). The Warmhearted Quilt pictured was made from the bundle by my mum! She got 4-6 hearts from each print, depending on if they had a selvedge, which was plenty to make the whole quilt.  Please read before purchasing: Important! A note about metric cuts: The fabrics are metric fat 16ths. This means they have been cut from a metre (100cm/40") into quarters, then in quarters again, rather than from a yard (90cm/36"). An Imperial F16 is usually 9" wide, and these are 10" (25cm) wide.  Important! A note about fat 16ths: Fat 16ths are cut from a quarter of a metre (or yard). They are cut along the fold and then cut again at 11", approximately 1/4 of the 44" width of fabric. If the fabric hasn't been folded accurately in half on the bolt, or if the width of fabric differs from 44", these pieces with selvedge can be slightly shorter or slightly longer than 11". We've done our best to spread these shorter pieces (around 10" instead of 11") throughout the bundles so that everyone gets the same amount.  Bundles are already cut: if you order 2, you'll get 2 seperate bundles. Bundles can't be altered.

The pattern for this English paper piecing design is finally available! I've chosen to name this pattern after the nursery rhyme, Ri...

Today, Aylin, who blogs at ayliN - Nilya is here to explain English Paper Piecing to us. Aylin's EPP work, and all her quilting, is stunning, and such an inspiration to me - do check out her blog if you don't already know her or if you want to join in her EPP quilt along which she is starting soon. I am sure you will be inspired by her lovely tutorial to give EPP a try and if you already EPP, you will find her tips and tricks helpful. Welcome to the magic of EPP. I'm Aylin and Leanne introduced me so warmly, that I would love to thank her for inviting me to be a guest on her blog. English Paper Piecing (EPP) is an old traditional technique to sew parts together by hand where the parts are reinforced with paper-templates. Why do we sew by hand in times of modern machines? What's the magic about EPP? Well, I can tell you why I love EPP. This is the most relaxing way of sewing to me. You can take your project or parts of it with you where ever you go and do some stitches. Even if you only sew one seam, it is worth to take it with you. I do EPP sometimes in the car while waiting for my daughter picking her up from basketball exercises. It is a good way to kill the time. And you see your project growing slowly and getting more and more beautiful. Maybe it's even a kind of therapy or meditation - it's just you and your little project in your hand. I find myself pausing from time to time and looking on my sewing or even stroking it. Well, seams as if I am a sewing nerd :). If you have done some EPP projects, this is not new to you, but if not, I will tell you roughly the steps of making EPP. If you are starting totally new, I would recommend hexies or pentagons, because here the angles are wider and easier to sew. The main focus of this post will be to find a pattern for an EPP project. Templates So if you know what pattern you are going to sew, you need the templates for the parts of your pattern. When I started my fist EPP-project, I used thicker paper and drew my templates on it and cut them out. This is not the way you should do it, only if you have very random shapes. That was before I saw any quilting books or the quilting-world-wide-web. Then I discovered, that you can buy paper templates as precuts which is a very comfortable, but maybe a bit expensive if your project is a bigger one. You can also use plastic templates which you can reuse a lot of times, but I have only seen them as hexies. I have to confess, that I never had a chance to try the plastic templates yet. I just print my templates on normal paper and cut them out. There are pros and cons for each of those methods and you have to find your own best way. I use only self printed paper templates, because they give me more flexibility in time and size, and it is much cheaper with the basting technique I use. I only glue my parts (next step). The precut templates made of paper are easy to use, but you cannot get all shapes in all sizes and you have to know what you exactly need. The plastic ones are great, if you make lots of projects and reuse those templates again and again, but you are fixed with your size and shape. If you want to print your own templates you can find them for example here on incompetech. You can vary the angles of triangles or diamonds on this page until you find the right template. Fabric Cutting So if you have your templates, it´s time to look for fabrics. EPP is predestined for fussy cutting, but of course fussy cutting is not necessary. If you like to fussy cut your parts, you should cut one of each template on a harder plastic so you can use them as master-templates. You can also make a frame while cutting your template out of a bigger piece of paper. This little Tula-Creature-Mugrug is an example of how to fussy cut. The head of the frog is made of two hexies, so I needed two motifs of the fabric to make this one head. Fussy cutting is a beautiful way of showing motifs, but it is also a fabric consuming way. Just beware and think before you cut into you precious fabrics ;-). Just lay your plastic template on your fabric to find your right motif and cut it out - don´t forget the seam allowance. Cutting the fabrics for EPP is done in very different ways by different people. Some people precut squares for hexies, triangles or diamonds, and some cut strips. I have to tell you that I am very sloppy with cutting fabrics for EPP. I always take more than 1/4 Inch for the seam allowance so it will not matter too much if my fabric is not always parallel to the template. I cut the fabric in my hand with scissors or with a rotary cutter on a mat (sometimes with a ruler). I just use what's handy. Wrapping the Fabric around the Template Now you have your templates and your fabrics cut. The next step is to wrap the fabric around your template. There are three methods to do so. Well, I have tried a fourth one with my first EPP Project, but that was because I didn't know better :). I pinned all six sides of the hexies with needles and so I was always pierced by the needles while sewing together. Of course this is nothing you should do. It hurts, I can tell you. The easiest and quickest way of basting the fabric around the template is to glue it. This is the way I prefer, because this is the part of EPP I don´t like to much. Of course you can only use this method with paper templates and you have to buy the glue pen. I use the Sewline Fabric Glue Pen, but there are others too. You can remove the templates afterwords, but the templates cannot be used again. Another method is to sew through the fabric and paper template (see the two photos below on the left). Here you have to remove the thread before you can remove the templates. The last method is to sew only the corners of your folded fabric without going through the templates (see the photos below on the right). This is the only method you can use with plastic templates. The advantage of this method is that you can remove the templates without removing the thread. For all three methods, be careful not to pull the fabric so tight over the template edges that the paper bends or warps. You still need some space to sew the parts together. It can help to use clips to fix the folded fabric around the template - some recommend paper clips or Clover Wonder Clips. I haven´t used them yet, because I glue my parts. Whatever method you use, you should fold the fabric always in the same direction around your template. This makes it easier to sew the parts together and to get neat points. This is very important, when you have pointed angles. In addition it looks nice from the back. It´s up to you, whether or not you finish basting all your parts before starting sewing the parts together. Usually that´s not me :). I prepare some parts and sew them together and start with the next parts. Let me show you some steps of my ferris wheel pillows. Sewing the parts together Now it´s time to sew your parts together. Take two parts together right side facing the right side at the seam you want them to sew together. When you sew your parts together, you have to note some things: Use a colour for your thread that is the most unobtrusive - of course this depends on your fabric choice. If you have only dark fabrics you should use a dark thread. I use off-white colors with lighter projects and darker grey for darker projects. Of course you can change the color of the thread for every seam. Cotton, polyester or silk? This is a philosophy and I will not solve this question. I use polyester for my EPP, because I think it´s stronger. Some say silk goes better through the fabric, while others only use cotton. Avoid knots and stitch some stitches at the same place for fixing the thread at the start and do so from time to time and at the end of a seam line. Start the same way at the next template Use a thin needle. Sew small stitches (there are different methods to sew the seams). Don´t sew through the paper templates when joining the parts. If you do, your stitches will be to big once the paper is removed and you will see them later on the right side. It also makes the templates harder to remove. Corrections: If you see that your next template will not fit in neatly, you can manipulate it if you have paper templates. Just pull or push or fold the fabric in the right direction. Of course you can only manipulate differences up to 1/8 inch or a little more. Here you can see the one stitch I made bigger for you with orange thread. Putting the parts together There are also different ways to put your parts together. You can finish one motif (e.g. a flower) after the other and then bring them together at the end or you can sew one motif to the next and see your project growing. Some sew EPP in lines and some sew it in motifs. Just find your way. It depends on my mood and the time I have for a project. If I have enough time I sew in motifs. If it has to be quicker, I sew in lines. Sewing in lines will be faster, but sewing in motifs satisfies me most. Removing Templates The templates will be removed only when the parts are surrounded by other parts, or when you have finished the whole project. I remove only some parts and iron them before removing the next ones so the seams are fixed neatly. Quilting Now to quilt your Project. I prefer to quilt my EPP´s because I am afraid that a seam could open. This has never actually happened to me but I am very careful. You should avoid quilting in the seams with EPP. When I make pillows from EPP I always use fusible interface to fix it all. And I wash my EPP´s only by hand. Tutorials for Sewing EPP You can find lots of tutorials for all the steps of EPP and this tutorial should only show you a quick overview. Now lets start finding our EPP-Pattern for the next Project. I promise you, if you go through your everyday life you will see so many EPP-Patterns. Get inspired by your flickr and internet friends. My daughter used to go to a Painting Artist School and they had a great teacher and that´s her philosophy: copy or cloning doesn't exist, you only get inspired by the work of others. The floor of a shop. And to tell the truth, you see so many beautiful and stunning projects in the internet, that your brain is full of all these impressions so that you cannot always distinguish or remember where you saw each idea....... Just go for it! Of course it is nice to mention the person who inspired you if you can remember. There are lots of books showing you how to make EPP - two of them I would love to introduce to you: The one of them is from Hilde Klatt and Liesel Niesner called "Liesels Sechsecken-Technik". Ok, you will say: now it is crazy recommending to us a book in German, but there are so many useful pictures it might be helpful, even if you don´t understand the text. Have a look in this book: And the other book is the one from Tacha Bruecher called "hexa go-go". She is a quilt friend of mine living in the same city as I do and an absolute EPP maniac. Her book is lovely and she gives lots of tips sewing hexies. Shapes for EPP To show you the range of shapes you usually use in EPP, I put them together for you. So this is nothing new, it's geometry and it's a good reason to listen to maths in school, that´s what I tell my daughter ;-). Be aware as I don´t want confuse you. On the next picture you see all shapes being in a 6 pointed diamond. You always use the same side length or a multiple of it. In my drawings you will find (0.5), 1, and 2 inches. All the drawings are made on prints from incompetech. For making an equilateral pentagon you need a compass and a set square. With these shapes you can make lots of patterns. This is my recent EPP-long-term-proect: My Flower Garden. The connecting fabric will be grey and there will be all kinds of flower shapes to become an irregular flower garden. Here you can see the shapes I used: My latest EPP Project was a pillow for Swappen auf Deutsch 3. I saw this cover of a book and I knew I wanted to make it with fabric. First I had to find my motif, because this Pictures gives you so many possibilities. In this case it is easier to copy it in back and white, so the origin colours will not influence you so much. Then I had to think about the templates I needed here. These are not the usual 6 (60°) or 8 (40°) Point Diamonds. 5 Point Diamonds have an angle of 72° and you cannot find them easily to buy as precuts, but you can find them on incompetec, where you can vary the angle. Also I needed 10 Point Diamonds with 36°. I can tell you, this is a project I really had to pull and fold my shapes because it isn´t that easy to get so many points together with different angles. Doesn't this look cosy? Sitting on the sofa covered with lovely quilts doing some EPP - that´s magic ;-). Funny, but my pillow for Swappen auf Deutsch 2 was also a EPP pillow. I sat at the table and started to draw an pattern. Later I realized, that I must have been inspired by a picture taken by Brioni-flossyblossy I saw on flickr, but I really had forgotten it. That´s why my pattern was totally EPP and hers was EPP appliquéd on fabric. As you can see my hexies here are not real hexies with equalateral sides. That´s a problem with drawing on squared paper. You will move your pen on lines or going from one corner to the other and that brings different shapes as if you make your pattern for example on hexie paper. In this case I drew my master templates on squared paper while increasing my layout in the size I wished and copied the master template. As you can see I had really pointed angles which is not a real beginner project. But if you know me a bit, you know that I am not afraid of anything in piecing. What´s the worst could happen? It doesn't work - so what? So you try again or leave it, that´s it. Nobody is going to laugh at you or even punish you. It´s my quality time and I decide what to do with it. It´s not failure, just the braveness, that I tried it! Here are some other drawings of mine. Maybe I will make them into quilts or pillows some time. Feel free to get inspired ;-). So dear readers of this post, if you really got to this point you made me so happy - thank you for staying tuned. Maybe I can see some of your EPP projects soon - even if you already started, this might be the reason to go on and finish it. I will start a EPP-QAL at the beginning of February, and you are invited to come and join - watch for news on my blog ayliN-Nilya! Here more of of my EPP finishes... Thank you Aylin! If you have not yet linked up your Q4 FAL finishes, please click here to go to the linky to add one link for each of your qualifying finishes. If you are working on one last finish, you can link up your other finishes now, so you don't miss the deadline for linking - midnight M.S.T. January 8, 2014.

I've spent the last few weeks making progress on my quilt WIPs (works in progress). When I want easy progress, I do a big WIP stocktake. Read more in this post!

Thank you for your kind comments on my post about collaborating with my daughter! She and I appreciate your positive feedback very much. THANK YOU! :) I've been working on my crayon challenge project for the upcoming guild meeting this month. (I'm only sharing a peek, since it's a challenge.) It's AMAZING how fast one can accomplish something when FOCUS is applied. Sometimes deadlines are great! :) This isn't my first time learning this lesson, but I almost always need the reminder! I hope to finish the quilting soon, so I can get on to the binding stage. I love finishing up a quilt! I started an EPP (English paper pieced) hexagon project. I'm in the very beginning stages, but this project couldn't be more timely. Spring means track season, end of school concerts and activities galore. Most of the activities involve some sort of waiting around. I needed a new portable project, since I finished my dot your i's quilt, so this is a nice filler. I'm planning on making a throw pillow cover out of these hexagons, as kind of a warm up project. (More on that in a bit.) I took my sew it goes tote out for it's initial run and it is AMAZING!!! The pattern tote is available here. (It's a very involved pattern, but the results are worth it!) I think it's funny that the thread catcher (pattern is here) I made years ago coordinates so well with the tote. :) For my hexagons, I'm using this paper punch that I purchased last fall at JoAnn's when it was 60% off. The cost of the punch was less than the cost of two packets of paper pieces, ready made! I'll need about a zillion hexagons, so it won't take long for this purchase to pay off. I'm using leftover card stock for my papers and the punch works SO well! The hexagons measure 1" on each side. This is the reason I need a hexagon warm up project.... This isn't a WIP quite yet, but I'm planning on making a reproduction of this vintage quilt! I told my husband my plan, and he didn't bat an eye or discourage me one bit, so I think it's a go. Hahaha! I just happened to buy the end of the bolt of this orangey red solid on clearance (it's Cotton Couture by Michael Miller) on the same trip that I bought the quilt. I think it was meant to be! I'm excited to start a new LONG term project!

When your quilty works in progress (WIPs) start to overwhelm you, choose the easiest-to-finish quilt, and take it across the finish line! Easy progress is a great motivation boost for making further progress. Click to see how I easily turned my Sandalwood quilt WIP into a finished quilt for my daughter!

Today's quilts include all the quilts I saw in the RMQM exhibit made from patterns by Willyne Hammerstein. Probably the most "famous" pattern of hers is La Passacaglia, which include all the quilts shown here except the second one. A couple of these ladies said this was their first attempt at English Paper Piecing. I'm not sure they could've picked a more difficult pattern! I have this book and the "papers" and have yet to start it. Some of the pieces are very tiny! I love all of these quilts - I think they're just amazing. And the three made from the same pattern are all very unique!

I've spent the last few weeks making progress on my quilt WIPs (works in progress). When I want easy progress, I do a big WIP stocktake. Read more in this post!

Learn how to sashiko stitch with this step-by-step guide to Sashiko stitching includes thread, needles, and transferring your pattern.

Today, Aylin, who blogs at ayliN - Nilya is here to explain English Paper Piecing to us. Aylin's EPP work, and all her quilting, is stunning, and such an inspiration to me - do check out her blog if you don't already know her or if you want to join in her EPP quilt along which she is starting soon. I am sure you will be inspired by her lovely tutorial to give EPP a try and if you already EPP, you will find her tips and tricks helpful. Welcome to the magic of EPP. I'm Aylin and Leanne introduced me so warmly, that I would love to thank her for inviting me to be a guest on her blog. English Paper Piecing (EPP) is an old traditional technique to sew parts together by hand where the parts are reinforced with paper-templates. Why do we sew by hand in times of modern machines? What's the magic about EPP? Well, I can tell you why I love EPP. This is the most relaxing way of sewing to me. You can take your project or parts of it with you where ever you go and do some stitches. Even if you only sew one seam, it is worth to take it with you. I do EPP sometimes in the car while waiting for my daughter picking her up from basketball exercises. It is a good way to kill the time. And you see your project growing slowly and getting more and more beautiful. Maybe it's even a kind of therapy or meditation - it's just you and your little project in your hand. I find myself pausing from time to time and looking on my sewing or even stroking it. Well, seams as if I am a sewing nerd :). If you have done some EPP projects, this is not new to you, but if not, I will tell you roughly the steps of making EPP. If you are starting totally new, I would recommend hexies or pentagons, because here the angles are wider and easier to sew. The main focus of this post will be to find a pattern for an EPP project. Templates So if you know what pattern you are going to sew, you need the templates for the parts of your pattern. When I started my fist EPP-project, I used thicker paper and drew my templates on it and cut them out. This is not the way you should do it, only if you have very random shapes. That was before I saw any quilting books or the quilting-world-wide-web. Then I discovered, that you can buy paper templates as precuts which is a very comfortable, but maybe a bit expensive if your project is a bigger one. You can also use plastic templates which you can reuse a lot of times, but I have only seen them as hexies. I have to confess, that I never had a chance to try the plastic templates yet. I just print my templates on normal paper and cut them out. There are pros and cons for each of those methods and you have to find your own best way. I use only self printed paper templates, because they give me more flexibility in time and size, and it is much cheaper with the basting technique I use. I only glue my parts (next step). The precut templates made of paper are easy to use, but you cannot get all shapes in all sizes and you have to know what you exactly need. The plastic ones are great, if you make lots of projects and reuse those templates again and again, but you are fixed with your size and shape. If you want to print your own templates you can find them for example here on incompetech. You can vary the angles of triangles or diamonds on this page until you find the right template. Fabric Cutting So if you have your templates, it´s time to look for fabrics. EPP is predestined for fussy cutting, but of course fussy cutting is not necessary. If you like to fussy cut your parts, you should cut one of each template on a harder plastic so you can use them as master-templates. You can also make a frame while cutting your template out of a bigger piece of paper. This little Tula-Creature-Mugrug is an example of how to fussy cut. The head of the frog is made of two hexies, so I needed two motifs of the fabric to make this one head. Fussy cutting is a beautiful way of showing motifs, but it is also a fabric consuming way. Just beware and think before you cut into you precious fabrics ;-). Just lay your plastic template on your fabric to find your right motif and cut it out - don´t forget the seam allowance. Cutting the fabrics for EPP is done in very different ways by different people. Some people precut squares for hexies, triangles or diamonds, and some cut strips. I have to tell you that I am very sloppy with cutting fabrics for EPP. I always take more than 1/4 Inch for the seam allowance so it will not matter too much if my fabric is not always parallel to the template. I cut the fabric in my hand with scissors or with a rotary cutter on a mat (sometimes with a ruler). I just use what's handy. Wrapping the Fabric around the Template Now you have your templates and your fabrics cut. The next step is to wrap the fabric around your template. There are three methods to do so. Well, I have tried a fourth one with my first EPP Project, but that was because I didn't know better :). I pinned all six sides of the hexies with needles and so I was always pierced by the needles while sewing together. Of course this is nothing you should do. It hurts, I can tell you. The easiest and quickest way of basting the fabric around the template is to glue it. This is the way I prefer, because this is the part of EPP I don´t like to much. Of course you can only use this method with paper templates and you have to buy the glue pen. I use the Sewline Fabric Glue Pen, but there are others too. You can remove the templates afterwords, but the templates cannot be used again. Another method is to sew through the fabric and paper template (see the two photos below on the left). Here you have to remove the thread before you can remove the templates. The last method is to sew only the corners of your folded fabric without going through the templates (see the photos below on the right). This is the only method you can use with plastic templates. The advantage of this method is that you can remove the templates without removing the thread. For all three methods, be careful not to pull the fabric so tight over the template edges that the paper bends or warps. You still need some space to sew the parts together. It can help to use clips to fix the folded fabric around the template - some recommend paper clips or Clover Wonder Clips. I haven´t used them yet, because I glue my parts. Whatever method you use, you should fold the fabric always in the same direction around your template. This makes it easier to sew the parts together and to get neat points. This is very important, when you have pointed angles. In addition it looks nice from the back. It´s up to you, whether or not you finish basting all your parts before starting sewing the parts together. Usually that´s not me :). I prepare some parts and sew them together and start with the next parts. Let me show you some steps of my ferris wheel pillows. Sewing the parts together Now it´s time to sew your parts together. Take two parts together right side facing the right side at the seam you want them to sew together. When you sew your parts together, you have to note some things: Use a colour for your thread that is the most unobtrusive - of course this depends on your fabric choice. If you have only dark fabrics you should use a dark thread. I use off-white colors with lighter projects and darker grey for darker projects. Of course you can change the color of the thread for every seam. Cotton, polyester or silk? This is a philosophy and I will not solve this question. I use polyester for my EPP, because I think it´s stronger. Some say silk goes better through the fabric, while others only use cotton. Avoid knots and stitch some stitches at the same place for fixing the thread at the start and do so from time to time and at the end of a seam line. Start the same way at the next template Use a thin needle. Sew small stitches (there are different methods to sew the seams). Don´t sew through the paper templates when joining the parts. If you do, your stitches will be to big once the paper is removed and you will see them later on the right side. It also makes the templates harder to remove. Corrections: If you see that your next template will not fit in neatly, you can manipulate it if you have paper templates. Just pull or push or fold the fabric in the right direction. Of course you can only manipulate differences up to 1/8 inch or a little more. Here you can see the one stitch I made bigger for you with orange thread. Putting the parts together There are also different ways to put your parts together. You can finish one motif (e.g. a flower) after the other and then bring them together at the end or you can sew one motif to the next and see your project growing. Some sew EPP in lines and some sew it in motifs. Just find your way. It depends on my mood and the time I have for a project. If I have enough time I sew in motifs. If it has to be quicker, I sew in lines. Sewing in lines will be faster, but sewing in motifs satisfies me most. Removing Templates The templates will be removed only when the parts are surrounded by other parts, or when you have finished the whole project. I remove only some parts and iron them before removing the next ones so the seams are fixed neatly. Quilting Now to quilt your Project. I prefer to quilt my EPP´s because I am afraid that a seam could open. This has never actually happened to me but I am very careful. You should avoid quilting in the seams with EPP. When I make pillows from EPP I always use fusible interface to fix it all. And I wash my EPP´s only by hand. Tutorials for Sewing EPP You can find lots of tutorials for all the steps of EPP and this tutorial should only show you a quick overview. Now lets start finding our EPP-Pattern for the next Project. I promise you, if you go through your everyday life you will see so many EPP-Patterns. Get inspired by your flickr and internet friends. My daughter used to go to a Painting Artist School and they had a great teacher and that´s her philosophy: copy or cloning doesn't exist, you only get inspired by the work of others. The floor of a shop. And to tell the truth, you see so many beautiful and stunning projects in the internet, that your brain is full of all these impressions so that you cannot always distinguish or remember where you saw each idea....... Just go for it! Of course it is nice to mention the person who inspired you if you can remember. There are lots of books showing you how to make EPP - two of them I would love to introduce to you: The one of them is from Hilde Klatt and Liesel Niesner called "Liesels Sechsecken-Technik". Ok, you will say: now it is crazy recommending to us a book in German, but there are so many useful pictures it might be helpful, even if you don´t understand the text. Have a look in this book: And the other book is the one from Tacha Bruecher called "hexa go-go". She is a quilt friend of mine living in the same city as I do and an absolute EPP maniac. Her book is lovely and she gives lots of tips sewing hexies. Shapes for EPP To show you the range of shapes you usually use in EPP, I put them together for you. So this is nothing new, it's geometry and it's a good reason to listen to maths in school, that´s what I tell my daughter ;-). Be aware as I don´t want confuse you. On the next picture you see all shapes being in a 6 pointed diamond. You always use the same side length or a multiple of it. In my drawings you will find (0.5), 1, and 2 inches. All the drawings are made on prints from incompetech. For making an equilateral pentagon you need a compass and a set square. With these shapes you can make lots of patterns. This is my recent EPP-long-term-proect: My Flower Garden. The connecting fabric will be grey and there will be all kinds of flower shapes to become an irregular flower garden. Here you can see the shapes I used: My latest EPP Project was a pillow for Swappen auf Deutsch 3. I saw this cover of a book and I knew I wanted to make it with fabric. First I had to find my motif, because this Pictures gives you so many possibilities. In this case it is easier to copy it in back and white, so the origin colours will not influence you so much. Then I had to think about the templates I needed here. These are not the usual 6 (60°) or 8 (40°) Point Diamonds. 5 Point Diamonds have an angle of 72° and you cannot find them easily to buy as precuts, but you can find them on incompetec, where you can vary the angle. Also I needed 10 Point Diamonds with 36°. I can tell you, this is a project I really had to pull and fold my shapes because it isn´t that easy to get so many points together with different angles. Doesn't this look cosy? Sitting on the sofa covered with lovely quilts doing some EPP - that´s magic ;-). Funny, but my pillow for Swappen auf Deutsch 2 was also a EPP pillow. I sat at the table and started to draw an pattern. Later I realized, that I must have been inspired by a picture taken by Brioni-flossyblossy I saw on flickr, but I really had forgotten it. That´s why my pattern was totally EPP and hers was EPP appliquéd on fabric. As you can see my hexies here are not real hexies with equalateral sides. That´s a problem with drawing on squared paper. You will move your pen on lines or going from one corner to the other and that brings different shapes as if you make your pattern for example on hexie paper. In this case I drew my master templates on squared paper while increasing my layout in the size I wished and copied the master template. As you can see I had really pointed angles which is not a real beginner project. But if you know me a bit, you know that I am not afraid of anything in piecing. What´s the worst could happen? It doesn't work - so what? So you try again or leave it, that´s it. Nobody is going to laugh at you or even punish you. It´s my quality time and I decide what to do with it. It´s not failure, just the braveness, that I tried it! Here are some other drawings of mine. Maybe I will make them into quilts or pillows some time. Feel free to get inspired ;-). So dear readers of this post, if you really got to this point you made me so happy - thank you for staying tuned. Maybe I can see some of your EPP projects soon - even if you already started, this might be the reason to go on and finish it. I will start a EPP-QAL at the beginning of February, and you are invited to come and join - watch for news on my blog ayliN-Nilya! Here more of of my EPP finishes... Thank you Aylin! If you have not yet linked up your Q4 FAL finishes, please click here to go to the linky to add one link for each of your qualifying finishes. If you are working on one last finish, you can link up your other finishes now, so you don't miss the deadline for linking - midnight M.S.T. January 8, 2014.

3 of the most popular Diamond sizes. You get one of each, 2", 3", 4". Markings are laser engraved for long lasting use. 60 Degree Diamonds. This set is 1/8" thick acrylic. We have dozens of different sets of templates in both 1/8" & ~1/4". The thicker ones are great for Long Arm Quilters. We are a small Laser Engraving company. We take care of our customers and appreciate any business. We also take special design requests.

Today the folks over at Martingale and Company sent me a copy of “English Paper Piecing: Fresh new Quilts from Bloom Creek” by Vicki Bellino to review. There are lots of fun projects i…

Are your EPP points persistently inconsistent, and you're wondering how to improve? In this post I'm sharing 5 tips for how I get perfect(ish) points in EPP! I say perfect-ish, because, I'm (not) sorry to say, I'm just not a perfectionist. Perfection is not the goal. Joy is. So, click to read more!

a blog about fabric, patterns, quilting, toys, sewing, craft, travel and life in Australia

There are so many great vendors of antique quilts at the International Quilt Association Festival in Houston. And they let you take picture...

I mentioned in my QuiltCon blog post that I intend to begin a La Passacaglia quilt. Naturally, I’ve begun with more research than can help me actually do the work and make the quilt. I thought I’d …

Sweet Surrender by Sue Cody, pieced by Beth and quilted by Judi Madsen

Remember the airplane-friendly sewing kit I showed you last month? Well, today I'd like to share the project I made it for in the first place!

Hi! My name is Muriel and I’m a staff member and teacher at Little Quilts. Everyone at the shop knows I love handwork and that I’m addicted to English Paper Piecing! Currently I’m working on reproducing the beautiful Patchwork of the Crosses quilt made by Lucy Boston in the 1950’s. If you’d like to follow my progress, check the blog every Thursday when I’ll be posting pictures along with tips and techniques for making the blocks. If you’d like to stitch along with me, you will need a few supplies. You will need 1” Honeycomb and 1” Square Template Papers, a 1” Honeycomb and a 1” Square Acrylic Template, a SewLine Fabric Glue Pen, and a good tweezers. Check our website (www.littlequilts.com) for a starter kit that will include all these supplies along with a “Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses” book . In addition you will need embroidery scissors, thread, and needles. I prefer #11 Milliners or Straw needles because they are thin enough to allow me to feel the template papers while I’m stitching. My favorite thread is Aurifil – it is strong thread, but fine enough to thread through the small eye of the milliner needles. Always use 100% cotton thread when using cotton fabric. I know you’re going to love the accuracy of English Paper Piecing as well as its portability. It’s the perfect project for making use of little snippets of fabric as well as little snippets of time – while watching television, riding in a car or plane, or maybe even while sitting at the doctor’s office. I will be using the age-old method of English Paper Piecing to make my blocks. Watch for a step-by-step tutorial on this method next week as well as information on Inklingo for those of you who prefer hand piecing.

Crafting Magic Fabric Lookbook Crafting Magic by Maureen Cracknell. Constantly reinventing the boho style, Maureen Cracknell invites you on a magical journey through creative illustrations of majestic creatures, hand-drawn florals, and glistening colors.

Meet Jen Kingwell, fabric designer, quilt pattern designer, quilt shop owner and amazing hand quilter. Insprired by color and texture, her work is gorgeous.

I'd hoped to finish two PIGS (Projects in Grocery Sacks) in May but it didn't happen. I had a project for Creative Machine Embroidery to make. See my blog here to see that pretty quilt.

BOM (Block of the Month) Ethereal Grove Quilt Bulk Pack  This is the complete bulk pack of the BOM Ethereal Grove Quilt. The Ethereal Grove Quilt can be made in the 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7 or 8x8 size hoops. Full photo instructions and directions on how to sew the block are included with your purchase. It is our intention to offer you the best service always and for our designs to be of the highest quality. Designs are provided in 8 different embroidery formats. The formats included are: DST, EXP*, JEF, PEC, PES, VIP, VP3 and XXX.  *BMP and INF files are also provided, these are recommended to be used with the EXP files for Bernina machines.  SVG files are included for cutting machines. Please note the SVG format can be converted to FCM within the Brother Scan n Cut software if required.  Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery Designs Cutting Files Disclaimer - click here Instructions are provided in English. We test and review each of our designs to ensure the highest quality. Depending on what hoop, fabric and stabiliser combination you are using, results may differ. View more

Do you find yourself avoiding your quilts in progress? Do they make you feel silly that you started? Read on to discover my trick for facing your WIP Dragons.

The Antique Tile Quilt block is a nine patch format made with three fabrics using strip piecing techniques - perfect for beginners!

Het waren drukke, maar oh zulke gezellige dagen! Altijd feest wanneer er een workshop in de winkel is. Heerlijk al die geluiden die dan van achter in de winkel naar voren komen. Gesprekken kun je zeker niet volgen, maar het geroezemoes, het gelach, de stiltes van het geconcentreerde werken, en de heerlijke gesprekjes en gesprekken die je hebben kunt. En dat allemaal in die bedwelmende lucht van die lapjes, en al die kleurtjes waar je dan tussen mag staan. Had ik je al gezegd dat dit een FEEST is? Nou bij deze dan! Het begon donderdag met Marg Sampson George, helemaal van Down Under met haar prachtige Dodecagon quilt! Op de locatie, super de super luxe, wordt alles klaar gezet. De tasjes..... De papierenmallen en de I spies, de patronen. Het onderwerp hangt uit, pak het op, ga ermee op schoot zitten, maak foto's, what ever! Het kacheltje brand, altijd zo heerlijk om naar die vlammetjes te kijken. Is er tussendoor een show en tell En valt deze giraffe echt wel op! En dan Betty! Of het eigen werk is of dat van een ander.... Showen kan ze als de beste! Op zaterdag zijn we weer terug in de winkel, en is Bep weer geduldig bezig anderen de kunst van de cirkels te leren! Als je dan zo, en dan zo, weet je wat? We gaan het samen nog een keer doen! (en toen werd het dus oorverdovend stil!) En de cirkels? Prachtig, met overal weer een eigen inbreng. Wat is dat toch leuk. En omdat ik Sjaak in stof vereeuwigd heb, mag de bouvier van deze maakster ook! En dan deze bjoetie! Hier geen hond, maar wel vier hartjes, die de kleinkinderen vertegenwoordigen. Een verliefde oma! Terwijl weer op een andere locatie, een volgende groep klaar zit voor Marg! En dan is het toch wel fijn dat de ruimte zo groot is! Maakt het kiezen van stoffen een stuk makkelijker! En het weekend? Nog niet voorbij hoor! Dus nu maar SNEL douchen! de dag wacht! With Quilty Pleasures, Juud, Remember; Better finished than Perfect!

Tuffets! They're all the rage, and we are having a great time with them at Back Door Quilts. Linda taught our first class in early December, and the results were terrific! Eileen used ties for her tuffet. They look sharp and make a great piece of art furniture. You can use jelly rolls for lots of coordinated variety. You can also use four of our Pirouette packs, or cut 2" strips from your stash. As you can see, there's a lot of options!

It was a quick trip to the AQS Fall Paducah Quilt Show in Kentucky, but my first time to visit Paducah. I was blown away by the number of quilts on display, in multiple buildings, both contest and exhibition. What I saw and could take pictures of was merely a drop in the proverbial quilt bucket. I currently have a bit of a gimpy foot, so my viewing was limited. Next time I need to stay more than one night! I managed to get pictures of 40 quilts to share. One of the most impressive quilts was one I couldn't get anywhere near for even one picture..."Hawaiian Improv," by Cheryl See. It won in the large quilts, hand quilted category. (She also won a first prize in a second category.) Beautiful hand quilting! It was one of the first place category winners which is involved in the voting for the super huge money prizes tonight. You can see it on the AQS Fall Paducah web site. The maker was giving detailed tours of her quilt to small groups the whole time I was there. The details were amazing, and voting for the best first place quilt was still going on... Risking your fatigue, here is one more picture of my 2nd place, hand appliqued and hand quilted, 58 x 58 inch entry, live and in person. Enjoy my tiny version of this huge quilt show! (I followed the photo rules by displaying the names of the quiltmakers and not benefiting monetarily from them. If you share these pictures, please do the same.) The following quilt won first place in my category. 44 x 44 inches, packed with beautiful movable machine quilting. The following quilt won third place in my category...loved the colors. 59 x 59 inches, stationary machine quilting. 60 x 60 inches, stationary machine quilted by Robin Hrabik (don't you think the quilter's name should be on the label if it is not the maker?? I know some shows don't accept quilts where the maker "pays" the quilter, so they are somewhat collaborators and they work it amongst themselves). 58 x 73, stationary machine quilting. 49 x 49 inches, movable machine quilted by Chong Kropik. 50 x 50 inches...my label picture was blurry...made by Sara DeTombe and Jennifer Rossi, Huntington, TN (I assume the second name is the stationary machine quilter). Great name, beautiful bright colors...makes my Bride quilt look dull...62 x 87 inches and HAND QUILTED! Darn, another blurry label. I was trying to dart in and take pictures before people wandered in frame... "Common Bride Autumn Wedding" made by Melanie Jane Mitchell, Gross Pointe Farms, MI. 85 x 84 inches, movable machine quilted by Ruth McCormick. I have a pattern for this...on my bucket list... Another blurry label..."Michigan Lighthouses" by Phyllis Jacobs, Big Rapids, MI, 93 x 93. It was first place in the large quilt, pictorial category. Movable quilted by Pam Dubbles. Another first place winner...Gail Stepanek and Jan Hutchinson (movable machine quilter?), 74 x 74 inches. I wish I could have gotten closer...half of the small diamonds were made up of teeny tiny diamonds. 78 X 79 inches, hand and stationary machine quilted. 82 x 82 inches, movable machine quilted. Another first place winner. 78 x 78 inches, stationary machine quilted. 73 x 73 inches, "Tropical Punch," Ann Horton, Redwood Valley, CA, stationary machine quilted. 84 x 84 inches, Harumi Asada, Japan, HAND QUILTED! Love the pieced trees in the corners... 99 x 99 inches, movable machine pieced. 86 x 86 inches, movable machine quilted. 91 x 91 inches, possibly movable machine quilted by Mary Christopher. 63 x 63 inches, HAND QUILTED! 70 x 70 inches, movable machine quilted by Julia Rockwell. 77 x 86 inches, movable machine quilted by Heather Broehm. 87 x 101 inches, Marilyn Lidstrom Larson and Barb Simons (possible movable machine quilter), Willow City, ND. 104 x 104 inches, possibly HAND QUILTED by Marcia Zimmerman. 107 x 106 inches, Beth Nufer and Clem Buzick, Brookings, OR (possible movable machine quilter). 105 x 105 inches, Gloria Seibel, Millstadt, IL, movable machine quilted by Jacqulyn Mann and Jane Hair. 61 x 61 inches, movable machine quilted by Chong Kropik. 82 x 83 inches, movable machine quilted by Sylvia Smith. 70 x 70 inches, movable machine quilted. 60 x 69 inches, stationary machine quilted. LOVE THIS! I, too, bought this embroidery pattern from Crabapple Hill to hand applique instead of embroider. Leslie beat me to it! So Cool! 73 x 73 inches, movable machine quilted by Chong Kropik. 84 x 84 inches, Julee Prose, Otumwa, IA, beautifully HAND QUILTED! This might have been my favorite quilt. Ola and Mary, does this next quilt look familiar?? (We kitted this block-of-the-month years ago when we worked at a shop.) 63 x 87 inches, possibly movable machine quilted by Irene Reising. 63 x 63 inches, stationary machine quilted. 88 x 115 inches, movable machine quilted. 48 x 57 inches, adorable, HAND QUILTED! Very cute and whimsical! 69 x 69 inches, HAND QUILTED! 66 x 76 inches, HAND QUILTED! 48 x 60 inches, movable machine quilted. 37 x 37 inches, Cheryl L. See, Ashburn, VA, HAND QUILTED! 41 x 51 inches, computer-aided quilted. Well, that was fun! Did any of you go to the show? What were your impressions? In stitches, Teresa :o)

Give curved English Paper Piecing a try.