Playing catch-up

My sewing has been sadly neglected as of late.  October has been all about parents visiting, home showings, house-searching and kids activities.  The sewing list needs some attention.

Over the weekend my guild had another Charity Sew Day, so I was able to start a charity quilt (which still needs quilting).  Jennifer pre-cut strips of studio remnants donated by the ever-generous Julie of The Intrepid Thread.  Our challenge was to piece a Strip and Flip crib-sized quilt top using a tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew.  Here's my contribution:

We deviated from the tutorial a teeny bit by using twenty 2.5-inch strips rather than the called-for twenty-seven 2-inch strips.  This is a quick and lovely quilt top, and a great way to use up half of a jelly roll.  Or you can use those favorite prints you've been hoarding without depleting them since you only need a 2" or 2.5" x WOF strip!

I also managed to start a few bee commitments despite the busy schedule.  Kate sent Metro Living and Field Study pieces for the September Design Camp block but a mailing mishap caused a delay in the fabrics reaching me.  Just a little left to do... I'm only a couple rows short of finishing the second block.

October's blocks for do. Good Stitches are EPP stars.  Rachel requested  this pretty fall palette.  I've finally gotten around to cutting the fabric, and as I've fallen in love with English paper piecing, these should go fairly quickly.

In other sewing news, I'm eagerly anticipating the Get Your Curve On class this weekend.  Time to start pulling fabric and getting my gear ready...

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Travellin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop- Next Stop: Segovia

Welcome to my stop on the Travellin' Pic-Stitch Blog Hop!  Thanks to Laura at Quokka Quilts and Katy at The Littlest Thistle for giving me the motivation I needed to learn the art of English Paper Piecing.

When my husband and I got married almost a decade ago, our lives were in transition and we didn't go away on honeymoon.  A couple of summers ago, we decided to go on that "honeymoon we never had" (our third).  On a whim, we chose Spain.

One of the cities we visited was Segovia, which is famous for it's 2,000 year old aqueduct system:

 the Segovia Cathedral:

 and the Alcázar of Segovia (rumored to be one of the sources of inspiration for the Disney Castle):

 My inspiration photo for my EPP blocks is a picture of street signs leading to the Alcázar.  I used Palette Builder at Play Crafts for the colors:

Pulling fabric was a challenge since most of my stash is packed away in boxes at a friend's house.  From the limited selection I had access to at home, I pulled a Jennifer Paganelli Bell Bottom print in green, herringbone in yellow from Riley Blake's Apple of My Eye, Kona Cerise, and Heath in black.

Working under a very steep learning curve, I went with EPP hexies and stitched up a few Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks.

I think I'm officially addicted to English Paper Piecing!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to visit Susan at Patchwork and Play Margo at Needle Little Balance for the next stop tomorrow.

And if you want to play along, details about the blog hop are here, where you can find a list of all the stops, a linky party with prizes, and a list of lovely sponsors who made it possible.  Go check it out!

Frankie's Bride: My first paper pieced pattern!

 

We're at the end of the first week of October and the Something Wicked This Way Comes blog hop is well underway.  Soma of Whims and Fancies had the brilliant idea of putting together a Halloween themed paper piecing blog hop and was kind enough to invite me to design a block.  Thanks Soma!

When I think about Halloween, I think of the classic horror movies I grew up watching.  No, not A Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween.  Go back a little further to movies like Dracula, The Mummy and Bride of Frankenstein.  I picked one of those characters, cartoon-ified her, and voilà:

It...is alive!

This block is 10" x 10" finished.  You can find the pattern here and the piecing instructions here.  Did the hand-drafted and colored templates give away that this is the first time I've shared a pattern?  If you haven't tried paper piecing or just need a refresher, Jennifer of Sewhooked has a wonderful tutorial.

The blog hop runs through the month of October, complete with weekly giveaways.  Follow along for more wicked fun blocks! 

Paper piecing frenzy

In looking over my sewing to-do list, there's an inordinate amount of paper piecing of all three varieties.  I've got freezer paper piecing for the Piece Bee gals, foundation piecing for a blog hop, and EPP for both a blog hop and a bee.  Whew- by the end of this month I should be a paper-piecing guru! 

I've just clipped the last thread on a block slated for a blog hop hosted by Soma at Whims and Fancies.  Here's a little sneak peek:

The only thing left to do is figure out how to format my hand-drafted design into a template to share without the use of software.  Check back here Saturday for the completed block and free pattern.  In the meantime, visit The Halloween Paper Pieced Blog Hop, which runs through October 31st, for the blocks shared so far.

There are a few other freezer paper foundation piecing blocks on my short-list.  A photography-themed block, a classic British toy block, and a Viewmaster block are due (in some cases, overdue) to my Piece Bee With You beemates.  The pattern for first two have been planned, but not drafted, and the third has been provided to the group. 

Having only tried my hand at freezer paper and foundation paper-piecing, I'm excited to finally take a stab at EPP.  Hexa-Go-Go has been collecting dust on my shelf the past few weeks while I scour the interwebs for tutorials and video how-to's.  First up are EPP stars for the do. Good Stitches October block.  Rachel was kind enough to provide printables for the 6-point stars.  She also has a wonderful instructional video for those, such as myself, who may need help.  

Just to give myself a little added pressure to learn English Paper Piecing, I've joined up with the Travellin-Pic Stitch Blog Hop hosted by Quokka Quilts and The Littlest Thistle.  This blog hop runs the whole of October and November- check it out!

Linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced for: