I’m still working on my scrappy hexagon quilt – it’s been a while since I laid it out, and I’m pleasantly surprised it’s so big now! Honestly it’s getting to the point where I should start adding to the sides so it doesn’t become too rectangular!
I’m still not sure what I want this quilt to be – a wall hanging? A couch quilt? I’m not sure. I started this back in January and it’s fun to see the scraps of my projects all in one place. It’s a sort of historical record, an archive of projects past.
I also bought an English paper piecing kit for a star pattern, and whipped it up in a couple days. They provided the papers and plastic templates to make it easier to cut your fabric, which was nice.
Star has approximately 16″ diameter
It was weird to work with acute angles and smaller pieces, but I like how it turned out! This was my tester version, so I just used random scraps, but I think a sunset would be really cool, a nebula type shape, maybe fabric that looks more like stained glass? Some of the intersections aren’t perfectly aligned, so I want to work on that next time.
It’s not very exciting, but I do have to do this every couple of projects. Tiny pieces of fabric and thread accumulate in the guts of the machine and have to be cleaned out!
First I take off the needle (it does not go well if you do not do this) and the presser foot and ankle. Then I take off the needleplate and expose the guts! I use a lint brush to dig out all the lint, and then take off the side of the machine. Then I use compressed air to blow out the excess lint, always pointing the air out the exposed side, not deeper in. I can also take off part of the top, where the thread comes through, and clean that out as well.
A year ago, some friends and I went to Hawaii and I bought these really cool ocean beads for an embroidery project. I wanted to have a humuhumunukunukuapua’a with Maui in the background to honor all our snorkeling adventures 🙂
I pieced some scraps together to make the background, and appliqued the black lava flows on. Using lots of layers made the whole thing a bit thick, plus I sewed a backing stabilizing layer onto the back to help with limiting stretch from the embroidery hoop. Luckily I didn’t have to do much embroidery over the thickest parts.
This was my first time doing beadwork, and it was very labor intensive but fun. I used blue and white beads to make seafoam. For whatever reason, I have a stockpile of random beads that’s lived in my craft box forever, so it was nice to use some up. Plus, since I used scraps and thread I already owned, the only cost of this project was the beads themselves.
I used French knots for the ever-present cloud layer around Haleakala, mixing some white and gray threads.
Once upon a time I bought some gradient thread, which finally came in handy for giving the humuhumu texture in the orangey-yellow portions.
And then I added all my ocean/bubble beads! I tried to be as random as possible and the back of this looks like complete chaos 🙂 I cut some yardsticks to size and glued them into a frame. Embroidery often gets displayed in a circle hoop, but I knew from the beginning this piece was meant to be a rectangle. It sits next to my bird embroidery on my stairwell 🙂
Project completed September 2020.
This is what the back looks like! Thread tie offs, criss crosses, and chaos 🙂
This was my first clothing project for someone besides myself! The same friend who I made the bird backpack for asked me to make a swishy, flowy skirt for her. We went to Joann’s together and picked out the main fabric and the accent fabric.
Since she wanted it to be swishy, I decided I’d make a pleated circle skirt, including even more fabric than a regular circle skirt. And including the waistband and pockets, I used up almost all of the main fabric we purchased, which was cool.
I used the accent fabric for a panel about 1/4 to 1/3 of the total skirt, and included a stripe of it in the waistband.
I know that pockets make any skirt at least 10 times better, so I included two huge pockets 🙂 I used a long zipper for the closure and did a double turn hem. I considered doing a lining, but I used so much of the main fabric that it was already a heavy and warm skirt, so any lining would make it a little leg-oven. This way, it can be worn by itself in the fall and with tights in winter. 🙂 I did include a lining in the waistband for additional structure and making sure the seams and raw edges weren’t itchy.
We did a first fitting where we found out the waist was almost perfect… without the seam allowances for the zipper. I inserted a small triangular panel and at the second fitting we got the waistband circumference right and added some small darts so the waistband is flat to her body. Then she graciously made me dinner and I sewed the last seam up afterwards.
Overall it was a bit unnerving to make a piece of clothing without being able to make sure it fit continuously along the way. But it was a good challenge and it turned out great! As usual I used the machine for most of the construction, with hand sewing for the zipper and the last seam. I like having a bit of hand sewing in each of my projects for a bit of an imperfect element.
With COVID-19, I’ve struggled to get into the sewing room as often as I’d like, but I wanted to share some of the things I’ve worked on / am working on right now.
Currently in progress: 3 memory quilts for family and a skirt for a friend.
Fabric bought but project not started: another spiral rug and a cactus quilt.
Tangled masks straight out of the dryer before I discovered you can use hair ties to tame the strings, PLEASE COMMENT OR EMAIL ME IF YOU WANT MASKS, I WILL SEND THEM TO YOUPillow for my mom for her birthday using scraps from the bed runner I made herEntryway paintings made with masking tape and acrylic paint
(above): Wall hanging of my mom’s dog for Mother’s Day, I used applique for the dog and FMQ to make grass texture which was really fun.
Friendly sewing helper blessing one of the memory quiltsUpdate of my Christmas cat pillow with the cat who inspired it!
So I think I’m going to take a short break from this blog, I don’t want to keep posting every week just to have a post. 🙂 I want to dedicate my time to actually making the things! There will definitely be more posts in the future, I’m busy sewing just working on longer term projects right now.
I might just post an updated picture of my EPP project though 🙂
I painted this mural as a combination of a Bob Ross / Rocky Mountain National Park / Glacier National Park homage 🙂 My downstairs bathroom used to be a total gray box and I wanted to fill the space without spending a ton of money. It finished up at about 43″x47″. I used acrylic paint and paintbrushes from Michael’s and some painter’s tape.
I watched a bunch of Bob Ross tutorials before embarking on this painting, and I knew I wanted a mountain and sunset scene.
The mountains on the left are a big Glacier NP inspired, and the ones on the right RMNP inspired.I also added this autumnal bush for interest and fun!
And now I’m working on my own English Paper Piecing project. 🙂 I was just so in awe of the projects at the museum, and although I’m not doing tiny pieces – just 2″ hexagons, which are actually bigger than the size of my palm. I like the idea of an on-going project that uses up scraps over time, truly a quilt of projects past. I have a bunch of scraps that I want to get rid of, so I’m also hoping this will help me with that.
I also have a habit of getting places very early, so I’m thinking this could be my “I’m waiting in the car” project or “I’m on the train” project, stuff like that. It’s definitely very satisfying to put together and I’m surprised at how fast it goes!
I bought a pack of 50 precut cards to start. It took me about an hour to rough cut and glue 50 hexagons to their cards, and the cards are reusable so I’ll just add more hexagons as I pull them out. I’m not concerned with fabric placement as long as no fabric touches another of the same, so it’ll be scrappy and wild and random!! I love the idea of not over-designing this like I usually do and just letting it happen.
Little stitches!! Just grabbing a couple threads on each pass. I’m thinking of using some variegated thread because you do see some thread on the front, and I think it would be fun to have that little rainbow.Progress after about 2 hours.One week later – keys for scale and previous picture outlined. I started cutting up excess blocks too, hence the multiple fabrics in one hexagon off to the left. It’s been super enjoyable. I had a doctor’s appointment and since I had something fun to do, I didn’t even care that I had to wait. I find myself spending less time scrolling on my phone too which is nice. I did order more cards because you have to keep the cards in until all six sides are sewn, so more and more cards have to stay in as the perimeter grows.
My upcoming project list includes: quilt made out of ties, red and white skirt, turtle applique, embroidered and pieced Hawaiian fish, memory quilt, mountain panel, jacket repair, blazer… I’ve got a lot in my queue so keep an eye out 🙂
I went to the museum again! Their exhibition was all English paper pieced quilts, which are pieced by hand. Traditionally, only hexagons are used: a paper hexagon is cut out, the fabric is wrapped around it and basted (or glued), then each hexagon is sewn to the others. Mostly the older ones are cute flower designs, with the modern ones (as you’ll see below) branching out into all different directions with more shapes and sizes. The paper template (we use cardstock now because it’s reusable) helps all the seams to be perfect and sharp, and then the paper is removed before quilting.
I have great respect for the people who make these large scale hand pieced quilts! Now that I have a sewing machine, hand sewing is extremely low on my priority and desire list, and I can’t even imagine the work and time (and stabbed fingers, probably) necessary to get quilts like these finished. I’ve heard that people like to work on EPP on road trips or plane rides, which makes a ton of sense. Also, just the sheer organizational nightmare putting this together must be – all those tiny pieces! I suppose it would be a great way to get rid of tiny scraps – they make hexagon templates down to 1/4″ on each side.
Below is G’Ma’s English Garden by Beverly Miller, it’s a full grid of hexagons, but the center of each flower or star is a different color. This layout is not super interesting at first glance, but the quilting truly makes this quilt pop. The wavy lines give so much movement and texture, and take this colorful quilt to the next level. I also love the embroidered details on the top and bottom rows.
Long wavy lines and some pebbles in the quilting; here you can see the hexagons that have been pieced together (by hand, remember)
This next quilt, Sentimental Journey by Bonnie Offerle, features trapezoidal pieces instead of hexagons! I love the explosive star-like effect this creates, and she topped it off with swirly quilting.
Take a look at the trapezoidal pieces but also – she took 21 years to make this!! A great lesson to us all that you don’t have to finish things on anyone’s timeline but your own.
Subterranean Trove by Karen Fisher, below, totally captivated me. I love the bright colors, the fabrics are so bold and unique. It isn’t a squared up quilt, it has an organic shape. Even the hexagons aren’t perfect, some are tallish, some are fatter, but they all fit together. It’s so cool that the border is just as bright and bold as the “main body” of the quilt, I like that it is just as visually important. Each of the gems has many different fabrics that showcase the crystalline faces, and the quilting highlights every gem so much. The gems pop out of the texture because Karen used the trapunto technique to stuff each gem with more batting than the areas around it, plus she quilted those great lines that radiate from the gems to squish that batting down.
I spent a while with this quilt and met some other nice quilters in the process! We were all kind of drawn to the irregularities in this quilt together with the really fun crystals (especially the heart at the top!). One of the women suspected each of the gems might be based on a real mineral, but we were hard pressed to guess any other than the bluish quartz crystal towards the center right (and below).
Detail for the trapunto! Loved the texture so much.
And finally, my favorite quilt of the exhibition – chaotic, wild, striped, and so, so bold: La Passacaglia Unravels by Randa Mulford. She writes that this was her first time doing English Paper Piecing, and she produced a truly incredible result. Passacaglia quilts are EPP in a circular design, using hexagons, triangles, parallelograms, and other shapes to make a symmetrical sort of radial design.
I love how she used striped fabric in such a brave way – it’s so much detail for the eye, but it really adds to the explosive “unraveling” or firework effect. We use the term “fussy cutting” to explain that she cut out her tiny pieces in very specific parts of the fabric, she didn’t just cut a row and divide it into pieces like we usually do. She targeted specific elements of the fabric design to include. This adds a ton of time while you’re cutting things out, as you have to cut each piece by itself instead of subdividing strips.
Yes, I’m telling you that she had to cut out each of those cute swirly pentagons by finding that element in the fabric and cutting the tiny pentagon out. Then she hand sewed each pentagon to each triangle, to each diamond…. and on and on…. 🙂
Finch's Creative Endeavors 