Wednesday, 23 July 2025

Side Project 2

Paper piecing always looks like a bit of a muddle, doesn't it?

This is my project half way though the sewing, where I have all the fabric pieces cut out ready, and neatly in the piles relating the paper segments they belong with, with just one set 'in progress' by the machine needle.

It's all so much neater when all the segments are trimmed - love them at this stage, with the trimmings about to go into the bin.
Segments sewn together, and the paper removed - now we are getting somewhere!

I left it for a while to see if I wanted to move from a square block to a rectangle, which I decided would be better for my giraffes.

Each block finished at about 2" x 3".

And here is my 'Stand out from the Crowd - Giraffe Herd' piece.  Overall if it is about 9" tall and 7.5" wide.

Nothing like perfect, but charming enough to make me smile!



 

Wednesday, 16 July 2025

Side Project 1

Something a bit different - as I tried out an idea for showing tessellation in an easy way for me to handle - I originally thought about  cutting out multiple cats from different fabrics, but decided that my skills weren't accurate enough to attempt that!

I couldn't find a textured background that I wanted for this pink kitty, so ended up using silk, off cuts inherited from my MiL

This is my finished piece.

The design (errors in it all mine!) is based on an image of a wooden puzzle that I found on the internet, by Suekatcook in 2020.

However, when I went back to check the source, I found that Julie Fukuda has a blog post in 2012 where she shows how she designed the pattern, based on her cat, Pearl, which she was making as a mini quilt!  
 

Isn't it fabulous?  I think that the design of tessellating shapes is really interesting.

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

And Again!

Yup!  Still more on my sampler quilt!

These are paper pieced.  I'm not a fan of having to trace all the papers, it turns out, as I never think that they are particularly accurate.  However, there isn't an option not to if I want to make the blocks, so I've made them, then ironed them as flat as I can get them!

Then I was on to a batch of raw edge applique ones.  I have to confess that these only got finished after the first one (the tulips, top left here) got cut when the pile got caught under something else.  

Oops!

I wondered about re-making it, but decided that it told more of a story of this being made between other projects if I owned the error - so it now has a chunk of iron on interfacing supporting it from behind, and a tiny satin stitch over the cut lines on the front.

I managed to keep the rest of the blocks whole!
And these conclude all the raw edge applique blocks in the book, so I've finished the set with another paper pieced one.

I've made a total of 51 blocks now, out of a planned 100.

I just hope that my blue fabrics scraps hold out - they are looking much more meagre than when I started, I have to say.
 

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Still Sampling!

Yup!  Still working on these sampler blocks!

Still enjoying the blue and white!


Lots using half square triangles in this batch.

See what I mean?
And by way of a change, a raw edge applique block and an EPP block!