Tag: Hexagons

A QUILER ON THE ROAD AGAIN

A QUILER ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Source: Bing clipart

I have always been ready to travel when the opportunity arises. Quilting and travel seem to fit together fine. So I am a quilter on the road again.

The hubby and I took a few days off to escape north to see my sister, her family, and any other family who showed up in MN. The plan was to make the drive each way a two day trip with overnights in the Wisconsin Dells.

Peaceful, quiet time…

The other part of the plan was simply to relax on the lake, enjoy no schedule, and have a great visit. The trip was great and the plans worked out fine.

The cabin deep in the north woods of MN.
The cabin deep in the north woods of MN
View of the lake from the cabin.
View of the lake from the cabin.
A QUILER ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Time on the lake
Peaceful view
Peaceful view

Quilting by the lake

I am still dealing with a problem shoulder so chose a small project that is very mobile. It is also great to just pick up, work on, and put down. No stress.

All the fabric pieces in the small project bag was cut out prior to the trip. The bag also had needles, thread, and small scissors. This makes for keeping everything together, and does not take up much room in the suitcase.

A QUILER ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Quilting project on this trip.
20 completed flower blocks
20 completed flower blocks
Muslin backing and paper removed from flower block
Muslin backing and paper removed from flower block

Fabric shopping to complete the trip

On the return trip, we made a stop in Hutchinson, MN. Hubby headed for the DQ down the block while I did a quick shopping spree at the wonderful store “Quilt Haven on Main”. If you are up that way, make time to stop at this fun fabric store.

Ok, I really don’t need any fabric, but I picked up a few pieces anyway.

Old timey prints
Old timey prints
A QUILER ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Just fun prints.

A QUILER ON THE ROAD AGAIN…

Travel, peace and quiet, and quilting can go hand in hand. If you have a chance to do so please take the time away from your regular life and just enjoy. Pick a project that travels easy and work on it while relaxing.

Happy quilting.

Happy quilting. Make today amazing.
Source: Google clip art

HOW TO ENGLISH PAPER PIECE

I have no idea who showed me how to English paper piece hexagons and diamonds. But the years have slid by and I really enjoy this technique. It is portable, easy, and looks great when completed.

What research I have done on this technique is that it started in England (well that certainly is obvious) in the 1700’s. The technique showed up in America in the early 1800’s. I have not done enough research that may or may not show this technique in other countries.

Gather supplies:

Paper (I use scrap paper that is on hand, such as discarded mail)

Fabric

Pattern in shape and size desired

Thread

Scissors

Easy directions:

I found this slide show about English paper piecing to be very easy to follow and the photos much better than anything I had in my own personal collection for directions.

If you prefer YouTube, this is a nice presentation.

This previous post has a PDF pattern for the hexagon I use in most of my quilts using this technique.

How To English Paper Piece
Flowers & Tumblers Quilt

This is not a hard technique, but it is time consuming.

Here are my steps and tips FOR HOW TO DO ENGLISH PAPER PIECING:

  • Get my supplies together.
  • Make the template from something sturdy (I cut up the plastic lids from ice cream containers for this). Draw around it on the paper for the amount of hexagons (or diamonds) you want to do. Personally, I start with 2 or 3 sheets of paper and cut more as needed. I find I can use the same paper shapes 3 times before they are no longer stiff. Cut carefully and accurately.
Papers used for English paper pieced hexagons
  • I do not cut out hexagon (or diamond) shapes from fabric. I do cut squares or rectangles big enough to cover the shape plus be folded over to the back. My reasoning is that I can trim off the extra fabric from the back of each shape – I cannot make extra if I don’t allow enough room. I learned the hard way that not centering already cut fabric means there is not enough fabric on back to prevent fraying or just flat out not enough fabric.
  • Take one paper shape and one fabric piece. Pin the paper to the wrong side of the fabric. Baste all around the shape. You will want the fabric to fit snug and the edges sharp. Do not bend the paper shape or have the fabric sag away from the paper.
  • Starting with the center and one petal, whip stitch along one side. Add another petal and sew the two seams. Do this all the way around until you have one complete “flower”.

One completed English paper pieced flower.

AND FINALLY:

  • Do not remove the paper yet. When you remove the paper will depend on what you do with the sewn shapes. The basted edge holds the raw edges firmly so they can be sewn together to the next row of hexagons. Or sewn down to a fabric block by applique.
  • When you decide to remove the paper, simply take out the basting stitches and pull out the paper. As long as it is still stiff and the edges untorn, it can be reused in another “petal”.
More English paper pieced flowers.

Other places for information:

I found several other links about English Paper Piecing. We all learn differently, so these might be helpful too.

The History of English Paper Piecing | MQG Community (themodernquiltguild.com)

My Summer English Paper Piecing project | Diary of a Quilter – a quilt blog

Discover Vintage America | Covering Quilts (discoverypub.com)

GRANDMA'S FLOWER GARDEN
TUMBLING BLOCKS (English paper pieced)

Dear Readers,

Have fun exploring the world of English paper piecing. You may be one of those quilters who becomes “addicted” to this technique. Even if you are not one who becomes “addicted”, at least you will have learned how to do English Paper Piecing. Happy Quilting.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

FLOWERS & TUMBLERS – Part 1

Flowers & Tumblers - Part 1

Flowers & Tumblers quilt looks great, but it did not start as a cohesive quilt idea. It started out as an exercise in frustration because fabric scraps had gotten out of hand and were taking over my sewing area. This quilt will require more than one post, so here is Flowers & Tumblers part 1.

Something had to be done to stop the flood of scrap piles on the floor, on the shelves, and generally in my way. Do scraps reproduce in the dark?

On Jan. 1, 2019 I went thru every single piece of fabric on the shelves and put anything a quarter yard or less in a box (it turned out to be two). Then I started cutting 3″ blocks, 2.5″ strips, and hexagons in two sizes. Each type went in plastic storage totes.

The leftovers from this went in a “crumb” tub to make string or crumb blocks at some point in the future.

Scraps for crazy blocks.
This tub stays below the cutting table – these scraps will later go into crazy or crumb blocks.

Hexagons can travel:

The hexagons went in bags that I drug around on my job travels. The smaller size “flowers” are being appliqued to plain muslin blocks. The larger ones shown here got used in the strips in the photos – and yes, there are several more waiting for me to get back to them.

Am I the only one who comes out with leftovers from most of my quilts? Honestly, I never thought I was that bad at math….

A single flower from scraps.

Flowers part of Flowers & Tumblers quilt.

Two panels of pieced flowers for this quilt.

So these two strips of English paper pieced flowers were the starting point for this quilt. I made the flowers while at a family reunion in July. I don’t sit well with nothing in my hands, so these were easy to pick up and put down with all the visiting and conversations.

Here’s another simple tumbler quilt I did.

PDF pattern for flowers and tumblers. These are the exact size off the plastic pattern pieces I used (print off on 8″ x 10″ paper). The flower will take 7 hexagons (1 center and 6 petals):

Flowers-Tumblers-Pattern-1-1Download

In the meantime, have a great time on your quilt projects. You have got this….

Girl sewing quilt top
Source: google clip art

Other ideas for English pieced flowers:

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2019/07/grandmas-flower-garden-or-take-along.html

English Paper Piecing Patterns for Beginners (thesprucecrafts.com)

Other ideas for tumblers:

Tumbler Quilt Block Quilts & Projects | A Quilting Life

Indiana Quilter 40: TUMBLER (handquilted)

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.