I is for Interwoven Diamonds

I is for Interwoven Diamonds

Interwoven Diamonds is a paper pieced block and an original design by the Marcia Hohn of Quilter's Cache. It can be found here. Its the first paper pieced block that I have used in the challenge.

What is paper piecing I hear you ask (well I imagine I hear you ask) I went to Wikipdedia (that source of all wisdom) and found this description

In patchwork, foundation piecing was originally a method used to stabilize pieces of fabric that were stitched together. It first became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in England...

..... Originally pieces of scrap fabric or muslin were used as the foundation. Recently, the use of paper, whether tracing paper, freezer paper or some other heavyweight paper, has become very popular for use as a pattern, in creating quilt blocks that are all the same size, each with precise, sharp points and perfectly matched intersections..........

.....With paper piecing, a shorter stitch length (e.g. 12 stitches per inch) is used when sewing the components together. This perforates the foundation, making it easier to tear away after the block is completed. 

This picture gives you a bit of an idea of the process of paper piecing this block. 

Last year I did a whole blogpost in the challenge about Paper Piecing in general and the paper pieced quilts I have made, if you are interested you can find it here

This is my completed block.

I am making this quilt out of the contents of my scrap drawers and it is a brilliant pattern for using up scraps should I choose to make a whole quilt using it. It would be a beautiful quilt but to be honest... when you finish each block you have to remove all the paper from the back and ... its a long boring labourious, time consuming, mess making process. I think I would work out how to make the same pattern not paper pieced. It is gorgeous though.

This is an illustration from Quilter's Cache and then this is one made by Helen and shown on Quilter's Cache

P is for Paper Piecing

Back at the beginning of the month when it was E I did a post on English Paper Piecing. This is to distinguish it from Paper Piecing which is a different form of quilting. It is one of those things quilters seem to love or hate with a passion.

Until very recently I had managed to avoid paper piecing. I had read instructions for it and whilst it seemed simple enough it didn't really appeal

In 2013 out middle son, known here on this blog as Kombi Boy, turned 21. He loved kombi vans, so much so that he had a giant one tattooed on his chest. I wasn't impressed but hey, I'm just the mum and at least it was pretty, in its own way

 

I found a pattern called Another Day in Paradise which featured kombi vans and they were partly paper pieced so I paper pieced him a queen bed quilt

So what is paper piecing, or foundation paper piecing to distinguish it from English paper piecing.

Angie on her web page , Angie's Bits and Pieces says of it

This technique involves sewing pieces of fabric to a paper foundation following a numerical sequence. Seam lines are traced on the foundation. The pieces of fabric are sewn onto the back side of this foundation (unmarked side - actually the right side of the block). This sewing technique on a foundation allows one to work with very small and uneven pieces with great accuracy, as all sewing takes place along straight lines.

At the beginning of 2015 I discovered a website, 

that had so many gorgeous paper pieced patterns covering the world of fandom and popular culture. The creator, Jennifer Ofenstein was starting a stitch along - a new pattern every week that would make up a Harry Potter Bookshelf. My daughter (Fangirl) is an avid Harry Potter fan and I knew she would just love it. Also in January of 2015 Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of Us encouraged us to come up with some quilty resolutions for the year focussing on techniques that we wanted to learn. Challenge accepted. I nominated paper piecing.

I had a Craftsy class by Carol Doak on paper piecing and I watched that to get some techniques under my belt. 

I also had a go at a couple of other paper piecing projects from the Fandom in Stitches website namely some Minions for our friend Bek for her birthday and a Tardis from Doctor Who just because. I was hooked. 

From mid January till August, for 40 weeks, I worked on my paper piecing blocks for this project. I kept up pretty well. After the last block was released it took me a few month to complete the extra blocks I wanted to go around the book case, and to get the back made and finally get it quilted but in February this year I was able to give the completed project to Fangirl for her birthday.

She has the quilt proudly displayed on her bed. I am sorry that I didn't make it a bit wider now that she is using it on a queen bed - it doesn't go over the sides enough. I wasn't really thinking of it as a bed quilt to be honest... actually wasn't really thinking much at all. Maybe I thought it would be a wall quilt but who has a wall big enough? In her old home maybe but not the current one.

These are some of my favourite blocks in the book case

WIP Wednesday

This week I worked on paper piecing and completed the first 2 blocks in Fandom Stitches POD 30 week challenge. I also completed a paper pieced TARDIS from a pattern on their website. I have downloaded a heap of others which I may or may not get around to doing sometime soon.

I completed the 3 little zipper pouches using the MSQ tutorial and really enjoyed making them... so much so that I have ordered 20 pretty zips from eBay and keenly waiting their arrival in a couple of weeks. (ordered from Hong Kong so have to wait for them to be shipped here) After I had posted on this blog about running out of zippers a local friend, Lindy,  told me that she had a box of zips that she had been carrying around for 20 years or so and she was happy for me to help myself to a few. She bought them to Patchwork today and I gladly took 6. 1 which I used straight away and 5 to make into pouches.

Fangirl (my daughter) asked me to make a cushion out of a cross stitch that she made in 2005. I sashed it in 3 borders and then made the back and (get this) inserted a zip. I made it today at Patchwork using one of the zips Lindy gave me. I don't have a photo of the finished cushion. I wish I had fussy cut the 3rd border but by the time realised I should have done that the top was already together and I wasn't remaking it.

I am waiting on a bolt of batting to arrive in order to be able to complete some more projects. Ive made the backing for the Tardis Tree and also for the Orphan Block Quilt. I thought I would piece a backing for it but in the end I had a piece big enough and so used it. I have decided to call it Annie's Quilt... you know Little Orphan Annie.... also our dog who died early last year was called Annie so I like the name.

       

I have been working on Vanishing Hours. I got all the borders on and so now the top is finished. YAY

I've started on the backing, using up extra blocks that didn't make it onto the front - including one vanishing pinwheel that I made by mistake instead of the vanishing hourglass. Also some extra hourglass blocks and some left over piano key border. Its got a way to go but hopefully I will get it done by the end of the week so I can post it off to my friend Kym to get quilted.

 So its been a very busy and successful week. How have you gone this week.

   

Tuesday Museday - my word for 2015

Sandy at "Quilting For the Rest of Us" is once again running a Quilty Resolutions Challenge and this year she has challenged her listeners to complete this sentence The one thing I have always wanted to do (textile/fiber-wise) that I resolve to do in 2015 is... 

I thought about this for a while and realised that paper piecing has always been something I have skirted around the edges of. I have done a very little bit in a couple of projects (Kombi Boys quilt had a little paper piecing in it. See it here. The windows were paper pieced). Its something I have always wanted to have a real go at but  never have. So Foundation Paper Piecing is my goal for this year.

A few things have confirmed that this will be my resolution for 2015.

I bought a paper piecing class on Craftsy. Its a Jenny Doak class called Mastering Foundation Piecing and I have even listened to the first couple of lessons. I don't thave the equipment that she uses but am getting very tempted by the quarter inch ruler thingy. That would be very useful. I also do use copier paper for my paper piecing and she doesn't recommend this but its handy and cheap and its what is loaded in my printer. 

Also Pam from Hip to Be a Square has joined in a 30 week challenge listed on the Fandom in Stitches website. Its a Harry Potter book shelf quilt with a pattern issued every week for 30 weeks. Its all paper pieced. I had a look and have joined in the Project of Doom (POD) challenge and have completed the first two blocks in the bookshelf.

Actually they are not complete. I want to put some titles on the books so a bit of embroidery left to do.

There are lots of geeky patterns on this website covering a range of interests and subjects. There are lots of Doctor Who patterns. I had explored this website on other occasions and had downloaded a heap of patterns, some paper pieced and some embroidery. 

I decided to have a go at one of the patterns from the Doctor Who file - the TARDIS. I really loved how it turned out.

 Couldn't believe that I managed all these tiny pieces. Its not perfect but I love it and I get a thrill out of looking at it (and the mistakes don't annoy me too much) I am not sure what I will do with it. There are a heap more Doctor Who blocks so perhaps I will make a heap more and make another quilt... or just a few more and make a wall hanging.

Alongside the Quilty Resolution Sandy invited us to choose a word for the year to guide us in our resolution. I chose the word Do. Originally I was going to choose Try and then (in true geeky household style) I remembered the quote from Yoda in Star Wars. "Do or Do not. There is no Try" Hence my word for this year is DO. 

I am pretty pleased with the start that I have made. What about you? Have you made a craft related resolution this year?