Smitten Quilt - My English Paper Piecing Adventure - The final chapter!

I can't believe I have stitched the final hand quilted stitches into my Smitten Quilt.  This quilting adventure has take me most of the year but I have never more enjoyed hand stitching and hand quilting.  

When I first started this quilt - fussy cutting was not on my agenda.  I had only bought Fat 16ths of my fabrics so this mostly wasn't possible with that size of material.  However as the year went on and I got my hands on some larger pieces of fabric just perfect for fussy cutting I could not resit adding in a few here and there.

I have always loved Hand quilting and as I went along English Paper Piecing the top I knew that I wanted to hand quilt this as wee.  I tried to make the hand quilting quite random, some hexagons are quilted around all sides and some not at all.  

For Hand quilting I used Aurifil 12 wt threads in a variety of colours.  Mostly matching fabrics and coloured threads as I went.  These have a beautiful sheen to them and the perfect thickness for hand quilting.  I also used Tulip Embroidery Needles - Sharps.  These have the perfect flex and size to the needle for such a big task.

I came across this "April Showers" fabric by Lewis and Irene earlier this year and purchased enough for the backing.  As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for this Smitten.  I then placed a few fussy cuts of this sweet girl into the front to tie them both together.

I am definitely Smitten with this quilt and I hope you have loved reading about my adventure along the way.

Happy Sewing 

Jemima x 

Smitten Quilt - My English Paper Piecing Adventure - Part 3

Every time I make a new hexie it becomes my new favourite.  I am just loving every single stitch that is going into this quilt.

One of the questions I have been asked a lot is "What does the back look like".  There have been many questions about my seam allowance, glue basting versus thread basting and lots more.

Here is a pic of the back of one of my Hexes.  I find the 1/4 in seam allowance on the templates that I have been cutting is plenty for my paper piecing.  I am glue basting and if you have any trouble with the glue not releasing from the papers there may be a couple of things you can do.  Firstly make sure you are not using to much glue.  Glue on the paper (not the fabric) but not too close to the edge.  If you can't release the fabric from the paper try ironing the shape to "relax" the glue.  The steam will help release the paper and fabric.

With all the Large Hexagons now finished it is time to work on the smaller Hexies.  These are great fun and I have tried to work out which colours I need to add more of and add more of those fabrics in.

Which is your favourite Hexie so far? Who else is making a Smitten?

Jemima x x