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 4

Time to prep some more hexes for my Smitten.

When I first started this Smitten way back in March - Fussy cutting wasn't really a thought for how I wanted to create my Hexies.  I purchased Fat 1/16ths for this quilt and of course this meant that the pieces were not big enough for fussy cutting.

However as I continued on I knew that I had to add some Fussy Cutting in somewhere in my quilt.  I raided my stash and found some fabrics that would just be perfect for fussy cutting with pattern repeats and large enough pieces to cut out large holes into the fabric to make these hexies.

With some careful cutting and stitching I am stoked with how these fussy cut hexes turned out and can't wait to add them in.

Heading towards the home stretch for the piecing for this Quilt - these Small Hexagons took a little time to cut and piece with the size of the smaller diamonds and triangles that make these up.

These hexes came together really quickly with only three diamonds per hexagon.

With all the small hexagons complete it was time to hand stitch them together to make them into Large Hexagons.  After some sorting, arranging and cutting of certain prints and fabrics to make each hexagon the right colour way I have made great progress on these Large Hexagons.

Each one I make becomes my new favourite.  So close to having these all pieced.

Happy Sewing

Jemima x

Smitten Quilt - My English Paper Piecing Adventure - Part 4

Now that all my larger Hexes are finished it is time to get well and truly stuck into the smaller sized Hexes for this Smitten Quilt.

One of the questions I have been asked about my hand sewing is What type of stitch and what equipment for stitching are you using.  I am using Aurifil 50wt thread in both #2024 and #4060.  Both of these threads are the only two I am using.  I love the white and especially the grey variegated as this works well across the darker colours.  I am also using Clover needles (Appliqué Sharps size 9) - these are nice and thin and glide so well through the pieces as I go.  I am using a small Whip Stitch to create each seam.

When I went earlier this year and picked all the fabrics for this project from Amitie Textiles I did not at think about fussy cutting the Hexes so I only purchased Fat 1/16ths for this project.  Which was great as it gave me the variety I wanted in colours and prints but I wish I had of realised that fussy cutting would have suited this project so well as I would have bought some larger pieces of fabrics that would look magical having been fussy cut.  Oh well - next time.

These are all such fun to make, although I do love some more than others.

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

Smitten Quilt - My English Paper Piecing Adventure. Part 2

Well and truly Smitten! I am just loving this quilt and deciding each and every piece that will make up each hexagon.  It took me quite a long time to decide whether I was going to Machine piece or English Paper Piece this project and I am glad I decided on EPP.

To hand sew my shapes I like to use Aurifil #2021 in 50wt.  This is nice and fine and perfect to make the tiny stitches.  I also love to baste my Hexagons with a Sue Daley Glue Pen.

There are now full kits available from Sue Daley Designs for the Smitten Quilt with all the pre-cut papers and acrylic templates you will need to make each of the Hexagons if you are planning on sewing yours also using the English Paper Piecing method.

If you have been thinking of starting a Smitten Quilt - do it!  You will love it no matter whether you sew it on the machine or by hand.  If you have any questions as well as to how mine has been sewn - ask away.

Jemima x 

30's Minis and English Paper Piecing - Oh My!

I have long loved 1930's Reproduction Prints - I love the delicate and sweet pictures, florals and prints that define this genre of fabric.  This new Range is called "30's Minis" by Erin Turner for Penny Rose Fabrics distributed in Australia by Millhouse Collections and available in May.

There is a great variety of bold colours, pretty florals and geometric prints all on the Mini side making them ever so tiny and sweet.

Designing with this fabric range has been a delight and finding it hard to settle on one new design project for this range - I decided Why not have all three! So I am busily sewing three projects to feature three different techniques.

These prints are just coming up a treat so far with these different projects and I love how the colours play so well together with the large selection of prints in this range.  If you are a Reproduction fabric lover then this range won't disappoint.

One of the techniques in the project is an English Paper Piecing Project. Sue Daley of Patchwork with Busy Fingers has an amazing range for those who love English Paper Piecing (EPP).  Her range includes items such as Threads, Needles, Glue Pens, Rotating Cut Mats, Sandpaper Boards and then her Papers come in precut packs with an Acrylic Template for cutting and marking.  And lets just say I can not wait to get into the Playing with Paper pack - everything I need to create the beautiful block all in the kit.

The papers are nice and firm and being able to cut out the fabric with the Acrylic templates to match means that all the guess work is taken out and I can cut multiple pieces of fabric for my Hexagons or other EPP projects at the same time.  And I am a a Glue Pen convert - although I do like basting Hexagons for this project being able to glue them has made quick work of all the basting.

Using the Pre cut Hexagon Papers and Templates I have been creating a variety of Flowers for my 30's Minis project.  Can't wait to share more with you as I go.  

Jemima x