Summer Stitching Club with Wild Olive
Hello again. I've been quite neglectful of this blog, which I know most every blogger says at one time or another.
I'm active every day on my Facebook page, so if you like to keep up to the minute with me, that's where it's all happening.
Just before June began I joined Wild Olive's Summer Stitching Club. We're stitching summery fun patterns that Mollie has drawn and combining that embroidery with a quilting method known as English Paper Piecing (EPP for short).
I have always loved the look of quilts, especially modern ones - no traditional gal here. EPP gives me the ability to quilt by hand without having to worry too terribly much about accuracy. (As long as my corners match up!) In a nutshell you simply cut out pieces of card stock or paper to the size you want, cut your fabric with a bit of seam allowance, and then baste the fabric around that paper. It's really just that simple. And for an "eyeballer" like me, I don't really care if my seam allowance is exact as long as there is enough fabric to fold over the edges and baste.
*For anyone wondering what on earth happened to my 365 project, Sew Many Words, I stopped at 75 days. It was beginning to take over my entire day - trying to figure out a clever design for each word and then stitching it, and then photographing it, and then adding clever filters, etc. I simply stopped enjoying it which I think is really the antithesis of what it was meant to be. You can see all 75 days by visiting Sew Many Words.
Coming up this summer I'm hoping to get some new patterns out to you - currently on my hoop is another color collage, this time in blue.
I hope you all have a fantastic day!
xo
I'm active every day on my Facebook page, so if you like to keep up to the minute with me, that's where it's all happening.
Just before June began I joined Wild Olive's Summer Stitching Club. We're stitching summery fun patterns that Mollie has drawn and combining that embroidery with a quilting method known as English Paper Piecing (EPP for short).
I have always loved the look of quilts, especially modern ones - no traditional gal here. EPP gives me the ability to quilt by hand without having to worry too terribly much about accuracy. (As long as my corners match up!) In a nutshell you simply cut out pieces of card stock or paper to the size you want, cut your fabric with a bit of seam allowance, and then baste the fabric around that paper. It's really just that simple. And for an "eyeballer" like me, I don't really care if my seam allowance is exact as long as there is enough fabric to fold over the edges and baste.
The Club is making a mini-quilt out of hexagons which are ALL the rage right now.
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| Hexagons a plenty! |
In choosing my fabric, 2wenty Thr3e by Moda, I discovered charm packs, which are pre-cut stacks of fabric that are already coordinated for you. This is excellent for someone like me who does not have a large fabric stash to draw from. Buying these little gems is quite addicting though and I am already collecting them for future projects. Yes, more wips!
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| Row two is complete |
Just after row 2 was completed I realized I was going along apace and may not want to wait for the embroidery pattern. (I joined the club a bit early to get a jump start.) I did wait for the first pattern, which was a wee pair of smiley sunglasses.
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| Groovy! |
Now having done this I completed the bottom two rows of the mini-quilt which would not have any embroidery on them. Those two rows took me one episode of Foyle's War. It was then I realized I was definitely not going to wait for the embroidery patterns and add a hexie once a week. However, for those with little time on their hands, Mollie designed this project to be done at any pace. She's brilliant, isn't she?
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| Quilt top completed. |
Now it's a matter of doing the embroidery patterns as they come each week and then putting a backing on the quilt. I am not sure if I want to block it off with a border or keep it in it's funky hexie shape. Only time will tell there.
Yesterday was the second embroidery pattern installment.
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| Sunshine is heading my way.. |
So there you have it.. the up to date mini quilt and goings on with my summer stitching project.
Stop by the Wild Olive Flickr group if you'd like to see what the other club members are putting together.
*For anyone wondering what on earth happened to my 365 project, Sew Many Words, I stopped at 75 days. It was beginning to take over my entire day - trying to figure out a clever design for each word and then stitching it, and then photographing it, and then adding clever filters, etc. I simply stopped enjoying it which I think is really the antithesis of what it was meant to be. You can see all 75 days by visiting Sew Many Words.
Coming up this summer I'm hoping to get some new patterns out to you - currently on my hoop is another color collage, this time in blue.
I hope you all have a fantastic day!
xo