The Paper Pieced Home blog hop

I am very pleased to take my turn on the Paper Pieced Home blog hop today!
I got really excited when I first heard Penny wrote a book. Knowing her designs I could not imagine it to be anything other that great. She surely did not disappoint!

The Paper Pieced Home contains no less than 40 paper pieced quilt block designs and 14 projects all of which are so clever and fun it's hard to play favourites! I've included only a few of mine in this post.
The patterns come on a separate CD which makes printing them out just that bit easier.

The book starts with a really comprehensive introduction into paper piecing. Penny proves what a fantastic teacher she is by covering absolutely everything you need to know and then some! From the basics to beyond the basics there's not a single thing missing.

Penny has a way of not only making beautiful paper piecing blocks but she also designs them so that the construction of the block is done in the most logical and easy way possible. This makes even the more complicated blocks very manageable.
I'm convinced that whatever your experience and confidence level may be, you'll find something fun and pretty to make from this book.

For my blog hop project I chose the lamp block because I absolutely love the vintage feel of this design. It includes Y seams but in a way that is not at all intimidating.
I have been a little out of practice so there are a few minor imperfections in the finished block. Nothing so bad to make me want to whip out the dreaded seam ripper, it adds charm (or at least that's my excuse!) I think this block would make a fun cushion to add to my couch collection, don't you think?

In full disclosure I was asked by Penny's publishers to write this article and sent a free copy of the book in return. My opinions are all mine.

Do check out the rest of the blog hop for more of The Paper Pieced Home!

x Leila

3/16       McCall’s Quilting / Sewing Machine Block

3/17       Love of Quilting / Review

3/17       Sandi Sawa Hazlewood  of Crafty Planner / Watering Can Block

3/18       Quilty Pleasure (Quiltmaker blog) / Review

3/18       Imagine Gnats / Rotary Phone Block

3/20       Verykerryberry / Lion Block

3/21       Artisania / Cast-Iron Skillet Block

3/23       Where the Orchids Grow / Lamp Block

3/24       Katie Blakesley of Swim Bike Quilt / Layer Cake Block

3/24       House on Hill Road / Oven Mitt Block

3/24       Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced / BBQ Grill Block

3/26       Pink Penguin / Allie-Gator Block

3/26       A Happy Stitch / Giraffe Block

3/27       Bijou Lovely / Jar Block

3/27       Two Little Banshees / Saucepan Block

3/27       Charise Creates / Espresso Mug Block

3/30       Karen Lewis Textiles / Couch Block

3/31       Poppyprint / Clawfoot Tub Block

3/31       One Shabby Chick / Stack of Books Block

3/31       During Quiet Time / Sleeveless Dress Block

4/06       Pat Sloan The Voice of Quilting / Author Podcast Interview

The Paper-Pieced Home: Quilting a Household One Block at a Time

By Penny Layman

Interweave/F+W; $26.99

http://bit.ly/1zClNAv

318 Patchwork Patterns

Hi, and welcome to my stop on the  318 Patchwork Patterns blog hop!

As many of you will know, this very popular book by Kumiko Fujita has been out of print and highly coveted for many years. I am so excited World Book Media decided to bring back 318 Patchwork Patterns in English! For me this has been that one book I find myself going back to over and over again for all my paper piecing needs. If you would like a chance to win the book there's a give away at the end of this post :-)


For my project I chose block #9 from the tea time collection to make this little tea cosy. I enlarged the block by 125% to make the cups 3" finished. I didn't finish each block to be 3" square but added a narrow border instead framing each cup.
If you are looking for some guidance on freezer paper piecing and how to prepare your pattern for sewing do check out Kerry's blog she wrote a great tutorial.

I used both freezer paper and foundation paper techniques to construct the little tea cups. I prefer freezer paper for fussy cutting as I can hold the piece up against the light and see exactly what my finished cup will look like. For the tiniest pieces like the handles on the cups I prefer foundation paper piecing to get a neater result. There's no rule that says you can't use both techniques for one block I do it all the time! Just remember to reverse your pattern for foundation paper piecing.

World Book media have kindly offered to give away a copy of 318 Patchwork Patterns to one lucky winner!
Give Away details:

• The give away will be open to anyone anywhere but do make sure there is a way for me to contact you should you win. 
• To enter leave a comment on this post I'd like to hear about your favourite handmade Christmas presents, I need some inspiration ;-) 
• I like to give my blog followers special treatment so if you follow me you may have an extra entry simply leave a separate comment on this post. (this is not a requirement just a bonus if you'd like an extra chance to win)
• Comments on this post will be disabled some time around midnight November 11th. The winner will be chosen randomly and be announced here on November 12th.

Give Away comments are now closed!

Before you leave, don't forget to check out all the other lovely projects on the blog hop!

318 Patchwork Patterns Blog Hop

October 20th Kerry  from http://verykerryberry.blogspot.com/

 Project: How to Freezer Paper Piece

·      October 22^nd  Penny Layman from http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com

 Project: Gardening apron with blocks from Vegetables collection

·      October 24^th Angela Pingel from http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com

 Project: Bunting from Halloween collection (You're HERE!)

·      October 27th Amy Sinibaldi from http://nanacompany.typepad.com

   Project: Tote bag with appliqué blocks

·      October 29^th Amber Carrillo from http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com

Project: Blocks from Christmas collection

·      October 31st Latifah Saafir from www.thequiltengineer.com

  Project: Baby blanket from At the Circus collection

·      November 3rd Charise Randell from http://charisecreates.blogspot.com

Project: Make up kit and shoe bag from Girls’ Night Out collection

·      November 7th Amy Friend from http://duringquiettime.com

   Project: Table runner with blocks from Fruits collection

·      November 5th Leila from http://wheretheorchidsgrow.blogspot.com

Project: Tea Cozy from Tea Time Collection

·      November 12th Caroline from www.sewcanshe.com

 Project: Tote or pouch with appliqué block

·      November 10th Faith Jones from www.freshlemonquilts.com

 Project: Mini quilt from Vehicle Collection

  November 14th Rashida Coleman-Hale from http://iheartlinen.typepad.com

Good luck!

x Leila

Vin Rouge and Creative Mojo

In Ringo Pie Charise chose Paris as the theme for her month. I figured no trip to Paris would be complete without a nice big glass of 'vin rouge'.
One glass full, one glass half empty you take your pick ;)

I even found a piece of Suzuko Koseki fabric to use for the label listing different wines in French, I'm pretty pleased with that!
I started off with a dark green for the bottle for a more realistic look but I was having the hardest time trying to pair it up with other fabrics. Nothing in my stash seemed to work with it, at best it looked rather masculine.  So I had to opt for the easier solution and use white for the glass.
It really isn't an easy colour to use, bottle green what would you pair it with, blue? orange? 

Anyway, it always feels good to be able to check another belated bee block off the list!

In other news I'm going to be live on the Creative Mojo podcast tonight - eek! I'm pretty nervous about it but I'm just being silly that way. I'm sure it will be lots of fun! So if you fancy listening in come join me at Creative Mojo tonight\ this afternoon. I'm on around 4pm Eastern, that's 10 PM here and 9PM in the UK, that's all the time zones I know I'm afraid ;)

* edit to add: due to technical difficulties I didn't get to chat with Nessa on Creative Mojo, my interview has been rescheduled for next week.

x Leila

Ringo Pie Guitar

For Melinda's month in Ringo Pie she asked us to make guitar themed blocks to make a quilt for her son who loves everything guitars. He sounds like a pretty cool dude doesn't he!

I on the other hand wasn't so cool, more than one attempt at sewing a guitar block fit for Melinda's little rock star ended up in the rubbish bin. I will not bore you with all that went wrong, lets just say the curves and I were not going to get along, I'll not even mention the endless seam ripping and how things got so distorted there was no resemblance of a guitar in sight.... no best not ;) 

So after quickly disposing of all evidence that ever such a horrible block had existed, I made a fresh start using a wonderful Paper panache pattern. And I'm glad I did it is just the right guitar shape and better still no curves - what a relief!

I'm looking forward to see this quilt I think it will be something very special!

x Leila

a little house

Ooooh February how I dislike you! I'm fed up with the cold and the snow! I find myself longing for a sandy beach somewhere tropical and warm, dipping my toes in the sea.
Alas it's not the case and I've been busy with lots of things that I can't blog about because they're:
1. a surprise or 2. plain boring ( shortening curtains anyone? I didn't think so!)

I have managed to steal a little time away from it all to sew up this itty bitty house block. It's only 4", so cute!

And I made a couple more Schoenrock Cross blocks, I thought I had six so I was happy to find I had done 8 already!

They're in random order now, I love playing with the arrangement of blocks as I go along.
The promised tutorial on how to sew the blocks with an inset corner square is postponed, I'm sorry if you've been waiting anxiously for it! I do intend to eventually add it to the QAL, just not making any promises as to when :P 

Stay warm my friends!

x Leila

Schoenrock Cross QAL - foundation paper piecing

Today's tutorial is on how to piece the Schoenrock Cross block using the foundation paper piecing method.

First off a few general tips on foundation paper piecing:

• Always remember you are working in reverse, the image on the paper template is the mirror image of what your finished block will look like.
• Because of that I always keep an extra printout of the templates, or finished block design next to my sewing machine for reference. 
• Use a very short stitch length and a larger size needle, this will make it a lot easier to remove the paper from the wrong side of the block.
• I use regular (cheap) printer paper to print out my foundation templates.
• Over estimate the amount of fabric you will need for each section, especially if there is a diagonal seam. The last thing you want to be doing is unpicking seams with tiny stitches because you came up short of fabric. Trust me I know it has happened to me many times!
• If you hold up your pattern against a source of light you can check if the fabrics are in the right place before sewing them down.

Block Pattern Templates, click here.

Block construction:

Finished block size 10"

The block consists of four corner blocks and a centre cross section.
The cross section is made up of 2" squares (1 1\2" finished) and 2" x 3 1\4" rectangles (1\12" x 2 3\4" finished) Refer to my previous post on fabric choices for different options in making up the cross section. I suppose in theory you could paper piece the squares and rectangles needed but why bother when it is so much easier to just cut them. So I didn't include the cross section in the pattern templates.

Step 1 - Piecing the cross section.

For the centre cross section cut:
Four rectangles 2" x 3 1\4"
Four end squares 2" x 2"
One centre square 2" x 2"

1. Piece two sets of 1 rectangle and end square. 
2. Piece one centre strip in the following order (refer to the diagram below): end square, rectangle, centre square, rectangle, end square. 

 

Step 2 - Foundation paper piecing the corner blocks

1. Print out the Schoenrock Cross paper piecing pattern. You will need four copies to complete the block.

2. Place the first two fabrics for section A1 and A2 right sides facing on the wrong side of the template, hold up against the light to check if they are in the right place and sew.

3. Fold back the pattern template along the seam and trim back the seam allowance to 1\4"

4. Fold the foundation paper back and press the block on the fabric side.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 for the next two sections of block A.

6. Trim back all seam allowances to 1\4" on all sides of the block.

7. Repeat steps 2- 6 for section B

8. Join sections A & B, make sure to match up the points and pin them in place. I like to sew a row of longer length basting stitches first to make sure everything matches up correctly. This seam is easier to unpick should the sections not match up.

9. Foundation paper piece three more blocks.

10. Join the top two squares and centre strip.

11. Join the bottom two squares and centre strip.

 12. Join the long centre strip to one complete half of your block.

14. Sew the top half  to the bottom half to complete the block and remove all paper from the wrong side of the fabric.

Add caption

All done!

Don't forget to show off your blocks in the Schoenrock Cross QAL group !

<div align="center"><a href="http://wheretheorchidsgrow.blogspot.nl/" title="Schoenrock Cross QAL"><img src="http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b558/WheretheOrchidsGrow/QALbutton_zps76c07bd2.jpg" alt="Schoenrock Cross QAL" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

I'll be busy working on the freezer paper tutorial next!

x Leila

Schoenrock Cross QAL - fabric choices

Wow such an enthusiastic response to my previous post I'm excited, lets get this QAL started!!
Please feel free to jump in at any time, in any way you like whether it is to watch, make 1 block or a 100, all are welcome.

As a start I would like to discuss fabric choices. The block consists of 41 pieces so naturally there are a ton of choices you can make when it comes to fabric. I can only show so many in one blog post so keep in mind that there are many many more options for you to choose from!

The focus of this post is on the number of different fabrics needed to make up one block and how different layouts effect the overall look of a single block as well as how they will effect the secondary patterns that appear once the blocks are pieced together.
I will not go into colour value in particular as we have covered this already in our previous QAL, but of course adding different values as well as different colours and prints will make your blocks really spectacular!!

To make the most out of the pattern I believe a minimum of three different fabrics is best. This is just my personal preference so feel free to ignore me!
Depending on the layout and colour value used you can make certain pattern elements pop or recede into the background and thus create a different effect with each block you make. Below are two examples.

A beautiful example of the Schoenrock Cross using four different fabrics is this one made by Amy Badskirt. I love the colours she chose for her block, they are so striking!!

Schoenrock Cross block by Amy @Badskirt

Also on Flickr, I found this amazing cushion made by Joanne. She used five prints for her Schoenrock Cross cushion. I love how the colour pallete of Amy and Joanne's block is the same but the effect quite different because of the way they chose to accentuate different elements of the block.

Schoenrock Cross cushion by Joanne @Jo Jo 33

 Lets add one more fabric to the mix, this is an example how the block can be made up with six colours\fabrics, there are many more layouts possible of course.

This next stunning cushion was made by Jennifer I was very lucky to receive it in the pillow talk swap, I still love it to bits Jen!! Her block is made up with seven different fabrics and unlike the previous examples her block uses a different print for each set of kites in the corner blocks.

Schoenrock Cross cushion made by Jennifer @Sugar Stitches

Most of my blocks done so far use seven prints as well but I used yet another layout with a fabric for each different pattern element. I plan to mix it up a little and do a few blocks with less prints as well.

Sooo many options right?! I'm hoping these examples demonstrate how amazing this block really is. Whether you go for a minimal approach or take it to town they all look fantastic!

One other thing to consider when choosing fabrics is the secondary pattern that appears once the blocks are pieced together.
Notice how the corner stones make up a new square in the centre of the kites? If you would consistently make up the blocks with one background colour they will be a plain centre square in the secondary pattern. 

But use two or more fabrics and they become a fun new pattern element to play around with.

And with yet more different block layouts added to the mix the outer squares that connect each cross section of the block come into play as well.

Well I think this is enough for today! I hope these examples will be of help with your fabric choices. Just have fun with it and pick some of your favourites to work with and I'm sure you will love the blocks :)

I'll be working on getting those tutorials done as soon as possible, they take a bit of time to prepare so please be patient :) I'm aiming to have the first one up after the weekend.
In the meantime please join me in the Schoenrock Cross QAL Flickr group, share your thoughts, plans and fabric choices with us. Don't forget to grab a button on your way out!

<div align="center"><a href="http://wheretheorchidsgrow.blogspot.nl/" title="Schoenrock Cross QAL"><img src="http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b558/WheretheOrchidsGrow/QALbutton_zps76c07bd2.jpg" alt="Schoenrock Cross QAL" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

x Leila

Schoenrock Cross

Back when we were working on the Value Added QAL I had intended to use the Schoenrock Cross block for my quilt. Due to time restrictions there was no way I could finish the quilt in time. I only got as far as two blocks which was enough for me to know I really want to finish this quilt!

Who would like a QAL for this one? I thought it might be fun if I do a few posts about the block and different ways to construct it as I work my way through the minimum of 30 blocks I'll need to make a decent sized lap quilt. (but I'm really hoping to make it to 42)

I'm making 10" blocks using freezer paper templates for the diamond and triangle shapes and rotary cut squares and rectangles. The template can also be used for foundation paper piecing for those of you that prefer that. I plan to do a tutorial for both freezer paper and foundation piecing plus a variation that includes Y seams for the overachievers ;)

Before we start though I have to be honest, piecing these blocks is rather time consuming and requires a fair amount of patience. If you enjoyed the Farmers Wife blocks, if you like paper piecing or just want a bit of a challenge to start the year off - this is it!
For now I find the slow progress well worth the effort as the blocks are just so pretty and I can picture a quilt in the end that will rock your socks off!

So far I have only a small head start with four blocks completed, I still need to make the tutorials, and test the templates, make a Flickr group and blog button...well pretty much everything really!

But I'm excited to get started! So let me know, are you in?


x Leila

two more bee blocks

These are my last two bee blocks for Cocorico.

First up is Erin who has a little one on the way and asked us for nursery rhyme blocks. I settled on twinkle twinkle little star. I used Lynne's ET phone home block because I loved how the stars in this block also look a bit like a brilliant cut diamond 'like a diamond in the sky'...

I took a snap shot with my new toy, isn't Instagram the best!

This block has a very soft vintage sort of feel to it, which is exactly what I wanted - result!

Next up is another house block for Kerry. I used a pattern from Patchwork 163 (I got my copy here) it's a lovely book I'm dying to make so many more of these blocks!

I tried to incorporate as many cute fabrics as I possibly could without it becoming too busy. There's little fussy cut pieces of Kumiko Fujita and Shinzi Katoh for the door and windows, a bit of Suzuko Koseki for the main body of the house and some Denyse Schmidt for the roof. House blocks are possibly my very favourite thing to sew!

With these two last blocks I've finished a years worth of Cocorico blocks. I think a mosaic is in order don't you?!

I sure hope we will be doing another round in 2013!!

x Leila

Quilting Along

I am sure you are all well aware of the super cute patterns Ayumi has been making as part of the Super Pink Penguin quilt along. Please have a look at her Flickr group here you are in for a treat there are so many cute blocks to see! I for one can never resist her sweet creations. Did you know Ayumi has a book coming out next year?! Woop!! 

So while I'm busy working on a few fun projects behind the scenes, I found time to sew up this chef block.

I love how he has this sort of French pastry chef look, very serious about his cake but he's still polite enough to say please ;)

And just in case you are curious about the 'fun stuff' I was referring to ... how does a QAL sound? Rachel and I have been plotting an scheming along with a few other very talented quilters and I'm so excited about where things are headed. This is not just another quilt along where we all join in to make the same pretty quilt, no there will be different designs for you to choose from plus there are quite a few things to learn along the way - sounds good right? We still need a bit more time to get everything ready but I will keep you posted!!

x Leila