Tag: 36 Ring Circus EPP project

The Quilt From Hell

…is all in one piece.

Well, except for the border.

I started this English Paper Piecing project in June of 2018. That’s FIVE YEARS for heaven’s sake. There are SO MANY tiny pieces, and I have spent COUNTLESS hours prepping all the templates. Plus, sewing all the curves is so, so hard. I’ve used up a whole roll of artist tape along the way.

The block centers are all Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society. The rings are solid pastels, and the ring centers and the 4-patches between the rings are all dark solids. The outer border will square it off and is made of BIGGER (thank heavens!) pieces–all dark solids.

I got the two large pieces joined by Monday at some point and ironed the top. I spent a chunk of time late Monday and Tuesday cutting and making the border templates. Here’s an example of one of the border units–a corner piece. They will be turned so that that little square goes down into the quilt and will finish off the 4-patchess. So, yes, more curves to sew!!!

Here’s the real problem now. All those templates now have to come OUT of the quilt. I pulled out templates for hours yesterday and don’t feel like I made much of a dent. I’ll leave the templates around the edges until I sew in the borders–for stability.

The thumb nail on my right hand is so, so sore this morning. Tweezers to the rescue!

I might as well just settle back and listen to a book or tv as this part is going to take DAYS.

Meanwhile I had a LOVELY weekend with two granddaughters staying overnight Friday and Saturday. We kept busy, which included three swims in the pool to which I have access as part of my HOA. We visited, shopped (bead store for making a necklace and a bracelet), went to the library, cooked (a soup lesson here), watched tv, made popcorn, and in general had a lovely weekend. (This granddaughter weaves friendship bracelets with a kind of hard loom.)

And, sale cotton fabric from Missouri Star arrived, and I’ll make a long tunic to go over leggings. It’s a new pattern that I’ve had for about a year and have just been too busy to make it. I am needing lighter clothes here in South Carolina.

Here’s the first post on what has turned out to be “the quilt from hell.”

Turkey Tracks: Looks Looky: My Next EPP Project

Quilty Update Early November 2020

Turkey Tracks: November 7, 2020

Quilty Update Early November 2020

I have been having so much fun playing with these two projects on my design wall. They have been wonderful ways to cope with all the political chaos of an election in the middle of a pandemic.

Both of these projects are meant to use up solid scraps acquired with two years of The Color Collective online class on Sewtopia, with Tara Faughnan as the teacher and curator of fabrics.

On the left, the “trees” quilt was inspired by Crazy Mom Quilts. And on the right is a quilt inspired by Tara Faughnan’s quilt made with this kind of method.

I pulled out the bin of solid scraps and sorted it—I have piles where the fabrics need to be cut into useable sizes—like, at the very least, different sizes of square blocks. The strips are going into the developing quilt on the right. Occasionally I dive into the bigger bins of bigger pieces of solid fabrics to get a color I want to go with what is here, or to cut new squares for the trees quilt.

I’ve washed and ironed all the fabrics for the first project of season 3 of The Color Collective. The block is “Marrakesh.” The first set of fabrics is a luscious combination.

The funky rail quilt top from Sajata Shah’s CULTURAL FUSION QUILTS book and all the needed parts for the longarm joins the Flying Geese quilt with all its needed parts. I’ll start to longarm quilt these quilts pretty soon now.

The funky rail fence block is super fun to make. I used a suite of fabrics I’ve never used—and added fabrics from my stash. I pieced the back with the remnants, so that’s a lot of fabrics out of the stash. And does it count as an almost-created Unfinished project since I did have a suite of fabrics kept together? I think so. I do NOT want to be one of those people who dies and leaves a huge amount of fabric for my family to manage.

I LOVE this flying geese quilt and can’t wait to see it finished.

I worked on the last row of the solid Sugaridoo QAL quilt yesterday. Along the way I added sashing that is a bit too wide, and the quilt is way, way too long. Sugaridoo planned it at 70-90, which is not a ratio I like. I spent the evening ripping out some of the sashing, and I have at least gotten the quilt back to 70-90. I’ll likely finish these two quilts in the next few days, and I have enjoyed the learning curves involved and all the new block patterns. I have backings for both quilts, but need to organize bindings. Completing these two tops will make FOUR quilts ready for the longarm and binding.

The third row of the EPP project “36 Ring Circus” is going faster than the first two. I’m making all the center blocks in a row at one time now. And I pretty much have all the parts that surround the center glued and ready to go.

I also have two knit garments cut out and some patterns I really want to make. That’s a bit harder since I’m not really seeing anyone with the pandemic situation and so have no place to wear new garments.

My sewing life is rich and satisfying during the winter season here in Maine, and it feels good to get unfinished projects completed and to take on some new challenges.

Turkey Tracks: The “36-Ring Circus” EPP Project

Turkey Tracks:  February 24, 2019

The “36-Ring Circus” EPP Project

…is taking shape.

There are six rows, six rings to a row.  I’m working on the last ring of row one now.

This project is the hardest I’ve done as sewing the rings to the center block is challenging.  There is a learning curve here, but I am getting faster now, which is also probably driven by seeing enough of it now to think I like it.

So far, the centers are Cotton+Steel, but I’m not sure I’ll keep to those fabrics.  The outer rings are pastels, and the inner connecting pieces are solid darks.  The quilt is designed by Joanne Lewis, and the pattern is at Paper Pieces.  I did NOT buy all the templates for the centers, just the ones for the center points and the rings.  It’s easy enough to just trace what I need for the centers from the paper templates and add an eyeballed seam allowance.

 

A few years back I discovered that this old lap top “table” platform works great for EPP projects.  With pins and clips, I can keep everything together, from my thimble, my thread, to my scissors.  PLUS, the high width of one side is perfect in terms of getting the project up high enough from my lap so that I am not hunching over and making my neck sore.  I usually sew this project at night in front of the tv, so I prop the top edge against a tv table edge, and that makes the height-from-lap distance really perfect.

 

Turkey Tracks: Recent Projects

Turkey Tracks:  January 30, 2019

Recent Projects

Good morning!

We had snow in the night and now…rain.  It’s also very warm for Maine in late January.

Here are some pics on my current projects.

This EPP project is HARD!  There is a real learning curve involved here, but I’m getting faster now.  This is “36-Ring Circus,” designed by JoAnne Lewis and available at Paper Pieces.  I did NOT buy the whole templates offered, just the ring kit, which includes the center “pointy” temlplate—shown in red on the first ring.

I am currently using Cotton+Steel fabrics for the centers and solids (pastels for the ring and darks for the ring centers and diamond shapes) for the rest.

 

Here’s the status of THE COLOR COLLECTIVES first project:  circles.  So far I’ve broken TWO of my machines with the invisible thread.  Probably, I did not release the needle tension enough.  I did release the foot pressure instead, which was clearly a mistake.  I don’t think anybody but ME is having these issues.  One machine is back—along with two spools of thread that the marvelous Marge Hallowell of Maine-ly Sewing donated to the cause and for me to experiment with and about which to get back to her.  I would love to make this quilt a bit bigger, to a lap size, but I may also use the second months’s block—a foundation pieced cross—to create a border.  I’m still movng around blocks on the design wall—which is kind of crazy as I need to fill in the holes first.  I could, also, use a matching thread for the circles if I have matching thread.  I do love these circles.

Recent intense weekend sewing produced this “Cool Sunday Morning Quilt” from SUNDAY MORNING QUILTS (Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison).  It’s all in blue/green/grey Cotton+Steel low volume fabrics.  And it’s meant to be a companion to the recently finished “warm” quilt below, also made from C+S warm low volume fabrics—using Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s herringbone method.

 

Of course I also have three or four other projects developing or simmering, especially when I get to “playing” with some ideas and fabrics.  More on those later.