Paper Piecing Blocks - Starting the Quilt

Turning my first paper pieced blocks into a quilt - Part 1

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about trying paper piecing for the first time. I made five little practice blocks from scraps using a Carol Doak template. They were not perfect but they were so colourful and fun that I decided to hang on to them and turn them into a quilt.  

Two of the five paper pieced blocks, framed in white and purple solids (Aug 2013)

Because the paper pieced blocks are so colourful and contain so many different patterns, I decided to frame them with 1'' off-white strips (Kona solid in snow, my go-to colour for this kind of thing) to make a cleaner edge. I used the white strips to correct little mistakes in the blocks where the fabric did not go quite to the edge, so each block is a slightly irregular shape. This also gives the blocks a nice improvised look. I then added triangles in purple to make a bigger square block. Here you can see two of the five blocks (not yet squared up).

Triangle blocks made from scraps (Aug 2013)

I only had five paper pieced blocks, each measuring 4'' x 4'', so I needed to make some additional blocks for the quilt. I decided to make triangles from the same scraps used in the paper pieced blocks and add a white border to each.

Here are six of the triangles. I made 15 in total. At this stage I am planning on using 12 triangles in the quilt so having a few extra will give me a bit of flexibility when choosing the pattern / colour combinations.

The paper pieced blocks were made entirely from scraps. The Kona snow fabric was from a bundle of Kona bolt end cuts I bought at eQuilter  and the purple solid is fabric from my stash. I have a pretty clear idea of the design I want to sew and have decided that this quilt will be made entirely from stash and scrap fabric. Stay tuned to find out how the quilt progresses!

Festival of Quilts, Kaffe Fassett and the new Juki Long Arm

A few highlights from the 2013 Festival of Quilts.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got to go to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. We stayed with my family in Manchester and S came with me while my mum babysat.

The main purpose of the trip (apart from total immersion in all things quilty) was for me to try out a Grace quilting frame and find a machine to go with it. The lovely people at the Cotton Patch stand were very helpful and I have decided to get the Gracie Queen frame with the Juki TQ98. I looked at the Janome 1600P-QC, which has the same throat space, similar functions and is somewhat cheaper than the Juki TQ98, but it has mixed reviews online and the Juki TQ98 just sounded and felt that bit smoother.  

Kaffe Fassett, Festival of Quilts 2013, Birmingham, UK (Aug 2013) 

One of the highlights (for me, at least) was seeing the wonderful and amazing Kaffe Fassett. He was there signing books and sat quietly at his table, knitting whilst he waited for his fans. There were several quilts from his latest book on display, too and they looked even more amazing live than they do on paper! 

Even though I use a lot of solids and blenders in most of my quilts, I do find that Kaffe Fassett fabrics are in a class of their own. They incorporate traditional elements but also work very well in modern quilts. They come in the most vibrant of colour combinations and they are not like anything else out there. It is always good to have a few in your fabric stash!

One of the great advantages of attending such a big quilting event is that you get to see (and try) some of the latest in quilting technology. As I mentioned above, I wanted to try out the Grace frame, but having the chance to try out some of the high-end long arm quilters was brilliant!

The new Juki QVP long arm quilter 

This is the new Juki QVP long arm quilter. It is already on sale in the U.S. and will be available in Europe from spring 2014. Even though a professional long arm machine is currently something I only dream of, I just had to give it a try! It is amazing. Maybe one day....

Overall, I really enjoyed the Festival of Quilts. It was lovely to be around so many other quilt fanatics. Exhibitors and guests alike were friendly and helpful, creating a real sense of community. I am already planning next year's visit!