English paper pieced Dresden block: I’ve been wanting to make new pillow covers for a while, to replace the ones that I made about 5 years ago, which have been very well-used and worn. 

I figured I would take the opportunity of having more time at home to do some hand sewing - English paper piecing. I decided on Dresden blocks, using a pull of Carolyn Friedlander fabrics. I used free Dresden templates from Occasional Piece Quilts - I have used her templates before, for a bag I made several years ago. They work perfectly with 2.5″ x 5″ pieces of fabric - which is half a charm square (a great project if you have some charm squares around!) I just printed one sheet of templates, traced shapes onto thicker cardstock for piecing, and cut them out by hand.

I finished off the first patchwork section the other day, which I’ll appliqué to a solid colour background. I think I’ll leave the centre open, like a ring or wreath. I’ll start on a second one, so I have a pair of pillows. I may hand quilt these as well, or at least add some hand stitching around somewhere!

English paper pieced diamonds: A couple weekends back, I took the basting stitches out of a project that I started a long time ago… 

It wasn’t until I sat down to write this post that I realized the first time I wrote about these English paper pieced diamonds was back in September 2014 - almost a full 3 years ago! At the time, I had a lot of scraps left over from my Gemstone quilt and decided to hand-piece some bits together. I had even decided to piece them together to a ring shape, but these completed pieces were just sitting in my bin of unfinished projects. 

I thread-basted the completed ring of diamonds on a soft lemon yellow (Kona Lemon) and am hand appliquéing it down around the sides. I plan to hand-quilt this entirely… which I’ve not done much of before. But, it’s autumn, and it feels kind of cozy to be hand-quilting… and I have been feeling quite into doing handwork these days!

Hexie plans and a big road trip: I’ve been a little less active on the blogging side over the past few weeks. It’s because of some big changes coming for me - we are moving to Ottawa next week! I’ve been busy packing up, selling things off, and just generally dealing with the logistics of a big move.

My husband and I are going to drive our way out across the country (after a moving truck picks up our big items). It’s a 3,500 kilometre drive (2,175 miles) - which will take about 3 or 4 full days, across the Prairies, along the north shore of Lake Superior, then through central Ontario to Ottawa.

I’m looking forward to the long drive. I’ve always enjoyed road trips with my family, and this will probably be the biggest one I’ve ever done. 

Since I’ve been anticipating having to pack up my sewing machine for a while, I started cutting up 2.5″ squares of fabric to use with my 1″ hexies. (I’ve got a lot cut… as seen in a shoebox sized bin above). I can work on basting and stitching my hexies in the car, and generally during the time between when our things are picked up and when they are delivered in Ottawa. I’ve gotten a lot of hexie flowers made now, too (about 40), and I’m looking forward to putting them together.

I’ve included above the inspiration for what I’ve started to make: an 1840s vintage medallion quilt. (The photo above of the vintage quilt is from the 1982 edition of “The Quilt Engagement Calendar Treasury” - a great book filled with beautiful pictures, I bought it for a dollar at a used book store!) My colour layout will be a little bit different, and it’s going to be really scrappy. It’s going to take a long time, but that’s okay!

Moving, as always, is bittersweet. I’m glad to be going back to Ontario, much closer to family and friends; but there’s a lot that I will miss about Edmonton. The last few years out here have often been challenging, but very rewarding, too. I’ve also had creative time and space here that I’ve never had before. I hope that I can keep it going in our new home.

Over the last year I’ve been doing a lot of English paper piecing - or making “hexies.” As I’ve finished projects, I’ve gotten a lot of questions from friends and others who aren’t necessarily quilters, but were interested in trying this method of hand sewing patchwork. So, I’ve put together a couple of tutorials showing how I do it!

English paper piecing is great because it’s easy, requires very few materials (no sewing machine - and only needs small scraps of fabric), and you can play with fun patchwork designs! 

My tutorial is broken into two steps: Part 1 covers basting (that is, attaching fabric to paper templates), and Part 2 covers sewing the hexies together. 

Later, you take the papers out and can use the patchwork for any type of project you’d like! (I’ve made sleep masks, trivets, pouches, quilts and more!)

 I hope the tutorial is helpful! Have fun!

“Playful” Dresden: Last weekend I went to Jasper National Park with my parents and husband, and I wanted to take some handwork with me. The night before we left, I printed out free English paper piecing Dresden templates from Occasional Piece, and put a charm pack of Melody Miller’s “Playful” line for Cotton and Steel in my bag.

In the car and in the evenings, I used 10 charm squares put this ring together. I would like to put this on the side of a linen bag - I’m thinking to keep it as a ring, rather than to fill in the centre hole with another print… I like how it looks like a wreath right now!

Linking up with Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Hand stitched rainbow hexie sleep mask: I finished up making this sleep mask over the weekend!

After finishing up hand quilting the patchwork with thick perle cotton thread, I sewed it together using some blue satiny material on the back and 1-inch black elastic for a strap.

I’ve already been using it, and it’s comfy! It’s so nice to have something colourful and handmade.

Hand quilting - I decided to hand quilt the sleeping mask that I’m making for myself. I am using thick #8 perle cotton and just quilting with batting behind it. It’s fun to hand quilt for little projects like this (I’ve tried it before with my Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt and another mini quilt I made for a guild swap). 

After I’m done, I’m planning to trim around the edges, then sew satin or something to the back for the fabric that will be in contact with my face.

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday.

Chicopee Hexie Quilt - Piecing Finished: I have finally just finished piecing all 240 hexies for my Chicopee Hexie Quilt! 

I’ve pieced the hexies into two large sections that I’m going to appliqué to solid fabrics. The pieced sections are pretty big! I put in the picture of me on the couch with one panel for size!

I’m really looking forward to this being a completed quilt top. This has been the my longest-term project I’ve had - I started basting these hexies back in May, then started piecing in June. These hexies have been with me to the Rocky Mountains, to the cottage on Lake Huron in Ontario, and a lot of places between. I’m a little sad to have the handwork component to this project complete - I’m going to have to start another English paper piecing project soon!

Linking up with Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.