the EPP continues

I've been working on the first Rosette for the millefiori hexagon quilt along.  Its the largest one in the quilt:  its the orange one in the diagram below.  

This is a little photo journey of my progress

First up is to get organized.... figure out how many of each shape to prepare, gather supplies, 

then cut out the fabric pieces to baste to each template

while sewing the first round, I wasnt sure about the hexagone I made for the center, which was the orange one.  I had sewn several hexies from the book, so I auditioned them,

while laying out the pieces of the first round, 

I tried placing the second round hexies with the pink bits on the outer edge, 

then with them on the inside edge of the round.

in the end I decided to have them on the inside.  I sewed another possible center,

and then I sewed a third one... which is the one I decided to use,

This is how it looked with the second round

Then, to prepare the pieces for the third round..

glue basting is saving my bacon.  I probably wouldnt do this with thread basting the pieces, but glue basting goes way faster, 

There are 18 pieced hexies on the third round, so I had to play with them before I sewed them on to the rosette,

that was fun.  

then, I sewed them on.  And this is what it looks like now!

It is quite big, over thirty inches across,

I did a little bit of fussy cutting in the white ring fabrics, 

Well, now I am all ready for next months blocks!,

Remember, if you want to participate in this project, its easy.  All you need to get is a copy of the book, The New Hexagon, and sign up on Katja's web site and she will email you the instructions each month, 

there is a facebook group for it, and hashtags for instagram too, so its easy to see what fabrics others are using...   (just check my previous post for the links, )

EPP sew along

Today I pulled out a small EPP project; again one of the patterns from Katja Marek's new book called The New Hexagon.

It is made from just one block sewn down to a felt backing to use as a candle mat.

I am getting ready for the Millefiore Quilt Along that anyone can participate in!  All you need is to get your own copy of the book, and then register on Katja's web page.  She will email you instructions for a rosette each month!  The first one starts in just a few days, January!

This is a sneak peak of some of the rosettes that she has photos of posted on her instagram feed,

aren't they pretty?  The first months rosette is the largest... 

If you want to register, just go to www.katjasquiltshoppe.com/the-new-hexagon:

If you need the book, I think we have copies at the store, and more on order.  

I am really looking forward to getting started!   Hope you decide to join up!  Oh, yes, and there is an instagram tag if you want to view the progress of other participants too--- #thenewhexagonmillefiorequiltalong

Happy stitching!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Over the past few days, we've started to do a bit of Christmas decorating, 

which of course involves a ten foot tree

its a bit dark there in parts, some of the lights turned out to be ones that blink off and on, 

lots of small critters hiding in there too

Of course we need to dress up some regulars

nothing beats the red white and green

I might even get inspired to bake cookies, 

Dresden Plate Monster quilt

Well, after a concerted effort, today i finished the machine quilting on this monster... 

(You probably know that feeling where you've got so many different projects on the go that you just have to try to finish something!  It's been creeping up on me and I am going to try to get some of these projects finished off before the year end!)

I know that Ive blogged about this quilt quite a bit in the past, but its not very often that I tackle a king sized quilt, and this is the first one that I have ever done the quilting on.  it took a long time!   (plus I did it in add-on sections)

Anyway, even though there are puckers and erratic stitching, it is now ready for the last stretch, the binding.   I will need to go buy something for that, and I am thinking about going with a medium blue or that green thats used in the dresden plate locks..   It might come down to whatever is available. 

Maybe I will get this one done before Christmas! 

Progress with the EPP

As the title today declares, I am making some progress with my English Paper Piecing project from the book The New Hexagon, by Katja Marek.   So far I have stitched up twelve little blocks:

there is quite a range in terms of different combinations of fabrics and shapes from one block to another,  although I can see which colours seem to be my favorites.

I am Still pondering what to do with them

Right now they are like little jewels...

I have also been thinking about whether there might be interest in forming a paper piecing club/club in the new year.   it would be something like a once/ month time... any suggestions or feedback?