Design Wall Monday - 3/21/11

Hi - my name is Sarah and I'm a hex-a-holic!

For National Quilting Day Weekend, the owner of the LQS asked me to demonstrate something. I have been wanting to do English Paper Piecing for some time so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. I had just bought a book on civil war quilts from this store and they had a doll quilt on the cover with EPP flowers appliqued onto background squares. The store made up little kits for people to make the flowers. Some people even brought their flowers back for show and tell and to get more kits or fabric to continue. I'm such an enabler.

I had started making Black Eyed Susans a week ago while watching TV and was able to get the whole top together by Sunday morning. The FQ to the right is what I am thinking of using for the backing. I have enough of the brown from each flower center to do the binding but I'm not sure if it goes well with the backing or not. I might still change either.

After I got those done I wanted to do a little practice piece of a diamond shape. I will continue to randomly make these with scraps altho the center will always be the same green for some tiny bit of cohesiveness.

When I get enough of these, I hope to make something along this line. I'm still debating the color of my second round...not sure if I should stick with tone on tone neutrals since the separator strips are also a neutral...

Then I finally got moving on the project that started this whole thing. I needed some color in this dismal time of the year and I think purple and orange will fill the bill. This photo also shows how I worked on the hexies using this nordicware "tin" with slots for the paper pieces, each color 2" fabric square,  thread/scissors and the required jelly beans (which appear to be gone). That particular tray is pretty heavy so it sits nice in a lap - when I can get my lap back from a cat.

Did you see the little green project in this photo? I've been using 3/4" hexies but I had originally started it in 1/4" hexies - that is as big as that sample will ever be because it just wasn't fun and I refuse to work on something that is that much of a hassle.

And the project that started this whole addiction? The bathroom floor in my office building! I doubt that I will make the quilt the size of the bathroom floor, maybe just 5 of the double diamonds, but I'm looking forward to using seminole piecing to replicate the tile border.

 Lemme know if I can help you get addicted too!