EPP and Me

Evelyn, no. 24

I have become interested in, one might say obsessed, with EPP or English paper piecing.  I've been working from The New Hexagon , a book by Katja Marek, for several months.  The blocks are all numbered and given women's names.  The block above is number 24, Evelyn.    

Sonja, no.38

I've made this particular set while participating in the Glorious Hexagon Facebook sew-a-long using all, or mostly, Kaffe Fassett fabric.  I had liked, and purchased Kaffe fabric for years prior to starting this project.  However I was always just a bit overwhelmed by it.  It tends to be bright and busy.  It was hard for me to combine it with other fabric. Using pieces of the pattern like this is intriguing.  

Marjorie, no. 25

It is also very satisfying to make the 3 inch hexies.  They are complete little works in and of themselves - but they are also modular and will all fit together to make a much larger final work.  

Mary Ellen, no. 28

I've also enjoyed leaning to fussy cut the fabric to make kaleidoscopic designs. 

Kelly, no.10

However recently a new EPP quilt block, Brimfield Awakening, has caught my eye and now I'm working on that one too.  I'll post about that another time.

PNQE: Philadelphia Modern Quilt Guild Represents

My Guild, the Philadelphia Modern Quilt Guild (#phillymqg), wanted a Guild quilt to represent us at shows, meetings and events - and just because everyone else has one! :-)  

 The red, pink, yellow, blue and green are our Guild colors.  To represent them in fabric we used:

• Kona Red 1308 
• Kona Valentine 451 
• Kona School Bus 1482 
• Kona Turquoise 1376 
• Kona Peapod 414 

On a background of Kona Shadow (457).  I love Kona Shadow and Kona Ash BTW.

All blocks were to be paper pieced.  The subject matter could relate to anything connected to Philadelphia or sewing.  

My Block

The sewing machine is the block that I contributed.  It is a foundation paper-pieced pattern from Quiet Play on Craftsy. 

Love sculpture and the Liberty Bell

Sewing notions and tools and a pretzel

Old South Philly VS New South Philly

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the neighborhood.  We took a walk down Passyunk Avenue.  My goal was a glass of bubble tea at Teas N’Me (honey jasmine with aloe and boba).  The neighborhood has changed quite a bit in the 23 years that I’ve lived here. I would have not been able to get a glass of boba tea, for example, when I first arrived.  

I likely would not have seen a sign for this march in South Philly 20 or even 10 years ago.

This very large store sign has been removed and the building it was on has been replaced by condos.  

The sign has been memorialized in an ironic way with this one.  

This photo, by the way, is from the Passyunk Post, whose tag line is "For the New South Philly."

This collage of trending symbols over a "No Parking" sign was fixed to a alley gate.  Trending symbols didn't used to make their way this far south.  

I'm not sure exactly where Isaiah Zagar comes down on the new vs old South Philly.  I think there is more of his work around and I just like to take pictures of it :-).

South Philly is still full of people who like to find ways to grow green things.  

PNQG: Best of Show Innovative

This won Best of Show Innovative. It’s an original design. At first I thought it was English paper-pieced. Very close inspection revealed that the “paper lantern” shapes are filled out with triangles to make a rectangle then sashing and cornerstones that match the triangles create the illusion of an identical tessellating off-set shape.

 Ingenious engineering. Made by Loretta Painter.

African Geese

My African Geese quilt at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza hanging in the Philadelphia Modern Quilt Guild exhibition.

I started this in a mini-class at the Mid-Atlantic Mod retreat a few years back. I have a shelf full of African prints but I had never used even one because the perfect quilt had not presented itself. The class instructor is notably unafraid of prints of any kind. She inspired me to cut up my precious prints and use them! I'm glad I did because I really like the quilt. Pattern is Release the Geese by Sarah Bond.  It went together neat and clever.  I especially appreciated how she engineered the large concave borders that the rounds of geese fit into.  

It was quilted by Tricia Patton Scott and she did an amazing job.  The fabric I used in the center is from another African print that actually has geese printed on it.  She quilted around them very delicately with gold thread.  

PNQE Best in Show: Master Work

This won Best in Show at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza. Although it is not similar to anything I would make it stopped me in my tracks.  I think it is a master work. 

Back 

It is double-sided. The back repeats the elements from the front with black, white, grey and tan. 
Many of the back figural elements are composed solely of black, grey or tan thread on white or parchment fabric. 

Detail on back

Detail of label

The label lists the names of the blocks, created in both traditional Civil War fabrics and neutrals, the maker placed around the Lincoln portrait. 
More details below.

Detail

Detail

AQS in Lancaster, Day 1

My feet are aching! I didn't want to sit down today.  That is always an indication of a good quilt show experience.  I had a class with Diane Hire this morning.  It was her free-form curve block.  I really love the look of her work and this was a chance to learn some of her techniques and hear about her color ideas. Her approach seems particularly well-suited to hand dyes and I have quite a stack at home that I don't really know what to do with.  And I'd love to make more!

I nearly finished one block in class, but of course, my vision is more ambitious.  I brought my machine with me because I remember wanting to have it last year so I was able to come back and finish that block and make two more and start the cutting and piecing for two additional.

I think I'd like to make 6 blocks altogether and add two borders.

Quilts at the Show
Here are some favorites:

There is actually a sunflower quilt exhibition at the show and sunflowers are even more of a theme than usual.

This is applique constructed and embellished with what I believe is a combination of free motion satin stitch and great use of all of the fancy, patterned stitches that come on machines these days.

The fiber embellishments are abundant and add great texture. This was created by Karen Linduska and is titled Mexican Sunflowers.

 Japan
An unrelated and underlying topic of the show for me is the ongoing crises in Japan.  I, and many other quilters and lovers of fiber arts, have much admiration for Japanese quilts and fabric.  Several Japanese artists  have send quilts to the show and there are several vendors here who are Japanese or who travel back and forth regularly.  All of my hopes for the best possible outcomes for everyone affected by all of the things that are happening there now.

Run! Run! Run! by Hiroko Miyama of Chofu City, Japan.

Detail

Quilt Show Escape

I am ensconced!  At the Convention Center in Lancaster, tucked up in a huge fluffy white bed, with my laptop, a cartoon on the TV, room service a phone call away and a fun quilting class tomorrow morning -- and another one the next day!  It isn't heaven but for a Wednesday in March in Pennsylvania it is as close as I can reasonably expect to get.

I haven't felt like blogging recently but I have done lots of things since I made friends with the Hummer (my 830) and got my sewing mojo back.  Maybe this will re-inspire me to live the examined creative life...