A little variety today and not a lot done! I got my box of yarn from Craftsy today for the Tunisian Crochet project and time is getting away from me and I must sit down and watch my lessons so I can learn how to do this – I will of course have my laptop with me and Ipad and Iphone LOL so I should be able to tune into my class from time to time if I need to make sure I am doing my cowl right while we travel later this month and into the fall but we will not have a good signal all the time like we did when we traveled to Wisconsin and Minnesota – traveling out west and the mountains limits cell signal at times. Any way here is my yarn for the cowl – pretty colors! I have a red fleece jacket I wear a lot in the winter so these colors will go well with it. Two pretty gray’s to go with the scarlet. I actually need a new jacket as this one is about ready for just wearing for outside work I think I have had it for about 10 years (fleece in Arkansas with no liner is perfect for most of my winter) – I will be on the look out for a new fleece jacket but I will make sure to get it in red or gray!
I picked out some threads to go with the Brimfield block for piecing
And I actually got started on it during the evening news – first I add the roof to the middle piece then EPP these three pieces together and then add the melon – you have to hold it just right and I put a clip on the opposite end to hold it in place and then whip stitch carefully.
I was talking about pricey papers the other day and thought I would show a book again that I got back in June on our last trip – Hexagons, Diamonds, Triangles and More by Kelly Ashton – I think I found this one when we briefly crossed over into Michigan one day exploring – if you are thinking of doing EPP or hand piecing this book has a lot of ideas for blocks and templates. –the link goes to Amazon
It has block patterns – a variety of sizes for the blocks also so you can make small or large (large might be good for hand piecing or I suppose machine would work too)
Templates – if you don’t mind making your own papers for EPP you could use freezer paper if you want or whatever you happen to use. It had so many ideas in it that when I saw it I had to get it. Papers pre-cut just cost to darn much in my opinion!! I know buying pre-cut papers is easy and very convenient but if time is not a concern this is not that hard to do. One thing I do with freezer paper is fill one sheet full of the design and then put it through the scanner to make more copies. (I purchased an initial package of paper pieces for my Daisy Chain quilt and will make more pieces as I need them too)
Fall Harvest from Monday night – the basket blocks for half the width of the quilt going on this length of the quilt that I am quilting right now
By sticking to simple quilting this time this quilt is moving along at a good pace.
Simple on the border too — today I am linking to Sew Fresh Quilts — Midweek Makers #135 — My Quilt Infatuation
I love your yarns you got Karen and love that you will be starting with your kit of
Tunisian knitting needles soon too! I love the holder you made for them 🙂 I hope you are able to find a nice winter jacket in red or greys like you said if a replacement is needed for sure! I am not sure when winter starts here or ends here yet as this past winter season was nutty here… so maybe this year will be more expected a winter and we can get used to cold weather. I hope you enjoy all the places you are planning to visit on your upcoming trip!
I thought you did your Brimfield epp in a mid grey or taupy color thin thread not a bunch of colors… I just didn’t think about it until I saw this photo.. good thing you have a nice collection to choose from for sure! I have been on the lookout but haven’t found anything close to what you have and it is out of our budget for now anyway! lol
I love how you are flying on the quilting of the fall harvest quilt… maybe you want it on your bed while it is still fall.. or is it big enough for your bed???
Looking forward to hand stitching and getting laundry caught up here after being on the road for 2 days nonstop. ttys Kathi
Fall Harvest is too small for the bed although could be tossed over the legs – it is more a couch size quilt – after it is washed and dried it will be in the range of 76 x 76 I think.
the crochet project only uses one size needle but it was cheaper to get the set of all sizes then one if you can believe that – crazy!
Just remember how your weather was when you lived in TN and that is closer to what your weather will be in NC now – although you are higher in elevation so winter will start in the mid to end of November most likely and if you are in a hilly area you should be prepared for snow/ice whenever the weatherman says you might get it!
Kathi for the EPP I try to match up colors closely if I can so the thread color doesn’t show much – it is hard to hide stitches but for the applique part I use black to match the background. I could probably use a neutral to do the EPP but some are dark colors and some are light
I took a class in Tunisian Crochet years ago and left almost in tears!!! I was so frustrated and couldn’t seem to grasp the technique even though I have crocheted for years and years. Anyway, I came home determined to learn the process and watched the demos on YouTube. Success!!!
Good Luck with your project – love your yarns.
I am watching a class on Bluprint (Craftsy) all the classes are included when you get a yearly or monthly subscription. There are several for this type of crochet
I’m so tempted to try Tunisian Crochet, it’s so pretty! Will be fun to watch your progress.
here is hoping mine will turn out and I will find a new hobby – I need to start doing something more than quilting – my house is being taken over by quilts.
Freezer paper sounds like a great idea for EPP templates – and I never thought about how it could go through a printer. I’ll have to try that. Do you iron it on to your fabric piece and then glue baste to the back? Pretty yarn colors for your crochet project!
I do the freezer paper templates two different ways for different projects when doing EPP – if the pieces are small like hexies and I am thread basting the freezer paper templates could be ironed down and then baste. But if the pieces are larger and I plan to glue baste then I put one spot of glue stick in the center of the template on the side that is not shiny and stick it to the fabric then I glue baste to the shiny side – it will stick long enough for you to do the whip stitching but when it comes time to remove the papers the papers pop up nice as the glue doesn’t stick to the shiny side hard — no paper sticks to the project and is easy to remove. I have only tried this on other projects though and not Brimfield so I don’t know how it would work on these curves – I would have to do one to try it out – because of the curves and the handling that you do with it it might not work the same way it does on smaller pieces. But thread basting through freezer would be easier to do then the papers that I have now so it might be best to do that and in that case yes the pieces could be pressed to the freezer – in fact I think I will try that first – it might be easiest in the long run. I have heard some people are now using the paper that is for applique that stays in your project and when you wash it it is supposed to soften and somewhat dissolves.
What an interesting block!!
thanks – it is a “different” looking EPP project then most I have seen. I’m surprised though that EPP is making such a come back that some people use it for all blocks that they make even though the blocks could be made by machine – The Farmer’s Wife is now being down with EPP and some are doing Dear Jane with this method and the kits cost very much!
Your yarn colors are so pretty, will be looking forward to seeing you do your project. It seems I fall in love with every quilt you put on the quilting frame! The simple quilting looks so good. Do you know the name of the papers that disappear when you wash the project? I would like to check them out, they might come in handy on small EPP pieces. Hope you have a good day, I’m waiting for some rain, it’s suppose to rain somewhere around here for the next seven days so I hope my turn will come. This has been the 2nd driest summer ever they said for us.
I will do a search through my applique supplies and find the sheets I don’t remember the name off hand – I will post tomorrow on it – I am out and about right now
Waiting for the mailman to bring my Brimfield pattern! Yours is beautiful!
the curves are a little different but with a little practice they are manageable.
What is that work surface you’re using for your EPP? Is it just like a computer lap desk or something specifically for sewing? It looks like it has a nice texture to grab the fabric.
this is a 12.5 inch sandpaper board on one side and white slippery on the other side of whatever the board is made out of – you can put a piece of felt or flannel cut to fit on the sandpaper side – I’ll take a photo and post on tomorrows post – I have several of them that I got a long time ago – I’ll check and see if I can find a link to anything like it that might be sold now
Wow you have a nice variety of projects. I agree with you, precut papers are expensive but then as you say, convenient too! Visiting from Needle and Thread Thursday
yes they are convenient – but it is a nice savings if a person can make their own
Such lovely projects at your house! I’m impressed with all your hand work – lots more patience than I!
I do have patience I have been told LOL
I was wondering about the order of sewing the Brimfield pieces together… thanks for showing that!
they seem to go together better for me this way, I don’t know if most do it that way but it works for me