Foundation piecing with EQ7

Lots of fun, but fiddly...

 

Electric Quilt patchwork design software and foundation piecing -
a fantastic combination for creating all sorts of lovely things!
Love it, love it, love it!
Sounds complicated, but a bit of time playing around and
 getting to know the programme really helps.
After a bit it all starts to come together ....

Planned this little block for Plantlife's
Wildflower Meadow project
on my new EQ7 software upgrade.  It needs rearranging a bit, and a border
 to make it the required 15cm square - and I need to be A LOT more
 accurate with my piecing, but it's a start.

Printed out the numbered block...
EQ can number the patches automatically, or you can do it yourself

Opted for a printed 

1/4" seam allowance round the templates

 



 

 coloured them in roughly with coloured pencils, just to make sure I didn't get lost.

 

Tunnel vision

I never buy purple fabric - so why design a purple flower?

My block needed three purples and I couldn't even find one in my stash.

Eventually, at the back of the cupboard I found a piece

shading from deep purple at one selvedge to pale violet at the other.

Sorted!

Decided to be more adventurous with colours next time I shop for scraps!

 

 

prototype ready for its border.

 

Designed this applique pattern on EQ7 too -

ain't it cute!

Would have had no trouble at all finding the fabrics for this...

 



Patchwork Meadow - lovely idea!

 

Happy New Year, Folks!

Christmas decs are stashed, days are getting longer, bulbs are coming up - it’s time to celebrate SPRING with a little project, and this idea from

the wild flower conservation charity Plantlife could be just the thing.

Plantlife are creating a giant “Patchwork Meadow” of textile
 squares celebrating the role of our native wild plants in British Culture. 

It's open to anyone, and once completed, the “meadow” will
be shown at a series of exhibitions around the UK.
My craft group's really up for it - looking forward to seeing the results!
 They want 15cm squares created using any medium - sewing, knitting,
patchwork, felt, painting, printing, cross stitch - anything at all!
Here are a couple already submitted by Seona Anderson

Love the jacobean black work, and the glistening beads
 on the sundew just bring it to life

I'd love to try foundation piecing again.

It's a method of sewing fabric to a numbered paper or cloth grid
and can be almost like painting with fabric. - great fun!

  

I love Regina Grewe's foundation-pieced ‘Year of Flowers’ collection  

Winter aconite pattern by Regina Grewe
pieced by quiltexplorer 
Love  the fabrics & how the background fabric changes direction

Pansy pattern by Regina Grewe -
Lovely piecing and choice of fabrics by quiltexplorer

Do check out this link to Regina's website -
I just love her snowdrop wall hanging 

http://www.reginagrewe.de/04muster/0405blumenjahr_e.html#bom200801

Below is a free pattern from Regina's website
showing how a foundation pattern is numbered.

It looks complicated, but once you've got the principle,
everything drops into place.  There are loads
of tutorials on the net - try Crafty Gemini's
 paper piecing made easy tutorial on YouTube.


These are a couple of little squares I did when I first started patchwork.
The seams on the maple leaf aren't accurate and the points
 are cut off - but I did love doing it.  The bromeliad is a bit better...
 

First effort - 5" square -ish!
Wonky seams, poor points - ho hum - but I still like it

  



2nd try - a little bromeliad. Love the colours.

 

Fancy having a go?

 

Check out the Plantlife website for details
 

http://wildflowereurope.org

 





Super quick!

Progress on the quick scraps!

Loved this project from the Summer issue of

Primitive Patchwork Magazine!

It's such a simple block, but so cleverly cut - I just had to try it.

With a few quilt projects in the pipeline, I decided to cut the pattern down
 and make a nine-block quilt using some of my scrap fabrics.
This would give a centre layout measuring 33" x 33".
Reducing the borders to 1" and 4" to suit these proportions
would give a finished quilt measuring 43" x 43". Cute!

First job - join two pairs of 6.5" squares together...

Next - sew them together to make a 4-patch square...

Measure 4" either side of the centre line and cut off the two side strips.

My June Tailor Shape Cut ruler came into its own
when I was cutting all the squares and strips.
Such a useful bit of kit!

After sewing the cut strip from the right onto the left side of
the block, and the left strip onto the right of the block,

I turned the block 90 degrees and repeated the process -

- measuring and cutting 4" from the centre seam once more,

and sewing the cut strips to the opposite edge.

Results below!

Just a little - unsponsored! - plug for the June Tailor ruler...
I dithered over buying one of these for ages before parting
with the cash, but it's up there in my top five quilting aids.
I did a 2-minute demo at my quilt group the other day,
and they ordered one for the group toolbox right away.
It makes cutting strips, diamonds, triangles or hexagons so easy!
Check out this YouTube link for a demo
 video 

Anyway - back to the blocks!

Here they are, all sewn together.

I've got a cream crackle fabric for the 1" border and a
brown/cream pattern for the 4" border.

Not sure about the binding...
I was thinking of either using the border brown or
 joining scraps left over from the blocks. A scrap binding

would make it genuinely scrappy...

What do you think?

Suggestions welcome!   

Something old, something new...

New grandson = new quilt

Been seeking inspiration for a few weeks now...

When Hector was born, the family dogs

 seemed just the thing to feature on his quilt,

 but what to do for Meyer...?

Was at a loss until a dig through the

 family archive produced this little gem...

I've always loved this delightful drawing,

created many years ago by Meyer's daddy.

It was the perfect centre for the quilt -

but I needed three more figures

to complete the family group 

To clone or not to clone...?

Decided not to clone.

Decided to try doing more drawings in the same style -

which turned out to be harder than it sounds.

Drawing kid-style is difficult when you're an adult -

we can't help making things too perfect.

Fancy having a go yourself?  Then try this -

If you're a Righty, get a massive felt tip,

hold it in your LEFT hand and just go with the flow on a B-I-G sheet of paper.

It feels odd, but adds lots of naivety to a drawing...

so here are a couple more.

Using Electric Quilt software I created basic

 borders and a large central panel.

Then the drawings were scanned, imported into

the programme, and traced using the mouse.

It took a while as I haven't used the drawing programme

for months and it's amazing how soon we forget...
If you're finding EQ hard to get your head round,
hang in there and experiment - it's worth it.

Here's the result.

It's a work in progress, but I quite like it so far.

Now comes the interesting bit -

chasing up the right fabrics at Patchwork Chicks ,

plus a detour to the Alma for lunch of course.

I can think of a few people who'd be up for that...

Acting on impulse...

Last weekend, in a spur-of-the-moment move,

I hauled my patchwork across the

border into Lancashire for the

Patchwork Chicks Quilt Show

at the Pendle Heritage Centre

Many thanks to Karen and the lovely ladies

at Patchwork Chicks for

not only taking my quilts after the deadline

 but for being so encouraging and helpful.

I'll read your newsletter properly next time!



Me and my chickens in the
Pendle Heritage Centre barn - seems appropriate!



The barn is beautiful and the quilts look

lovely against the rough stone walls.

Loved the big quilt hanging
on the wall at the left (below)

Would've liked to take it home...

A few of my smaller projects





The heart was great fun to make,
& the red and cream runner
further along was inspired by the
Underground Railroad project
at our quilt group



My 'House & Hearts' runner and, at the back, 
the first bit of patchwork I ever did
 - a trio of little people











I named this one 'Tesselations', but friend Denise described
 it as 'Falling Leaves' - sounds right.



Had a lovely birthday - lunch at the Alma,

an hour or two at the quilt show, tea and cakes with friends

 at the Heritage Centre cafe, then home for

an evening with my lovely husband and best pal. 

 If you're going to Boundary Mill, Barrowford is two minutes

away and a trip to Patchwork Chicks is well worth the detour.

The  Heritage Centre is nearby and has a good cafe

and a shop selling hand-made crafts. Fell for a brooch...