Piece N Quilt Sew-Along Progress

I have several goals this year and two of them are to use my fabric stash and to improve my piecing skills.  Well, I decided to join two sew-alongs that Natalia is having.  This post is about the 30 blocks in 30 days sew-along.  It is a lot of fun and I love seeing others work too. 

Here are the first four blocks I have completed this week:

So if you are looking to improve your skills or just searching for new ideas, check out Natalia Bonner & Kathleen Whiting's site Piece N Quilts.  I am sure you will love it!

Monday Morning Star Count 2015/2

Yes, it's Saturday, not Monday!  Just another crazy work week in technology and so here I am posting on Saturday, what I should have posted on Monday!  I spent the week jumping between several projects in my down time and made progress on each.  I will post the other projects separately and focus on my EPP here.

I decided to lay out sections, stitch each section, and then I will put the sections together.  It is actually looking great and I will work on stitching at least one of the large sections to the main quilt top this week.  Although, there are so many quilt alongs and projects floating in myhead that I am fairly confident that I have quilting ADD!  

Linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts for EPP motivation!

Piece of Cake 3 - Just getting started

I am working on a quilt called "Piece of Cake 3" by Camille Roskelley. I decided to use her fabric line "Happy-Go_Lucky for Moda.

I love seeing 'cut' fabric!
And here is my first block:
24 more to go!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/47

Even though I had finals last week and I am still sewing Christmas presents, I managed a little work on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  After all, every bit counts!!!

I'm linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/42

Whose idea was graduate school anyway?  :)  That's what I think when I see my EPP sitting beside me and I have to research and write papers!  I know it will be worth it in the end, but I really, really, want to stitch!!  LOL!

Well, I did manage to complete 4 papers this week and squeezed in stitching for a mental break. This is the best I have been able to do for a while.  I completed 3 flowers and counted up what I have left to complete.  So...I have 13 flowers left to complete!  Woo hoo!!  Then I can focus on basting background pieces and putting it all together.  This is my first EPP project  and I started it in July 2013 and I am anxious to put it together :)

Here is this week's progress:

So fortunate to be a part of Monday Morning Star Count!  Thank you Jessica at Life Under Quilts!  Thank you all for your wonderful support too!  I love watching all your progress and projects even when I cannot find time to stitch!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/40

Feeling pretty good that I at least managed to stitch up two flowers this week!  I tried timing myself and it takes me nearly an hour to stitch one full flower.  These are 1 1/2" hexies.  I don't know if that is slow or fast, but I guess it is what it is :)  I don't want to rush and I actually enjoy taking my time stitching.  The rest of my life is so much of a rush that I look forward to stitching and I don't want to ruin it!  EPP is the best stress therapy ever!

So here are my flowers for this week:

This week I want to measure the quilt, figure out how many more flowers and background hexagons I need to complete the queen size quilt.  I would also love to get three flowers done :)

Feeling fortunate to be linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts.  What a wonderful group and so inspiring to see all your projects!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/39

I so wish I had more time to stitch!  Even though I was distracted by other obligations, I still managed to complete one flower :)  I have been working on this project since July 2013.  

I absolutely love the project, the fabrics, and the peacefulness that EPP brings to my chaotic life.  I swore I would not start another EPP project until I finished this one, but I don't think I can hold back!  I have picked a pattern out of Jessica's EPP book, Quilting on the Go.  I am on a search for just the perfect fabric...or maybe I should use scraps...hmmm..so many choices!  As soon as I decide on fabric, I will post, but I am not going to reveal the project :) let's see if you can guess!

Here is the flower of the week:

Feeling very lucky to be part of such a wonderful group of fellow EPP'ers that bring a boatload of inspiration each week!  Thank you Jessica at Life Under Quilts for hosting the Monday Morning Star Count!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/38

Another busy week juggling work, graduate school, and family....well, and just a bit of EPP :)  For some reason my EPP work bin was a wreck and so I spent some time organizing before stitching up a flower.

Here is my newly organized EPP bin:

And here is my lovely flower:

So this week I reallly want to time my stitching.  I am very curious how long it takes to complete one flower.  I don't think I am very fast :( but I do love stitching!  Very happy to be linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts! Stop by and see some of the beautiful work and be inspired!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/28

Crazy busy week!  Lots of time at work and I started a new graduate class and it always takes me a week or two to adjust.  I did manage to finish stitching the two main sections together and determining placement for more flowers.  Trying to make progress, but not get stressed if I just don't have time.  After all, this is the one thing that is meant to be relaxing :)

Linking up with Jess at Life Under Quilts!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/27

I really think that this has been my most productive week to date and it is so rewarding!  I stitched several flowers into a section and then began to join two sections together.  It is really starting to look like a quilt :)  It currently measures 52" at its widest point and has convinced me that I can do this!

Because I keep going between our summer place and home, I decided to keep large piece and all the flower sections  at our summer place.  I seem to have more time there to focus and design.  And I find the ocean so inspiring!  In the picture below, the flower sections that still need to be attached are stacked and sorted by color value.  I have 39 to join at this point.

Also in the picture below is a Ziploc bag of my remaining hexagons that need to be stitched into flowers and have background hexies attached.  I will keep this baggie at home where my time is more constrained.

I am linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts for Monday Morning Star Count.  Stop by and check out the wonderful progress or join us and get your own dose of inspiration and encouragement!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/26

Wow!  Are we really half-way through the 2014 MMSC?  Time does fly!  Two of my grandchildren spent the week with us at the beach so I didn't get as much stitching in as I would have liked, but really enjoyed the time with them :)  Although Gracie was a little upset I forgot her EPP kit, she did help me with mine by going through my hexie box and arranging flowers and threading my needle.  Here they are on the beach.

So here is what I was able to get done.  I completed this full section:

I have about 26 more sections to create and here is my stack of 41 sections ready to be stitched:

This is the first section I created along with this one:

At this point I am thinking I may have too many sections, but only time will tell.  I am at my 1 year anniversary of starting this quilt this weekend.  This is my very first project and although I am anxious to see it completed, I am so enjoying the process.  So thankful to Jessica for her knowledge, book, blog, and Monday Morning Star Count.  Come visit her at Life Under Quilts and join the MMSC!  It is a great group of people and if it weren't for the encouragement, I don't know if I would be making so much progress!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/25

Another successful week...and I call any week I am able to get some EPP in, a successful week!  Since we split our time each week between our camper and our home, I set up two kits; one for each place. This seemed like a good idea, because then I don't have to carry everything back and forth.  I am still working out the logistics, but so far it is working pretty well.

While at home this week, I basted 30 background hexagons.  Traveling between places I completed one flower.  While camping, I was able to stitch two sections together.

I have finally settled on my favorite thimble - the Clover Natural Leather thimble.  I have one in each kit now and and could not imagine stitching without it!  Thank you to everyone who made suggestions!  I swear I must own 20 different thimbles!

My latest favorite gadget is the Sewline Needle Threader.  It works great with the smaller size needles and finer threads.  I use a size 10 needle and 50 weight thread.  It works every single time.  I love it and just ordered a second one so I don't have to carry it back and forth.

I have 25 flowers left to complete and lots of stitching to get it all put together! I will hit one year working on this project next week.  This is my very first project and I am so thankful for everyone who has helped me along the way.  I have learned so much from everyone! 

I am  linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts.   Check it out  and  you  may just want to join us!   Also, check out Jessica's book -- Quilting On The Go - it is awesome - full of tips and projects and great for everyone from beginner to experienced!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/23

I must confess...the weather was so beautiful that I was pleasantly distracted and spent some time gardening and camping.  I still found time to complete three flowers and packed a travel kit for our two hour trip home.  I had never tried to stitch during a trip, but Jessica inspired me to try it.  I actually enjoyed it and it was not as hard as I thought it would be.

Here are the three flowers I completed prior to setting out on our journey home.  I used a ziploc freezer bag and packed supplies and extra hexies.

Here is the flower I completed on the road:

So 4 flowers down and 32 left to go!  Oh and I had better getting busy sewing them together!

I am so happy to be linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts!  Come and check out everyone's progress!

My First EPP Diamonds

Okay! Here are my first English Paper Pieced (EPP) diamonds!  I used the 1 1/2" sixty degree diamonds from Paper Pieces and fabric from the Happy Go Lucky line by Bonnie &Camille. It was very fun and I am looking forward to stitching them together. More to come and very soon I hope!

My Hexie Obsession

I have fallen in love with English Paper Piecing!  I had no idea it could be so relaxing, portable, and addictive.  I became intrigued with hexagons when I signed up for Mickey Depres'  Craftsy Class - Pieced Hexies and that was the beginning of my obsession.  I figured I would start with just a few 'plain' hexies, which really meant I didn't have time to cut and piece :)

I chose fabric - Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille and the first flower worked up so quickly that I just kept going.  I still plan to piece some hexies in this quilt, but need time to get to my sewing machine for that.  I love all the options available and look forward to stitching....even if for 10 minutes at 4am before I get ready for work.  Hand stitching goes great with a cup of coffee :)

Here is my box of hexies just waiting to be sewn together.

And here are a few of my "flowers".