Lazy night and more prisms

I didn't do much last night after I came home from work except print. I am teaching the Sparkling Prisms quilt class this weekend to a private group, so needed to print the patterns as well as the paper piecing patterns. I still need to get some scraps together so I can do a demonstration of the technique, but that won't take long, then I will be ready for Saturday.

I've decided to teach the Cobblestone Pillow for Kid's Camp this summer. I taught it a long time ago, and will probably need to update the pattern as well as make the model. It's a cute design, very doable for kids as well as any beginner. I have a Sampler class tonight, so while I am there, I want to look for fabric that will work for it. Then I can get it started when I have time.

In case you are wondering.... I still have that flying geese quilt on the quilt machine....I want to get back to it this weekend. I didn't feel like doing it while I was sick...need all my energy when quilting. It won't take too long to finish, then I can bind it and hang it for a June class date. 

Colorful Prisms!

 My problems with my comments showing up as no reply isn't over yet. Several people sent suggestions and I thought I had fixed it, but it is still a problem so I'm still trying to figure out what to do to fix it. It's really frustrating, especially since the change happened sometime since Mar. 11. I didn't change anything in the past few days, so that is what makes me think it was an update they did to Blogger. Has anyone else had a problem this week?

 I had a great time Saturday teaching people how to paper piece using a different technique. They took to it like ducks to water, even one who professed to "hate" paper piecing.

Everyone was excited to use up some of their scraps and leftovers from other projects.

I think these will be really pretty when finished. It would be so easy to just keep making them until you had a throw....I hope I get a chance to do that!

  I spent a good part of yesterday working on the patterns for the new Sampler. I wish I could say they were finished, but not even close. A start is a start, though.

Sunday Sewing with my pals

 I spent all day Sunday sewing and watching episodes of The Closer (love that show!). I finished the Sparkling Prisms quilt and went back to the flying geese project. I may eventually finish this one...

if I don't have to keep doing as much unsewing as I do sewing.

I no sooner started working on it than Conrad came along to help. He settled in pretty quickly and fell asleep.

It's pretty hard to sew with a cat on your quilt. 

It seemed a shame to wake him up. It's sort of like when they get comfy on your favorite chair. Do you make them move, or sit somewhere else?

A little more Zig and a lot of Zag

 I made a few more blocks last night and started putting them together. This will be a small quilt/tabletopper, though you could just keep making them to make a large quilt. I don't want to scare people away from taking the class so I am keeping the project small.

Most of the students I have had in class just don't enjoy paper piecing very much. I hope by showing them this new method that they will be more excited to try it. Plus making the blocks with all scraps is just fun!

I hope to finish it tonight. What was your favorite paper pieced project?

Super Sunday Sewing

 Does this look comfortable to you?

I spent most of Sunday sewing. I made quite a mess as I went through some of my smaller batik pieces to do some paper piecing. I find paper piecing is more fun when you don't have to worry about what fabric goes next.  So this project is going to be scrappy.

 I don't know if everyone makes this much mess when paper piecing, but I seem to. Since I am making each block scrappy, I can use some of the leftover bits on the smaller areas of another block.

How do you precut your fabrics for paper piecing? I usually cut strips and then use the straight edge to line up with the last piece.  I made the blocks yesterday using the freezer paper method, so I don't have to tear off the paper when I'm finished. I am debating whether or not to teach it this way. I usually teach pp the traditional way, sewing right to the paper, but I really prefer this method. People seem to have a resistance to pp because of past problems, and I hope that by doing a scrappy project it might be a little more appealing to most quilters. 

The fabric came and it's finished!

I got home yesterday and the border fabric had come in the mail, so I finished the tablerunner. I just wanted a little of the blue to tie things together, so I put a thin flange on as the first border. Sometimes when I get finished with a project, I think about how I should've done this...or should've done that....or maybe one of the colors is not what I hoped....but this time I love it!

Fabric Emergency is Over!

Here are the blocks I've done so far. I have decided to make 2 more pink because in the arrangement I am doing, the green on the peach flowers looks too light, so I might only use 2. I need 10 altogether. The leafy fabric is auditioning for the setting triangles.

I can't believe it but I found that fabric! After searching through different sites & emailing a quilt guild in BC (who were willing to help), this morning I googled underwater fabric and found it! Pretty lucky considering I didn't know a thing about it. Lesson to be learned: try to always get fabric with the info on the selvage! I probably could've found something that would work, but you know how it is when you really think a fabric is perfect. So I hope it is.

Sunday Sewing & a few more blocks done...

I made some more blocks yesterday, all using the same pieces of freezer paper. So that makes 6 blocks using that method. I need 2 more for what I want to do, but stopped as I didn't have another green that looked good with these and I didn't want to have 6 of one green and 4 of the other....so will add a third and a third flower color. That should look good with the arrangement I have planned too, I hope! The lighter green doesn't seem so much lighter than the other one in person.

Carol at Cornfield Quilter is having a giveaway celebrating her 200th post....drop by, sign up, tell her I sent you!

Saturday's class and Paper Piecing

Yesterday I taught two classes of the Circle and Spin Quilt. It was fun and the ladies got a lot done. I think they had fun making the slightly abstract looking circles and it made curved piecing seem fun. Next week they meet again and hopefully I will get some pictures.

After I got home and collapsed for a bit, I wanted to try one of the techniques suggested after my post earlier this week. Mary suggested I go to Twiddletails and see how to PP without sewing through the paper. Anina uses freezer paper, cut to fit her printer. I was intrigued so cut some to fit my printer and printed them out. It works well, and no tearing off the paper, though you use it for the precision. She says they can be used several times. I used each twice so far. They turned out the same size as the rest and look fine. I want to try the other ideas, too, just have to go shopping for the supplies. I had the freezer paper here, so tried it first.

New project in the works

Started working on a new project tonight. These are paper pieced. I won't claim to be very expert at it but I keep trying. I like this flower as it is very pointy! I want to do some type of runner/tabletopper with it.

If you do paper piece, I could use your advice. What do you print the pattern onto? I have been using computer paper, but wish it was thinner. I know there are other products out there that are made for this. I also know that some people trace each one. I really don't want to do that. Anyone want to share what they use? Please?